The Guardian

Paris 2024 Olympics day four: GB shooting gold, tearful Gauff beaten, BMX and more – live

By Sarah Rendell (now); with Martin Belam Barry Glendenning and Jonathan Howcroft (earlier),

13 hours ago

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2l7NtH_0uhQCexw00 — Nathan Hales wins gold for Team GB in the men’s trap final! Photograph: Isabel Infantes/PA

4.36pm BST

Here is some news from elsewhere in the Games while we wait for the tennis to begin:

4.34pm BST

Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz and his men’s doubles partner – 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal – are now out on court. We have three minutes until their game gets underway. I’ll focus on that for the start of that game – as well as bringing you results from elsewhere – before turning a spotlight to the women’s gymnastics.

4.31pm BST

Ah my understanding on when Andy Murray and Dan Evans would be out on court may have been a tad optimistic. We may be looking of more of a time of 5.30-6pm BST.

4.30pm BST

In the women’s canoe slalom heats, Team GB’s Mallory Franklin has qualified for Wednesday’s semi-final with a time of 152.41 seconds.

4.28pm BST

In the men’s tennis doubles there are some blockbuster matches coming up this evening. Team GB’s Andy Murray and Dan Evans will be taking on Belgium’s Joran Vliegen and Sander Gille.

Elsewhere in the event, Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz are playing the Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof. I’ll bring you updates from both and also signal when they start, I believe Murray and Evans are due on court in the next half hour or so.

4.24pm BST

So confirmation on the women’s rugby sevens result between Japan and Brazil, the Japanese have beaten their opponents 38-7 to finish ninth at the Games.

4.22pm BST

A women’s rugby sevens story here:

4.18pm BST

In the women’s rugby sevens the final matches are taking place to establish where each team finishes. South Africa have beaten Fiji 21-15 in the placing 11-12 final. Japan are currently leading Brazil 26-0 in the placing 9-10 final. Team GB will play in the placing 7-8 final at 5pm BST before the bronze medal match and gold medal match later on this evening.

4.14pm BST

You wait for a shock all day and three come along at once. This time it is in the women’s judo where the reigning -63kg Olympic champion Clarisse Agbegnenou has lost her semi-final after her opponent Andreja Leski scored with 15 seconds remaining. A huge moment on day four.

4.11pm BST

Did you miss any action with Team GB’s latest gold medal? It came in the men’s trap shooting final with Nathan Hales setting a new Olympic record. Read all the details:

4.10pm BST

Now a look at the men’s BMX freestyle and world champion Kieran Reilly has qualified top in his qualifier ahead of tomorrow’s final. He scored an average of 91.21 over his two runs in a confident display.

4.08pm BST

The men’s football is not the only shock we have seen this afternoon. A little earlier Canada defeated Australia in the semi-final of the women’s rugby sevens. Australia were among the favourites to take the gold medal, the Stade de France were stunned as they were last night when Canada knocked out hosts France.

Canada will now fight for the gold medal against New Zealand in the final – taking place tonight at 6.45 BST – after they won their semi-final against the USA.

4.04pm BST

In men’s football there has been a big upset in group C with Spain losing 2-1 to Egypt. Spain had launched a comeback with a late goal but it ended up being just a consolation. Both teams have qualified for the knock-out rounds but that is a great result for Egypt. The other match in the group between the Dominican Republic and Uzbekistan has ended 1-1.

4.00pm BST

Thank you Martin and hello everyone. It’s a scorcher today, not only the weather but the sport on display too. Over the next few hours I’ll take you through all of the headlines from the Games, as well as following the action live.

We have men’s tennis doubles, women’s team gymnastics and men’s basketball among the action. Let’s get stuck in.

3.58pm BST

That is it from me, Martin Belam , for today. My homework is clearly going to be how to spell Guatemala after getting it wrong on 1,057 occasions earlier.

I am going to be swapping watching the Olympics on television for watching some non-league football in real life, with a trip tonight to watch one of my local teams, West Essex , take on FC Clacton in the Essex Senior League . £8 in for adults and they do a cracking burger.

I will leave you in the capable hands of Sarah Rendell . I will be back here later in the week. Allons-y!

3.53pm BST

British tennis player Jack Draper has criticised Olympic organisers for making players drink “hot water” after wilting during his second-round loss, PA Media reports.

In an effort to be more environmentally friendly, tennis players are now supplied with refillable bottles, but Draper found himself unable to keep his water cool, and spending the changes of ends standing up at a water fountain.

“It was tough conditions, there’s no doubt about it,” said Draper. “I need to play more in this sort of heat, and obviously, going to America, I’ll get more used to that. It was really hot out there today.

“We were both trying our best to put out some good tennis. Part of it’s physicality but I said to the referee, it’s pretty poor that the players have to drink hot water when we’re playing in those conditions.

“It’s important we have good fridges to keep our water cool. It’s so tough to recover when you’re just not replenishing properly.

“There’s no escape from the heat, even at the change of ends. I haven’t played in much hotter conditions than that. Your body starts to really fight against you.

“We shouldn’t have to fill our water up every change of ends, we need to sit down. It’s not good enough. I just think it’s pretty poor that they put the players through that on court.”

3.51pm BST

Men’s football: did I speak too soon? Spain have made it 2-1 in the 90th minute against Egypt . Fifa’s super-extended tournament additional time is in play and there are TEN added minutes. Egypt are hanging on to their lead here.

Updated at 3.55pm BST

3.43pm BST

There is sport happening everywhere, and more than a couple of things I am yet to inform you about. With seven minutes to go Egypt ’s men have a 2-0 lead over Spain in the football. Spain are already guaranteed to go through, but this result would see Egypt top the group, and ends any hope the Dominican Republic had of advancing. They are 1-1 with Uzbekistan at the moment.

3.39pm BST

Kat Petersen emails me with the superb point that Jean Pierre Brol Cardenas of Guatemala has ruined one of her favourite Olympic facts, saying:

I am selfishly disappointed in Brol Cardenas winning a medal in the shooting – Guatemala were one of the few (not sure how many) countries that had more Nobel prize winners than Olympic medallists. I suppose I’ll settle for them now having two of each.

Has a result in these Games ruined one of your favourite obscure Olympic facts? Well don’t email me about it yet, because my shift is about to finish, but let’s pick this thread up when I’m next on …

Updated at 3.56pm BST

3.37pm BST

Tokyo gold medallist Charlotte Worthington failed to progress to the BMX freestyle final this time around, but has given a heart warming response to that disappointment in an interview, telling the BBC:

My main goal was to be a two-time Olympian, to get here. And after the journey that I’ve had, to perform a run and get to the finish line. The only fight that I was fighting out there was me against me.
So I’m really proud. And very happy with all the people that have helped me get here. I’m proud. I’m feeling a lot of emotions right now. It’s not what you want, but at the same time, I know I’ve won, and I’ve achieved my goal.

At the start of 2023, Worthington has previously said she “talked openly about my struggles with the pressures of being an Olympic champion and took some time out from major competitions.”

In the BBC interview today she continued:

I have no idea what the future holds. This has been a crazy journey and I’ve gone from the top of the world to my own personal rock bottom and I’m in the process of building up. I don’t know if I’ll go to another Olympics. I don’t know where my competitions lie now. But I’m very, very proud to get here and represent this country, and everyone that stands behind me.

She encouraged others to get into BMXing and sport in general, saying:

Oh my God, just do it. This sport has given me everything. I’m so grateful. It’s made me so happy and you know, so sad, but because it comes with both, it will build you as a person. Sport in general is a beautiful thing. And BMX is one of the things that’s made me happiest in my life.
It has built me as a person. It’s made me who I am. It’s totally transformed my life. And yeah, pick up a bike, go to your local skate park, make some friends and put a smile on your face.

3.28pm BST

Here is some more detail on the basketball defeat for Australia’s men earlier, via Australian Associated Press:

The Boomers lost 93-83 to Canada in a high-quality Olympic basketball battle that leaves Australia needing to fell Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Greece to ensure a quarter-final berth.

Australia played wonderfully in Lille on Tuesday to lead by four points at half-time, before Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, RJ Barrett (24 points, seven rebounds, five assists) and their NBA support cast overwhelmed them to seize control of their Olympics pool of death.

Gilgeous-Alexander was practically unstoppable for the World Cup bronze medallists, scoring 16 points in just 25 minutes on eight-of-10 shooting.

Josh Giddey had won the earlier exchanges (19 points, seven rebounds, six assists) before his former Oklahoma City teammate took control in the second half.

Tokyo bronze medallists Australia, who impressively beat Spain in their Games opener, will play the winless Greece on Friday.

3.22pm BST

Gold for Britain's Nathan Hales in men's trap shooting with Olympic record! 🥇🥇🥇

Men’s trap shooting: in a phenomenal display of shooting Great Britain’s Nathan Hales has taken gold in the men’s trap, scoring 48/50 and setting a new Olympic record.

The current world record-holder beat China’s Qi Ying into second place by four shots.

Sweden’s Rikard Levin-Andersson had an attack of nerves when he was in third place and made a couple of errors, letting in Jean Pierre Brol Cardenas of Guatemala for bronze, his nation’s first medal of the Games and only their second ever summer Olympic medal.

Updated at 4.05pm BST

3.19pm BST

Men’s trap shooting: Nathan Hales goes into the last five shots with a lead of three. He is also looking set to break the Olympic record.

3.15pm BST

Men’s trap shooting: Jean Pierre Brol Cardenas of Guatemala takes bronze. Great Britain’s world record holder Nathan Hales now leads by three shots after 40. He is very close to a gold medal here. Only China’s Qi Ying and/or his own nerves can stop him.

Updated at 3.56pm BST

3.12pm BST

Men’s trap shooting: Nathan Hales is back in front after Qi Ying misses twice! Hales is 33/35, Qi Ying is 31/35.

Sweden’s Rikard Levin-Andersson did have a disaster and Jean Pierre Brol Cardenas of Guatamala has overtaken him and is guaranteed at least a bronze! Their first of the Games!

3.10pm BST

Men’s trap shooting: Team GB’s Nathan Hales misses a second shot, he is now tied 31/33 with China’s Qi Ying . I don’t want another nervy experience like live blogging Tom Pidcock was yesterday in that incredible cycle race.

3.08pm BST

Men’s trap shooting: it is the American Derrick Mein who is eliminated next. Four shooters left. Nathan Hales leads by one shot from China’s Qi Ying and Sweden’s Rikard Levin-Andersson .

Jean Pierre Brol Cardenas of Guatamala is in fourth, and will be elimated in five shots time unless one of the others has a nightmare.

3.02pm BST

Men’s trap shooting: world number two James Willett is the first man to be eliminated, and finishes sixth. Nathan Hales leads with 24/25, and then China’s Qi Ying and Sweden’s Rikard Levin-Andersson have 23/25.

3.00pm BST

France’s reigning champion Clarisse Agbegnenou and three-times world champion Georgian Tato Grigalashvili safely reached the judo semi-finals, Reuters reports.

Agbegnenou brought joy to the crowd in the quarter-finals of the women’s under 63kg when she beat Laura Fazliu of Kosovo. Grigalashvili will face 22-year-old South Korean Lee Joon-hwan in the men’s under 81kg semi-final.

2.57pm BST

I honestly think I could stand there shooting all day and wouldn’t hit one of these targets. Nathan Hales here has hit 21 out of 22.

2.54pm BST

Men’s trap shooting: the thing with this sport is these guys are really very, very good at it, and so it is going to come down to someone missing just once or twice. Australia’s James Willett has already racked up four misses, but the leading pair, China’s Qi Ying and Team GB’s Nathan Hales , have missed just one of their opening 18 shots. Matthew Coward-Holley took a bronze in this for Great Britain in Tokyo.

2.43pm BST

Men’s trap shooting: at Chateauroux the men’s trap final has started. There are six men on the range, with Great Britain’s Nathan Hales, Australia’s James Willett and Derrick Scott Mein of the USA among those hoping to land a medal.

2.40pm BST

That gold for China puts them back on top of the medal table, with six golds each for China and Japan . France , Australia and South Korea all have five, the USA three and several countries, including Great Britain and Canada , have two. You can find all the details here .

2.37pm BST

Gold for China in the table tennis mixed doubles 🥇

Table tennis mixed doubles: North Korea ’s Kim Kum Yong and Ri Jong Sik put up a brave fight here, but China continued their virtual stranglehold on table tennis medals in Olympic history with Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha taking gold. They won 11-6 7-11 11-8 11-5 7-11 11-8.

It is the 33rd gold China has won in table tennis since it was introduced in 1988. The only other nations to ever win a gold in the sport are South Korea on three occasions and Japan and Sweden once each.

Updated at 3.05pm BST

2.27pm BST

Mathieu Lehanneur designed the hot air balloon effect Olympic cauldron that absolutely wowed me at the opening ceremony , and Reuters have a few words with him about the reaction to it. He told the news agency:

I’m so happy about what’s happening, it’s unbelievable. I was here again last night and so you have to imagine that here behind me, every night from 8pm, crowds start to build up and then at 10pm [when the cauldron is lit] there is an extraordinary atmosphere.

Also behind the scenes, Rudi Zygadlo has spoken to the musical director of the Olympics, Victor le Masne . You can read that here …

2.22pm BST

Table tennis mixed doubles: the North Korean pair needed to take the fifth game to stay in contention, and they did. China lead 3-2 in the final, which is best of seven.

2.21pm BST

Men’s basketball: not a good day at the office for the Australia team, who will be disappointed with a 93-83 reverse to Canada in Group A. Earlier in the same group Spain defeated Greece 84-77. Australia face Greece in the final group match on Friday. The top two progress in each group, with two third-placed teams also reaching the quarter-finals.

2.12pm BST

Table tennis mixed doubles: North Korea ’s Kim Kum Yong and Ri Jong Sik are facing China ’s Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha in the final. At the moment the Chinese duo are two games to one ahead, and leading the fourth 7-5. There is a huge contingent of Chinese fans in the venue, and the atmosphere seems electric every time they score a point.

2.05pm BST

Here is an extended report, via Associated Press, of Coco Gauff ’s exit from the Olympics singles, after defeat to Croatia’s Donna Vekić . Gauff is still entered in the women’s doubles and mixed doubles.

2.01pm BST

Some great quotes from Italy’s Simona Quadarella here about lining up in the pool alongside the legend that is Katie Ledecky . Reuters reports Quadarella said:

I always do races with Katie without thinking about her and without seeing her. It’s like the lane is empty with no one. Because I think she is unbeatable. So I will check the other girls and I hope for the best.

1.56pm BST

Women’s BMX freestyle: it is Hannah Roberts of the USA who has finished top of the pile in qualifying here, with a score of 91.45. However Team GB ’s defending gold medallist Charlotte Worthington has failed to make the cut and is one of the three riders eliminated. Sun Jiaqi and Deng Yawen of China qualified second and third, with Perris Benegas of the US in fourth. The final is tomorrow afternoon in Paris.

1.50pm BST

Ewan Murray has been at Golf National in France, and has teed up – see what I did there – this week’s contest:

Rory McIlroy has set his sights on Olympic gold as a means to atone for a decade of hurt in major championships.

McIlroy, who is donning Team Ireland colours at Golf National this week, won the last of his four major championships in 2014. While, like many golfers, McIlroy is clearly unsure about the standing of Olympic medals in this sport he is high on personal motivation. Golf was absent from the Games for 112 years until a return in 2016.

“It would be the achievement, certainly of the year,” McIlroy said when asked where success would rank in his mind. “I think for me, it’s well documented that I haven’t won one of the big four in 10 years. It would probably be one of, if not the biggest in my career for the last 10 years.

1.49pm BST

Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez has revealed she was competing while seven months pregnant. Alexandra Topping has the story here …

1.38pm BST

Women’s tennis singles: yesterday Team USA published a piece on their website “ Coco Gauff is loving life at the Paris Olympic Games”. Not so much today. Donna Vekić is into the quarter-finals after the thirteenth seed beat Gauff 7-6 6-2.

Gauff was involved in a heated exchange with the officials two games from the end of the match over a disputed call.

1.35pm BST

Amy Wilson-Hardy withdrawn from Team GB rugby sevens squad

Team GB has issued a statement to say that Amy Wilson Hardy has been withdrawn. It said:

The British Olympic Association has confirmed that Amy Wilson Hardy has been withdrawn on medical grounds from the Paris 2024 rugby sevens placement matches and will be replaced by Tokyo 2020 Olympian Abi Burton.

The British Olympic Association has been investigating Hardy over an alleged racist message sent on WhatsApp .

Updated at 1.59pm BST

1.29pm BST

Men’s tennis singles: Taylor Fritz of the USA has seen off the challenge of Great Britain ’s Jack Draper . The number seven seed won 6-7 6-3 6-2.

1.23pm BST

Table tennis mixed doubles: I must confess I have somewhat neglected the table tennis, but the mixed doubles bronze medal match has just finished in victory for Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yubin of South Korea .

1.19pm BST

Men’s hockey: there are scenes here as Great Britain have scored two goals in quick succession and brought it back to 2-2. The Netherlands have had a player green carded to add insult to injury. There is 90 seconds left.

1.17pm BST

Women’s BMX freestyle: Team GB ’s Charlotte Worthington has just scored a low-ish 79.2 on her first run, and looked a bit miffed about it. The final score in each heat is an average of the score from two runs.

China’s Sun Jiaqi won the first heat, with the USA ’s Perris Benegas and the Czech Republic ’s Iveta Miculyčová also progressing.

1.11pm BST

Men’s hockey: not good news for Team GB . The Netherlands have a 2-0 lead going into the last seven minutes of the final quarter. Thijs van Dam with the second Dutch goal in the 52nd minute.

1.08pm BST

Kieran Pender has this update for the Guardian from the Olympic pool:

Australia’s defending Olympic champion in the men’s 200m breaststroke, Zac Stubblety-Cook , has surged in the final lap to book the second fastest time in the heats, ahead of tonight’s semi-finals. South Korea’s Cho Sung Jae was fastest, with home favourite Leon Marchand in third. Fellow Australian Joshua Yong went through in 14th.

In the women’s 100m freestyle, dual Australian hopes Shayna Jack and Mollie O’Callaghan comfortably progressed, in fifth and sixth respectively, with Swedish star Sarah Sjostrom fastest. O’Callaghan backed up after her remarkable 200m freestyle gold medal last night.

In the men’s 100m freestyle, Australian Kyle Chalmers qualified for the semi-finals in sixth.

In the women’s 1500m freestyle, American Katie Ledecky was fastest, with Australia’s Moesha Johnson – who is also swimming the marathon 10km open water race later in the Games – through in fifth.

In the heats of the morning, for the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay, Great Britain was fastest through to tonight’s final, followed by the USA , France and Australia .

1.02pm BST

Baton handover: Martin Belam is back for the foreseeable, so I’ll be leaving you in very capable hands. Thank you for your eyeballs!

12.58pm BST

Men’s hockey: The Netherlands have just gone one up in the third quarter of their Pool A match against Great Britain. Meanwhile in Pool B, India have doubled their lead over the Irish and are two goals to the good.

12.52pm BST

Tennis: Donna Vekic (Croatia) has taken the first set off Coco Gauff (USA) in their third round match in the women’s singles, while Jack Draper (Great Britain) is a set to the good in his second round encounter against Taylor Fritz (USA). Sadly for Jack, it looks like he’ll have to win it the hard way; his opponent is 5-2 up in the second and about to restore parity.

12.44pm BST

Swimming: Having already won gold in the 400m individual medley, French superstar Leon Marchant qualified for the 200m butterfly semi-finals earlier this morning and has just booked his place in the breastroke equivalent.

In other swimming news, Great Britain’s men have just swam out comfortable winners of their heat in the 4x200m freestyle relay ahead of tonight’s final at 9.15pm. “I can’t imagine us not winning that final tonight,” says BBC swimming pundit Adrian Moorhouse.

Updated at 12.44pm BST

12.37pm BST

Men’s hockey: Elsewhere at the Yves du Manoir Stadium, Great Britain’s men are taking on the Netherlands in Pool A and the match, being played in extreme heat, remains scoreless.

12.34pm BST

Men’s hockey: Having lost their first two games in Pool B against Belgium and Australia, Ireland currently find themselves a goal down against India inat the end of the first quarter of their latest encounter. India won their opener against New Zealand before drawing with Argentina in their second match.

12.23pm BST

Sailing: Great Britain’s Sam Sills finished sixth in race two of the men’s iQFOiL to drag himself up to 17th overall in the 24-man field.

Updated at 12.24pm BST

12.18pm BST

Swimming: It’s job done for Great Britain’s Anna Hopkin, who has qualified for the semi-finals of the women’s 100m freestyle with the 10th fastest time in the heats. She goes through in 53.67 seconds.

12.13pm BST

Hockey: Great Britain’s game against the Netherlands in the men’s competition is underway at the Yves du Manoir Stadium and it’s currently scoreless. The Dutch won their opening two games against South Africa and France, while Team GB started with a win against Spain but were held 2-2 by South Africa.

12.03pm BST

Tennis: Great Britain’s Jack Draper is in the second round of the men’s singles on Court Suzanne-Lenglen at Roland Garros. He’s playing Taylor Fritz from the USA and leads 6-5 in the first set. Elsewhere at Roland Garros, Fritz’s compatriot Coco Gauff leads Croatia’s Donna Vekic by the exact same score in the third round of the women’s singles.

11.55am BST

Table tennis: China’s reigning women’s table tennis singles gold medallist Chen Meng has won her way into last 16 by beating Sweden’s Linda Bergstrom 4-1.

11.51am BST

Corrections and clarifications: “Just to be an absolute pedant, but the photo used in the live blog illustrating the story about Brouillet’s photo of Brazilian surfer Medina is a different angle from a different photographer,” writes Ben Roome. “It should be Jérôme Brouillet/AFP/Getty Images and you’ve used Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock.” Never apologise for always welcome pedantry.

11.48am BST

Sailing: After a very long delay, the second round of the Men’s iQFOiL, with all 24 competitors surfing across the water in Marseille. Team GB’s Sam Sills is currently in seventh place.

11.46am BST

Judo: Great Britain’s Lucy Renshaw has been knocked out of the women’s -63kg competition by Austria’s Lubjana Piovesana, who used to represent Team GB until nailing her colours to the Austrian mast in 2023. Renshaw exits in the second round of the competition, having gone out in the first round in Tokyo.

“Judo’s such a cruel sport,” a tearful Renshaw tells the BBC. “The last 12 weeks have probably been the best 12 weeks of training I’ve ever done before. I felt like I had more to give. It wasn’t that exhausting because I felt good.”

On fighting somebody she knows well and used to train with: “I think that’s what happens when you fight somebody so regularly and you know them so well. It’s quite a rubbish fight because you know each other so well. She was the better player on the day.”

11.30am BST

11.28am BST

11.26am BST

Sailing: Race two of the Men’s iQFOiL (a windsurfing class) in Marseille has been delayed but looks like it is going to start in the next few minutes. Organisers in race management boat are just waiting for the wind to settle and making some last-minute adjustments to the course: moving the start line, among other things … as you do.

There are 24 different nations represented in the men’s competition and Sam Sills goes for Great Britain. After the completion of one race, he sits in 21st place overall.

Updated at 12.48pm BST

11.17am BST

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Updated at 11.26am BST

11.14am BST

I can’t stop looking at this photograph. I mean … wow.

11.08am BST

Good day, everyone. Barry Glendenning here to take you through the next couple of hours, with precious little in the way of glamour medal events looming.

We do have a Pool A men’s hockey game between Great Britain and the Netherlands looming in the next hour, while Ireland take on India in Pool B. Throw some tennis, archery, boxing, swimming and volleytball into the mix, and it’s quite the eclectic jamboree.

11.00am BST

Imagine that bit of Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me where George Michael says “Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Elton John!”, except it is me saying “Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Barry Glendenning!”. I will see you back here in a couple of hours.

10.53am BST

Team GB have announced a squad change in the men’s hockey, with Tom Sorsby coming in for the injured David Goodfield .

Great Britain, after a win over Spain and a draw with South Africa, face the Netherlands in Pool A at 12.45 local time. The Dutch have won their two games so far.

Earlier in Pool A France and Spain drew, and Germany are currently well in control against South Africa with a 4-1 lead at the start of the fourth quarter.

10.44am BST

More here from my colleague Kieran Pender in Paris on that latest news of Covid in the swimming camps:

Australia’s Lani Pallister has withdrawn from the women’s 1500m freestyle after testing positive for Covid, the Australian Olympic Committee announced an hour before her anticipated heat swim on Tuesday.

Pallister won bronze in the long distance event at the 2022 world championships, but opted to withdraw from the Paris 2024 race in the hope of recovering in time for Australia’s 4x200m freestyle relay on Thursday.

The 22-year-old’s withdrawal leaves Moesha Johnson as the only Australian in the 1500m race; Johnson will also swim in the 10 kilometre open water marathon swimming later in the Games.

The AOC’s announcement has sparked fears of a growing Covid risk on the pool deck, after British swim star Adam Peaty tested positive on Monday less than 24 hours after winning silver in the 100m breaststroke.

Pallister is not the only Australian Olympian to go down with Covid in Paris – several members of the women’s water polo team, the Stingers, tested positive on the eve of the Games.

Chef de mission insisted that the Australian team was taking a different approach to Covid than three years ago, when the Tokyo Olympics were held amid the height of the pandemic.

“This is a high-performance environment, so we are being diligent,” Meares said at a press conference last week. “But I need to emphasise we’re treating Covid no differently to other bugs like the flu – this is not Tokyo.”

10.41am BST

Men’s water polo: a fairly routine victory for Australia over Serbia in Group B the water polo. It finished 8-3 with Luke Pavillard scoring four of those.

10.38am BST

Men’s hockey: it finished France 3-3 Spain , a result that isn’t really much use to the hosts, who have now failed to win in their first three matches.

10.36am BST

Equestrian dressage: British Dressage, who run events in the UK, say that the concept of dressage dates back as far as 350BC and Athenian historian and soldier Xenophon . I don’t suppose he had a complicated system where sixty riders were divided into six groups of ten, with the top two qualifying for the Grand Prix final plus the six other best-scoring riders, but there you go. That is what is happening with the horses right now. Just look at that setting …

There is also a team competition qualification happening at the same time, with the top ten teams progressing to the final.

10.26am BST

Men’s hockey: I’d be tearing my hair out if I was the French coach. They got back into the lead 3-2 but have let it slip again. France 3-3 Spain with six minutes to go.

10.24am BST

Beau Dure has a feature today looking Taylor Knibb , who will – pollution permitting – follow up her appearance in the cycling time trial with the triathlon, joining a select group of athletes to perform in two different sports at the same Games.

10.14am BST

The c-word has cropped up again. Reuters reports Australia’s Lani Pallister , a medal hope in the women’s 1,500 metres freestyle, has withdrawn from the event after testing positive for Covid. A team spokesperson said the decision had been made to save her energy for the 4x200 freestyle relay.

10.11am BST

Women’s double sculls rowing: Team GB ’s Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne and Rebecca Wilde have secured a spot in Thursday’s final after finishing second in their semi-final behind Romania ’s Ancuța Bodnar and Simona Radiș . Norway came third but Australian pair Amanda Bateman and Harriet Hudson missed out in fourth place. In the other semi-final it was New Zealand, the Netherlands and France who progressed.

10.01am BST

Men’s hockey: the hosts have been without a win so far in the Olympics, and France at one point had a 2-0 lead today, but they’ve let Spain right back into this. It is 2-2 with five minutes of the third quarter remaining.

9.57am BST

Here are your medal winners from the 10m air pistol mixed team event. Gold for Serbia , silver for Turkey and bronze for India .

9.45am BST

Reuters is carrying a quote from French triathlon federation technical director Benjamin Maze , who with some understatement has told FranceInfo radio “of course there is a little bit of anger and a lot of disappointment” among the athletes about the cancellation of today’s men’s triathlon .

9.43am BST

Women’s handball: a convincing win for Germany over Slovenia in the end, to give the Germans their first win at the thrid attempt. The match finished 41-22 in Group A, with seven goals apiece for Xenia Smits and Annika Lott. All the teams in this group are playing today at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, with the next two fixtures being Norway v South Korea this morning, and Sweden v Denmark tonight.

9.36am BST

Australia has brought in Ben O’Connor for the men’s road race after Luke Plapp withdrew after his crash in slippery conditions in the individual time trial on Saturday.

Plapp was admitted to hospital and required abdominal surgery after the incident, which ruled him out of the road race this weekend.

“Luke is receiving the best of care in hospital and is being well supported by our medical team,” said Australian Chef de Mission Anna Meares . “We expect he’ll be out of hospital this week and wish him a speedy recovery.”

O’Connor is one of Australia’s leading general classification riders; he placed fourth in the Giro d’Italia in May and is expected to ride the Vuelta a España next month. He will ride in support of Australian leader Michael Matthews, alongside Simon Clarke. “Ben has performed strongly this season and is currently in top form,” said Meares.

Updated at 9.47am BST

9.35am BST

Gold for Serbia in the 10m air pistol mixed team shooting 🥇🥇🥇

Shooting 10m air pistol mixed team: after a tense finish Damir Mikec and Zorana Arunović have won Serbia ’s first medal of these Games, and it is gold.

Despite at one point trailing Turkey 8-2, a combined score of 20.1 in the fifteenth round of shooting gave them a 16-14 triumph. The Serbian pair had finished fourth in this event in Tokyo.

Şevval İlayda Tarhan and Yusuf Dikeç took silver, with Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh winning bronze for India in the earlier bronze medal match against South Korea.

9.22am BST

Shooting 10m air pistol mixed team: Turkey are Serbia are tied 10-10 in this final 👀

9.20am BST

Men’s volleyball: Italy have beaten Egypt 25-15 25-16 25-20 in Pool B. The US face Germany in Pool C at 13.00 local time.

9.15am BST

Rowing men’s single sculls: it is the quarter-finals in this today. New Zealand ’s Thomas Mackintosh is holding the lead in the first one at the moment.

9.11am BST

Men’s hockey: hosts France have copped a couple of thumpings so far in this tournament, losing 8-2 to Germany and 4-0 to the Netherlands in their first two games. However they have taken an early lead against Spain this morning in a match that started at 10am local time.

9.06am BST

Shooting 10m air pistol mixed team: the gold medal match has started, featuring Serbia ’s Damir Mikec and Zorana Arunović against Turkey ’s Şevval İlayda Tarhan and Yusuf Dikeç .

8.56am BST

Men’s volleyball: Italy seem on their way to a second win in Pool B, having taken the first two sets against Egypt 25-15 25-16.

8.50am BST

Shooting 10m air pistol mixed team: and the bronze medal🥉 goes to India ! They fumbled a couple of chances to score the final two points they needed, giving opponents South Korea some hope of a comeback as they ate into India’s lead, but ultimately Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh won 16-10. Turkey and Serbia are up next for the gold!

8.42am BST

Shooting 10m air pistol mixed team: there has just been a tactical time out in the bronze medal match, but it hasn’t quite revived South Korea ’s fortunes yet. India lead 10-6 going into series nine.

8.39am BST

Women’s handball: Germany’s women have taken a 16-9 lead against Slovenia into half-time in the handball. Germany desperately need a result here today, having narrowly lost both their opening matches. Four of the six teams in the group progress, and Germany are the only side in Group A yet to notch a win.

8.25am BST

Shooting 10m air pistol mixed team: it is very early doors for the first medal of the day. South Korea ’s Oh Ye Jin and Lee Wonho are facing India ’s Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh in the bronze medal match. They are just doing the formalities at the moment. Turkey will face Serbia in the final for the gold medal directly afterwards.

8.05am BST

It is just gone 9am in Paris, and a couple of team sports have just got going. Germany and Slovenia are playing in the women’s handball, while Italy take on Egypt in the men’s volleyball.

Updated at 8.26am BST

8.02am BST

Hello! Good morning from London. It is Martin Belam here very much looking forward to my favourite Olympic sport, the triathlon today *checks earpiece* oh, I hear there is news . Never mind, there is still plenty to look forward to, including medals in shooting, judo, artistic gymnastics, fencing, rugby sevens and swimming. There is a lot to pack in. Allons-y!

7.59am BST

It’s time for the baton to be passed once again from Melbourne to London and for Martin Belam to steer you through the the morning’s action. À Mercredi tout le monde.

7.51am BST

The early starters in the badminton will soon be joined by competitors in beach volleyball, handball, and shooting, with those events all starting at 9:00 local time.

Then from 9:30 shooting will deliver the day’s first medals. It’s the business end of the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team with India and Korea competing for bronze, followed by Türkiye v Serbia for gold.

Updated at 8.05am BST

7.32am BST

Day four of Paris 2024 is under way (half-an-hour later than scheduled) with Porte de La Chapelle Arena humming to the sound of satisfyingly spanked shuttlecocks. I’m pretty sure today is the last of the group phase in the singles and doubles, while the mixed doubles are already through to the quarter-finals.

7.21am BST

It’s going to be a scorching hot day in Paris with temperatures peaking in the mid-30s. However, there’s a chance of overnight showers with scattered thunderstorms on the cards for Wednesday and Thursday. The poor triathlon organisers better have Plans C through to Z handy.

7.16am BST

Men’s 100m favourite Noah Lyles has come under fire for (uncontroversially in my opinion) saying he was the fastest man in the world during the opening ceremony. The 27-year-old won the 100m, 200m, and 4 x 100m relay at last year’s world championships and will enter each of those events next week ranked number one in the world. That’s pretty solid ground if you ask me. Besides, I am very much here for the braggadocious sprinters. More of it please, Noah.

7.07am BST

Women’s rugby sevens is enjoying its moment in the spotlight, as Jack Snape reports.

The 66,000 who packed the stadium on Sunday set a new attendance record for women’s rugby, beating the previous one of 58,498 at Twickenham for England v France last year. A similar number returned on Monday. The same is expected for Tuesday’s medal matches, the stands full just as they were for Antoine Dupont’s crowning glory in the men’s sevens days earlier. And they were almost as loud on Monday night, bouncing around the ground in northern Paris but unable to will their side over the line in a surprise 19-14 quarter-final loss to Canada.

6.55am BST

One of the most emotional moments of the Games so far arrived yesterday in the fencing when Olha Kharlan won bronze for Ukraine. It was the 33-year-old’s fifth Olympic medal (a list topped by gold at Beijing 2008) but none of the previous four carried such weight.

Kharlan shot to international attention at the 2023 World Fencing Championships when she was disqualified for not shaking hands with her Russian opponent, Anna Smirnova. Her ejection had made qualification for Paris by the standard route virtually impossible but she was handed a lifeline following an intervention from the IOC president Thomas Bach, a former fencer.

Nick Ames has been close to the story throughout and reported on Kharlan’s success from the Grand Palais.

This was for Ukraine . It was for the people back home where every victory, of whatever kind, is laden with meaning few outside can understand. It was for those who have lost their lives while fighting to ensure the country’s athletes remain free to compete. It was for Olha Kharlan’s family in Mykolaiv, where her parents spent months living in their basement under continued Russian attack. And it was for the show of principle that almost denied her the chance to experience this at all.

6.47am BST

Earlier today I pointed you in the direction of a gallery of the best images from day three including the incredible shot of a levitating Gabriel Medina. Here’s how the shot came together, featuring the photographer Jérôme Brouillet.

6.38am BST

The men’s Olympic triathlon was postponed just hours before it was due to start on Tuesday following a 3.30am inspection of the Seine, which found that pollution levels were still too high for athletes to safely swim in.
In a statement, organisers said that the heavy rain over Paris on Friday and Saturday had compelled them to “reschedule the event for health reasons.”
With rain also forecast for later this week, the men’s race has been rescheduled for 10.45am on Wednesday following the conclusion of the women’s race, which is due to start at 8am.
However athletes included Team GB’s Alex Yee and Beth Potter, who are favourites for the men’s and women’s race, face an anxious wait to see if water quality improves.
There is also a risk of thunder and lightning in Wednesday’s forecast, which could throw yet another potential spanner in the works.

6.37am BST

“I’m sort of with you on the skating,” emails Jakob Mathiszig-Lee in response to my curmudgeonly post , “but that said I really enjoyed watching the final yesterday, as did my 3 year old.

“I think one of the issues with it is what makes tricks difficult is sometimes extremely difficult to pick up quickly to a casual viewer and a lot of them look extremely similar in real time. That said the commentary team yesterday did a great job of explaining why a trick deserved a high score during the replays and I was completely gripped by the best trick session in the end.”

Thanks Jakob, and I’m pleased you and your three-year-old were absorbed by the action. Ultimately that is the point of the inclusion of events like this, to broaden the appeal of the Games and steer it away from its militaristic Victorian origins. If the occasional innovation doesn’t capture every passing viewer, that’s fine.

I am considerably more excited by the prospect of breaking – as a spectacle. I’m unconvinced how it will play out as sport.

6.28am BST

Rhona Rose has emailed in to ask if we can produce a per-capita medal table that takes into account population size. I shall pass that onto the data visualisation geniuses, but a quick squiz would single out Hong Kong as massive overachievers at this early stage, with Kazakhstan, Belgium, Mongolia, and Moldova among the other notable medal-winners.

6.18am BST

It’s not been a record breaking few days in the pool but the racing has been spectacular with nail-biting finishes and hyped duels living up to the billing. One such was the women’s 200m freestyle clash between Australian training partners Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O’Callaghan.

Standing atop the podium with a gold medal around her neck, O’Callaghan invited Titmus to join her. The pair stood together, arms around each other, as they sang Advance Australia Fair. Not one but two Australians elevated on the dais – recognition of Titmus’s role in inspiring O’Callaghan to greatness, and of Titmus’s own heroics. Short of the pair touching in a dead-heat and sharing gold, it was perhaps the most fitting way for this gladiatorial battle to end.

6.12am BST

Following in the footsteps of their male counterparts, the US women’s basketball team began their Olympic campaign looking like a team with a point to prove. The Americans now have a 56-game Olympic winning streak that dates to the 1992 Barcelona Games. It means 42-year-old Diana Taurasi is on track for a sixth consecutive gold medal.

6.03am BST

Watching Tom Pidcock deal with a flat tyre and win the cross-country cycling was much easier to enjoy.

It was a ride of pure, thrilling instinct: a welcome reminder that in the chaos of competitive cross-country biking, sometimes the best plan is no plan at all. And Pidcock, who has won on the snow-flecked peaks of Alpe d’Huez and the dandruff-white roads of Strade Bianche and now the verdant woodland of Paris , is in many ways a cyclist of the romantic imagination, of a time before strategies and specialisation and four‑year plans, when the essence of the sport was simply to get on your bike and thrash the hell out of it.
Specialisation will surely come for Pidcock too in the end. With a second gold safely in the bag, and with his peak years approaching, all the incentives seem to point towards a proper tilt at the Tour with Ineos Grenadiers, the laborious process of chiselling and sanding himself down into a pure mountain machine. But here, amid the tree stumps and the dirt, is where his bold and breathtaking range of skills finds its most vivid and spectacular expression.

5.59am BST

I’m going to level with you all, I don’t get skateboarding, especially the street event. Compared to the other youth-focussed modern inclusions (like BMX or climbing) the skills underwhelm me and all that concrete leaves me a little cold. I am happy to be educated, if anyone has a constructive email for me to read.

But apparently yesterday’s men’s final was as good as it gets.

In a heart-pounding 102-minute show of can-you-top-this immediately hailed as the greatest men’s street final ever staged, the trio spent the afternoon swapping medal positions before a packed crowd of about 5,000 spectators that included rapper Snoop Dogg , who had started the day watching Novak Djokovic’s win over Rafael Nadal alongside Billie Jean King at Roland-Garros. The crackling atmosphere was a far cry from the nearly empty Ariake Urban Sports Park where Horigome won his first Olympic gold three years ago.

5.48am BST

Scroll to the bottom and enjoy Gabriel Medina levitating.

5.43am BST

Yesterday’s success for Team GB has already entered history as magic Monday, but the day also brought news of a positive Covid result for silver medallist Adam Peaty. The absence of panic is a far cry from Tokyo three years ago but the risk of an outbreak remains a concern so early into competition.

5.37am BST

Among the highlights of day three was a second round singles match in the men’s tennis. But it was no ordinary clash, featuring the two most successful men in the sport’s history: Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic is bidding for the only trophy missing from his collection with fate conspiring to deliver the Serbian just one bronze medal in a career that has spanned four previous Olympics. Dominik Koepfer (GER) should prove no obstacle in round three, but danger lurks thereafter with Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE), Alexander Zverev (GER), and Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) his next scheduled opponents.

Nadal meanwhile may have played his final singles match of note, and it was fitting that it came on centre court at Roland Garros, against an opponent with whom he has shared the most active rivalry in tennis history. “I have been suffering a lot of injuries the last two years,” Nadal said. “So if I feel that I am not competitive enough to keep going or physically I’m not ready to keep going, I will stop and I will let you know. But I don’t think every day about if I am retiring or not.”

5.24am BST

With the triathlon postponed the first action of the day will once again come in badminton (8:30). Beach volleyball, handball, shooting, and volleyball all kick-off at 9:00 then rowing at 9:30, hockey, judo, and table tennis at 10:00.

5.18am BST

Japan top the medal table on the morning of day four, thanks in no small part to their domination of skateboarding. The USA lead the medal count, but only three of their 20 visits to the podium have reached the top step.

It’s always good for a Games to see the hosts with some early momentum and everything is going to script so far for France.

The flags of 36 NOCs have now been raised in Paris, including a brace of golds for Hong Kong, a first podium finish in the pool for Ireland since Michelle Smith at Atlanta 96, and Ukraine’s first medal of the Paris Games, a bronze to fencer Olga Kharlan .

5.08am BST

Men's triathlon postponed due to pollution fears

Disappointing news to start day four in Paris with World Triathlon announcing the postponement of the men’s event due to the water quality of the river Seine. The race has been rescheduled to tomorrow, after the women’s event. That still doesn’t leave much time for the water quality to improve, so further disruption is not out of the question.

Sean Ingle has been covering the story for a number of days and filed this report yesterday after the cancellation of open water practice.

Swimming in the Seine has been banned for over a century. But since 2015, organisers have spent around £1bn to ensure a cleaner river for the Games – and to allow Parisians to swim in it afterwards.
Renovations have included the construction of a giant basin to capture excess rainwater and stop too much sewage from flowing into the river – as well as renovating infrastructure and upgrading wastewater treatment plants. The hope now is that the forecast hot weather will be enough to drop E coli levels low enough to race.

Updated at 8.05am BST

5.01am BST

Preamble – Day Four Schedule

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

Day three was when Great Britain came to life at these Games with Tom Pidcock and the equestrian team securing gold medals, along with silvers in the diving , canoe slalom , and men’s 200m freestyle , as well as bronze in the individual jumping. There was also more joy for the hosts with France celebrating a clutch of silver medals to go with golds in fencing and canoe slalom.

It was a night of gripping finals in the pool , more skateboarding joy for Japan , and the awarding of one of the most emotional medals of the 2024 Olympics: bronze to Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan .

So what can we look forward to today?

Medal Events

🥇 Triathlon – men’s individual (from 8:00)
🥇 Shooting – 10m air pistol mixed team (from 9:30)
🥇 Table Tennis – mixed doubles (from 14:30)
🥇 Shooting – men’s trap (from 15:30)
🥇 Judo – men’s 81kg / women’s 63kg (from 16:00)
🥇 Gymnastics - women’s team (18:15)
🥇 Fencing - women’s épée team (19:30)
🥇 Rugby Sevens - women’s (19:45)
🥇 Swimming - women’s 100m backstroke / men’s 800m freestyle & 4 x 200m freestyle relay (20:56)
🥇 Surfing - men’s & women’s (03:34 Wednesday)

*(All times listed are Paris local)

Simon Burnton’s day-by-day guide

Swimming: women’s 100m backstroke
Kaylee McKeown, Australia’s backstroke queen, is going for six golds in Paris – twice the number she won in Tokyo – and today could bring her first, with the 100m final in the evening session. McKeown broke her own world record last October and goes in as overwhelming favourite; Thursday, Friday and Saturday’s 200m backstroke and 200m individual medley double will be a much harder test.

Surfing: men’s and women’s gold medal matches
Olympic organisers chose to hold the surfing competition in Teahupo’o – approximate translation “wall of skulls”, though it’s been nicknamed The End of the Road – in Tahiti, with athletes staying in a cruise ship moored offshore after locals objected to plans to build housing for them (they could not stop the construction of a judging tower in the reef). The attraction is what surfer.com described as “without a doubt one of the heaviest, scariest, most dangerous left-hand reef break waves in the entire world”.

Other unmissable moments will include Simone Biles competing in the gymnastics team final (18:15) and a blockbuster afternoon on Court Suzanne Lenglen where Rafael Nadal is on third in the men’s doubles, followed by Andy Murray , in what could be the retiring great’s final competitive appearance.

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 few hours of the blog here in Australia, after which I’m handing over to Martin Belam in the UK.