Paris 2024 Olympics day one: Australia gold, GB silver in rain-hit women’s time trial – live

3.05pm BST

GRACE BROWN!!!! GOLD, GOLD FOR AUSTRALIA, GOLD!

Anna Henderson gets the silver for Team GB ahead of Chloe Dygert (USA) into bronze, by one second, who lost time in the scrap. A wonderful, joyous response from the veteran Brown – what a way to cap her career, an Olympic champion!

3.02pm BST

Cycling, Women’s Time Trial: Nobody can catch Grace Brown! She’s going to be the Olympic champion! Dygert (USA) is competing for silver from here with 1km to go.

3.00pm BST

Cycling, Women’s Time Trial: Brown crosses the line 90 seconds faster than Anna Henderson of Team GB! One rider to go, it’s the world champ Dygert. Scenes!

2.57pm BST

Kathy Watt won Australia’s first gold on day one at Barcelona 32 years ago. Can Grace Brown, another road racer from rural Victoria, do the same here in Paris? Would be a huge moment for the veteran, retiring after this season. Go on!

2.52pm BST

Cycling, Women’s Time Trial: Just 10 riders to left to finish! Team GB’s Anna Henderson was through the time check quickest until Grace Brown overtook her just now. All eyes on the favourite Chloe Dygert (USA)… and she’s five seconds behind Brown! The Australian is in the gold medal position with 10 km to go!

2.49pm BST

The Aussie men got the points earlier against Spain in the hoops, much to the satisfaction of Mark O’Connor. “French colour commentator with the ‘awwww Pa-TEEEE’ before this even hits is your XXXIII Olympiad moment until further notice.”

2.45pm BST

Cycling, Women’s Time Trial: 21 finisher, 14 to go. Up top for new, New Zealand’s Kim Cadzow who has a 5.65 second advantage over Audrey Cordon Ragot.

But the major story is whether all the big chances can stay on their bikes. Belgian Lotte Kopecky has taken a huge tumble losing her back wheel! She was the fastest yet to the 22km split – that’s a huge moment. She’s back on right away, made of tough stuff, but it’s going to require something special from her to get back.

2.41pm BST

Men’s Volleyball: Italy have finished the job against Brazil, knocking off the former giant 25-23, 27-25, 18-25, 25-21. In Men’s Basketball, Germany have easily accounted for Japan 97-77. Over at the Men’s Handball, it’s Holland 10-8 winners over Hungary. To the beach (shocker of a day for it) for Men’s Beach Volleyball, Sweden’s pair have knocked off the Australians in straight sets – how does that happen, exactly?! More team sports coming your way through the course of the afternoon.

2.36pm BST

Cycling, Women’s Time trial: Jeremy Boyce informs me that we are now up to four riders coming off, with American Taylor Knibbs falling twice. “She still posted a great time and had a face on as she passed the finish line, who can blame her?” That’s the good old Olympic spirit you’re going to hear plenty about.

2.34pm BST

Men’s Football: Argentina has gone 1-0 against Iraq in the 13th minute via Thiago Almada. Having won the gold medal the last two times, they are already in a spot of bother having lost to Morocco in a match played before the cauldron was lit.

2.30pm BST

Men’s Tennis : shock and awe stuff from Novak Djokovic, carving up Aussie Matt Ebden 6-0, 6-1 in 53 minutes – thanks for coming, catch you in the doubles. As for Carlos Alcaraz, he’s also through in straight sets 6-3, 6-1 over Lebanon’s Hady Habib.

2.26pm BST

Men’s Hockey: Australia held on against Argentina. Here’s Mike Hytner’s recap:

The Australian men’s hockey team survived a late scare against Argentina to get off to a winning start with a narrow 1-0 victory.
Blake Govers scored the only goal of the game at Yves-du-Manoir Stadium, firing into the net from a penalty corner in the last second of the first half. It stayed 1-0 until Argentinians nearly found an equaliser right at the death but despite a manic goal-mouth scramble the Kookaburras were able to secure an ideal start to their campaign. Ireland are up next for the world No 4 side, before matches against Belgium, New Zealand and India follow.

2.24pm BST

Cycling, Women’s Time Trial : all riders away! Chloe Dygert, the world champ, is last to depart. Brit Anna Henderson was the fourth last to go, with riders from Austria, Christinia Schweinberger and Australian Grace Brown making up the final four.

Brown has announced her retirement at age 32, so it’s now or never for her. She did win this event at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games two years ago.

2.19pm BST

Cycling, Women’s Time Trial: “Conditions are atrocious,” writes Jeremy Boyce, who is watching the French TV coverage. "There have already been two women down, both on the same bend, more to come? The most slippery are the white-painted areas around junctions, roundabouts, etc. They’re a total skid pan, then anything recently repaired with smoothed fine tar. Commentators are worried for the riders.”

And a queston from Mark Wilson. Does anyone know the answer? “What’s is the tube-like thing in a box which the medalists get along with their medals?”

2.15pm BST

Cycling, Women’s Time Trial: Elisa Longo Borghini leaves the gates to a huge cheer. The 32-year-old Italian has enjoyed a massive career, taking two Olympic bronze medals in the road race at Rio and Tokyo – she’s ighly fancied here. France’s best medal chance, Juliette Labous follows her down the ramp. History is against her though: a home nation has never won a medal in the women’s time trial, TV says.

2.10pm BST

Seine water quality leads to doubts about triathlon

Cycling, Women’s Time Trial: In the two minutes I’ve been watching, two riders have crashed off their bikes. The wet weather is an ongoing talking point.

More on that here from Reuters – all eyes on the Seine:

Paris 2024 organisers said they are confident the triathlon events will take place as scheduled on Tuesday even though the recent rainfall might lead to Sunday’s training session being cancelled due to concerns over the water quality in the Seine.

“The rain that has fallen on Paris over the last 24 hours is likely to impact the quality of the water in the Seine over the next 24 to 36 hours,” organisers said in a statement to Reuters.

“Depending on current water quality levels and the conditions expected over the next 24 hours, it is possible that the familiarisation (athlete training) scheduled for Sunday 28 July at 8 a.m. may be cancelled.”

A decision on whether the training will be held will be made at 4 a.m. (0200 GMT) on Sunday.

“We are nonetheless confident in our ability to organise the events as planned from 30 July. Given the weather forecast for the next 48 hours, we expect the water quality to return to below limits within the next 24 to 36 hours,” the statement said.

“As observed in July, with summer conditions (more sunshine, higher temperatures, prolonged absence of rain) water quality is improving significantly.”

2.07pm BST

Cycling, Women’s Time Trial: 10 of the 35 competitors are still to take off in the pouring rain. Looking at the split times (taken at 22km of the 32.4km course) the Afghanistan rider Yulduz Hashimi is leading the way by 30 seconds. She’ll be overtaken eventually, but it’s quite something that she and her sister Fairiba are taking part in these Hames despite the Taliban government’s ban of women’s sport.

2.02pm BST

Speaking of rain... skateboarding postponed and tennis delayed

Reporting here from Press Association:

Adverse weather conditions in Paris have led to the Olympic men’s street skateboarding being postponed by 48 hours until Monday. An elaborate opening ceremony to officially get the Games under way on Friday was blighted by heavy rain, which refused to relent overnight and early into Saturday morning.

Skateboarding organisers have therefore been forced into a hasty rescheduling of the men’s street event, which was supposed to start on Saturday at midday but has now been pushed back.

Other events were also affected, with the start of play in the tennis on the outside courts delayed at Roland Garros.

While Court Philippe Chatrier and Court Suzanne Lenglen have roofs and were able to begin on time at midday, all the others were covered by orange tarpaulins.

British trio Jack Draper, Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans are scheduled back-to-back on Court Six and were among those forced to wait, with Katie Boulter also due to play outside on Court 11.

1.59pm BST

It’s chucking it down with rain. At the equestrian, where it is team and individual dressage qualification day (I’ll catch up on the main results later), it’s unpleasant but I suppose not that big of a deal? Time trial cycling, however…. yikes. As Joe Pearson notes in Indianapolis: “The course is absolutely drenched. Man, that’s got to be anxiety-inducing for the riders. And the viewers.” Not wrong. I’ll go there next.

1.56pm BST

Men’s volleyball: Brazil struck back, taking the third set 25-18 to get on the board. But Italy, at 17-14, aren’t far from wrapping this up in four sets. There are Proper Olympic events and Not Serious Olympic Events, and volleyball is firmly the former. Looking forward to watching hours and hours of it over the next two weeks.

1.48pm BST

Men’s tennis: Djokovic makes a statement! Aussie Matt Ebden, more a doubles operator, has conceded the first set to the no1 seed without winning a game. Wow.

1.46pm BST

What’s that? You want to see one of the greatest finishes ever? Bruce McAvaney calling Flintoff home in the 400 hurdles at Seoul. One of my earliest life memories.

1.44pm BST

Speaking of Australia… here’s a round-up! Very handy, I’ll be reading this every day as I watch old clips (guaranteed tears) of Debbie Flintoff, Duncan Armstrong and co.

Related: Australia begin Olympic basketball campaign with win over Spain

1.39pm BST

Cycling – Women’s Time Trial: It’s straight to the medals here, with five of our 35 competitors out of the starting gate. Jumping down the list to the end, American Chloe Dygert takes off in about 40 minutes from now – that’s the world champion in this event from 2019 and 2023. Aussie Grace Brown takes off 90 seconds before her – this could be the first medal for the green and gold at Paris 2024.

Updated at 1.42pm BST

1.35pm BST

“Afternoon Adam.” Hello, Guy Hornsby! “Great to have you back on the Olympic blog. It’s been a cracking day so far with GB diving bronze (handed to us after Australian heartbreak), rowing, gymnastics and Adam Peaty in the pool. It all comes at you so fast. Really looking forward to the rugby 7s semis as well as the road race cycling. How on earth do you keep up with it? It must feel like trying to OBO ten T20 games at the same time!”

Yes, spinning plates! Speaking of the cricket, the Windies had a great first session. As for the diving, I was at the theatre with my four-year-old when the Australian duo botched their final crack. But they’ll make up for it in the drink later on where there is a chance Australia can win three medals in a session for the first time. Can’t wait.

1.30pm BST

Men’s hockey: I mentioned the Dutch are coming into this as the top team in the world, what I didn’t spot is that they just knocked off South Africa 5-3. Tidy start.

1.29pm BST

Men’s volleyball: Italy are two sets up against Brazil! I was working on the men’s gold medal match at Earls Court in 2012 and remember well the utter devastation of the Brazilian men after throwing away a two-set advantage against Russia, their coach breaking down in tears at the press conference. This time around, the Italians are entering the 12-team tournament ranked no4 in the world, Brazil No6. Poland, who haven’t won gold in this event since Montreal, are the team to beat on paper.

1.26pm BST

Men’s hockey: it’s three-quarter time in Australia v Argentina. The Kookaburras went 1-0 in the 30th minute and have maintained that advantage. Earlier today, Belgium saw off Ireland 2-0 and Team GB sorted out Spain 4-0. I was disappointed to see last night that Pakistan, who won this event three times in 1960, 1968 and 1984, haven’t qualified this time around. Oooh, as I prepare to hit send , Tom Wickham goes within an inch of doubling the advantage for the men in green and gold. 10 minutes to go. If you’re wondering, the Dutch are the gold favourites.

1.18pm BST

French Open and Wimbledon champ Carlos Alcaraz is on court. And there’s nothing easy about his first game of the tournament against Lebanese right-hander Hady Habib. The man ranked 275 in the world got a look at a break point but wasn’t able to convert, the Spanish superstar getting his act together to hold with an ace. Despite his recent run, Alcaraz isn’t the no1 seed – that’s Novak Djokovic, who claimed the bronze medal way back in 2008. The Beijing winner was Rafa Nadal, who appeared at the business end of the opening ceremony, and is competing in Paris unseeded.

1.06pm BST

Thank you, Martin. I’m Feeling Very Olympic Today! I’ve had a great time doing these blogs over the last few Summer/Winter games, very much looking forward to getting my teeth into day one from Paris, where over the next five hours there will be four gold medals up for grabs, along with plenty else of interest.

Just on those medals, so we’re all on the same page:

• 1330 BST: Cycling, Women’s Time Trial

• 1532 BST: Cycling, Men’s Time Trial

• 1500 BST: Judo – Women 48kg followed by Men 60kg

Between times, I’ll have a close eye on tennis, hockey, volleyball, basketball, badminton – the lot! Tuck into the first afternoon of a great fortnight. And stay in touch with me throughout by dropping me a line or pinging me a tweet.

1.03pm BST

That is it from me for today. I am going to hand you on to Adam Collins. I will be back with you tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your day / evening / night / morning!

1.00pm BST

Poland’s Iga Świątek has progressed. She went through a sticky patch in the second set, and at one point while Irina-Camelia Begu was serving she seemed poised to take the match to a third set. But it wasn’t to be for the Romanian. Świątek won 6-2 7-5.

The tennis schedule has been hugely disrupted on the outer courts by the weather, but according to the order of play Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Australia ’s Matthew Ebden should be up next in a men’s singles first round match. Your guess may be as good as mine here though …

12.51pm BST

South Africa have just scored a lovely goal in the men’s hockey, but it will presumably end up a consolation, as the Netherlands now lead that match 5-2 in Pool A in the third quarter and have seemed well in control. In Pool B, Australia and Argentina have just reached half-time locked at 0-0.

12.46pm BST

Number one seed in the women’s singles tennis Iga Świątek isn’t having things all her own way. She has just broken Irina-Camelia Begu ’s serve to make the second set 5-5, having won the first.

12.44pm BST

I only had it on in the background and so wasn’t following Australia v Spain too closely in the men’s basketball , but Reuters reports that Spain’s Usman Garuba , who plays for the Golden State Warriors in the NBA, was booed by the corwd after being involved in incidents with first Josh Green and then Josh Giddey . Angelica Medina for Reuters described the encounter as “feisty”.

Greece and Canada are the other two sides in Pool A, and they face each other at 21.00 local time tonight. Australia play Canada on Tuesday 30 July.

In Pool B, in a match that is nearing the end of the first quarter, Germany narrowly lead Japan .

12.35pm BST

Some quotes from Team GB’s Scarlett Mew Jensen , who won a bronze medal earlier today. She told the BBC “I am very much lost for words, a month ago I didn’t think I would be here. To be up on the boards and to come away with that … I can’t imagine anything better.”

Her diving partner Yasmin Harper told viewers: “We’re so excited, we are so pleased with ourselves. We came into this event knowing this is what we want and we had to stand on the boards and deliver and I’m so proud that we were able to do that this morning.”

12.21pm BST

It would not be an Olympic Games without a diplomatic incident. Reuters reports that IOC president Thomas Bach will speak personally with South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol to apologise after his country was mistakenly introduced as North Korea at one point in yesterday’s opening ceremony.

The Olympics has a clumsy track record with this. You may recall that in 2012 the North Korean women’s football team nearly refused to compete after their team was introduced on the big screen at Hampden Park in Glasgow next to South Korea’s flag.

12.17pm BST

I mentioned earlier that there was a lot of tennis happening. Well, there was meant to be a lot of tennis happening, but the weather has had other ideas. Poland’s Iga Świątek , the number one seed, is in action. She is one set up and leading the second set against Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania.

Fourth seed Jasmine Paolini of Italy is also ahead by one set against Ana Bogdan of Romania, but as yet everything else is washed out.

The covers are on the outer courts at Roland-Garros, and there are some rather forlorn looking spectators still braving it out there in the rain in the hope play might start at some point.

12.06pm BST

In team sports, Australia beat Spain in the men’s basketball 92-80. Egypt got the better of Hungary 35-32 in the men’s handball. There have been three quick goals in the men’s hockey between the Netherlands and South Africa . Netherlands took the lead in the second minute, South Africa replied in the sixth, and Netherlands went back in front in the tenth minute. It is 2-1 with twelve minutes played. Italy and Brazil have just started their men’s volleyball match, and Australia face Argentina in men’s hockey in a match which starts in about ten minutes’ time.

12.03pm BST

One other thing about the Olympics, it always generates fantastic photos. Here are a few from this morning’s action.

11.58am BST

More swimming action at the Paris La Defense Arena. Australia , the USA and China were the fastest three in the women’s 4×100m freestyle relay heats. Sweden, France, Canada, Great Britain and Italy also made tonight’s final. The Australian quartet were 1.72 seconds faster than the US.

The men’s 4×100m freestyle relay heats have finished too. China were fastest, with Australia in second. Great Britain were 0.12 faster than the USA who came in fourth. Canada, Italy, Hungary and Germany also progressed.

11.52am BST

If you want to look out for more medal action, then I have good new, there is plenty left today. At 14.30 local time the women’s individual time trial race is on in road cycling . The men’s competition follows at the very precise time of 16.32. Around the same time the women’s -48kg and men’s -60kg judo competitions also reach a conclusion.

At 19.00 in Paris there is the rugby sevens bronze match, followed by the final at 19.45. South Africa and France play the first semi-final at 15.30, Fiji and Australia contest the second at 16.00.

And then later in the evening there are the four swimming finals I mentioned earlier , and in the fencing there are the finals of the women’s épéee indivdual, and men’s sabre individual.

11.39am BST

We’ve got our first “Team GB bite their medals” picture of the Games with Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen and their bronze medals in the frame …

There is a joyous picture of silver medallists Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook too, who won the USA’s first medal of, no doubt, many this Olympics.

Chen Yiwen and Chang Yani also got the message about the wackier the pose you pull after winning, the more chance there is I will put you in the live blog.

11.32am BST

Katie Ledecky beats Ariarne Titmus as both women progress to 400m freestyle final

Last time in Tokyo we had the unusual situation where the swimming heats were being run in the evening session, with the corresponding finals the following morning. That is not how most swimming meets run, but was partially done for television timing reasons. For Paris 2024, we are back to the usual model of heats in the morning and then finals in the evening.

You will not be surprised to learn that Katie Ledecky is safely through in the women’s 400m freestyle . The Olympic record holder finished 0.27 seconds ahead of Australia’s world record-holder Ariarne Titmus . They were in the same heat, and finished as the two fastest of the eight women to make the final. That will be at 19.52 local time tonight.

In the men’s 400m freestyle , Germany ’s Lukas Maertens was fastest, just a tenth of a second ahead of Brazil ’s Guilherme Costa . Both Elijah Winnington and Samuel Short of Australia also made the final.

The heats for the men’s and women’s 100m freestyle relay are closing out the morning session.

Tonight sees four finals – the men’s and women’s 400m freestyle and those two relays, and also semi-finals in the women’s 100m butterfly and the men’s 100m breaststroke. Britain’s Adam Peaty is safely through in the latter.

11.19am BST

Here is the first picture of a medal ceremony from Paris, with China winning gold in both the 10m air rifle mixed team shooting.

You can find the fledgling medal table here by the way. China are out in front with two golds, the USA and South Korea joint second with a silver apiece, and Great Britain and Kazakhstan are joint fourth with a bronze each.

Related: Paris Olympics 2024: medal table

11.10am BST

I will recap the rowing in a bit, but Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne and Rebecca Wilde of Great Britain have just been pipped at the line by Brooke Francis and Lucy Spoors of New Zealand in the first heat of the women’s double sculls . Both pairs go through to the semi-finals, as do the USA pairing of Sophia Vitas and Kristi Wagner who finished third in that one.

11.05am BST

A quick round-up of where we are. In play at the minute are matches in the men’s basketball, where Australia lead Spain , and the men’s handball which is very close between Hungary and Egypt . Belgium beat Ireland 2-0 in the men’s hockey. On top of that, about one million tennis matches have just started at Roland-Garros . There is also rowing, fencing, judo, artistic gymnastics and swimming taking place. I’m going to need another coffee …

11.01am BST

There is a lot going on. I am based in London and so naturally thrilled that Team GB have claimed their first medal, but that really was such a disappointment for Maddison Keeney and Anabelle Smith of Australia, who had looked all set to be placed third until their final dive. You can see what it meant Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen when they saw the scores coming up. The Australian pair are devastated.

10.54am BST

China adds second gold in synchronised 3m springboard final as US and Great Britain claim silver and bronze

China have claimed a second gold in the Paris Olympics, with a dominant display by Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen in the women’s synchronised 3m springboard final.

The USA claimed its first medal with Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook taking silver, 23.04 points behind the Chinese pair.

Team GB ’s Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen took bronze after a heart-breaking moment for Maddison Keeney and Anabelle Smith of Australia . Mistakes on their final dive saw them slip out of the medal positions. It is the first ever podium finish by Team GB in the event.

Updated at 11.39am BST

10.39am BST

Team GB men win their opening hockey match against Spain 4-0

Team GB have beaten Spain 4-0 in the opening match of Pool A in the men’s hockey competition at the Paris Olympics.

Two goals from Gareth Furlong , and a goal apiece from Nicholas Park and Rupert Shipperly saw the team safely through their first fixture.

The teams are organised in two pools of six, with the top four in each pool progressing to the quarter-finals. France , Germany , the Netherlands and South Africa make up the rest of the pool.

Great Britain will next play South Africa, tomorrow at 20.15 local time.

In Pool B, defending gold medallists Belgium currently lead Ireland by 2-0 in the fourth quarter.

10.33am BST

We are approaching the end of the third round of five in the women’s synchronised 3m springboard final.

Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen of China enjoy a commanding lead. Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook of the USA sit in the silver medal position, with Maddison Keeney and Anabelle Smith of Australia in bronze.

Italy, Germany and Great Britain lie 4th, 5th and 6th and are beginning to lose touch with the medal position.

10.29am BST

I’ve been totally gripped by that shooting final, and in the meantime Germany did end up beating Japan in that men’s volleyball pool match which went to a fifth deciding set.

10.24am BST

China wins first gold medal of Paris Olympic Games 2024 in 10m air rifle mixed team shooting

Lihao Sheng and Yuting Huang have claimed the first gold medal of the Paris Olympic Games 2024 for China with a close fought 16-12 victory over South Korea in the final of the 10m air rifle mixed team . Kazakhstan earlier won the bronze in the event.

It is the first of 14 medals expected to be awarded today. Overall 329 gold medals are available in Paris.

Updated at 10.26am BST

10.14am BST

Team GB have added a third goal against Spain in the men’s hockey – it is now 3-0.

10.13am BST

At the moment it looks like the first gold medal is going to China , but it is close. They lead South Korea 8-6 in the 10m air rifle mixed team event. First to 16 claims the title.

10.11am BST

A quick scoot around the team events going on. Team GB still lead Spain 2-0 going into the fourth quarter in the men’s hockey in Pool A. Belgium have a 1-0 lead over Ireland in Pool B.

Japan v Germany in the men’s volleyball has gone to a fifth deciding set after a prolonged and contentious end to the fourth set.

In men’s basketball, Australia have taken an early lead against Spain , while in the men’s handball, Egypt are narrowly leading Hungary after ten minutes.

10.06am BST

The gold medal match between China and South Korea in the 10m air rifle mixed team shooting has begun. This should deliver the first gold medal of the Games.

10.05am BST

Over at the Aquatics Centre, the women’s synchronised 3m springboard final is about to start. Among the competitors are Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen of Team GB , Maddison Keeney and Anabelle Smith of Australia , and Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook of the US. Eight pairs are competing in total, including Viktoriya Kesar and Anna Pysmenska of Ukraine .

9.58am BST

Men's street skateboarding competition postponed due to weather conditions

Reuters reports the men’s street skateboarding competition at the Paris Olympics has been postponed due to the weather.

Organisers said in a statement the competition has been rescheduled to 29 July.

A media centre representative said the skaters were unable to compete because the surface of the street course was too slick due to persistent rain early on Saturday, making conditions unsafe.

9.55am BST

It is a quirk of the draw, but I feel like everywhere I look, Spain are playing. At 11am local time, in less than five minutes, the men’s basketball competition gets under way with Spain v Australia in Pool A. Here is a view of fans queueing earlier to get into the Pierre-Mauroy stadium.

9.51am BST

In the men’s volleyball Japan and Germany are tightly poised. Japan lead two sets to one, but the fourth set is 21-20 to Germany. Tense.

9.46am BST

Kazakhstan ’s Alexandra Le and Islam Satpayev have won the first medal of the 2024 Olympics! They claim bronze in the 10m air rifle mixed team event after defeating Germany comfortably 17-5 in the bronze medal match. China and South Korea will now compete for gold in the event.

9.46am BST

Team GB lead Spain 2-0 at half-time in the men’s hockey in Pool A. The Pool B match between reigning champions Belgium and Ireland has started now too, and stands at 0-0.

9.39am BST

Spain have emerged victorious in the handball against Slovenia , 25-22 in the end. It was closely fought – sometimes almost physically fought – and Slovenia held the lead at times, but the bronze medallists from Tokyo scored a flurry of goals in the closing ten minutes.

9.34am BST

The bronze medal contest between Kazakhstan and Germany in the 10m air rifle mixed team contest in Chateauroux has begun.

Alexandra Le and Islam Satpayev are representing Kazakhstan, and Maximilian Ulbrich and Anna Janssen representing Germany. Kazakhstan have taken an early lead.

9.23am BST

Gareth Furlong has extended Team GB ’s lead over Spain to 2-0 in the men’s hockey with a goal from a penalty corner. It is a bit harsh on goalkeeper Luis Calzado who had just pulled off a stupendous stop seconds before.

9.21am BST

Australia ’s Tara Rigney has won her heat in the women’s single sculls. She finished nearly seven seconds ahead of Spain ’s Virginia Diaz Rivas .

Updated at 9.39am BST

9.17am BST

Team GB have just taken the lead against Spain in the men’s hockey with a couple of minutes of the first period to go. Nicholas Park with an unstoppable rising shot after stealing the ball in the middle of the pitch. 1-0.

Updated at 9.26am BST

9.14am BST

Japan have been staging a bit of a comeback in the men’s volleyball against Germany . After losing the first set, they won the second, and now lead in the third 15-12. I know people moan about the expense and over-expansion of the Games, but come on, there is sport everywhere you look. What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday.

9.12am BST

Slovenia and Spain has got a bit testy in the men’s handball. With just under twenty minutes to go it is tied at 15-15, and after some pushing and shoving both teams are temporarily down to six men.

9.10am BST

The fencing and judo competitions have got under way now, just as the men’s single sculls heats have come to an end in the rowing. Sverri Nielsen of Denmark won the sixth and final heat there. The 15 rowers who did not qualify will compete in a repechage round tomorrow. There will now be six heats in the women’s competition, with Australia ’s Tara Rigney in the first of them.

Updated at 9.28am BST

8.57am BST

In about five minutes Team GB and Spain will open the men’s field hockey competition. They are in a pool of six teams, alongside the Netherlands and South Africa who play at 12.45pm local time, and Germany and hosts France , who will take the field at 5pm local time. Four teams from the six progress to the quarter-finals.

Argentina , Australia , Belgium , India , Ireland and New Zealand are in Pool B, and their match-ups today are:

• 10.30 CET: Belgium v Ireland

• 13.15 CET: Australia v Argentina

• 17.30 CET: India v New Zealand

Belgium are reigning champions, having broken Australian hearts with a penalty shootout win in the final in Tokyo in 2021 after the sides drew 1-1. The pair face each other again in Pool B on Tuesday evening in Paris.

8.42am BST

Slovenia have an 11-8 lead over Spain at half-time in the men’s handball. That is the opening match in Pool A, where six countries are competing for four spots in the quarter-finals.

8.40am BST

The first gold medal we are expecting today will be in the 10m air rifle mixed team . There is a qualification round, and then the teams placed third and fourth contest a bronze medal match, followed by a final featuring the best ranked two teams.

Last time out in Tokyo, China dominated the shooting medals, and Lihao Sheng and Yuting Huang are in pole position. They will contest the gold against South Korea . Kazakhstan and Germany will battle it out for bronze. Those contests are at 9.30 CET.

Updated at 8.50am BST

8.32am BST

Germany have taken the first set in their men’s volleyball match with Japan . In this competition there are three pools of four teams. The top two sides and two third-placed nations with the best record progress to the quarter-finals. USA and Argentina are the other two teams in Pool C with Germany and Japan. Those two face each other at 9pm local time tonight.

Updated at 8.36am BST

8.26am BST

Laura Kenny is writing for us during these Games, and she says that she would have won a gold medal in being nervous when she was competing. You can read her column here …

Related: I would have won an Olympic gold for nerves but this time there’s just excitement | Laura Kenny

8.24am BST

Mihai Chiruță of Romania has won the second heat in the men’s single sculls. The top three in each heat progress to the quarter-finals. Thomas Mackintosh of New Zealand won the first heat.

8.21am BST

Dressage has been in focus in the buildup to the Games, especially in Great Britain, for all the wrong reasons . The actual event gets under way this morning at Château de Versailles at 9.30 local time. There are 64 riders and horses competing for spots in the Grand Prix finals, which are next weekend. Germany’s Julia Krajewski rides first on Nickel 21.

Updated at 8.26am BST

8.12am BST

Good morning from London, Martin Belam joining you here. The action has begun in earnest with early starts for handball, rowing, shooting and volleyball. Spain ’s men are tied 3-3 with Slovenia in the handball, and Germany are stretching out an early 13-8 lead against Japan in the men’s volleyball. Thomas Mackintosh of New Zealand has won the first heat in the men’s single sculls. We are well and truly under way.

Updated at 8.25am BST

8.05am BST

Thank you for joining me for this opening leg of what is going to be an incredible fortnight. The first baton pass is to Martin Belam, whose fingers are still sore from his superb opening ceremony coverage, so please be nice to him. I’ll see you back here tomorrow when there’ll be a medal table to pore over. À bientôt!

Updated at 8.08am BST

7.59am BST

Shooting, in case you didn’t know, is being staged in the town of Chateauroux, around three hours drive south of Paris. It’s previous claim to fame was the birthplace of Gerard Depardieu.

Related: Gérard Depardieu: lord of misrule who divides France | Observer profile

7.56am BST

We’re just five minutes away from handball, volleyball, rowing and shooting entering the fray . Remember the first medals of the Games are likely to arrive in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team two to three hours from now.

7.43am BST

7.42am BST

These early events are a chance to acclimatise to the Paris 2024 palate. I think the branding of the Games has been magnificent, from the emblem Marianne, through the mascots Les Phryges, to the coat-of-arms pictograms.

I’m not sold on the various shades of purple everywhere though, and the badminton is a case in point with the green court and purple signage a bit muted and underwhelming for my taste.

Updated at 7.48am BST

7.39am BST

7.37am BST

There’s a healthy crowd in the Porte de la Chapelle Arena for the start of the badminton. The venue, otherwise known as Adidas Arena, is one of the few major builds of the Paris Games.

When it comes to the new buildings, the results are more mixed. The €138m Adidas Arena stands like a shimmering datacentre at the knotted intersection of the Périphérique ring road and the A1 highway at Porte de la Chapelle, on the northern edge of the city centre. Designed by NP2F and SCAU, it is a sleek addition to a neighbourhood once known for its “crack hill” of drug dealers, landing like a streamlined spaceship of urban renewal. It’s an intriguing thing, sharing a similarly knowing faux-industrial language to 6a’s MK Gallery in Milton Keynes. The interior volumes protrude from a raised planted deck, joined by a jaunty wooden A-frame canopy, like a cluster of objects on a table top. A playful semicircular window looks out from the eastern facade, adorning the polished flank with a big smile. The 8,000-seat arena will host Olympic badminton and rhythmic gymnastics, then live on as a concert venue and home for the American-owned Paris Basketball club. Oddly, the official Paris 2024 website boasts that “most of the building materials will be bio-based (principally wood)”, yet the bunker-like edifice is made almost entirely of concrete and clad with energy-intensive aluminium. Did someone spill the bucket of greenwash?

Related: Plastic-bottle seats and wooden pools: can Paris deliver the leanest, greenest Olympics yet?

7.31am BST

Day one of the Paris 2024 Olympics is under way!

After all the build-up, logistics, and an extraordinary opening ceremony, it is three off-Broadway badminton group contests that kick-off the formal schedule of Paris 2024.

In the women’s singles Group N, He Bing jiao (CHN) takes on Keisha Fatimah Az Zahra (AZE).

In the mixed doubles Group B it’s Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yoo-jung (KOR) v Koceila Mammeri and Tanina Mammeri (ALG), and in Group D it’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping (CHN) v Vinson Chiu and Jennie Gai (USA).

Updated at 8.29am BST

7.24am BST

Among the early starters in the badminton is Dorsa Yavarivafa. Born in Tehran, studying Sports and Exercise Science at Middlesex University, and training in Milton Keynes, Yavarifava is representing the Refugee Olympic Team (EOR). She relocated to the UK with her mother at age 15 due to safety concerns. She applied to be a part of the Refugee Athlete Scholarship programme in 2023, and was selected for the Refugee Olympic Team nearly a year later.

Here’s more on the most inspiring team at the Games, with Angelique Chrisafis .

Created in 2015, the Refugee Olympic Team first took part in the 2016 Rio Games, with 10 athletes in three sports. But this year it has grown to 37 athletes, whose countries of origin range from Iran, Syria and Afghanistan to Eritrea and South Sudan, competing in 12 sports including cycling, swimming, taekwondo, judo and breaking. The team is so important for the IOC that the refugee athletes will appear in second position at the Paris opening ceremony, after Greece, carrying the Olympic flag.

Related: ‘This team is a message of hope’: behind the scenes with the Refugee Olympic Team

7.15am BST

We’re now just 15 minutes away from the start of the action on day one of the Paris Olympics. And that action is badminton.

If you don’t know your back alley from your shuttlecock, fear not, because here’s one we made earlier.

7.06am BST

It is not out of the question that Australia will leave the Paris Games as the leading nation in the pool. Normally it’s an honour reserved for the USA but the Dolphins have taken a deep squad full of record-breaking talent to France. But will they be swimming in the fast lane? Elsie Grover-Jones takes us to pool school.

The pool is shallower than the 3m standard, at 2.30m and there have been some questions raised over the effect this will have. The starting platforms have fins that allow swimmers to really push off at the gun. And one of France’s faces of the Games, swimmer Léon Marchand, believes it will live up to expectations.

“The pool is superb,” he said. “I loved the feeling I had in the water, the depth which is the same along the entire length. So you feel like you’re swimming fast and that’s cool. It’s a beautiful pool.” If swimmers are feeling fast in the pool at La Défense, we could yet see some new world records.

Related: What will make the Paris 2024 Olympic swimming pool fast or slow?

Updated at 7.08am BST

6.57am BST

While the Boomers will naturally commandeer the attention of Australian basketball followers, there is a second nation at the Paris Games that owes a lot to the NBL: South Sudan. Kieran Pender explains why.

South Sudan are very much a second team for Australian fans to cheer on. Four members of the 12-man squad play in Australia’s National Basketball League – Bul Kuol, Jackson Makoi, Majok Deng and Sunday Dech – while a fifth, Kuany Kuany, lived in Australia before relocating to the United States for college. Another Australian, Thon Maker, had a last-minute eligibility appeal rejected after the former Boomers player switched basketball allegiances. Other members of the team play in the NBA, Serbia, China, Israel and Rwanda.

Related: Why Australia has two men’s basketball teams to cheer at the Paris Olympics | Kieran Pender

6.50am BST

While the US sleeps and Europe awakes, we’ll train our focus for a little while on Australia . There are plenty of Aussies in action on day one, from the Boomers in the morning to Grace Brown in the afternoon, and Ariarne Titmus this evening.

Related: Olympic Games: Australians in action on day one in Paris

Speaking of Grace Brown, here she is with our own Kieran Pender.

Since the last Olympics, across nine individual time trials, Brown has only finished off the podium once – fourth on stage eight of last year’s Tour de France Femmes. All of which leaves Brown on the precipice of an Olympic medal in late July, when she rolls down the start ramp in cycling’s first event of the Games, just a day after the opening ceremony. Three years of hard work have come to this – a race against the clock around the streets of Paris, across 32.4 km of flat terrain.

Related: Australia’s Olympic cyclist Grace Brown: ‘If I come fourth, I’ll be disappointed’ | Kieran Pender

6.41am BST

In case you wondering, the dreadful weather of the opening ceremony hasn’t lifted. However, the rain is forecast to have cleared by this evening and the rest of the opening week should be much more summery.

6.39am BST

The opening ceremony is also an opportunity for the IOC President to make a political statement. Thomas Bach’s can be distilled into “dream with us”. Sean Ingle had the watching brief.

The hope in Bach’s speech? Well that came when he referenced the hope that these Games could be a force for good at a time where the horrific war in Ukraine continues to rage, and the awful images from Israel and Palestine have dominated our screens for the past nine months continue.

Related: ‘Dream with us’: Bach delivers message of hope as rain fails to ruin Paris parade

6.24am BST

If you missed some, or all, of the rain-soaked action, Jon Henley has distilled the spectacle into a handy top-five.

Related: Singing, spectacle and subplots on the Seine in the rain

6.21am BST

What did you make of the opening ceremony? Brilliant? Kitschy? Hubristic? Barney Ronay’s sketch of the event covers all bases, and ensures that from now on Celine Dion must be referred to as The Canadian Messi.

It was complex, nuanced, fun, energetic, diffuse, diluted, and too spread out. It turns out there’s a good reason why big events are held in stadiums.

Related: Céline Dion rescues Olympic parade after rain-soaked hostage to hubris | Barney Ronay

6.13am BST

At the top of the page you will find links to the day-by-day guide , the medal table , results , and the live schedule . These will be our north stars for the next fortnight, making sure we’re always on top of the action.

And from that day-by-day guide, here’s what Simon Burnton thinks you should be watching today.

Saturday 27 July Day 1

• Shooting
  With a scheduled end of 11.50am local time the 10m mixed team air rifle is expected to pip the women’s synchronised 3m springboard diving by a matter of minutes to be the first gold medal decided in Paris. Whichever wins the race there’s a good chance the anthem played at the end will be the same: the latest world championships in both events were won by Chinese athletes (though they will be hotly contested, and Britain’s Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen claimed world championship silver in the diving last year).
  

• Men’s rugby
  Antoine Dupont, France’s captain, missed the Six Nations to throw himself into Olympic preparations, declaring a gold medal “the holy grail of the sport, as simple as that”, and organisers have scheduled the men’s final in the hope that he will help them get their Games off to the best possible start. It is far from a done deal, though: France failed to reach the final four in the sport’s two previous Olympic outings, while Fiji have won both golds.
  

• Men’s handball
  In the past two Olympic finals Denmark beat France (in Rio) and France beat Denmark (in Tokyo). Of the five world championships in the past decade France have won two and Denmark the most recent three, extending their unbeaten run in the event to 28 games by beating France in last year’s final. This year they play on the first day of the men’s tournament, though it would be no surprise if they meet again when the medals are decided on 11 August.

6.00am BST

Preamble

Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of the first official day of competition of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.

Following a spectacular opening ceremony on the river Seine it’s time to get down to business. Over the course of the day competitors in 24 sports will showcase their skills, with badminton getting the show on the road at 8:30am local time.

Related: Paris Olympics 2024: live schedule

At 9am handball, rowing, shooting and volleyball join the party, with equestrian under way half-an-hour later.

The first medals of the Games will be won around 11:30am local time with the shooters in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team event not hanging around.

The gold rush continues with China expected to continue its domination of the diving competition, beginning with the women’s synchronised 3m springboard.

The women’s individual time trial (cycling) begins at 2:30pm local time, followed by the men.

In judo , the 60kg men and 48kg women will be going for gold. The men’s skateboarding street final will light up the Place de la Concorde. While fencing begins its distribution of precious metal.

Other events not to miss include:

• Australia’s Boomers take on Spain at 11am local time (7pm AEST).

• Swimming heats begin at the same time, featuring the first instalment of the Katie Ledecky v Ariarne Titmus duel in the pool after the two superstars were drawn alongside each other in heat three of the 400m freestyle. They will no doubt meet later on in the final in what promises to be one of the races of the Games.

• Antoine Dupont will light up the Stade de France at 3:30pm local time when France’s rugby sevens outfit continue their campaign with a semi-final against South Africa. Should Les Bleus make it to the gold medal match Paris may witness the greatest atmosphere of the Olympics on the opening day.

• But if water polo is more your jam, you could instead tune in to the USA beginning their quest for a fourth consecutive gold medal in the women’s tournament when they face Greece in Group B.

• And finally, the most spectacular backdrop of the Games will reveal itself from 7pm Paris time when (conditions permitting) the surfing competition begins in Teahupo’o.

I’m sure I’ve failed to include something notable to you in this short rundown, so feel free to let me know what’s on your agenda by emailing: jonathan.howcroft.casual@theguardian.com or, if you’re still rummaging around in the post-Twitter dumpster fire, find me on X @jphowcroft .

I’ll be around for the first couple of hours of the blog, after which it’s over to Martin Belam, Adam Collins, and Will Unwin.

On your mark. Get set. Go!

Updated at 6.38am BST