Tokyo Olympics

5 to Watch: Springsteen Earns Silver, Gold for USA in Various Sports

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NBC10’s Keith Jones sits down with U.S. men’s basketball assistant coach Jay Wright to to talk about an experience they shared in the air while traveling with Villanova men’s basketball. The calm Wright showed is helping U.S. basketball toward gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

Team USA men's basketball got some revenge, while New Jersey athletes also came away with some gold Friday into Saturday during the Olympics.

Plus, the U.S. baseball team led by Delaware County native Mike Scioscia will look to topple Japan for gold.

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Penn state alum David Morris Taylor III competes against Hassan Yazdanicharati of Team Iran during the men’s freestyle 86kg final.
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Here Taylor poses with his medal during the Victory Ceremony.
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New Jersey native and Temple University alum Ajeé Wilson just missed out on making the women’s 800m final.
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Lehigh Valley native Joe Kovacs competes in the men’s shot put final. Kovacs was born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth.
Here Kovacs is posing with his silver medal in the men’s shot put.
AP
Vashti Cunningham competes in the women’s high jump. Cunningham is the daughter of former Philadelphia Eagle Randall Cunningham.
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The Boss's daughter, Jessica Springsteen, competes with Don Juan van de Donkhoeve. Springsteen is from Colts Neck, New Jersey.
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Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's Jennifer Brady plays a backhand during her women’s singles first round match against Camila Giorgi of Team Italy.
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Voorhees, New Jersey native Tommy Paul plays a forehand during his men’s singles first round match against Aslan Karatsev of Team ROC.
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Princeton graduate Ashleigh Johnson blocks a shot during the Tokyo Olympics water polo tournament.
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Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, native Hali Flickinger swam to bronze in both the 200m butterfly (seen above) and the 400m individual medley.
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Here Flickinger is posing with silver medalist Regan Smith after the women's 200m butterfly final.
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Nic Fink competes in the men’s 200m breaststroke semifinal. Fink is from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and currently lives in Morristown.
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Pottstown, Pennsylvania, native Payton Ridenour finished fifth in the BMX racing quarterfinals.
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New Jersey’s Jackie Dubrovich participated in women’s team and individual foil events.
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New Jersey’s Colton Brown defeated Raphael Schwendinger of Liechtenstein in the men’s judo 90kg elimination round of 32 before losing in the round of 16.
USWNT’s Carli Lloyd made her hometown of Delran, New Jersey, proud in the team’s 6-1 win over New Zealand.
USWNT’s Julie Ertz kicks during the Tokyo Olympics. She is married to Philadelphia Eagles’ tight end Zach Ertz.
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Kristina Wagner (left) and Princeton University graduate Gevvie Stone (right) came in fifth in women's double sculls.
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Coxswain Julian Venonsky, rower Nicholas Mead and rower Justin Best of the men's eight have roots in Chester County, and rower Austin Hack trained in Princeton, New Jersey. Team USA placed fourth in the men’s eight.
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Jessica Thoennes, Charlotte Buck, Gia Doonan, Brooke Mooney, Olivia Coffey, Regina Salmons, Meghan Musnicki, Kristine O’Brien and Katelin Guregian compete during the women’s eight heat 2 at the Tokyo Olympics. The team trained in Princeton, New Jersey, ahead of the Games and Salmons is a University of Pennsylvania graduate.
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Megan Kalmoe and Tracy Eisser compete during the women’s pair final B on day six of the Tokyo Olympics. Eisser, who is a Fair Lawn, New Jersey, native, trained with Kalmoe in Princeton.
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Athing Mu of Trenton wins a heat in the women’s 800-meter run at the Tokyo Olympics. Mu attended Trenton Central High School and would win gold in the event.
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Mu draped herself in the red, white and blue after his historic win.
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New Jersey native and Temple University alum Ajeé Wilson just missed out on making the women’s 800m final.
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New Brunswick native Sam Mattis competes in the men’s discus throw qualification at the Tokyo Olympics. Mattis, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, now lives in Philly.
Valarie Allman took home gold in women's discus throw in her first Olympic games. Allman, who was born in Newark, Delaware, and grew up in Hershey, Pennsylvania, is the first American woman to medal in the event since the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
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New Jersey native Sydney McLaughlin competes in round one of the women’s 400m hurdles heats. McLaughlin graduated from Union Catholic Regional High School in 2017.
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Lehigh Valley native Joe Kovacs launched the shot put into the night as he advanced to the final.
AP Photo/Frank Augstein
Jordan Larson, left, and Haleigh Washington, right, block a spike during the women’s volleyball preliminary round at the Tokyo Olympics. Washington graduated from Penn State in 2017.
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Penn State graduate Matthew Anderson competes against Ezequiel Palacios of Team Argentina during the men’s preliminary round – pool B volleyball.
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
Morgan Pearson, center, dives into the water for the start of the men’s individual triathlon at the Tokyo Olympics. Pearson is a New Vernon, New Jersey, native who attended Delbarton School in Morristown.
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Villanova University graduate Summer Rappaport and other competitors dive during the Mixed Relay Triathlon at the Tokyo Olympics.
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Lancaster, Pennsylvania native Casey Kaufhold competed in archery.
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New Jersey native Tobin Heath has had some hard fought moments during the USWNT's run.
USWNT goalie Alyssa Naeher attempts a save in the women's semi-final match. The Penn State graduate was injured Monday and replaced by USWNT backup Adrianna Franch. She will miss the bronze medal game.
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Former Phillies prospect Anthony Gose comes in in the seventh inning during the baseball opening round Group B game between Team South Korea and Team United States. Yes, the ride in on a mitt cart.
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Todd Frazier bats in the fourth inning during the baseball opening round group B game between Team South Korea and Team United States. Frazier is a Point Pleasant, New Jersey, native who won the Little League Baseball World Series with Toms River.
AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki
Mark Kolozsvary, left, and David Robertson celebrate their win after a baseball game against South Korea. Robertson used to pitch for the Phillies.
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Phillip Dutton competes during the eventing individual jumping final. Dutton, who lives and trains with his family in Chester County, is the oldest U.S. Olympian.
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Cochranville, Pennsylvania, resident Boyd Martin competes in the equestrian’s eventing team and individual cross country.
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Penn State graduate Micha Hancock serves against Team ROC during the women’s preliminary – pool B volleyball.
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Marquis Dendy competes in the men’s long jump qualification. He is part of a small group of Delawareans competing in the Olympics.
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New Jersey's Jessica Springsteen rode Don Juan van de Donkhoeve over the jumps.
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Maddie Musselman competes in the women's water polo match between United States and ROC. Musselman has Bucks County roots and grew up rooting for the Eagles.
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New Jersey's Dagmara Wozniak during her bout against Charlotte Lembach of Team France in women’s sabre fencing team table of 16.

A BONUS EVENT (let's just call this a "6th to Watch"): Keep an eye out overnight for Princeton alum Ashleigh Johnson and the Team USA water polo team that will be playing Spain for gold. Stream that match live at 3:30 a.m. on NBCOlympics.com or watch on USA.

Here are the other 5 to Watch and how to catch all the action live:

Men’s basketball gets revenge on France

Kevin Durant extended his lead as Team USA's all-time leading scorer as the Americans made up for their opening round loss to France with a win in the final.

The French rallied late, but Durant sunk some clutch free-throws to seal the win for the US.

"We went through some real adversity, we lost a game in the tournament, we lost two exhibition games," Durant said. "We had some unusual circumstances with COVID, guys playing in the Finals and coming in late, and we just fought through everything. Two and a half weeks away from my family, basically in the bubble. So, it was definitely different. So, I'm glad we finished the job."

Team USA men’s basketball advanced to the gold medal game after defeating Australia in a comeback win.

New Jersey's McLaughlin, Mu help Felix make history

The young duo of New Jersey's Sydney McLaughlin, running first, and Athing Mu, who anchored, helped Allyson Felix become the most decorated American track and field athlete.

McLaughlin got the US women off to an early lead in the 4x400m final, while Mu kept other racers at bay as she crossed the finish line for Olympic gold.

Felix, at 35, earned her 11th Olympic medal, surpassing Carl Lewis.

“No matter what it feels is stacked against you, you go out with character and integrity, you give your all, and that’s all anybody else can ask of you, and you’re proud with that,” Felix said.

In the high-jump, ex-Eagle quarterback Randall Cunningham's daughter Vashti Cunningham failed to medal.

Meanwhile, the US men's relay team, ripped all week for making the final in the 4x100m race, redeemed itself with a gold-medal win in the 4x400m race.

The ease in which Vashti Cunningham can jump over the high bar is harshly contrasted by the difficulty she has explaining her sport with Legos.

Jessica Springsteen and her horse earn team silver

Jessica Springsteen and her teammates took home silver after a dramatic equestrian jump-off against Sweden.

The daughter of Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa competed for the United States in the team jumping qualification at the Tokyo Olympics on Friday, helping the team advance to the final.

The U.S. and Sweden finished tied atop the leaderboard with eight faults after the first three groups. That sent the two teams into a jump off, where all three riders from each team compete on a short course, with the fewest faults and a potential tiebreaker of fastest combined team score determining the gold medal winner.

Last U.S. team rider McLain Ward, aboard Contagious, was clear in 39.92 seconds. That gave the U.S. a combined time of 124.20, requiring Sweden's final rider Peder Fredricson to finish in less than 40.31. Fredricson was clear in 39.01, making the final jump with 1.3 seconds to spare and finish with a combined time of 122.90 to give Sweden its first first team gold since 1924.

Team USA faces Japan in baseball gold medal game

Team USA is on the hunt for the first Olympic gold medal awarded in baseball since 2008. They will face off against Japan, who was the only team to beat them in pool play, at 6 a.m. ET on Saturday

By making it to the gold medal game, Eddy Alvarez has become the third American to win a medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympics, and he will look to make that medal gold. He is joined on the team by pitchers Anthony Gose and David Robertson, who both have ties to the Philadelphia Phillies. The manager Mike Scioscia grew up in Delco and slugger Todd Frazier hails from New Jersey.

The U.S. baseball team captured its lone gold medal in 2000 when it stunned a favored Cuban team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. 

The game will stream live on NBCOlympics.com at 6 a.m. and air on USA Network at 9:30 a.m. ET on Saturday.

Team USA beat South Korea on Thursday, paving the way for a rematch against Japan for Olympic gold

An unlikely bronze for American marathoner

American Molly Seidel was running only her third marathon, yet she still managed to win silver in the women's final.

Seidel had previously only run a marathon in the Olympic trials and the 2020 London Marathon, which she finished in 2:25:13. She won four NCAA titles at Notre Dame, but the longest of them was 10,000m.

This year’s Olympic marathon and race walk will be held in Sapporo on the Island of Hokkaido, about 500 miles north of Tokyo.

Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya won the gold in 2:27:20, while her countrywoman Brigid Kosgei took the silver.

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