The Paris Olympics were thrilling.
From walk-off winners to razor-thin margins, the last few weeks in France have provided us with plenty of tight finishes in a number of sports.
Team USA stars Noah Lyles, Quincy Hall and the women’s rugby team stood out for the Americans, while other countries had notable exciting endings in 3×3 basketball, handball and others.
Here’s are seven of the best last-second moments from the 2024 Olympics:
Noah Lyles takes men’s 100m gold
The 27-year-old Virginia native won his first Olympic gold medal in the men’s 100m final — and he did so by the narrowest of margins. Lyles’ 9.784-second run was just 0.005-seconds faster than Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson. It took an extra push from Lyles in the final stretch to come from behind and edge Thompson by a chest at the line.
Team USA’s Noah Lyles won gold in the 100m final at the 2024 Paris Olympics by a margin of five thousandths of a second. Let’s put that into perspective.
Team USA women’s rugby walks off for bronze
The U.S. women’s rugby sevens team earned its first ever Olympic medal in improbable fashion. Going up against the 2016 gold medalists Australia, Team USA’s Alex Sedrick scored the game-winning try as time expired to secure the 14-12 victory and bronze medal. Sedrick ran through the Australian defense and barreled down the length of the field on her legendary run.
The US women’s rugby team topped Australia 14-12 in a shocking finish to win a bronze medal.
Netherlands wins men’s 3×3 gold with buzzer-beating shot
The men’s 3×3 basketball gold medal game ended with a buzzer-beater 2-pointer by the Netherlands. Worthy de Jong stepped back and heaved the long-range shot over France’s Timothe Vergiat. The 2-pointer gave the Netherlands a 18-17 win and its first Olympic medal in 3×3 basketball, which debuted in 2021.
Mixed relay triathlon ends with three-way photo finish
It’s not often that the top three mixed relay teams finish a triathlon within one seconds, but that’s what happened in Paris. Laura Lindemann anchored Germany to win gold, finishing just ahead of Team USA’s Taylor Knibb and Great Britain’s Beth Potter. Germany finished the event in one hour, 25 minutes and 39 seconds, with the U.S. and Great Britain officially one second behind.
Quincy Hall’s late comeback to win men’s 400m gold
With 100m left in the men’s 400m final, it looked like Hall would be lucky to win bronze. He was fourth at the turn, then third with 50m left, then second with 25m left and then leading at the line. The 26-year-old Missouri native’s furious comeback victory was one of the signature moments from the 2024 Olympics.
Germany steals handball win vs. France
Germany advanced to the men’s handball semifinals thanks to a miraculous last-second point to force overtime and then to win the game. In regulation, it took a France turnover and fast break goal at the buzzer just to get the game to overtime. In the extra period, Germany ran the clock down and scored with five seconds left to seal the 35-34 win.
Patty Mills forces overtime with shot over Nikola Jokic
Australia’s Patty Mills forced overtime in the men’s basketball quarterfinal with a last-second shot over Serbia’s Nikola Jokic. The 6-foot-2 guard dribbled away from the 6-foot-11 center and buried a fadeaway jumper to tie the game. Though Serbia would go on to win in overtime, Mills’ shot and overall performance (26 points) won’t soon be forgotten.
