USA rally to claim eighth straight gold and top medal table

The USA women's basketball team laid their claim as the most dominant nation in the history of the Olympics yesterday, surviving a nerve-shredding final against France to win 67-66 and win their eighth consecutive gold medal in the final event of the Paris Games.

- Bryan Armen Graham

In a back-and-forth contest before a boisterous crowd at the Bercy Arena that chanted loudly with each France basket, the Americans trailed by double digits in the third quarter before fighting back to extend their record of 61 successive wins in Olympic competition that dates back to 1992. In doing so, the USA women established the record for the longest Olympic gold-medal sequence in a traditional team sport, eclipsing the previous mark set by the USA men's basketball team, who won seven in succession from 1936 through to 1968. The victory also meant the USA topped the medal table over China. Both nations finished on 40 golds each but the Americans edged into first on total silvers won.