After a successful Games in France that helped revive the Olympic brand, Paris has handed the baton over to Los Angeles.

In a nail-biting women's basketball match against France, the United States won the final gold medal of the Games and moved ahead of China on the medal table.

What you need to Know about the Olympics this Sunday

The MARSEILLAISE SEGUES to the STAR SPANGLED Banner

From Paris to LA, with love. The closing ceremony started with France's games hero Leon Marchand, and included some French performance art. It ended with Hollywood stardust.

Tom Cruise jumped into the stadium and hopped onto a motorcycle before a film scene showed him zooming to Los Angeles. He added Olympic rings to Hollywood Sign, began a relay around the city, and ended with a performance by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Down to the Wire

The United States defeated France 67-66 in the final of the women's Basketball, earning an eighth consecutive Olympic title and denying the host nation the gold medal they had hoped to win at the Paris Games.

LeBron James, who wore the gold medal that the U.S. Men won on Saturday by defeating France, was courtside to watch the American Women complete the golden hoops and extend their winning streak in the Olympic hardwoods to 61 games. This stretch dates back to 1992.

US TOP MEDAL TEA TABLE, JUST

China finished second with 44 silver medals. The United States took the top spot in the medals table.

China won 40 gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games but only managed 27 silvers.

The U.S., China and Japan each won twice as many golds as the third-placed Japan. This is a much more dominant performance than recent Games.

The host nation France achieved its goal of placing in the top five and won the most medals since 1900.

DISTANCE HASSAN

Sifan Hassan, from the Netherlands, became the first person to win medals in the marathon and 5000 metres at the same Olympics since the Czech star Emil Zatopek did so in 1952.

She used her famous late kick to set an Olympic marathon record of 2 hours, 22 mins and 55 secs, only 36 hours after finishing third in the 10,000 metre track race.

Bhutan's Kinzang lhamo crossed the finish line 90 minutes after Hassan. She received a standing applause from the spectators.

EGYPT BID FOR THE OLYMPIC SPORTS EVENT

The head of the African National Olympic Committees Association said on Sunday that Egypt would bid to host both the Summer Olympics in 2036 and 2040. Improving infrastructure and sporting facilities are key factors for a successful African bid.

The continent has never hosted an Olympic Games. Cairo's last unsuccessful bid to host the 2008 Olympics was in 2008.

Cycling's Dutch Sprint King

Harrie Lavreysen, a Dutchman, confirmed his dominance in men's sprinting by winning the Olympic Keirin at the National Velodrome on Sunday. He completed a stunning hat-trick.

Lavreysen sped around the final turn to beat Australia's Matthew Richardson who won the silver.

U.S. DOMINATE RELAYS

The United States won both the women's and men's 4x400 metre relays on Saturday night, confirming their dominance on the track at the Olympics.

The women's win was by over four seconds. This is the second fastest time in history, and extends the winning streak of the country in this event to eight consecutive victories.

The men were a little more precise, holding Botswana at bay just before the finish.

In Paris, Jamaica's dominance of the women's sprinting has come to an end.

U.S. SPOIL FRENCH DREAMS OF BASKETBALL FAIRYTALE

The United States won the gold medal at the Olympics for the fifth time in a row, claiming a 98 to 87 victory over France.

Stephen Curry, LeBron James and other American showmen smashed the hearts of Gallics.

TAIWAN's LIN Wins BOXING GOLD

Lin Yu-ting (28), one of the two boxers in the middle of a controversy over gender eligibility, defeated Poland's Julia Szeremeta and won the women's featherweight championship.

Boxing is not certain to be included in the 2020 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee organized the event in Paris after stripping the International Boxing Association from its position as the sport’s global body due to governance and financial issues.

World Boxing, a rival organisation, said that national boxing federations must join their ranks in order to include the sport on the Los Angeles program.

U.S. Gymnast Children may lose medal

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has ruled that Romanian Ana Barbosu will take the bronze medal from American Jordan Chiles in the women’s artistic gymnastics competition floor exercise. Barbosu will now move up to the third place.

The Product Placement Games

The winning athletes in Paris received their medals and Louis Vuitton trays, before receiving a Samsung flip-phone to take a victory selfie. This marks the beginning of a new product placement era at the Olympics that Los Angeles is set to continue.

(source: Reuters)