How Minnesota athletes fared at the Paris Olympics
Olympians with Minnesota ties racked up medals in swimming, women’s gymnastics and basketball, shining again in the Summer Games.
Napheesa Collier and Cheryl Reeve, Lynx, women’s basketball: The United States, coached by Reeve, won its eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal, edging France 67-66 in the final. It was the Americans’ 61st straight win in Olympic play; they haven’t lost in the Olympics since 1992. Collier started the gold-medal game and played 26 minutes, scoring 7 points and grabbing 11 rebounds as the U.S. shot just 33.9% from the field. The U.S. fell behind by 10 early in the second half, but a Collier layup with about 2:30 left in the third quarter capped a 16-5 run that put the Americans back on top.
Dakotah Lindwurm, St. Francis, women’s marathon: Lindwurm was the third-fastest qualifier for the U.S. team but was the top American finisher in Paris, coming in 12th in 2 hours 26 minutes 44 seconds. She was 3 minutes 49 seconds behind winner Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands. Lindwurm was in third place at the halfway point and briefly led around mile 15 as the challenging, hilly course turned from the Palace of Versailles and headed back to Paris.
Alanna Smith, Lynx, women’s basketball: Smith’s Australian team, knowns as the Opals, won its first Olympic medal since 2012, defeating Belgium 85-81 in the bronze medal game. Smith had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Jordan Thompson, Edina, women’s volleyball: Thompson, an opposite hitter, did not play when the U.S. won the gold-medal match in Tokyo three years ago because of an ankle injury. In the gold medal match in Paris, she led the U.S. with 8 points as the Americans lost to Italy 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-17). It was top-ranked Italy’s first medal in women’s volleyball while the silver for the U.S. was its seventh medal in the sport overall, and fifth in a row.
Saturday, August 10
Alasan Ann, Maple Grove, taekwondo: Ann overcame a bullet hole in his right leg to reach the Olympics, where he is representing the Gambia, his father’s country. His Olympics was over after one match as he lost to Ivan Sapina of Croatia 2-0.
Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves, men’s basketball: Edwards played only 9 minutes 33 seconds, scoring 8 points, in the gold medal game for the U.S., which leaned on veterans LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant to win its fifth straight Olympic championship. Gobert had two points and three rebounds with 12:28 of playing time for France, which was carried by Victor Wembanyama (26 points) and Guerschon Yabusele (20 points).
Friday, August 9
Cheryl Reeve, Napheesa Collier and Alanna Smith, Lynx, women’s basketball: Lynx forward Collier scored 8 points and grabbed five rebounds as a starter in the United States’ 85-64 win over Australia in the tournament semifinals. Her Lynx teammate, Smith, put up 7 points and seven rebounds, starting for Australia. Reeve’s U.S. team advanced to the gold-medal game, where the Americans will face France, which beat Belgium 81-75 in overtime in the other semifinal. The U.S. will have an eighth consecutive gold medal on the line Sunday against the host country. Smith and Australia will compete for a bronze medal against Belgium.
Thursday, August 8
Denisha Cartwright, Minnesota State Mankato, track and field: Cartwright, representing the Bahamas, finished seventh in her heat in the repechage round of the 100-meter women’s hurdles and did not qualify for the semifinals.
Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves, basketball: Entering the tournament semifinals averaging a team-best 16.8 points per game, Edwards scored just two as the U.S. won its semifinal 95-91 against Serbia. The United States needed a 36-point performance from Steph Curry and a triple-double from Lebron James to come back in the fourth quarter, after being down by as many as 17 in the first half. Edwards will face Timberwolves teammate Rudy Gobert in the gold-medal game.
Joseph Fahnbulleh, Hopkins, men’s track and field: Running for Liberia, Fahnbulleh, an NCAA champion in the 200 at Florida, finished seventh in the 200 with a time of 20.15 seconds. Fahnbulleh finished fifth in Tokyo.
Joseph Fahnbulleh, Hopkins; Emmanuel Matadi, St. Paul/Minnesota State Mankato; and Jabez Reeves, Minnesota State Mankato: Liberia’s men’s 4x100 relay team in track and field, made up of mostly runners with Minnesota connections, finished seventh in its heat in Round 1 and did not advance. A fourth Minnesota runner, Akeem Sirleaf of St. Paul, was on the team that qualified for the Olympics but was injured and did not race in Paris.
Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves, basketball: Gobert’s France beat Germany 73-69 to book a ticket to the gold-medal game against the U.S., though Gobert has been largely relegated to the bench in the knockout rounds with France opting for a smaller lineup. Gobert played five minutes and had one rebound against Germany.
Jordan Thompson, Edina, women’s volleyball: Thompson scored five points as U.S. women’s volleyball team took down the 2008 and 2012 gold medalist Brazil in five sets in a semifinal rematch of the last Olympic final. The U.S., the defending Olympic champion, will face Italy in the gold medal on Sunday.
Wednesday, August 7
Sarah Bacon, Gophers, diving: A five-time NCAA champion for the Gophers from 2018 to 2022, Bacon looked to add to her silver medal from the synchronized 3-meter springboard event, won with teammate Kassidy Cook. In the individual 3-meter springboard event, Bacon finished 19th in the prelims, one spot short of the top-18 semifinals cutoff.
Denisha Cartwright, Minnesota State Mankato, track and field: The first women’s track from MSU Mankato to compete at the Olympics, Cartwright represented the Bahamas in the 100-meter hurdles. She ran a time of 12.89 seconds and finished fourth in her heat, missing direct entry to the semifinals. She will race in Thursday’s repechage round.
Napheesa Collier and Cheryl Reeve, Lynx, women’s basketball: The Reeve-coached U.S. beat Nigeria 88-74 in the tournament quarterfinals. Lynx forward Collier scored six points and had six rebounds in 24 minutes, helping the U.S. book a spot against Australia in the semifinals.
Joseph Fahnbulleh, Hopkins, track and field: Running for Liberia in the men’s 200 meters, Fahnbulleh ran a 20.12 in to finish second in his semifinal heat and qualify for final on Thursday.
Alanna Smith, Lynx, women’s basketball: Smith scored a game-high 22 points for Australia and grabbed 13 rebounds in its 85-67 quarterfinal win over Serbia. Australia will next face Smith’s Lynx teammate and coach on the U.S. team in the semifinals on Friday.
Tuesday, August 6
Lara Dallman-Weiss, Shoreview, sailing: Dallman-Weiss and Stu McNay finished 13th in qualifying in the mixed dinghy competition, falling short of the top-10 placement needed to advance to the final.
Joe Ingles, Timberwolves, men’s basketball: Ingles and Australia lost 95-90 to Nikola Jokic’s Serbian team in the quarterfinals. Ingles did not play.
Jordan Thompson, Edina, women’s volleyball: U.S. volleyball swept Poland, 3-0, in the quarterfinals, with Thompson scoring a point. The U.S. will face Brazil in the semifinals on Thursday — a rematch of the Tokyo Olympic final in which the U.S. won gold.
Rudy Gobert and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Timberwolves, men’s basketball: Gobert’s French team defeated Alexander-Walker’s Canada 82-73 in the quarterfinals. Gobert played for just under four minutes with one rebound and zero points; Alexander-Walker played just under three and scored two.
Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves, men’s basketball: U.S. basketball dominated Brazil 122-87 in the tournament quarterfinals, with Edwards scoring 17 points and grabbing five rebounds in 21 minutes. In Thursday’s semifinal, the U.S. will rematch against Serbia, having beaten Jokic’s team 110-84 in group stage play.
Monday, August 5
Lara Dallman-Weiss, Shoreview, sailing: Due to low winds, Monday’s mixed dinghy races were called off for Dallman-Weiss and her sailing partner Stu McNay. The pair are currently in 12th place after six races — originally a 10-race qualifying competition, now shortened to eight with the cancellation of races seven and eight. The top 10 teams move onto the medal race.
Joseph Fahnbulleh, Hopkins, track and field: Fahnbulleh, a former Minnesota state champion and NCAA champion in the 200 meters, ran Round 1 of the men’s 200 in 20.20 seconds to qualify for Wednesday’s semifinals. He finished first in his heat and eighth overall after coming in fifth in the event at the Tokyo Olympics.
Suni Lee, St. Paul, women’s gymnastics: Of the eight-gymnast lineup in the balance beam event final, Lee and U.S. teammate Simone Biles were two of the four gymnasts that fell. Lee placed sixth, and Biles fifth, as Italy’s Alice D’Amato won gold.
Matthew Wilkinson, Minnetonka, track and field: At his first Olympics, the former champion in NCAA Division III (Carleton) and the Big Ten (Gophers) finished sixth in his heat of the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 8:16.82, missing out on qualifying for the final by one spot.
Sunday, August 4
Napheesa Collier and Cheryl Reeve, Lynx, women’s basketball: Collier had 8 points and 7 rebounds in 26 minutes for Reeve’s U.S. team in 87-68 win over Germany. The Americans will face Nigeria in the quarterfinals.
Lara Dallman-Weiss, Shoreview, sailing: Competing with Stu McNay in the new mixed dinghy event, Dallman-Weiss is in 12th place after six of 10 races. The top 10 teams after those races move on to the medal race.
Suni Lee, St. Paul, women’s gymnastics: Lee won the bronze medal in the uneven bars for the second Olympics in a row. She has now won three medals in Paris and six in her career.
Kareem Maddox, Timberwolves, 3x3 basketball: Maddow, a video associate for the Wolves, and the U.S. team were eliminated after a 21-6 loss to the Netherlands. The American team was 2-5 in pool play.
Regan Smith, Lakeville, swimming: Smith wrapped up her Paris Olympics by swimming the backstroke leg of the U.S. women’s medley relay team, which won in world-record time in the last event in the pool. She tied Torri Huske for most medals for the U.S. swim team in Paris with five. Smith now has eight career Olympics medals: two gold, five silver and one bronze.
Jordan Thompson, Edina, women’s volleyball: Thompson scored four points on three kills and a block as the defending champion U.S. beat France 3-0 (29-27, 29-27, 25-20) to finish 2-1 in pool play and advanced to the quarterfinals, where the Americans will play Poland.
Bridget Carleton, Lynx, women’s basketball: Carleton scored 13 points in a 79-70 loss to Nigeria that knocked Canada out of the tournament.
Emmanuel Matadi, St. Paul, track and field: The former Minnesota State Mankato runner, representing Liberia, qualified for the men’s 100 semifinals for the first time in three Olympics. He ran a 10.18, but did not make the final.
Alanna Smith, Lynx, women’s basketball: Smith scored 12 points as her Australian team beat France 79-72 to finish 2-1 in group play and advance to the quarters, where Australia will play Serbia.
Erik van Rooyen, Gophers, men’s golf: Representing South Africa, van Rooyen finished in 17th place at nine-under-par, 10 shots behind winner Scottie Scheffler of the U.S.
Saturday, Aug. 3
Lara Dallman-Weiss, Shoreview, sailing: Competing with Stu McNay in the new mixed dinghy event, Dallman-Weiss moved up to ninth place from 18th after four of 10 races. The top 10 teams after those races move on to the medal race.
Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves, men’s basketball: The Wolves star had his best Olympic performance, with 26 points on 11-for-15 shooting in 17 minutes off the bench, in the Americans’ 104-83 win over Puerto Rico to close out group play.
Payton Otterdahl, Rosemount, track and field: Otterdahl, in his second Olympics, finished fourth in the men’s shot put. He was in medal position with a top throw of 22.01 meters until the final round, when his American teammate Joe Kovacs hit 22.15 to knock Otterdahl from the podium. Otterdahl had one last throw but topped out at 22.03.
Regan Smith, Lakeville, swimming: Smith did not swim Saturday but did win her first Olympic gold medal. The U.S. mixed 4x100 medley relay team of Ryan Murphy, Nic Fink, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske held off China and Australia with a world-record time in the event, in the Olympics program for the second time. Smith swam the backstroke leg of the preliminary heat Friday and will get a medal, too.
Emmanuel Matadi, St. Paul, and Devin Augustine, Gophers, track and field: Matadi, who competed at Minnesota State Mankato, qualified for the men’s 100 semifinals with the 21st-fastest time in Round 1, 10.08 seconds. Augustine, a rising senior for the Gophers competing for Trinidad and Tobago, ran a 10.31 and did not advance.
Airi Miyabe, Gophers, women’s volleyball: Miyabe’s Japan team beat Kenya 3-0 in its last pool play match, but Japan was eliminated from the tournament when the Dominican Republic upset the Netherlands.
Nuni Omot, Mahtomedi, men’s basketball: South Sudan’s run at the Olympics is over. Omot scored 14 points in a 96-85 loss to Serbia that sent Nikola Jokic’s team on to the knockout round and sent South Sudan home.
Erik van Rooyen, Gophers, men’s golf: Representing South Africa, van Rooyen is 8-under-par entering the final round after shooting a 2-under 69 on Saturday. He is six shots behind the leaders Xander Schauffele of the U.S. and Jon Rahm of Spain.
Friday, Aug. 2
Regan Smith, Lakeville, women’s swimming: Smith won her third silver medal of the Paris Games, finishing second again to Kaylee McKeown in the 200-meter backstroke. She also swam the backstroke leg in a heat of the mixed medley relay, in which the U.S. had the top time.
Lara Dallman-Weiss, Shoreview, sailing: Competing with Stu McNay in the new mixed dinghy event, Dallman-Weiss is in 18th place after the first two of 10 races.
Payton Otterdahl, Rosemount, track and field: In his second Olympics, Otterdahl had the third-best throw in qualifying to advance to the final, finishing ahead of his American teammates, defending champion and world record holder Ryan Crouser and Tokyo silver medalist Joe Kovacs.
Alise Willoughby, St. Cloud, BMX racing: After dominating her quarterfinal runs Thursday, she found herself in tighter spots in the semifinals, and in the final, she was beaten to the first corner by eventual champion Saya Sakakibara of Australia and couldn’t recover, finishing sixth in her fourth attempt to win Olympic gold.
Erik van Rooyen, Gophers, men’s golf: Representing South Africa, van Rooyen shot a 2-under-par 69 on Friday and is at 6-under, five strokes behind the leaders — defending champion Xander Schauffele of the U.S., Tommy Fleetwood of Great Britain and Hideki Matsuyama of Japan.
Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves, men’s basketball: Gobert scored four points as his French team suffered its first loss in group play, 85-71 to Germany.
Joe Ingles, Timberwolves, men’s basketball: Ingles did not play in Australia’s 77-71 loss to Greece. Australia advanced to the quarterfinals despite a 1-2 record.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Timberwolves, men’s basketball: Alexander-Walker had one point and three rebounds in 13 minutes as Canada improved to 3-0, winning its group with an 88-85 victory over Spain.
Kareem Maddox, Timberwolves, 3x3 men’s basketball: The U.S. won its first two games of the Paris Olympics, over France and China, as the Wolves video associate had seven points and 12 rebounds, including 10 against China.
Peter Durben, St. Paul, shooting: A St. Paul native and a 1992 Olympian in the 50-meter rifle event, Durben is the rifle coach of the U.S. shooting team, which won its first medal in Paris, a silver for Sagen Maddalena in the women’s 50-meter smallbore rifle.
Thursday, Aug. 1
Suni Lee, St. Paul, women’s gymnastics: After winning team all-around gold Tuesday, Lee earned a bronze in the individual all-around, while U.S. teammate Simone Biles took gold. The defending gold medalist from Tokyo, Lee clinched the bronze with her floor routine on the last rotation after a tight three-way race for third.
Regan Smith, Lakeville, swimming: Smith earned her second silver medal of the Paris Games, swimming an American-record 2:03.84 in the women’s 200-meter butterfly and finishing behind Canadian Summer McIntosh.
Napheesa Collier and Cheryl Reeve, Lynx, women’s basketball: Collier started for the U.S. women’s basketball team as the Reeve-coached squad beat Belgium 87-74 and moved to 2-0 in group play. Collier scored seven points and had seven rebounds for the U.S.
Alise Willoughby, St. Cloud, BMX racing: Four-time U.S. Olympian Willoughby won all three of her quarterfinal heats in the women’s BMX quarterfinals to secure a spot in Friday’s semifinal heats as she chases her first gold medal.
Erik van Rooyen, Gophers, men’s golf: The 34-year-old South African, who graduated from the U in 2013, shot 4-under-par in the first round of the men’s Olympic golf tournament, good enough to finish the first 18 holes tied for sixth and four shots back from leader Hideki Matsuyama of Japan.
Alanna Smith and Bridget Carleton, Lynx, women’s basketball: In the group play battle between the two Lynx teammates, Carleton’s Canada got the best of Smith’s Australia 70-65. Carleton scored a game-high 19 points and shot 5-for-7 from three as Canada fell to 0-2. Smith had five rebounds and no points for the Opals, now 1-1.
Airi Miyabe, Gophers, women’s volleyball: Top-ranked Brazil swept Miyabe’s Japan 3-0. Miyabe scored one point as Japan moved to 0-2 in group play.
Ava Stewart, Gophers, women’s gymnastics: The first Gophers gymnast to compete at the Olympics, incoming U freshman Stewart finished 19th out of the 24 gymnasts in the individual all-around competition, representing Canada.
Kareem Maddox, Timberwolves, 3x3 men’s basketball: The Wolves video associate had eight points and 11 rebounds as the U.S. fell to 0-4 in pool play with losses to Lithuania and Latvia.
Wednesday, July 31
Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves, and Nuni Omot, Mahtomedi, men’s basketball: After nearly upsetting the U.S. in an exhibition game July 20, South Sudan fell 103-86 to the U.S. team. For the United States, Edwards scored 13 points and had three steals in 17 minutes off the bench. Omot led South Sudan with a game-high 24 points on 8-for-12 shooting.
Regan Smith, Lakeville, swimming: Following up her silver medal in the 100-meter backstroke Tuesday, Smith swam the second-fastest semifinal time for the 200 butterfly Wednesday (2:05.39), behind just Canadian Summer McIntosh (2:04.87). The final takes place Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
Jordan Thompson, Edina, women’s volleyball: Defending champion United States dropped its pool play opener to China in five sets but won a second five-set thriller against Serbia. The U.S. won the opening two sets and the match-clinching fifth as Thompson scored 11 points, tied for fourth-best on the U.S. team.
Kareem Maddox, Timberwolves, 3x3 men’s basketball: The Timberwolves video associate scored two points as the U.S. lost to Poland 19-17 to move to 0-2 in pool play.
Tuesday, July 30
Suni Lee, St. Paul, gymnastics: After earning silver in Tokyo, the U.S. women’s gymnastics team returned to the top of the podium with a gold medal in the team final. Lee competed on uneven bars (14.566), beam (14.600) and floor (14.366) for the U.S., posting the team’s highest scores on bars and beam.
Regan Smith, Lakeville, swimming: The world-record holder in the women’s 100 backstroke, Smith earned a silver medal in the highly-anticipated event final, swimming a 57.66. She finished 0.33 seconds behind defending gold medalist Australian Kaylee McKeown, who broke her own Olympic record.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Joe Ingles, Timberwolves, men’s basketball: Alexander-Walker’s Canada got the best of Ingles’ Australia 93-83 in group play. As Canada moved to 2-0, Alexander-Walker played nine minutes but did not score. Ingles did not play for the now 1-1 Australian team.
Michael Boxall, Loons, men’s soccer: The defender played all 90 minutes for New Zealand in its 3-0 loss to hosts France. The Ferns finished the tournament 1-2, including a 4-1 defeat to the U.S. The U.S. and France advanced from that group to the knockout rounds.
Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves, men’s basketball: The Wolves center had nine points and 15 rebounds in France’s 94-90 overtime win against Japan. The French hosts are 2-0 in group play.
Kareem Maddox, Timberwolves, 3x3 men’s basketball: Maddox, a video associate with the Wolves and former Princeton men’s basketball player, had a team-best six points in the United States’ 22-14 loss to Serbia.
Bar Soloveychik, Gophers, swimming: The U’s 200 freestyle record holder (1:33.41) from Israel swam in the men’s 4x200 freestyle relay. Soloveychik put in a 1:47.53 second leg as his relay team tied for eighth in the preliminary heat, qualifying for Israel’s first appearance in the event final. The relay team placed ninth, with Soloveychik swimming a 1:48.10 anchor leg.
Ava Stewart, Gophers, gymnastics: The incoming Gophers freshman helped Canada earn a fifth-place finish in the women’s team final, tied for its best result at an Olympics. As the first women’s gymnast to represent the U at the Olympics, Stewart competed on beam (13.800), vault (13.300) and uneven bars (13.500).
Monday, July 29
Bridget Carleton, Lynx, women’s basketball: Host France handily defeated Carleton’s Canada 75-54 in the teams’ pool play opener. Carleton had eight points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks for Canada.
Napheesa Collier and Cheryl Reeve, Lynx, women’s basketball: The United States, led by Lynx head coach Reeve on its quest for an eighth consecutive women’s basketball gold medal, beat Japan 102-76 in its opening game. After missing five Lynx games with plantar fasciitis pain, Collier started for the U.S., putting up four points in 15 minutes.
Alanna Smith, Lynx, women’s basketball: In Australia’s 75-62 loss to Nigeria, Lynx forward Smith led the Opals with 15 points. She also posted seven rebounds and shot 3-for-5 from three for the Australians.
Regan Smith, Lakeville, swimming: Smith finished atop the 100-meter backstroke semifinals with a time of 57.97 seconds, eight-tenths of a second off her world record. Australian Kaylee McKeown, who holds the Olympic record, swam 0.02 seconds slower than Smith in the second semifinal, setting up a faceoff in Tuesday’s event final at 1:56 p.m.
Jordan Thompson, Edina, women’s volleyball: After dropping the first two sets, the U.S. nearly pulled off a comeback against China but fell 3-2, with a 15-13 final set. Thompson scored three points in the U.S. loss.
Sunday, July 28
Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves, men’s basketball: The Wolves star scored 11 points in his Olympic debut, a 110-84 win over Serbia.
Suni Lee, St. Paul, women’s gymnastics: Lee, the defending Olympic all-around champion, qualified for the all-around final again as well as the event finals in the balance beam and uneven bars. She also helped the U.S. advance to the team final with the highest combined score.
Airi Miyabe, Gophers, women’s volleyball: Miyabe’s Japanese team opened its Olympic tournament with a 3-1 loss to Poland.
Nuni Omot, Mahtomedi, men’s basketball: The 29-year-old Omot, who played at Concordia (St. Paul), had 12 points and six rebounds in South Sudan’s 90-79 comeback victory over Puerto Rico in his country’s Olympic basketball debut.
Ava Stewart, Gophers, women’s gymnastics: An incoming freshman for the Gophers, Stewart competed in all four apparatuses to help Canada advance to the team final with a sixth-place finish in qualifying. She also claimed the 22nd of 24 berths in the all-around final.
Saturday, July 27
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Timberwolves, men’s basketball: Canada opened its first Olympic tournament since 2000 with an 86-79 win over Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece. Alexander was 0-for-5 from the field in 12:33.
Sarah Bacon, Gophers, diving: A five-time national diving champion at the U, Bacon won the first medal for Team USA in Paris, taking silver in the women’s synchronized 3-meter springboard event with Kassidy Cook.
Michael Boxall, Loons, men’s soccer: The 35-year-old defender is in his third Olympics for New Zealand, which lost to the United States 4-1 in a group play match. New Zealand and the U.S. are tied with three points in Group A with one game to play.
Peter Durben, St. Paul, shooting: A St. Paul native and a 1992 Olympian in the 50-meter rifle event, Durben is the rifle coach of the U.S. shooting team, which finished 13th.
Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves, men’s basketball: He had seven points and three rebounds in 18 minutes for France in the host country’s 78-66 victory over Brazil.
Joe Ingles, Timberwolves, men’s basketball: The 36-year-old Ingles, who signed with the Wolves this month, played about two minutes and scored no points in Australia’s 92-80 win over Spain.
The Afton, Minnesota native talks success, pressure, focus, and fun in this Q & A.