Olympic Medal Count: USA Wins Big, Simone Biles Shines

Medal Table

Here are the top five stories of the day:

1. Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles medal in floor exercise final: Team USA took home two more medals in women’s gymnastics on Monday in the individual floor exercise final. Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles both finished on the podium, with Biles surprisingly finishing with silver and Chiles catapulting into bronze at the last moment.
2. Team USA women’s 3×3 bounces back for bronze: The US women’s 3×3 team, which consists of Dearica Hamby, Cierra Burdick, Rhyne Howard, and Hailey Van Lith, lost its semifinal match against Spain in overtime but bounced back to win a bronze medal with a 16-13 win over Canada.
3. USA’s Kristen Nuss, Taryn Kloth miss beach volleyball women’s quarterfinals: Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth won’t join Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng in the women’s beach volleyball quarterfinals after losing to Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson in straight sets.
4. Sam Kendricks rebounds from Tokyo disappointment: U.S. pole vaulter Sam Kendricks won a silver medal on Monday, finishing an arc that began with disappointment and ended in triumph. He couldn’t catch Sweden’s Armand Duplantis, who cleared 6.25 for gold.
5. Valarie Allman wins gold for USA in discus: The United States continues adding to its medal count in track and field. Valarie Allman won gold in the discus throw, becoming the fourth woman to win two Olympic gold medals in the event.

Highlight of the Day

The highlight of the day was the show of sportsmanship and respect displayed by Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles after their fellow competitor, Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, won the gold medal. The two American gymnasts bowed to Andrade, acknowledging her achievement and continued greatness in their sport.

One More Thing…

Turkish pistol shooter Yusuf Dikeç has become an internet sensation not only for his glasses but for a shooting pose with his left hand in his pocket that appeared to be the portrait of cool. His pose has been emulated by Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis, who celebrated his gold medal performance with a nod to Dikeç.