Not sharing gold medal, American athletes suffer bitter defeat

Early morning of August 11 (Hanoi time), Shelby McEwen (USA) and Hamish Kerr (New Zealand) had a dramatic competition in the Olympic high jump final.

McEwen and Kerr had both cleared 2.36m, a feat that put them in the top two. Whoever cleared the higher bar in this round would win the gold medal.

Here, the two athletes failed 11 times in a row. After so many failures, McEwen and Kerr were suggested to share the gold medal. According to ESPN, McEwen refused to share the gold medal with his opponent.

He wanted to fight until the end to determine the winner. The bar was then lowered twice, and Kerr eventually cleared 2.34m to bring home New Zealand's ninth gold medal.

McEwen’s decision received mixed reviews from American fans. At that time, the US had dropped to second place in the medal table, just one gold behind China. If McEwen had drawn with Hamish Kerr, the US would have tied China on 39 gold medals, but ranked higher due to having more medals.

Despite the negative reactions to McEwen's decision, many viewers supported his decision. "This is not karma, this is simply the nature of the competition. I respect him. McEwen wanted to try and fail. There is no shame in that," a writer on X.

After receiving the gold medal, Kerr also revealed the conversation with Shelby McEwen at the time the Organizing Committee proposed sharing the medal: "I really respect what they did in Tokyo. But I also want to jump more to find the best person. Shelby thinks the same way. If I fail at the 2.34m jump, we will both continue to compete."

At Tokyo 2021, Mutaz Essa Barshim (Qatar) and Gianmarco Tamberi (Italy) agreed to share the gold medal (men's high jump). This image could not be repeated at Paris 2024.

The US is currently ranked second in the Olympic medal tally.

Two-time world champion withdraws from Olympics

Rahel Daniel (Eritrea) is a two-time world champion in cross-country running. She is the number one candidate for the gold medal in the women's 10,000m race at the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, while leading the race in the 8th minute, Rahel Daniel suddenly left the track, giving the opportunity to her opponents. She was even stopped by security guards, but she still decided to give up.

Daniel has yet to confirm the reason why she left the racetrack midway. But based on the TV camera angle, many viewers believe that Daniel had respiratory problems and withdrew to ensure her health.

At the end of the competition, Beatrice Chebet of Kenya won the gold medal with a time of 30 minutes 43.15 seconds. This was half a minute slower than Rahel Daniel's best time (30 minutes 12.15 seconds).

US wins 5th consecutive Olympic basketball gold medal

The US basketball team continued its Olympic dominance, after a 98-87 victory over France in the Olympic final. This was the fifth time the country won the Olympic basketball gold medal.

Stephen Curry was the most impressive player, making 4 of his 8 three-point shots at the end of the game. Curry's impressive performance in his first Olympic appearance extinguished any hope of a comeback for France.

LeBron James (14 points) gave the stage to his teammates, creating conditions for Stephen Curry to bombard the French defense with 24 points. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker both scored 15 points.

With this victory, Kevin Durant also became the first male basketball player to win four Olympic gold medals. Before that, the 2024 NBA MVP - Nikola Jokic - scored 19 points, helping Serbia beat world champion Germany in the third-place match.