3×3 basketball players achieve surprise gold win

Paris (dpa) – The German 3×3 basketball players have concluded an outstanding tournament with a sensational Olympic gold. The quartet of Svenja Brunckhorst, Sonja Greinacher, Elisa Mevius and Marie Reichert defeated Spain 17:16 in the final at Place de la Concorde to win Germany’s first ever Olympic medal in basketball. German basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki and Spain’s King Felipe were sitting in the front row at the Place de la Concorde stadium, where the atmosphere was electric. Nowitzki eagerly cheered on the team, who had started as outsiders just under a week ago. The Wagner brothers Franz and Moritz of the men’s national team and some members of the women’s national team were also among the spectators. In the heart of Paris, the quartet finally made into the world-class category, leaving favourites such as the USA and Canada behind them. It was only the second time since 2021 that this variant of basketball has been included in the Olympic programme. The German teams did not take part in the Tokyo games.