Olympics

The U.S. and China each won 40 gold medals in the first Summer Games draw in Olympic history, with the Americans pulling into a tie Sunday with victory in the last event, women's basketball.

The U.S. equaled China on the strength of its heart-stopping 67-66 victory over France in a shockingly close game for the women's hoops gold.

China entered Sunday with a 39-38 edge on the U.S., with the Americans appearing to have a slight advantage as the U.S. was going for its eighth consecutive women's basketball gold and second straight women's volleyball title.

A flurry of results unfolded in the midafternoonto shape the final standings.

That set it up for the heavily favored U.S. women to take care of business, which they barely did to win their eighth straight gold.

"I wasn't aware until someone told me after the game, but I'm happy that we won for ourselves and USA basketball, but also for the entire Team USA delegation so we can be tied," WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart told reporters after the gold medal game.

U.S. coach Cheryl Reeve wryly smiled and said she had known what was at stake coming into the France game but implied that she did not tell players.

"I saw the medal count beforehand, I did," she said, smiling. "That's what we need, more pressure."

The last time the U.S. didn't win the most summer golds was in Beijing in 2008, when the hosts edged the Americas in top-podium visits, 48-36.

While there had been no gold medal ties in Summer Games history, there have been three draws in the Winter Olympics.

The most recent draw was between Norway and Germany, each winning 14 golds in PyeongChang 2018.

The U.S. still came out with the most overall medals, taking home 126 from Paris this year.

The U.S. hasn't failed to win the most medals