Team USA leads total medal count as Paris Olympics continue on

Phil Walter/Getty Images

Team USA earned a bronze medal the men's skiff medal race on Friday after the initial final was delayed due to weather.

The medal race was supposed to take place on Thursday. It got off to a strong start but as the boats were reaching the end of the first lap the wind completely died.

Officials started waving the blue and white checkered flag and the race was abandoned. The Uruguayan boat of Hernan Umpierre and Fernando Diz was leading when the race was stopped.

The medal race is worth double points, and teams carry their existing points into the medal race. Those scores combined produce their overall score and the team lowest number of points win. But it was a clean slate on Friday for all the boats. Wherever the boats were positioned when the race was called off does not matter.

Spain won gold, New Zealand brought home silver, while Ian Barrows and Hans Henken lead Team USA to a bronze medal.

Ryan Canfield contributed to this report.

Katie Ledecky cemented her legacy as the greatest female swimmer in Olympic history on Thursday.

She helped Team USA earn a silver medal in the women’s 4x200-meter freestyle relay, and in the process winning her 13th Olympic medal.

The 27-year-old is now the only woman ever reach that mark, as the record was previously held jointly by Jenny Thompson, Emma McKeon, and Dana Torres. On Thursday the swimming legend took to X to post about her appreciation.

“A special silver with the relay squad! Proud of this team!”

No other American women have more Olympic medals than Ledecky. Only four athletes rank higher on the overall list, led by fellow American swimmer Michael Phelps, whom has a whopping 28 medals.

Ledecky has one more event left in the Paris Games, the 800m free. If she earns gold in the 800m free she will be the first woman to win gold in the same individual event at four different Olympics. Phelps was the first swimmer to achieve such a feat in the 200 IM.

Ryan Canfield contributed to this report.

Fabio Bozzani/Anadolu via Getty Images

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif is in the middle of a gender eligibility controversy, and the temperature on the drama only turned up after a win over a female Italian fighter at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 1.

Khelif is in the Olympics for the second time. The boxer fought for Algeria in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when it was held in 2021. But since that time, Khelif has been in the midst of drama.

Here’s what to know about Khelif and the issue.

Vitals

Khelif is a 25-year-old boxer from Tiaret, Algeria. Khelif, who is currently a UNICEF ambassador, grew up in a rural village in the province and has been open about growing into the sport. Khelif’s father didn’t "approve of boxing for girls," according to UNICEF.

Khelif was able to start training for boxing sessions by selling scrap metal for recycling.

Boxing career

Khelif debuted on the world amateur stage at 19 years old and came in 17th at the 2018 World Championships, sanctioned by the International Boxing Association (IBA) – then known as AIBA.

Khelif finished 19th in the 2019 Women’s World Boxing Championships. The Algerian fighter was in the 2020 Olympics and made it to the quarterfinals before losing to Ireland’s Kellie Harrington.

But in 2022, Khelif finished second in the Women’s World Boxing Championships after being defeated by Amy Broadhurst. Khelif won gold medals in the 2022 African Championships, Mediterranean Games and 2023 Arab Games.

The 2023 Women’s World Boxing Championships is the root of the controversy for Khelif.

This is from an excerpt by Ryan Gaydos.