Doing what she does best
Not only did Katie Ledecky absolutely torch the competition in the 800-meter freestyle, her best event, she shattered her own world record by close to two full seconds. It was a landmark sight to behold, a downright coronation on the level of Secretariat at the Belmont or Super Bowl XXIV.
The nation flipped out, and so did Ledecky, laughing and crying her way to the podium. With her 2016 campaign over, we can only imagine how she'll follow this up in 2020.
And just like that, they're gone
Led by former U.S. coach Pia Sundhage, the Swedish women's soccer team stunned the Americans on penalty kicks in the quarterfinal round. The heavily favored USWNT, which had won gold at the previous three Games and has never finished with less than silver, is heading home with no medal.
Famously outspoken U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo railed against the result, insisting "the best team did not win today" and that Sweden played like “a bunch of cowards.” USA TODAY Sports' Nancy Armour didn't sugar-coat her reaction to the comments: Solo disgraced her nation and should be thrown off the team.
This isn't automatic
After some stiff competition from Australia, the United States men's basketball team's win streak came even closer to ending with a bona fide nail-biter against Serbia. The U.S., looking to pull away, couldn't manage a single point in the final 2:11 — the game was still in question up until Bogdan Bogdanovic missed a three-pointer on the final play of the game.
One more victory will take that win streak to 50, but, as Sam Amick writes, this team has some serious trust issues that need to be worked out before they find themselves stunned just like the women's soccer team.
Going out with a bang
Michael Phelps didn't win his final individual race, but the men's 100 butterfly was still a spectacle to remember. With Joseph Schooling of Singapore coming up with the gold, Phelps touched the wall at the exact same time as both South Africa's Chad le Clos and Hungary's Laszlo Cseh in a rare three-way tie for silver.
And, yes, he actually said it was his final individual race. Despite teammate Ryan Lochte's inkling that Phelps would be back in four years for Tokyo, the 27-time medalist says he's done after Rio.
Of course, a decade ago, everyone thought that Anthony Ervin was finished with competitive swimming. And yet, the 2000 gold medalist in the 50 freestyle — now 35 — capped an amazing comeback story Friday night by winning the same event 16 years later.
And while we're talking about retirement, Maya DiRado bowed out on a high note. The 23-year-old Stanford grad chased down Hungary's Katinka "The Iron Lady" Hosszu to claim gold in a thrilling 200 backstroke. Next up for DiRado: The world of management consulting. Not one to waste any time (obviously), she starts on Sept. 9.
Track and field firsts
The first day of track and field yielded a couple firsts for the United States: Michelle Carter is not only the first female American to take gold in the shot put, but she and her father Michael (who won silver in 1984 before embarking on an NFL career) are the first-ever father-daughter team to capture individual-event track and field medals.
