American Sydney McLaughlin shatters world record in thrilling Day 12 at the Olympics
Another day, another record shattered on the track at the Summer Olympics.
This time around, Sydney McLaughlin set the new standard in the women's 400m hurdles, breaking the previous world record — which the 21-year-old American set in late June — to win gold in the event.
The U.S. had 73 medals heading into Wednesday night ET/Thursday morning Tokyo time and finished with 79 (25 gold, 31 silver, 23 bronze), in the lead ahead of China (70, 32-22-16).
In third is the Russian Olympic Committee, also known as ROC (53, 14-21-18), in terms of total medals.
The Americans trail only China (32) in gold medals, and the host nation of Japan boasts the third-most gold medals, with 21.
Here are the highlights from Day 12 in Tokyo:
Women's 400m hurdles
McLaughlin topped teammate Dalilah Muhammad and broke her own world record in winning the women's 400m hurdles in 51.46 seconds.
McLaughlin absolutely obliterated the old record of 51.90, which she set June 26 in qualifying.
Her teammate, Muhammad, also clocked in with a time (51.58) that would have smashed the world record, but she settled for a personal best and a silver medal as the Americans went one-two atop the podium.
"I think that’s really just iron sharpening iron," McLaughlin said after the race, via Team USA.
"You need somebody who’s going to push you to be your best, and I think that’s what we do so well. Every time we step on the track, it’s always something fast."
Femke Bol of the Netherlands finished third with a time of 52.03, an area record for Bol.
The other American in the field, Anna Cockrell, was disqualified for stepping out of her lane during the race and violating Technical Rule 17.3.1, which states that "each athlete shall keep within their allocated lane from start to finish."
The 23-year-old took to Instagram to express her disappointment but indicated that she will continue to compete going forward.
Men's 200m
Remember this iconic moment from the Rio 2016 Olympics, when Canada's Andre De Grasse and Jamaican legend Usain Bolt smiled at each other as they crossed the finish line of the 200m semis?
Well, with Bolt retired, De Grasse is now the man to beat in the men's 200m.
The Canadian blazed to a 19.62 finish for gold in Day 12's final, setting a national record in the process and becoming the first man not named Bolt to win the event since 2004.
The United States rounded out the rest of the podium, with Kenny Bednarek (19.68) grabbing silver and Noah Lyles (19.74) taking home bronze.
American Erriyon Knighton, at just 17 years old, finished in fourth, with a time of 19.93.
Said De Grasse after the event, via Olympics.com: "I knew the Americans were going to push me, and they were going to take me to a personal best. It's been five years since I had a personal best, so it was just good to get that finally out [of] the way."
Women's 3000m steeplechase
American Courtney Frerichs notched a season-best 9:04.79 to snag silver in the women's 3000m steeplechase event.
Frerichs held the lead at the 2000m split, ahead of Uganda's Peruth Chemutai by a half-second. Despite the challenge, the Ugandan proved too speedy and raced out to finish in 9:01.45, a new national record.
"This is an absolute dream come true," Frerichs said, via SI.com. "I grew up doing gymnastics as a kid and always watching the Olympic Games, hoping one day that I would be there. Now to have a medal, it's just more than I can ask for."
Women's boxing
Oshae Jones won the bronze in women's welterweight boxing, becoming the first woman to medal for Team USA in the event. She won bronze after a 4-1, split-decision loss to China's Gu Hong, who moved on to the gold-medal bout.
Jones joined Claressa Shields (2012 and 2016 gold, middleweight) and Marlen Esparza (2012 bronze, flyweight) as the third American woman to medal in boxing at the Olympics.
Her story is one that embodies the Olympic spirit. Just five days before she learned that she would be representing Team USA, Jones nearly died in a house fire.
"I mean, I was depressed," she told Olympics.com ahead of the semifinal bout against Hong. "I was at my lowest. But then the call comes that I’m going to the Olympics, but I still don’t have anything – like, not even any clothes! I tried to keep my hopes high and to figure out how I could do it."
Well, she did, bringing home a rare medal in women's boxing for the U.S.
You can check out Jones' full fascinating story at Olympics.com.
Team USA, women's basketball
The U.S. women's basketball team rocked Australia 79-55 in the quarterfinals to roll into the semis red-hot.
Breanna Stewart was unstoppable in the contest, scoring 20 of her 23 points in the first half. She finished 8-for-10 from the field while hauling in five rebounds and dishing three assists.
Brittney Griner and A'ja Wilson also got in on the fun, scoring 15 and 10 points, respectively, to join Stewart as American players to hit double figures in points.
Chelsea Gray added seven points and led the game with eight assists as the Americans secured a 24-point victory.
The win marked 53 consecutive victories at the Olympics for Team USA's women's basketball team.
Up next in the semis, the Americans take on Serbia, which topped China 77-70 in a quarterfinal tilt.
Team USA, baseball
Team USA grabbed hold of the lifeline offered in the round 2 repechage to book a spot in the semifinals of the Olympic baseball tournament, beating the Dominican Republic 3-1 in an elimination game.
Scott Kazmir gave up just two hits in five innings of work for the Americans, striking out five and walking one.
The offense gave Kazmir a big boost early, scoring two runs off starter Denyi Reyes, courtesy of a Triston Casas home run. Tyler Austin added another run with a solo shot in the fifth inning.
With a 3-0 lead, Kazmir gave way to a stellar bullpen, which held the Dominican Republic to three hits and one walk in the final four innings. With two outs in the ninth, Charlie Valerio got the Dominican Republic on the board with a solo shot off David Robertson, but the American went on to lock down the save.
The U.S. will square off against the Republic of Korea in the semis, with a chance to advance to the gold medal game, in which Japan awaits.
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