Team USA celebrates early and often on a night the red, white and blue brought home 8 Olympic medals

By PAT GRAHAM The Associated Press

CORRECTS TO 400-METER HURDLES NOT 200-METER Women's long jump gold medalist, Tara Davis-Woodhall, right, and women's 400-meter hurdles gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, of the United States, pose at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Ashley Landis]

SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone set another world record. Grant Holloway won that elusive Olympic gold medal. Jasmine Moore made some American jumping history. And Tara Davis-Woodhall got to wear that cowboy hat.

It was medal-mania at the Stade de France for the red, white and blue on Thursday, with the country taking home three gold, three silver and two bronze.

On a night when Noah Lyles revealed he tested positive for COVID-19 — and still captured bronze in the 200 — nearly every other American contender was celebrating medals. So much so, that they were running into each other during their victory laps.

Maybe the best scene came when McLaughlin-Levrone, wearing a tiara, met up with the cowboy-hat donning Davis-Woodhall, who had won the long jump competition.

“I was like, ‘You did it.’ And she was like, ‘YOU did it,’” Davis-Woodhall recounted. “And I was like, ‘Oh my god, I did it’. … Is this real? Am I dreaming?”

That was a common theme on the evening. Moore, who finished third in the long jump, was the first American woman to qualify for the same Olympics in both the long jump and triple jump. Now, she’s the first American woman to win bronze in both.

“I don’t think I pictured this for myself, and it’s way better than I could have imagined,” Moore said. “It makes you want to work even harder because you know what it feels like (winning a medal).”

Holloway knows the feeling. He’s been so dominant in the 110-mter hurdles, winning three straight world titles. But Olympic gold has eluded him — until Thursday. He and Daniel Roberts finished 1-2.

“Today, it was just my day,” said Holloway, who earned silver at the Tokyo Games. “I have the Olympic title, I have the world titles, indoor titles. We just put a lot of whipped cream on it and now we are just going to keep rolling, rolling, rolling until that very last race and put the cherry on it.”

Kenny Bednarek and Lyles started the medal parade by finishing second and third, respectively, in the 200. Lyles, the 100 champion, didn’t look like his speedy self and revealed after the race he tested positive two days ago. He had woken up in the middle of the night with chills and a sore throat.

“It definitely affected my performance,” Lyles said. “I’m more proud of myself more than anything, coming out here to get a bronze with Covid.”

It was another big performance by McLaughlin-Levrone, who broke the 400-meter hurdles record for the sixth time. She had company on the podium in silver-medalist Anna Cockrell.

The night was reason to belt out a tune.

“I was singing ‘Love On Top’ in the call room, so shout out to Beyoncé,” Cockrell said. “I’m really happy. I’m ugly crying, but I’m really happy.”

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games