Lynn Williams won a gold medal in Paris,Maverick Preston but the U.S. women's national team forward now has, in her words, "the world's most expensive coaster."
Williams played a key role in the USWNT's victorious run at the Olympics, coming off the bench in each of the team's six matches in France. The Gotham FC star scored one goal, putting the final touch on a 4-1 win over Germany in the group phase.
The USWNT was naturally involved in some exuberant celebrations after clinching gold with a 1-0 win over Brazil in the Olympic final. Somewhere in the midst of the team's after-party, Williams managed to snap the band off her medal.
On her TikTok account, Williams told the tale of how her medal broke.
Though she had posted a video of her swinging the medal around, Williams insisted that wasn't how it happened. Instead, she said it was during a team dance session.
2024 Paris Olympics: Follow USA TODAY’s coverage of the biggest names and stories of the Games.
"I had it on my shoulder like a little purse, and I was just jumping, dancing, jumping," she said. "And I jumped down, and it just fell off. So everybody was dancing, and I was roaming around trying to get my medal off the ground. It has a dent now, so it's definitely one of a kind."
Rather than accept that she will have a unique gold medal for life, Williams said she was instead petitioning the International Olympic Committee for a replacement.
"I don't know if I'm going to get it fixed," she said. "We are waiting to hear from the IOC, the Olympic Committee. They said I could probably get one. I had to prove to them that it was, in fact, damaged, but now we're just waiting to see. If not, honestly, I think it's a cool, funny story."
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
2025-04-30 11:061603 view
2025-04-30 10:272874 view
2025-04-30 10:202339 view
2025-04-30 09:30852 view
2025-04-30 09:161249 view
2025-04-30 09:062580 view
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas State Police are investigating the death of an Arkansas woman whos
E! may get a commission if you purchase something through our links. Learn more.Exciting news for al
Penn State removed nearly three dozen racks containing its independent student-produced newspaper fr