The 5 best moments from a perfect Olympics, plus NASCAR controversy

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Good morning! Don’t wreck anyone today.

Top Cinq: An Olympics parfait

Can the Olympics happen every year? I know, I know, the fact that they happen every four years (well, every two years in between Summer and Winter editions) make them more special, but, man — that was a fun month. 

There were too many great moments to fit into one newsletter, so here goes an impossible top-five list … reverse chronologically, because I am a weak man who can’t decide what’s best: 

5. U.S. women’s hoops dominance, then drama
This team won its eighth straight gold medal yesterday, but it wasn’t the romp we expected: The Americans prevailed 67-66, and that one-point difference existed only because French guard Gabby Williams’ foot was on the line when she banked in a long two-pointer as time expired:

UNBELIEVABLE ENDING IN PARIS. 😱

Gabby Williams banked it in at the buzzer but her FOOT WAS ON THE THREE-POINT LINE. TEAM USA WINS BY A SINGLE POINT.#ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/DJI7YxfVMl

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 11, 2024

It was a fitting finale for this golden era of U.S. women’s hoops, as David Aldridge wrote, and exemplified an Olympics “where women persevered.” Also, you have to feel for Brittney Griner, who was understandably emotional winning a gold medal for the country she thought she might never see again. 

4. Steph Curry
Curry’s otherworldly performance Saturday in the men’s gold medal game should stick with every basketball lover. For over a decade, the best shooter to ever live has terrorized large swaths of NBA fans. It was a fun, unifying moment for Americans to rejoice in the 36-year-old Curry being Curry on a different stage. It was ridiculous even by his standards. I’ll never forget French announcers calling Curry “the devil.”

3. USWNT’s redemption
It was wild to realize before these Olympics that the world-power USWNT had not won a gold since 2012. The Americans entered this tournament with a new coach and plenty of questions. It was not a breeze by any standards, but Emma Hayes’ debut came with a gold medal, thanks to a divergence in style from the team’s previous iteration. There is plenty of hope for this program, just a year after its 2023 World Cup nadir. 

2. Noah Lyles’ nose
We’ll never forget the cocky American winning by a nose in maybe these Olympics’ most electrifying event: possibly the closest 100-meter dash in history. No matter what he does from here, he will always have that. Years of preparation came down to 9.784 seconds and a great lean. Incredible stuff.

1. Gymnastics, all of it
Maybe a cop-out, but what a showcase this was for the sport. Simone Biles, the gym GOAT, came back and erased memories of a bad time in Tokyo. The American women won the all-around title. And maybe the best moment was not even a U.S. gold, but Biles and Jordan Chiles playfully bowing to Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade on an all-Black podium. Still got goosebumps from that, regardless of whether Chiles’ medal is currently in dispute.

These don’t even capture a tenth of the scope of these Olympics though. Two things that do it better: 

And your final Olympic medal count: