On Wednesday, the most dramatic Olympic finish of the afternoon in Paris may have taken place on the handball court.
The situation unfolded thusly in a men's quarterfinal between Germany and the host nation, France. The French led 29–27 in the game's closing seconds, but surrendered a pair of late goals to send the game into a 10-minute overtime. The last was a dramatic buzzer-beater by right back Renars Uscins off a France turnover.
Then, in overtime, Uscins finished what he'd started. He scored with four seconds left on the clock to all but wrap up a 35–34 win—and send the Germans to the Olympic semifinals for the first time since 2016.
ASTONISHING HANDBALL DRAMA. 😱
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 7, 2024
Germany scores a miraculous buzzer-beating goal in the final seconds, then wins it in overtime against France to advance to the semifinal! #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/c3tK1agci6
The stunning turn of events silenced the home fans in Lille and drew praise from United States basketball luminary Dawn Staley.
Handball is super competitive and physical….that Germany/France match I just watched was something exciting. Germany with the dub as France attempted to tie the game as seconds winded down.
— dawnstaley (@dawnstaley) August 7, 2024
Up next for Uscins and Germany: defending bronze medalist Spain, which edged out Egypt 29–28 in another quarterfinal.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Germany-France Handball Match Dramatically Ends With Buzzer-Beater, Overtime Winner.
