We're so close to the final day of the Tokyo Olympics! Competitions have been tighter and athletes have given their best to get their teams closer to gold.
On Saturday, the U.S. women's volleyball team will work for its first-ever gold medal when they face Brazil. Keep an eye out for Stanford's Foluke Akinredewo!
Here's what else you need to look out for as we near the end.
U.S. women’s volleyball team looks for historic win against Brazil
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Team USA will be vying for its first-ever gold medal in women’s volleyball when they face Brazil at 12:30 a.m. ET on NBC. The U.S. women knocked off Serbia to advance to the finals, while Brazil beat South Korea to advance. The Brazilians are looking to top the podium once again after an early quarterfinal exit in 2016. They won gold in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
This is the third time in the past four Olympics that the U.S. and Brazil will meet for the title. The U.S. women easily dispatched Serbia, who eliminated them in the 2016 Olympic semifinals. They will get yet another chance at revenge on the court on Sunday against Brazil.
Watch at 12:30 a.m ET on USA or stream here https://stream.nbcolympics.com/volleyball-womens-gold-medal-match?chrcontext=KNTV
Tokyo Olympics
Watch all the action from the Tokyo Olympics live on NBC
Team USA Women's Basketball Secures 7th Straight Gold Medal, Defeating Japan
The U.S. women’s basketball team won its seventh straight gold medal on Saturday night, matching a record set by the U.S. men between 1936 and 1968. The final score over Japan was 90-75.
Brittney Griner took over the game much the way Kevin Durant did for the U.S. men on Friday night. She had 30 points on 14-of-18 shooting. A’ja Wilson, winning a gold medal on her 25th birthday, added 19 points, while Breanna Stewart had a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Even on a team with many Olympic veterans, six of the players were not alive the last time the U.S. didn’t win gold, when they took home bronze from Barcelona in 1992. Meanwhile, Team USA’s most experienced players, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, made history by becoming the first Olympic basketball players – male or female – to win five gold medals.
“It’s 20 years of sacrifice, putting everything aside and just wanting to win,” said Taurasi after the game. “This group found a way to win.”
“It’s not just about us,” Bird said, referencing all of the players who contributed to the U.S. streak.
Davis, Torrez Jr. hope to end United States’ Olympic boxing drought on Sunday
No American man has won Olympic gold in boxing since Andre Ward in 2004. On the last day of the Tokyo Olympic Games, Team USA will have two fighters attempt to end the drought. Keyshawn Davis, fighting in the lightweight division, will compete for gold after defeating Armenian Hovhannes Bachkov in the semifinals.
Davis is a professional fighter with a 3-0 boxing record. He also won the silver medal in the 2019 World Championships and the 2019 Pan American Games. Davis will have to defeat Cuban Andy Cruz, the 2019 world champion, if he hopes to claim Olympic gold.
Richard Torrez will also have a chance to capture a boxing gold medal for Team USA. Torrez, fighting in the super heavyweight division, earned his shot at gold by defeating Kazakhstan’s Kamshybek Kunkabayev in the semifinals. Torrez will have to defeat Uzbekistan’s Bakhodir Jalolov in order to become Olympic champion.
Watch both bouts on CNBC beginning at 1:15 a.m. ET or stream here https://stream.nbcolympics.com/boxing-gold-medal-bouts-lightweight-middleweight-super-heavyweight?chrcontext=KNTV
Eliud Kipchoge Wins Back-to-Back Golds in Men's Marathon, Team USA's Galen Rupp Finishes Eighth
Eliud Kipchoge made marathon history by winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics, cruising to a time of 2:08:38. He is one of just three men to win back-to-back gold medals in the men's Olympic marathon. The Kenyan holds the current world record (2:01:39) and became the first runner to ever record a sub-two hour marathon in a non-competition race. Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands claimed silver with a time of 2:09:58 and Belgium's Bashir Abdi won bronze.
Team USA's Galen Rupp finished eighth with a time of 2:11:41, despite being an American favorite to medal at Tokyo. Rupp returned for his fourth Olympic Games but only his second as a marathoner.
Tokyo Olympics conclude with 2021 Closing Ceremony
All things must end and the Tokyo Olympics is no different. The two-week global competition, which was played under unprecedented circumstances and limitations due the COVID-19 pandemic, will come to its natural conclusion on Sunday evening in Japan.
The Tokyo Olympics saw American swimmers Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel dominate in the water, as well as gymnasts Suni Lee and Mykayla Skinner step up to the mat for Simone Biles. And that was just the first week.
During the second week in Tokyo, the United States was equally busy -- collecting gold medals in men’s basketball, water polo, golf and the women’s 800m race. As of Saturday morning, Team USA was over the 100-medal threshold for Tokyo -- the most medals of any nation competing at this year’s Summer Games -- and sat just four gold medals behind China.
Watch the Tokyo Olympics Closing Ceremony at 7 a.m. ET Peacock or stream live here https://stream.nbcolympics.com/closing-ceremony?chrcontext=KNTV
