What to watch at Olympics today: Sha’Carri Richardson, U.S. women’s hoops — and breaking’s debut

There are three more days left of the Olympics and more medals to be handed out as the Games are in the home stretch.

The final Friday of the Paris Games includes several exciting events. The gold medal match in men’s soccer. Track relays at Stade de France. The dynasty of U.S. women’s basketball looking to advance to yet another gold medal game. And breaking, in its first Olympic program, will hand out its inaugural medals to the B-girls.

There’s a little bit of something for everyone on Day 14.

Events to watch

Track relay events take center stage

Time: 1:30 p.m. ET; 7:30 p.m. in Paris
TV: NBC and Peacock

What to watch: The relay events bring a team element to Olympic track and field. It also brings excitement as the meet nears its conclusion.

The women’s and men’s 4×100-meter relay finals are among the final short-distance races. Four sprinters each race 100 meters and must pass their baton off to the next teammate to complete the relay.

On the women’s side, Sha’Carri Richardson will look to win her second medal in Paris. Richardson won silver in the women’s 100 meters, finishing behind Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred. Team USA is the reigning world champion in the women’s 4x100m relay.

On the men’s side, the Americans are looking for their first gold medal since 2000.

The men’s 100-meter champion, Noah Lyles — after revealing he tested positive for COVID-19 this week — said he was leaning toward sitting out the relay.

“I’m feeling more on the side of letting Team USA do their thing,” he said after a third-place finish in the 200-meter final Thursday. “They’ve proven with great certainty that they can handle it without me. And if that’s the case coming off today then I’m perfectly fine saying, ‘Hey, you guys go do your thing. You guys have more enough speed to be able to handle it and get the gold medal.’”

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U.S. women’s basketball two wins from gold

Time: 11:30 a.m. ET; 5:30 p.m. in Paris
TV: NBC and Peacock

What to watch: Let this sink in for a moment. Team USA women’s basketball hasn’t lost at the Olympics since Aug. 5, 1992. The squad is on a 59-game winning streak.

On Friday, the U.S. women take on Australia in the semifinals, with a spot in the gold medal game on the line. The Americans beat Nigeria 88–74 in the quarters en route to the semis. Four U.S. players finished in double digits, led by A’ja Wilson who had 20 points. The Americans put on a show in front of some star-studded celebrities, including LeBron James, Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky and Dirk Nowitzki.

The matchup against the Australians will be different. Australia boasts more professional talent, including six WNBA players on its roster.

It will take a monumental effort for Australia to upset the U.S., which is eyeing an eighth consecutive gold medal game appearance.

Sifan Hassan aims to add another medal in 10,000m

Time: 2:57 p.m. ET; 8:57 p.m. in Paris
TV: NBC and Peacock

What to watch: The Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan is one of the great long-distance runners in Olympic history. On Friday, athletics fans will see Hassan in the women’s 10,000-meter race.

Hassan won bronze in the 5,000m race. She enters the 10,000 as the reigning Olympic champion. In 2021 in Tokyo, Hassan won the race with a 29:55.32 time, becoming the first Dutch woman to win Olympic gold in a long-distance running event.

In addition to the 5,000 and 10,000-meter races, Hassan will run the marathon Sunday. She already has four Olympic gold medals and looks to add a fifth.

Breaking makes its Olympic debut

Time: 10 a.m. ET, 4 p.m. in Paris (start); 3:29 p.m. ET; 9:29 p.m. in Paris (gold medal battle)
TV: Peacock and NBCOlympics.com

What to watch: The DJ drops a beat. The music blares. It’s the women’s breaking competition, with the inaugural Olympic medals handed out in this event.

After progressing out of the round robin, breakers must win three battles to finish on top of the podium. It’s a one-on-one duel where breakers react to the music by showcasing different moves. Trash-talking is also apparent during battles, adding some flair and energy to the competition.

Judges determine whether a breaker wins a particular battle. Each battle consists of a best-of-three series of individual contests known as throwdowns, in which the breaker gets about one minute to perform her routine and the opponent then responds with a routine of her own.

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Sunny Choi — “Sunny” — and Logan Edra — “Logistx” — qualified for the United States in the women’s division. Choi won the first gold medal ever presented in breaking at the Pan American Games in November 2023, when she was the seventh-best breaker in the world. With the gold medal, she also clinched the first U.S. women’s spot for the 2024 Olympics.

Edra, 21, won the 2021 Red Bull BC One World Final — a global one-on-one breaking competition — becoming the youngest breaker ever to take home the title.

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France looks to win on home soil in men’s soccer

Time: Noon ET; 6 p.m. in Paris
TV: USA Network and Peacock

What to watch: Hosts France will play Spain as both countries look to win their second gold medal in the Summer Games.

Les Bleus beat Egypt 3-1 in extra time to advance to the final. Jean-Philippe Mateta scored twice, notching a game-tying goal in the 83rd minute to force extra time. Mateta then headed the decisive goal in extra time to send Les Bleus to the gold medal match.

France earned gold at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles and also won silver when Paris hosted the Olympics in 1900.

Spain beat Morocco 2-1 after Juanlu Sanchez came off the bench to score in the 85th minute and send his team to the final. Friday marks Spain’s second consecutive appearance in the gold medal match and fifth overall. It last won gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and lost to Brazil in the final at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

A win would complete a summer double for Spain, which won the European Championship in July.

Thursday’s highlight

STEPHEN. CURRY. TEAM USA LEADS.#ParisOlympics | 📺 NBC, USA Network and Peacock pic.twitter.com/C4MUUl1v78

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 8, 2024

It took everything the United States had to overcome a 17-point deficit against Serbia on Thursday — including an otherworldly performance by Stephen Curry. The Golden State Warriors star scored 36 points, one shy of the U.S. men’s Olympic record, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:24 left.

The Athletic’s Joe Vardon has the full story.

Required reading

(Photo: Martin Bernetti / AFP via Getty Images)