The USA wheelchair basketball team and sitting volleyball team will both compete for Paralympic gold this weekend, after thrilling semifinal wins in the final days of the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.
USA sitting volleyball took down Brazil 3-1 in their semifinal on Thursday, and will continue their long-held Paralympic rivalry against China on Saturday at 1:30pm ET. The US will be going for their third-straight gold medal in the event, after finishing atop the podium in 2016 and 2020.
On Sunday, the US wheelchair basketball team will take on the Netherlands in a gold medal rematch of group play at 7:45am ET, in search of their first Paralympic gold since 2016.
Breaking through
US wheelchair basketball reached their first Paralympic gold medal game since Rio on Friday with a thrilling 50-47 win over China, exacting revenge on the squad who defeated them in their semifinal in Tokyo.
Rose Hollerman led the team in scoring with 20 points, and Chicago native Ixhelt Gonzalez scored 11 points off the bench after a game-clinching performance against Great Britain in the team's quarterfinal.
On Friday, the US struggled at times with China's full court defense, but a strong third quarter performance prompted a comeback from a halftime deficit, and Team USA proved clinical enough at the free throw line to hold off a late fourth quarter push.
The US will now look to erase their only loss of the tournament thus far, taking on the Netherlands for gold after falling to the Dutch 69-56 in their second game of group play.
Familiar gold medal opponent
USA sitting volleyball's gold medal foe is very familiar, as the US and China have played each other for Paralympic gold in every Games since 2008, with China's Paralympic final streak dating back to 2004.
The US are the reigning champions, winning gold in 2020 and 2016 after falling to China in 2012 and 2008.
Team USA will look for another strong match from outside hitter Katie Holloway Bridge, who led all scorers with 21 points in the team's semifinal win over Brazil.
They will be looking for a little bit of revenge themselves, after falling to China in their Paralympic opener during group play.
TEAM USA WILL PLAY FOR GOLD!
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) September 5, 2024
Women's sitting volleyball moves onto the FINAL after a win over Brazil. 🇺🇸 #ParisParalympics pic.twitter.com/iQuOjNI2i0
“The team’s gone through a lot since they’ve been here," head coach Bill Hamiter said after the match. "To come together and keep playing, and play well enough to get into that championship match was good."
The 2024 Paris Paralympics kicked off on Wednesday, with swimming, wheelchair basketball, dancing Phrygian Caps, and more taking center stage​ this week.
With 549 medal events spanning 22 sports, a record 4,400 athletes from 168 delegations, plus the most women's sports athletes and events in competition history, this year's Paralympics are capping off an exceptional summer of international sports.
How the Paralympics work
An international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities, the Paralympics operates separately from the Olympic Games despite sharing a host country as well as most venues. Some sports — like swimming, track, basketball, and volleyball — have direct Olympic counterparts, while other sports like boccia and goalball are unique to the Paralympics.
According to the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, para-sport athletes must have at least one of these 10 eligible underlying conditions to qualify for the Games: impaired muscle power, impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency, leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, vision impairment, or intellectual impairment.
Athletes then square off in different classifications based on the type of disability they have — visual, physical, or intellectual — as well as how much their disability impacts their ability to compete in the event.
Swimmers start Team USA's medal haul
The US earned their first three medals on Thursday — all silver and all in women's swimming. Ellie Marks earned her silver in the 50-meter freestyle S6, Christie Raleigh-Crossley took silver in the 50-meter freestyle S10, and Grace Nuhfer took silver in the 100-meter butterfly S13.
On Friday, Team USA Paralympic swimmer Gia Pergolini won gold in the 100-meter backstroke S13 race, claiming first place ahead of Ireland's RĂłisĂn NĂ RĂain and Italy's Carlotta Gilli. Also on Friday, Ellie Marks medaled again, capturing silver in this morning's 200-meter individual medley SM6.
Also making history this week was wheelchair rugby​ player Sarah Adam, who became the first woman Paralympian to compete for Team USA in the sport.
Masters, Long lead Team USA at the Paris Paralympics
US Paralympic legend Oksana Masters returned for the Paris Games, carrying the torch in Wednesday's Opening Ceremony. Next week, she'll hit the pavement in the H5 Road Race and H4-5 Individual Time Trial para cycling events.
With 29 Paralympic medals to her name, decorated Team USA swimmer Jessica Long is also back at this year's Games. She plans to compete in four events at this year's Paralympics: Saturday's 100-meter backstroke S8, Sunday's 200-meter individual medley SM8, Wednesday's 400-meter freestyle S8, and the following Saturday's 100-meter butterfly S8.
Joining them in Paris is Rio Paralympic gold medalist and Team USA's lead scorer in wheelchair basketball that year, Becca Murray, who came out of retirement to help her squad better their Tokyo bronze medal performance. Her team beat Germany 73-44 in group stage play earlier today.
Another Tokyo standout, Katie Holloway Bridge, will attempt to guide the US sitting volleyball team to a third-straight Paralympic gold after earning tournament MVP in the 2021 Games. Team USA sitting volleyball fell to China 3-1 today in their first pool stage match.