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Daily Ducks Olympic Digest: Aug. 9
08/09/24 | General, Track and Field, Women's Basketball
The U.S. women's basketball team advanced to play for gold and Jaida Ross finished fourth in the shot put Friday in Paris.
A daily recap and preview of current and former UO athletes competing at the 2024 Paris Games.
The Day That Was …
Sabrina Ionescu and the U.S. women's national team will compete for an eighth-straight gold medal after taking care of Australia in Friday's semifinal, 85-64. Ionescu logged eight points, knocking down two 3-pointers, as the United States extended its Olympic winning streak to 60 games.
The U.S. outscored the Australians 25-11 in the second quarter in building an 18-point halftime lead. Ionescu went 2-for-5 from 3-point range and scored five of her eight points in the fourth quarter.
Team USA will meet France in the gold medal game Sunday at 6:30 a.m. PT. The host nation held off Belgium in overtime, 81-75, in the day's other semifinal. France went 2-1 in winning Group B before defeating Germany in the quarterfinal round.
Jaida Ross capped her impressive season with a fourth-place finish in the shot put during the Friday evening session at Stade de France. The Bowerman finalist and NCAA champ registered a day's best mark of 19.28 meters, and finished just four centimeters behind Lijiao Gong of China for third place. Yemisi Ogunleye (GER) won gold with a final-round toss of 20.00 meters.
Ross, throwing first in the competition, led through round one with that 19.28 effort and sat in third entering the final three attempts. She posted marks of 18.79 and 18.75 in the fifth and sixth rounds, respectively, to close out her Olympics debut as the top American in the field.
In the semifinals of the 100-meter hurdles, Alaysha Johnson posted the fastest qualifying time (12.34). She was followed closely in the rankings by defending Olympics champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico (12.35) and fellow Americans Grace Stark (12.39) and Masai Russell (12.42).
Saturday's final is scheduled for 10:35 a.m. PT as part of the NBC coverage.
Shana Grebo helped host France advance to the final of the 4x400-meter relay. She ran the second leg for the French team that combined for a time of 3:24.73, good for the third-fastest qualifier. Grebo ran 50.54 for her second-leg split. The final will go off Saturday at 12:14 p.m. PT.
In the relay finals, Kemba Nelson and Jamaica were fifth in the women's 4x100 thanks to a season-best time of 42.29. Nelson ran the second leg as she did in Thursday's prelims. On the men's side, Team USA was disqualified for a zone violation on the handoff between legs one and two. Kyree King ran the third leg before the Americans were eventually disqualified.
Alessia Zarbo of France made her Olympic debut with the final of the women's 10,000 meters but did not finish. She completed the first 7,000 meters before stepping off.
A Look Ahead …
The last day of track and field finals will also feature the women's 1500 meters where three UO women will race for Olympic gold. Klaudia Kazmierska (POL) lowered her own school record to 4:00.21 with her performance in the semifinals while past UO standouts Jessica Hull (AUS) and Susan Ejore (KEN) posted times of 3:55.40 and 3:56.57, respectively, to qualify for the final. Nikki Hiltz, who competed for Oregon in 2015 before finishing their career at Arkansas, is also a finalist at 1500 meters.
The women's 1500 final is set for an 11:15 a.m. PT start.
The Day That Was …
Sabrina Ionescu and the U.S. women's national team will compete for an eighth-straight gold medal after taking care of Australia in Friday's semifinal, 85-64. Ionescu logged eight points, knocking down two 3-pointers, as the United States extended its Olympic winning streak to 60 games.
The U.S. outscored the Australians 25-11 in the second quarter in building an 18-point halftime lead. Ionescu went 2-for-5 from 3-point range and scored five of her eight points in the fourth quarter.
Team USA will meet France in the gold medal game Sunday at 6:30 a.m. PT. The host nation held off Belgium in overtime, 81-75, in the day's other semifinal. France went 2-1 in winning Group B before defeating Germany in the quarterfinal round.
Jaida Ross capped her impressive season with a fourth-place finish in the shot put during the Friday evening session at Stade de France. The Bowerman finalist and NCAA champ registered a day's best mark of 19.28 meters, and finished just four centimeters behind Lijiao Gong of China for third place. Yemisi Ogunleye (GER) won gold with a final-round toss of 20.00 meters.
Ross, throwing first in the competition, led through round one with that 19.28 effort and sat in third entering the final three attempts. She posted marks of 18.79 and 18.75 in the fifth and sixth rounds, respectively, to close out her Olympics debut as the top American in the field.
In the semifinals of the 100-meter hurdles, Alaysha Johnson posted the fastest qualifying time (12.34). She was followed closely in the rankings by defending Olympics champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico (12.35) and fellow Americans Grace Stark (12.39) and Masai Russell (12.42).
Saturday's final is scheduled for 10:35 a.m. PT as part of the NBC coverage.
Shana Grebo helped host France advance to the final of the 4x400-meter relay. She ran the second leg for the French team that combined for a time of 3:24.73, good for the third-fastest qualifier. Grebo ran 50.54 for her second-leg split. The final will go off Saturday at 12:14 p.m. PT.
In the relay finals, Kemba Nelson and Jamaica were fifth in the women's 4x100 thanks to a season-best time of 42.29. Nelson ran the second leg as she did in Thursday's prelims. On the men's side, Team USA was disqualified for a zone violation on the handoff between legs one and two. Kyree King ran the third leg before the Americans were eventually disqualified.
Alessia Zarbo of France made her Olympic debut with the final of the women's 10,000 meters but did not finish. She completed the first 7,000 meters before stepping off.
A Look Ahead …
The last day of track and field finals will also feature the women's 1500 meters where three UO women will race for Olympic gold. Klaudia Kazmierska (POL) lowered her own school record to 4:00.21 with her performance in the semifinals while past UO standouts Jessica Hull (AUS) and Susan Ejore (KEN) posted times of 3:55.40 and 3:56.57, respectively, to qualify for the final. Nikki Hiltz, who competed for Oregon in 2015 before finishing their career at Arkansas, is also a finalist at 1500 meters.
The women's 1500 final is set for an 11:15 a.m. PT start.
Players Mentioned
MD
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
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/ Women's Basketball
/ Track and Field
DIS
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