Paris: The United States pipped China for top spot in the battle of medals on Sunday as Paris prepared to bring the curtain down on one of the most successful Olympic Games in history.
The closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics began on Sunday with French quadruple gold medallist swimmer Leon Marchand extinguishing the cauldron and taking the flame in a lantern to the Stade de France.
With Los Angeles hosting the next Olympics in 2028, the ceremony will be sprinkled with Hollywood stardust with Tom Cruise widely expected to play a major role in the handover.
In a thrilling finale that capped 17 days of spellbinding action, the United States women’s basketball team squeezed past France 67-66 to clinch the last gold of the Games.
The win — the eighth consecutive Olympic women’s basketball won by the USA — ensured the Americans finished level with China on 40 golds each as the games drew to a close.
The USA however finished on top of the overall medal table with a total of 126 medals, with China in second place on 91.
With the last of the medals handed out, attention turned to Sunday’s closing ceremony spectacular at the Stade de France, where Hollywood star Tom Cruise is widely rumoured to feature as the countdown to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics gets under way.
Marathon magic
Sunday’s final day began with a gripping women’s marathon victory by the Netherlands’ long-distance running star Sifan Hassan.
Hassan had taken on what many considered to be a crazy gamble in Paris, competing in the 5,000m, the 10,000m and the marathon — the last two events just two days apart.
But in a jaw-dropping sprint finish, Hassan overhauled Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa to take gold by three seconds in an Olympic record of 2hr 22min 55sec.
On Friday she had taken bronze in the 10,000m after coming away with a bronze in the 5,000m.
She fell to the ground on the blue carpet in front of the golden dome of the Invalides memorial complex in the heart of Paris before grabbing a Dutch flag to celebrate an extraordinary achievement.
“It was not easy,” said Hassan, 31. “It was so hot, but I was feeling OK. I’ve never pushed myself through to the finish line as I did today.
“Every moment in the race I was regretting that I ran the 5,000m and 10,000m. I was telling myself if I hadn’t done that, I would feel great today.
“From the beginning to the end, it was so hard. Every step of the way. I was thinking, ‘Why did I do that? What is wrong with me?’
Wrestling, weightlifting, water polo, volleyball, modern pentathlon, handball, and track cycling were the other sports to crown Olympic champions on the last day.
Hungary’s Michelle Gulyas ran and shot to Olympic gold in the modern pentathlon, with home favourite Elodie Clouvel roared on to clinch silver.
In weightlifting, China’s jubilant Li Wenwen lifted her coach into the air instead of the bar, having already secured gold.
At the velodrome, Dutch star Harrie Lavreysen surged to the men’s keirin for his third gold of the Games, ending British dominance of the event they had won at every Olympics since 2008.
New Zealand’s Ellesse Andrews blasted to the women’s sprint title to add to her keirin gold, while American cyclist Jennifer Valente won the women’s omnium.
In men’s water polo, Serbia won their third straight Olympic gold with a 13-11 victory over Croatia at La Defense Arena and pulled their coach into the pool in the celebrations.
‘Precious’
As the sport ends, attention turns to the closing ceremony and the next Olympics in Los Angeles in four years.
LA is expected to play heavily on its Hollywood star power and will roll out its big guns, with pop star Billie Eilish, rapper Snoop Dogg, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers all confirmed.
The worst-kept secret in Paris is that “Top Gun” star Cruise appears poised to close the ceremony with a spectacular stunt sequence.
Cruise is filming the latest episode of the “Mission Impossible” franchise in Europe and has been a regular feature at Olympic events in Paris.
“On August 11, the Olympic Games will be over, and the Olympic flame will be extinguished,” said Thomas Jolly, who masterminded the unique opening ceremony along the River Seine.
“That moment will remind us just how precious are these Olympic Games,” added Jolly, whose opening ceremony sparked outrage in some quarters with a scene that appeared to parody the Last Supper.
