There was no shortage of must-see action on Day 15 of the 2016 Rio Olympics. From a night of finals in track and field featuring seven event finals to the women's basketball team's success in capturing for a sixth consecutive Olympic championship, there was plenty to please your inner competitive nature. Without further ado, here were our 4 to Watch on Day 15:
DON'T MISS THE ACTION: For a complete rundown of all the day's events in Rio, visit the streaming schedule page for NBCOlympics.com. Watch every event of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games live there, on the NBC Sports App and connected set-top boxes and catch the highlights in primetime on NBC.
1. U.S. Women's Basketball Wins 6th Straight Olympic Gold in Blowout
It's rare to see the U.S. women's basketball team struggle during the Olympics. So it wasn't surprising to see them dominate Spain for a 101-72 victory in the gold medal game.
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The U.S. and Spain played in the preliminary round and the U.S. won that one by 40. The Americans also beat Spain in the 2014 world championship by 13.
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2. Newark's Shakur Stevenson Gets Silver
Rising New Jersey star boxer Shakur Stevenson lost his match against Cuba's Robeisy Ramirez in the finals. Stevenson advanced to the gold medal match because his semifinal opponent, Russia Vladimir Nikitin, forfeited due to injury.
Stevenson earned silver, becoming the first U.S. male boxer to medal since his hero Andre Ward earned gold 12 years ago in Athens.
The 19-year-old Newark native, who hadn't lost a round in Rio before the match, has received attention from some of the sport's greatest champions. Floyd Mayweather Jr. called him an "unbelievable fighter."
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Ramirez was a veteran of the Olympics who won a gold medal in flyweight competition at the 2012 London Olympics. Compared with the other London competitors moving up or down weight for this Olympics, Ramirez performed at an ability and speed comparable to his performance in 2012.
Stevenson got started in boxing when he was 5 after his grandfather introduced him to the sport and served as his trainer. As he progressed through the ranks, the bantamweight (56kg/123 lbs) fighter turned in strong results at the youth level, particularly in international competition. By the time Stevenson won the U.S. Olympic Trials in December 2015, the 2014 Youth Olympic Games champion had already compiled an impeccable 17-0 record against international foes and was becoming a rising star in the sport.
See Past Highlights: Stevenson moves on to gold medal fight
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3. American Wins 1st U.S. Olympic Triathlon Gold
Two-time triathlon world champion Gwen Jorgensen brought the U.S. its first gold in women's triathlon with a time of 1:56:15.
Her amazing performance came after a disappointing race at the 2012 London Olympics where she caught a bad break when her bike got a flat.
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Jorgensen, who used to work full-time as an accountant, won back-to-back triathlon world championship titles in 2014 and 2015. She won her final five World Triathlon Series races of 2014, and went undefeated in her seven World Triathlon Series races in 2015. She was named the USA Triathlon Athlete of the Year in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
The Olympic history for triathlon is comparatively short as to other disciplines. After its introduction to the Olympic program in 2000 the United States has come away with just one medal in the event, silver in 2004.
See Past Highlights: Gwen Jorgensen's secret weapon
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4. U.S. is Golden in Final Night of Track and Field
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A night of finals in track and field featured seven event finals, including the men's and women's 4x400m, and included some of Team USA’s most notable athletes.
The U.S. women raced to a gold medal in the 4x400m relay. Allyson Felix anchored the team to it's sixth consecutive gold.
Hours later, the U.S. men dashed to a gold medal in their 4x400m relay.
U.S. 1500m specialist Matt Centrowitz, who finished fourth in the event in London, took gold with a time of 3:50:00 in the 1500m in Rio.
American runner Bernard Lagat, at 41 years old, became the oldest U.S. runner to ever medal in an Olympic final. Lagat took the bronze in the 5000m with a time of 13:06:78. About three seconds behind the winner, Lagat snagged bronze because of disqualifications.
American Kate Grace finished last in the final of the women's 800m.
Vashti Cunningham, daughter of a former NFL quarterback, failed to medal after failing to clear the second height at the high jump finals. The 18-year-old Las Vegas native easily cleared the opening height of 1.88 meters (6 feet, 2 inches), but couldn't make it over the 1.93-meter bar.
Though no United States competitors made it to the men's javelin throw, it was fun event to watch. Thomas Roehler of Germany won the gold.
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