What to watch at the Olympics today: Elimination games for U.S. women’s soccer and men’s basketball

There are six days of Olympic competition left and only four women’s soccer teams remain vying for gold. That number gets cut in half Tuesday as the United States looks to take down Germany and secure a spot in the final.

It’s also win or go home for the U.S. men’s basketball team, which went undefeated in pool play to emerge as the No. 1 seed in the Olympic quarterfinals.

Plus the hammer comes down on Olympic hopefuls’ time in Paris as the women’s hammer throw leads off athletics medal events of the day.

On your mark, get set, go get your remote.

Events to watch

Can the U.S. overcome tired legs (again) vs. Germany?

Trinity Rodman celebrates with Emily Fox after scoring the winning goal against Japan during the women’s quarterfinals of the Paris Games. (Photo: Brad Smith / ISI / Getty Images)

Time: Noon ET, 6 p.m. in Paris
TV: USA Network, Telemundo and Peacock

What to watch: The United States’ place in the women’s semifinal was far from guaranteed, especially after its anything-but-pretty performance against Japan in the quarterfinal match Saturday. Eventually, in extra time, it was Trinity Rodman who fought through spent legs and a compact Japanese defense to find the back of the net for the U.S.

Japan quieted the attacking trio of Rodman, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith — dominant during the group stage — for much of the game, forcing the U.S. to rely on its defense to keep Olympic hopes alive. Germany, meanwhile, won on penalty kicks against Canada, eliminating the Tokyo gold medal winner.

With little rotation on the pitch and rest between matches, lethargy is the hidden opponent the U.S. must also beat at Lyon Stadium on Tuesday. The U.S. defeated Germany 4-1 in the group stage on July 28.

GO DEEPER

USWNT 1 Japan 0: Trinity Rodman’s extra-time goal lifts tired U.S. to Olympic semifinals

Kevin Durant is four points from a new American record

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET, 9:30 p.m. in Paris
TV: USA Network and Peacock

What to watch: The men’s basketball team is on the move from Lille to Paris as the tournament changes locations for the knockout stage. The group-stage games were held in Lille as gymnastics took place in Bercy Arena, the new host of basketball.

Team USA beat Serbia, South Sudan and Puerto Rico in the group stage, besting the rest for the top seed with a plus-64 point differential over three games. It now plays Brazil, which went 1-2 and lost by double digits to both France and Germany but connected on 17 3-pointers in an 18-point win over Japan in group play to advance to the quarterfinals.

With a roster full of NBA superstars, a different hero emerged each game for the U.S. Anthony Edwards posted 26 points in the team’s last game against Puerto Rico. LeBron James put up 10 points in 18 minutes and Kevin Durant scored 11.

Durant needs just four more points to become USA Basketball’s all-time leading scorer at the Olympics for both the men’s and women’s programs. Lisa Leslie holds the current record with 488 career points.

GO DEEPER

U.S. men’s basketball thwarts Puerto Rico to secure No. 1 seed

Jayson Tatum notched 10 points as he started for Jrue Holiday, who did not play against Puerto Rico. Team USA coach Steve Kerr said Holiday will play against Brazil.

ROAD TO GOLD 🥇

Men’s #Basketball Quarter-Finals are here 🔥#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/rCdpqMzulb

— FIBA (@FIBA) August 3, 2024

Long throws, jumps and runs. Oh my!

Time: Starting 1:57 p.m. ET, 7:57 p.m. in Paris
TV: NBC and Peacock

What to watch: The Stade de France will see a collection of long throws, jumps and runs Tuesday, starting with the women’s hammer throw final.

Americans DeAnna Price, 31, and Annette Echikunwoke, 28, look to nail their tries for a place on the podium in the 12-woman final. Echikunwoke won this year’s U.S. Olympic Trials, with Price taking second. Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk took gold in both the Tokyo and Rio Games.

Wlodarczyk and Price are Nos. 1 and 2 for best marks of all time. Price’s 80.31-meter (263 feet, 5 inches) hammer throw during the 2021 Olympic Trials still stands as the American record and ranked her as the No. 2 women’s thrower in history.

Four more medal events follow on Tuesday’s schedule. The men’s long jump final, men’s 1,500-meter final, women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase and women’s 200-meter final close out a five-medal day in athletics.

Don’t miss the 200-meter final, as Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred — who took gold in the 100 — goes for the double against a field that includes American and 2021 bronze medalist Gabby Thomas.

GO DEEPER

Gabby Thomas, Olympic 200-meter favorite, is firmly in the spotlight — and ready for it

Women’s beach volleyball quarterfinal

The sun sets over the Eiffel Tower as the U.S. and Canada warm up at the Paris Games. (Photo: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Time: 4 p.m. ET, 10 p.m. in Paris
TV: NBC and Peacock

What to watch: Paris is proof that life’s a beach, especially when sand now surrounds the Eiffel Tower. So put your hair up, shades on and feet back as Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng look to bump, set, spike their way into the women’s beach volleyball semifinal with a victory over the Swiss team of Tanja Hüberli and Nina Brunner.

Hughes and Cheng defeated Italy’s Valentina Gottardi and Marta Menegatti 2-1 (21-18, 17-21, 15-12) in the round of 16 on Sunday. The third-seeded America duo went 3-0 in group play, too.

The U.S. is no stranger nation to the medal stand when it comes to beach volleyball. The American duo of Alexandra Klineman and April Ross won gold in Tokyo 2021, with the pair of Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings taking bronze in Rio 2016. The iconic duo of Jennings and Misty May-Treanor cruised to golds in 2008 and 2004.

Still thinking about the AURA on this point! 🤌

A phenomenal play by Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng! 🔥 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/gpPw4ZgY2o

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 4, 2024

Bonus points go to the beach volleyball fans who wear gear with Hughes and Cheng’s faces on it. We’re looking at you, Snoop Dogg.

Women’s skateboarding final

Time: 11:30 a.m. ET, 5:30 p.m. in Paris
TV: E! and Peacock

What to watch: Japan’s Yosozumi Sakura returns to the women’s skateboarding park final to defend her title alongside Japanese teammate Hiraki Kokona and Great Britain’s Sky Brown. The trio medaled in Tokyo and are favored to repeat in Paris.

A new wave of skateboarders, however, are out for their place on the podium.

Australia’s Arisa Trew, Spain’s Naia Laso and Brazil’s Raicca Ventura — all age 17 or younger, with Trew being 14 — are among the Olympic novices to the women’s park scene ready to cause a stir.

Prelims start at 6:30 a.m. ET, and the final follows hours later.

Monday’s highlight

MONDO DUPLANTIS ENDS THE NIGHT WITH A NEW WORLD RECORD. 🌎 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/0egeRdxphW

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 5, 2024

Mondo Duplantis, the greatest pole vaulter of all time, broke his own world record by clearing a 6.25-meter bar Monday, capturing his second gold medal.

As The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson wrote, Mondo is inevitable.

Required reading

(Top photo of Gabby Thomas: Jewel Samad / AFP via Getty Images)