Key events
Rivalries between two dominant athletes so often prove to be among the most engaging storylines to come out of the Games and that’s certainly the case for men’s 1500m competitors Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr – the duo cruising through their semi-final yesterday and set up a gold medal showdown on Tuesday evening.
Swimmer Kyle Chalmers has an endorsement deal with grooming brand Wahl here Down Under, with ads during the games advertising their facial hair trimmer. It got me thinking how much of a massive flex it would be for a swimmer to rock up at the Olympics with a massive beard – aerodynamics be damned – and take out the gold.
Even then, though, it would only be the second most impressive beard to scoop swimming gold at the Olympics, after Amanda Beard.
The velodrome has proved a happy hunting ground for Team GB in recent Games, and as the track cycling gets under way anticipation is high that the Vélodrome National de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines will prove a bountiful host for Great Britain’s cyclists — even in the absence of the likes of Laura and Jason Kenny and Katie Archibald.
The phrase ‘Put in the Louvre’ is getting a bit old hat these days. Maybe we can put this incredible image of the men’s 100 metre final in the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris instead.
A night after Olha Kharlan secured Ukraine’s first gold medal of the Games in fencing, Yaroslava Mahuchikh doubled her country’s haul in the women’s high jump yesterday, the nap-powered world record-holder taking the crown ahead of Australian duo Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson.
Nick Ames was on hand at the Stade de France to take it all in, as Ukraine’s women continued to embody their nation’s resilience on the world stage – Mahuchikh dedicating the win to the athletes and coaches that have been killed since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
This is the Guardian’s live coverage of the tenth official day of competition at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
That’s the post.
There was always going to be significant pressure on host nation France to deliver on the football pitch in these games.
But while Les Bleus’ women were eliminated by Brazil in the quarter-finals – ensuring living legend Marta will have a chance to sign off her amazing career with a medal – their men have advanced through to the semi-finals, where they will take on Egypt later today.
And in guiding the side to this point, Philippe Auclair observes that Thierry Henry has taken great strides in restoring his reputation as a coach and, just maybe, is beginning to put together a case to succeed Didier Deschamps at the helm of the senior side.
I can see what they’re doing, what he’s doing. I can see it, I can feel it. He’s cooking.
For those European-based types getting up and checking the live blog as you begin to get ready for the day, what’s on the menu for breakfast? If you’re after a breakfast of champions, maybe I can suggest two breakfast burritos made with nine eggs, sausage or bacon, cheese, sour cream and salsa – just like American shot putter Ryan Crouser.
It’s not like this is some kind of new thing for him, either, as this 2016 tweet would suggest.
The first event to take place today will be the mixed relay triathlon, which is scheduled to begin at 8:00 am Parisian time.
Amid concerns over the water quality in the Seine, training sessions for the swimming leg of the event had been cancelled in the lead-in had been cancelled but the IOC has confirmed the event will go ahead as planned after tests of the river’s water quality.
Belgium, however, will not take part in the race after its Olympic committee announced on Sunday that it was withdrawing after Claire Michel, who competed in the women’s triathlon last Wednesday, fell ill.
The Swiss outfit, meanwhile, has been forced to replace Adrien Briffod with Simon Westermann after the former fell ill with a gastrointestinal infection. Swiss Olympic chief medical officer Hanspeter Betschart, however, has not directly linked Brifford’s condition with the Seine.
As ever, there was a series of incredible images to come out of day nine in the Olympics. I in particular found the image of Egypt’s Mohamed Essam and the United States’ Alexander Massialas really cool.
Massialas may need to brush up on his Wu-Tang Clan: Protect Ya Neck!
There are few things on earth more capable of capturing the imagination than the 100-metre dash at the Olympics. For ten seconds, it feels as if the World takes a breath as a collective, stops what it’s doing, and loses itself in the moment, as the bounds of humanity are tested.
Julien Alfred first wrote herself into Olympic and St Lucia folklore as she took out the women’s 100m on Saturday and the great Barney Ronay was at the Stade de France last night as Noah Lyles etched his name into legend with a gold medal-winning run.
Not to be outdone, Sean Ingle was also on hand at the Stade De France and broke down a dramatic, photo-finish race.
And on Simone Biles, given that she is 27 years old, you’d be forgiven for thinking that today could be the last time we see her competing at an Olympic Games. The average age of women in artistic gymnastics has been creeping up in recent years but, at the same time, she has said at these Games “I am getting really old” (ouch, nothing makes you feel as old as when someone younger than you says something like that).
But while she’s definitely retiring her Yurchenko double pike vault after Paris, the superstar isn’t ruling out a run at the Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
Medal Tally Heading into Day 10
And if we’re going to be discussing medal events, we may as well use that as a segue to see what the medal tally looks like after day nine.
And well, no more creative counting metrics are needed for the United States of America to sit atop the count, with Team USA moving to its summit after drawing level with China’s 19 gold medals and outpacing their rival’s silver and bronze tallies.
Hosts France retains its position in third and Australia follows in fourth but with the latter’s girt-powered run in the pool now at an end, the likes of Team GB, South Korea and Japan will be eyeing closing in on their 12 gold medals. Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany, then round out the top ten.
Medal Watch
For those more inclined to a bit of scoreboard-watching, there’s a swathe of gold medals available today.
All eyes will inevitably be on the Bercy Arena for women’s gymnastics as Simone Biles –the 🐐GOAT🐐 — competes for the final time in Paris in the finals of the women’s beam and floor.
🥇Athletics – Men’s Pole Vault / Women’s Discus, 500m, 800m
🥇Triathlon – Mixed Team Relay
🥇Shooting – Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol
🥇Badminton – Women’s Singles / Men’s Singles
🥇Gymnastics – Men’s Parallel Bars, Horizontal Bar / Women’s Beam, Floor
🥇Shooting – Men’s 25m rapid fire pistol / Team Mixed Skeet
🥇Surfing – Women’s Shortboard / Men’s Shortboard
🥇 Basketball – Women’s 3×3 – Men’s 3×3
🥇Canoe – Women’s Kayak Cross / Men’s Kayak Cross
🥇Track Cycling – Women’s team sprint
Day 10 Schedule
The swimming portion of the Games concluded yesterday, giving the athletics greater scope to take the spotlight, with athletes such Team GB’s Keely Hodgkinson and Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis in action. Focus will shift to the velodrome as the track cycling commences, alongside the beginning of artistic swimming, sport climbing, and the purist’s Olympic event, wrestling. Conversely, today will be the final day for badminton, the basketball 3X3, canoe slalom, gymnastics, shooting, and triathlon events.
Preamble
Howdy folks! Welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the tenth official day of competition at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. I’m Joey Lynch and I’ll be taking you through the first few hours.
The big news from day nine, undoubtedly, was the crowning of Noah Lyles as the new fastest human on Earth: the American backing up the hype by taking the gold after a dramatic finish in the men’s 100m, edging out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson to the crown by just five-thousandths of a second, with fellow American Fred Kerley claiming bronze.
Indeed, it was a good day nine for the Americans, with Team USA’s women setting a new world record in winning the 4x100m medley and Bobby Finke setting a new world record as he took out gold in the men’s 1500m freestyle.
Elsewhere, Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour became the first African to win Olympic gold in gymnastics, holding off a challenge from reigning world champion Qiu Qiyuan to take out the women’s uneven bars while Carlos Yulo continued a golden run for the Philippines in claiming his second gold in as many days in the men’s vault. Novak Djokovic took out one of the few prizes that have eluded him in his illustrious career as he beat Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros to take gold in the men’s tennis singles and, in a history-making moment, Cindy Ngamba became the first-ever athlete from the Refugee Olympic Team to ensure themselves a medal as she reached the semi-finals of the women’s 75kg boxing.
But there’s plenty on tap for day ten to keep this momentum going and, with my handy-dandy Australian time zone making it possible, I’ll be getting you set for all the action for the next few hours as those in Europe rise from their slumber.
