The United States achieved another gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics on Thursday morning. The men’s rowing four-man team of Nick Mead, Justin Best, Michael Grady, and Liam Corrigan ended a 64-year gold medal drought in the event for Team USA. Although the Americans are still behind in the gold medal count, they are leading the overall medal table with 31 total medals, five more than second-place France.
China is the only country with a double-digit gold medal count, increasing their total from nine to 11 with two first-place finishes on Thursday. In the early events of the day, there were several medal winners in different sports:
– Rowing Men’s Double Sculls: Gold – Romania, Silver – Netherlands, Bronze – Ireland
– Rowing Men’s Four: Gold – United States, Silver – New Zealand, Bronze – Great Britain
– Rowing Women’s Double Sculls: Gold – New Zealand, Silver – Romania, Bronze – Great Britain
– Rowing Women’s Four: Gold – Netherlands, Silver – Great Britain, Bronze – New Zealand
– Shooting Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions: Gold – Liu Yukun (China), Silver – Serhiy Kulish (Ukraine), Bronze – Swapnil Kusale (India)
– Track and Field Men’s 20km Race Walk: Gold – Brian Pintado (Ecuador), Silver – Caio Bonfim (Brazil), Bronze – Alvaro Martin (Spain)
– Track and Field Women’s 20km Race Walk: Gold – Yang Jiayu (China), Silver – Maria Perez (Spain), Bronze – Jemima Montag (Australia)
The USA men’s rowing team’s victory was particularly significant, as it was their first gold in the event since 1960. The American team completed the course in 5:49.03, securing their sixth gold medal of the Paris Games. Justin Best, one of the rowers, expressed his emotions after the win, stating, “Crossing that finish line, I was just bawling my eyes out. Seeing the flag being raised, I love these guys, I love the United States of America, and I wouldn’t want to do it with another group.” The USA quartet took the lead early in the race and managed to stay ahead of the New Zealand and Great Britain teams.
Great Britain, the reigning gold medalist from the 2023 World Championships, struggled to recover from a slow start and finished three seconds behind the USA team. This medal marks the first time the United States has stood on the Olympic podium in the event since earning a bronze in 2012. It also represents the first rowing medal for the Americans at the Paris Games, where they have now collected medals in 11 different sports.