Thank you for joining us for another day of thrilling Olympic action. We’ve seen the end of Andy Murray’s career, Simon Biles add another gold to her collection and Iga Swiatek’s Roland Garros record end. Below are just some of the day’s top stories. We will be back tomorrow morning but until then have a good rest of the day/night wherever you are.

It had just turned 20 minutes past eight when Simone Biles stepped out on to the floor for her final routine. The centre of the arena was quiet and still, every other apparatus vacant. She had the place to herself and the undivided ­attention of every single person there.

Zinedine Zidane was watching, so was Steph Curry, Tony Hawk and Nadia Comaneci, four of the finest athletes of the past hundred years, all come along to see another of them. Like Comaneci said in a live interview on the big screen at the beginning of the session: “Everyone’s here to see the amazing Simone Biles.” She waited a beat then added: “And 23 other gymnasts.”

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The tennis world and beyond reacts to Andy Murray’s retirement:

Such a dry sense of humour that Murray:

‘Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light’, wrote Dylan Thomas in 1947. He could not, of course, have had the extended final act of Andy Murray’s tennis career in mind when he wrote those words. But perhaps he was prescient.

At Roland Garros on Thursday Murray raged, and did not did not go gently, but after an extended curtain call which produced some of the most joyous moments of the Paris 2024 Olympics, his long goodbye finally came to a close.

After a series of escapes which would have made Houdini proud in these Games, Murray and his pugilistic doubles partner Dan Evans finally succumbed to the American pairing of Taylor Fritz, 26, and Tommy Paul, 27 in the quarter-finals, after the pair lost in straight sets on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

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Carlos Alcaraz, who was knocked out of the men’s doubles but remains in the singles tournament, has spoken on Andy Murray’s retirement:

Another big story from today is Simone Biles winning her second gold of this Games:

We will have more reaction to Andy Murray shortly but a reminder that the track and field events start tomorrow:

Andy Murray also spoke to the BBC and when asked about retirement he said: “I don’t know what the next chapter is going to look like yet.”

He also says he will hunt for more pins tonight. He collects athletes pins and Clare Balding said earlier on he got GB gymnast Beckie Downie to get one from Simone Biles. I’d quite like to see the collection.

Team GB says goodbye to a legend:

GB’s Kye White has said he is suffering from back pain. He said he had been heading into the Olympics but it had temporarily went. However, it started again during his quarter-final heats today. He tells the BBC he is going to the physio now to try and put things right ahead of the semis.

As the sun set over the stadium on a quiet Parisian night, one of the greatest sporting careers Great Britain has produced came to an understated ending as Andy Murray was defeated for the last time.

After a week of delirious, crazy comebacks that presented a perfect summation of a waning career that has been filled with them, Murray and Evans were defeated by two of the best in the world, losing 6-2, 6-4 to Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul of the United States in the men’s doubles quarter-finals.

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Some news from earlier in the day from the BMX competition, GB’s Kye White and Beth Shriever are through to their respective semi-finals.

I’ve been told a fun fact by my colleague Tom Lutz. He tells me with that silver medal from the 4x200m freestyle relay, the USA’s Katie Ledecky has the most Olympic medals for a female swimmer with 13.

I promised you some Andy Murray quotes and here they are. When asked how he felt he told Eurosport: “Disappointed with the result, we didn’t play well enough to get through, but we fought right to the end, almost found something, but left ourselves too much to do. I’m happy to have finished with an exciting run, we gave it our best effort.

On retiring: “A few months ago, I was not looking forward to it. I love playing tennis ... but after the operation on my back before Queen’s, I was struggling to walk; physically it’s been tough. I’m not able to move around the court, and compete to the level that I want to. I was worried what I would do with myself, but I’m happy that I’m finishing now.”

On his career: “I’m proud of my career, I worked really hard to achieve the results I did, at a really difficult time to win major finals. I gave it a good go, put my body through a lot ... looking forward to a rest now.”

And Dan Evans added: “Everything I thought and more – Olympic team event, a chance to play doubles at his last tournament, the effort to get on the court and really give it a go. It’s something I’ll cherish forever.”

That post has just reminded me, amid the madness, I didn’t update you on the Novak Djokovic match. The 24-time Grand Slam winner knocked out Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6.

Casper Ruud was knocked out of the men’s singles tennis earlier today but he is already onto his second love: golf. Have a read of his tweet:

Australia did not get the world record but it was a new Olympic record. Wow. What a swim.

The silver goes to America and China take bronze.

GB’s Freya Colbert, Abbie Wood, Freja Anderson, Lucy Hope ended in fifth.

The Queens club have honoured Andy Murray:

Next up in swimming we have a medal event in the 4x200m freestyle. I can imagine Australia and American are the favourites for this one.

The second semi-final in the pool has France’s Leon Marchand and the crowd has gone crazy as he walks out. Marchand is leading from the change after the first 50m. The Frenchman keeps extending his lead and he seals the win in the semi. Marchand records a time of 1:56:31, Japan’s Daiya Seto and Canada’s Finlay Knox is third.

Both British of Dean and Scott are through to the final.

GB’s Tom Dean and Duncan Scott are in the first 200m individual medley semi-final. The field was close together but the USA’s Carson Foster lead throughout. Foster finished first with 1:56:37, GB’s Scott came in second and China’s Shun Wang in third. GB’s Dean in fourth and we wait for the other semi to finish to see if they both qualify for the final.

Just a thought before we get back to the pool. If Andy Murray had come after or before the Big Three of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, how many Grand Slam would he have won? That’s why he is so impressive, to break through and become a serial winner in amongst such huge icons. He is an icon himself.

Next up in the pool is the men’s 200m individual medley semi-finals. I’ll also bring you any quotes from Andy Murray as soon as we have them.

How surreal it feels to know we will never see Andy Murray on a tennis court as a professional player again. I think Simon McMahon sums up the feeling well:

This really is the end for Andy, isn’t it? I can hardly believe it, the last time I’ll be emailing a Guardian live blog while Andy Murray is still a professional tennis player. I know it’s much harder for him etc etc. London 2012 was special, but his win against Del Potro in Rio four years later is one of my abiding Murray memories. An absolutely brutal match at the start of what would be Murray’s incredible run of tournament victories leading ultimately to his ascent to World No. 1, before injury eventually took over. It’s been quite a ride, thanks Andy.

Andy Murray doesn’t look too crestfallen, his final match being an Olympic doubles quarter-finalist is thoroughly impressive - especially after all of his injuries. Dan Evans is in tears, Murray goes into the court and the crowd are chanting his name. He waves to the supporters and Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul applaud him. Before he leaves the court for the last time he signs things for fans and one can be heard saying “you’re a legend”.

Back to the tennis and The Brits hold! They didn’t make it easy for themselves but the second set is now 5-4 in the Americans favour. Murray and Evans have to break again to stay in the match.

Women’s swimming: The semi-finals of the 200m backstroke have taken place with American Phoebe Bacon winning the first with a time of 2:07:32, her compatriot Regan Smith was third and Canadian Kylie Masse second.

In the second semi Australia’s Kaylee McKewon won with a time of 2:07:57, GB’s Honey Orsin was second and China’s Xuwei Peng was third. Another GB hopeful Katie Shanahan was fourth with both Brits making the final.

Every time we go back to deuce I think ‘is this the start of the end of Murray’s career’? Every time he just says no. The Brits win advantage again. And then they break them! Wow, they couldn’t could they? Evans and Murray now serving to stay in.

The commentators keep saying the Americans are taking this seriously, of course they are as they want to progress. A semi-final spot is on the line. Murray and Evans have a fourth break point with advantage but the Americans save it once again.

Murray and Evans have not been at their best in this match but they seem to have found their form in this deuce battle. They have advantage again but we go back to deuce, wow. Murray wants to extend his career doesn’t he?

Back and forth to deuce we go but the British pair are back with advantage. On the edge of my seat.

Murray and Evans are unbelievable. On the precipice of going out, needing to win at 40-40 and they have pulled off a phenomenal rally to go an advantage up.

As soon as Evans and Murray break, Fritz and Paul break right back. The Americans are 5-2 up in the second set now and the Brits must break their opponents to stay in the competition.

South Africa’s Tatjana Smith wins silver and the Netherlands’ Tes Schouten claims bronze. What a race.

Fritz and Paul are just look totally in control, Paul’s performance even more impressive after his singles match against Carlos Alcaraz earlier today. The American losing to the Spaniard in that match.

They are cruising in this hold, or are they? They were 30-0 up but it’s now level. And now the Brits have break point after an impressive shot from Evans. It is their first break point of the match, can they get it? They can! What a shot from Evans.

Fritz and Paul break again. It is crucial that Evans and Murray hold here if they are to remain not only in this match but in the Olympics. The Americans win the first point but Fritz then hits the net.

Murray can’t return close to the net and Evans pushes it too long and we are at break point once again. They get it.

Fritz and Paul look to compound their break by holding their serve and it’s just too easy for the Americans at the moment. Evans slams a shot long for Fritz and Paul to be 40-0 up. But two lovely hits from Evans and Murray sees them win the next point.

Murray fist pumps as he sends a forehand winner down the line to make it 40-30 to the Americans. But a shot out from Evans sees Fritz and Paul hold.

Coming up in the pool we have the 200m women’s breaststroke final. Kate Douglass could make a splash here, apologies I just love a pun.

Fritz and Paul are in total control at the moment, they get to 30-0 up on Evans and Murray’s serve. Then the British pair don’t connect well and suddenly it’s break point. The Brits save the first but they can’t the second. Fritz and Paul lead 6-2, 2-1.

Ben Proud has told BBC after reaching the 50m freestyle final: “That race felt great, a semi-final always will as it is quite relaxed. I am happy with that.”

Fritz and Paul race to level the second set.

A reminder that if Evans and Murray lose this match it will be the last Murray plays in his career.

Thank you Will, I will focus on Andy Murray and Dan Evans’ doubles match against Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul but will also bring you the swimming as well as any other stories.

Currently Fritz and Paul are 6-2, 0-1 up.

Anyway … Sarah Rendell is back in the building to take you through the remainder of the evening’s events.

Men’s swimming: The second 50m freestyle semi. Team GB’s Proud has a great swim to finish joint first with McEvoy, Deplano third and Gkolomeev fourth.

Men’s tennis: USA take the first set 6-2 against Murray and Evans. Can they pull off another incredible comeback? If not, this will be the end for Murray’s glittering career.

Men’s swimming: We have some 50m freestyle semis. Crooks is first, Dressel second, Grousset third and Ireland’s Fannon in fourth in the first semi.

Swimming: Canadian swimming prodigy Summer McIntosh won her second gold medal of the Paris Olympics, claiming the women’s 200m butterfly in the first final of Thursday evening’s session in the pool. McIntosh set a new Olympic record in a time of 2:03.03. She was followed home by America’s Regan Smith and China’s Zhang Yufei. Australia’s Elizabeth Dekkers and Denmark’s Helena Rosendahl Bach shared fourth.
The marquee event of Thursday night is the women’s 4x200m relay. Australian hopes are high with the nation’s relay team including the gold and silver medallists in the individual event earlier this week, Mollie O’Callaghan and Ariarne Titmus.

Men’s tennis: In the doubles, Murray and Evans are in trouble against USA, who have won the first four matches.

Men’s tennis: Tsitipas is a game away from levelling the match at one set each against Djokovic. In all likelihood we are heading to a decided at Roland Garros.

Bryan Armen Graham was there to see the genius in action.

All the gymnasts who competed want a photo with Biles. She is happy to oblige. In between, she is celebrating with her GOAT necklace.

That is six Olympics golds in total for Biles. Not bad.

That is a second gold of this Olympics from Biles. She will go down in history.

The crowd inside the arena are expecting something brilliant. The first tumble is ludicrously good with two twists and a couple of somersaults to boot. I mean, she is just a cut above everyone, surely she is on for gold here. Everything is precise and elegant. She does not feel pressure. The routine ends with genius tumbling and a perfect landing. Even Andrade accepts that was incredible.

Here comes Biles …

Andrade receives a stonking 14.033. She’s now in gold, Lee in silver.

Who is up next? Oh, it’s only Simone Biles. What a finish we are in for.

Andrade is giving it her all on the floor because she knows she has to. There is everything in this routine, including a lot of Brazilian flair. She is keeping composed and controlled, not to mention some perfect landings. The pressure is back into Biles, she must be going ahead of Sunisa Lee.

Sunisa Lee is awarded 13.666, moving her into the gold medal position with two more gymnasts to go. Lee is guaranteed a medal.

Sunisa Lee is on the floor. She needs 13.534 to go ahead of D’Amato. The crowd are excited to see what she can do, roaring her on. Her first landing is utterly glorious and she continues to be sublime and elegant. It is expertly put together and concludes with a stunning landing. She will be in the mix her and she knows it.

Nemour is another in medal contention, making her floor routine critical. It is decent but she comes up short on a landing, which could cost her.

Canada’s Black puts in a cracking fault and she knows it. She lands her effort perfectly and beams with pride at the end.

Esposito concludes her effort with a respectable floor display but it’s been an underwhelming day for the Italian.

Kinsella is awarded 13.033 for her work on the balance beam.

GB’s Kinsella is on the balance beam and makes an early error which she will be unhappy about. She improves and the landing is not perfect but she stays on to save a few points.

It is a stunning floor routine from Italian D’Amato who is chasing a medal. It is almost flawless to keep up the pressure on Biles.

We head into the final rotation now and with it I hand over to Will Unwin, enjoy!

Casper Ruud is out of the men’s singles tennis after Félix Auger-Aliassime beat him over three sets. The Canadian won 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.

In the other match Novak Djokovic has taken the first set 6-3 against Stefanos Tsitispas.

So after the third rotation Simone Biles is leading after that beam with Rebeca Andrade second and Italy’s Alice D’Amato in third. It would be the first time ever an Italian woman would medal in this event.

GB’s Georgia-Mae Fenton has scored 13.8 on the uneven bars.

Meanwhile, Nemour’s score has changed. She was at 13.033 and now she’s been awarded 13.233. Every tenth counts!

Nemour has put in a challenge on her difficulty score, I’ll let you know if her score is changed.

Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour, how did she stay on the beam?! she was left with just her big toe on the beam but she worked so hard and she doesn’t fall to score 13.033.

GB’s Alice Kinsella has recorded her third score after an uneven bar routine. She has 14.133, really impressive. Georgia-Mae Fenton will be the final athlete on the apparatus in this rotation.

Novak Djokovic has broken Stefanos Tsitsipas in their men’s singles tennis match. The Serbian is now leading the first set 3-1.

In the other match, Casper Ruud is trailing Félix Auger-Aliassime 3-1 in their final set.

GB’s windsurfer Emma Wilson is guaranteed a medal after qualifying for the three-strong final on Friday, she finished top of the qualification standings. She won a bronze medal in Tokyo.

Biles scores 14.566 in her beam routine, just what she needed after slipping back to third.

Casper Ruud has been broken in the third set after winning the second set following his first set loss to Félix Auger-Aliassime. The Canadian leads in the third set 3-0.

In the other match Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas are level at 1-1 in the first set.

Simone Biles is up first on beam in the third rotation. She has a breath before she starts. A lovely piked back somersault with jumps, twists and cartwheels to boot. She has only wobbled once, how any gymnast does this is beyond me. Her dismount is great and the camera cuts to rival and friend Rebeca Andrade who applauds. Her score to come but an update from tennis…

Oh hang on, there’s a delay before the third rotation as Brazil’s Flavia Saraiva has challenged her score on beam. The score has gone unchanged and we are on to the third rotation.

There’s a huge match in the men’s singles tennis that has just begun. Novak Djokovic – who has never won Olympic gold – and Stefanos Tsitispas have started.

Lee scores a 14.866. So after the second rotation it is Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade who is top, then Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour and USA’s Simone Biles in third.

The defending champion Sunisa Lee is up on uneven bars now and she has a highly impressive routine and an absolutely flawless dismount. The camera cuts to the crowd and NBA legend is either recording the USA gymnasts or is on facetime, shows just how bright these stars are shining.

In the men’s singles tennis Casper Ruud has won the second set tiebreak 7-6 and so he pushes his match against Félix Auger-Aliassime into a third set.

Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour has the most difficult routine across all of the gymnastics at Paris 2024 on the uneven bars. She has a move between each swing and she only went slightly wrong on of them. Absolutely outstanding. She scores 15.533.

French decathlete Kevin Mayer has pulled out of the event in Paris because of injury.

He told the Olympic website: “I had some tests this morning and to be crystal clear, I could run 20 meters at about 80, 85 per cent. As soon as I stood up, I felt like an electric sting, not huge, but I am very far from being able to run a 100m 100 per cent fit.

“I spent three hours hesitating, I wanted to do it but I knew there was no chance. I had a meeting with my staff, everybody talked, everybody said where we stood. The conclusion was that I tried everything.

“I am still proud I managed to do three weeks of rehab with a result which normally you get after two months. I worked like crazy to get there, but it was not enough.

“Since I am not fit enough to manage the best performances, there was no reason to go in this stadium, hurt myself, make a show of myself, it’s that simple.”

Want some more Olympics news? Of course you do, here you go:

GB women’s hockey are through to the quarter-finals after South Africa lost 1-0 to Spain. GB earlier beat the USA 5-2.

GB’s Alice Kinsella looks focused, she has a lot of power into two twists. She has a step backwards but she scores 13.8.

Biles scores 13.733 on the uneven bars. That scores pushes Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade into first after she recorded 14.666 on the same apparatus.

This is Biles’ ‘weakest’ apparatus, if she has one. she has a bit of a wobble and that means she has to reshuffle her routine. She executes a good dismount but she looks slightly frustrated after that. The camera picks her up saying: “I don’t know how I held onto that”. Her score to come as Kinsella is on vault.

We’re into the second gymnastics rotation and GB’s Georgia-Mae Fenton has scored a 13.633 on the vault. USA’s Simone Biles is on the uneven bars now.

In the men’s singles tennis, Norway’s Casper Ruud is one set down to Canada Félix Auger-Aliassime. In the second set Auger-Aliassime has just taken it to a tiebreak at 6-6. Game on.

The USA’s Simone Biles leads this women’s all-round individual final so far. That isn’t a surprised after such an impressive vault. She has set the bar, as she has consistently in this sport for so long.

GB’s Alice Kinsella has taken to the floor and has recorded a score of 12.833. It’s the second to lowest score on this apparatus so far but this is just the first rotation.

On the women’s hockey, if South Africa fail to beat Spain (and they are currently losing 1-0 in the third quarter) then GB will progress to the quarter-finals.

The USA’s basketball legend Kevin Durant is in the arena to watch Simone Biles. The Olympic website said he had just walked by them and said: “This is the first time I’m watching her live!”

I will, of course, be bringing you all of the headline actions from this women’s gymnastics all-round individual final but if you want even more coverage have a read of our gymnastics blog:

A quick dip into women’s hockey as Team GB have beaten the USA 5-2 in their Pool B game. Two goals from Tess Howard and three others through Sophie Hamilton, Hannah French and Sarah Jones confirms the result for GB.

The big star is up and ready, the USA’s Simone Biles. She is going all out on this vault, she is doing the Biles 2 – a move named after her – and she executes it so well. The only thing she could be penalised on was a step back but that is huge. The score is 15.766.

GB’s Georgia-Mae Fenton, meanwhile, has scored 13.033 for her floor routine.

Rebeca Andrade is next on vault and my word, wow. That was thoroughly impressive. A flawless one-and-a-half twist with a perfect landing. Surely a big score to come? Yes, she gets 15.1.

The USA Sunisa Lee, the reigning champion, is first up on vault. She has a five on difficulty and it is a very clean run. The only two things the commentators have picked her up on is a deep landing and her line not being on centre. An overhead camera angle does she her off centre so she could be deducted for that. There’s a bit of deliberation on the score with a delay but she gets a score of 13.933.

So how does the women’s gymnastics all-round individual final work, I hear you ask? Well there are four different apparatus, each athletes will perform on each one and their scores will be added from each one. Then whoever has the most points, win.

From kayaking to gymnastics. We have the women’s individual all-round final now. GB have Georgia-Mae Fenton and Alice Kinsella involved here and the USA’s Simone Biles is also competing.

Italy’s De Gennaro has come absolutely crazy. Silver goes to France’s Castryck and bronze to Spain’s Echaniz. Clarke slowed down between gate six and seven and just couldn’t make back the time. The Brit looks shocked, he slapped the water after seeing where he finished.

Germany’s Hegge is up next. A ferocious start here but he is slightly slow as he goes down the course. He will need to be clean at gate 17 as he manages to get back in the green at the time split. He hits a gate and he has a penalty. With that he comes in at seventh. Joe Clarke to come.

De Gennaro falls to the floor in tears, he knows he will get an Olympic medal. It’s just the colour he doesn’t know yet.

Castryck gets the home crowd in full voice and he comes out flying. He looks very fast here, the crowd are only getting louder! He is 1.22 in the green for the first split, this is so impressive. Gate 17 trips him up with him losing valuable time but he slots in at silver position. He hits his helmet as he comes over the line but he is in medal contention!

Italy’s De Gennaro looks so nervous waiting for these last few competitors to go. He knows if the next one, France’s Castryck, doesn’t get into the top three then he will medal. Let’s go.

Thank you Joe, now then the rest of this final. Austria’s Oschmautz has a smooth start but then he picks up a penalty. He picks up another penalty as he comes to gate 14 but that may be enough to keep him out of the medals. And it is, he slides into seventh.

My watch is now over – here’s Sarah Rendell to call Joe Clarke home!

Grigar is held up at gate 20 and needs to be perfect from here … but he winds up fourth, and no one has nailed this court like De Gennaro!

Grigar of Slovenia powers out and he looks calm, starting nicely too. He’s 0.03 inside De Gennaro at the first check…

HE CANNOT! He’s fifth, and Italy’s De Gennaro still leads! The remaining racers will be pleased, but know that if he found it hard, so will they.

Oh man, he hits another gate and the Tokyo champ is going down! Can he redeem himself with magic?

Now then: a less-than-perfect start, then a clip of a gate, and he’s down on De Gennaro! How does he turn this around?!

Next out, Prskavec of Czech Republic, who cruised into the final and might well be the favourite. There are five to go after him, but as we learn from our commentator, if he goes well, he’s probably uncatchable.

…but get gets a penalty he wasn’t expecting – it’s not clear he hit the gate, though, and it’s soon removed. He’s in the bronze medal position, but it seems unlikely he’ll stay there.

Next out, Switzerland’s Dougoud – he’s a bit sanctimonious if you ask me. He’s half a second off the lead at halfway…

A cunning spin at 12 takes De Gennaro ahead of Echaniz, but an infelicitous flow means he’s soon behind again. He’s fighting hard though, and a powerful finish means he now leads, 0.65s ahead. The time is 88.22s, and doesn’t he like it!

De Gennaro of Italy is out next and we’re finding that the first few gates give a pretty good indication of who’s going to do what. He’s away pretty well…

He gets stuck at gate 16, unable to force the canoe around, and he’s going to end up fourth out of four. Echaniz will be starting to believe.

Ohrstrom of Sweden is out next and his is the second-best start we’ve seen after Echaniz. He’s in touch at halfway but probably not quick enough for a medal given what’s to come.

Anderson gurns, grits, and forces his way over the line to sit second. He looks pretty pleased with himself. Nine runs to go, Joe Clarke’s the last of them.

Early errors again, and the last two runs have told us just how useful Echaniz’s run was. Anderson does manage a great turn, but he’s still trailing.

Timothy Anderson of Australia is next to go, and while we wait for him, I can let you know that France now lead Nigeria 30-23 in the women’s hoops.

Quan of China finds it much harder, struggling with the upstream and finishing 5.88s slower than Echaniz. He’s second, but he’ll not be there for long.

Pau Echaniz goes first for Spain and puts a decent time on the board, 86.87s including two penalty seconds.

The men’s K1 final will soon be under way. Clarke goes last, with Jiri Prskavec of the Czech Republic and Titouan Castryck of France expected to be the biggest threats to him.

“Any idea when the Andy Murray game will be on this evening?” wonders Siobhan Hendrick.

After Casper Ruud v Felix Auger-Aliassime; they’re currently 2-2 in the first.

Women’s boxing news: Marissa Williamson Pohlman has been eliminated from the 66kg class at North Paris Arena, going down to crafty Hungarian Anna Luca Hamori in the first round. The Australian lost all three rounds according to all five judges and was unable to make the most of her powerful right hand against a mobile, showboating opponent who spent the fight shouting with every punch.

“I feel like she was good at what she was doing and [it] put me off balance, and things like that to try and look more dominant. And making noises so it made it look like she was throwing more punches and raising her hand and all that stuff,” Williamson Pohlman said.

Well said.

Less well said.

“We already know where we come from and how they will treat us in France, but have no doubt that we will do everything possible to carry our flag at the highest level again”.

And then there’s this. I dunno, rules are rules and all that guff, but surely they just find a way of not punishing an athlete for an official error?

I really enjoyed this a couple of days ago. Imagine the feeling of getting to do it, never mind with a gold medal around your neck.

France v Nigeria has just started in Group B of the women’s basketball, the sides having beaten Canada and Australia respectively in the first round of matches. Currently, the hosts lead 5-2.

“Why do they swap channels halfway through a Wimbledon match?” wonders Adrian Fowell. “Why if you watch the ‘extra’ Olympics channel live, does the main channel immediately repeat what you’ve just watched? It’s a shambles, a shambles beyond their rights. And it’s been like this for at least 20 years.”

I mean I still enjoy it because there are loads of good people involved, but it’s hard to understand some of the choices.

And she’s very smart on the subject, explaining that she has good days and bad days, but breakdown doesn’t define her though it’s hard to convince herself that stuff she didn’t do isn’t her trauma to carry, though she knows it isn’t. There are lessons for all of us there; what a woman.

We’re now watching Simone Biles talking about trauma, so here’s me on her from Joy of Six: genius.

“Good call by the organisers with the sailing,” emails Jeremy Boyce. “It is unbelievably hot and heavy in the south of France (where I live), about an hour from Marseille. It’s 38C and there is not a breath of wind. Clouds are congesting and there will probably be storms later. On open water riding lots of carbon fibre equipment is probs not the best place to be.”

Er, this ain’t no disco and it ain’t no country club either, so. But yup, I’m certain they’d only be calling stuff off if they had no choice, so.

But at 4.30pm BST, we’ll bring you the final of the men’s canoe slalom; Team GB’s Joe Clarke qualified for that fastest. Clarke won in 2016 and wasn’t selected in 2021.

BBC have a million iPlayer channels. Why are they showing old hockey on main, not something, anything live?

Thanks Yara and hi everyone. First news: they’ve stopped the men’s skiff medal race a second time, due to a lack of wind in Marseille. Roberto de Zerbi must’ve gone on holiday, or something.

What a day of sport it has been and lucky for you, it isn’t even close to over. Daniel Harris will take you through the next bit of action. Thanks for joining me!

Team sport roundup: So many group matches are still being played in all the team sports, so here is an overview of how the results have gone today.

Women’s 3X3 basketball

• Australia 21-15 China

• Germany 19-15 Canada

• France 15-10 Azerbaijan

• Australia 15-USA

Men’s 3X3 basketball

• Serbia 21-19 Netherlands

• Latvia 22-8 China

• Lithuania 21-12 Poland

• Netherlands 20-13 France

Women’s basketball

• Germany 75-64 Japan

• Australia 70-65 Canada

Women’s handball

• Netherlands 31-24 Brazil

• Sweden 27-21 South Korea

• Hungary 27-24 Spain

Men’s hockey

• Belgium 2-1 India

• Great Britain 2-1 France

• Australia 5-0 New Zealand

• Argentina 2-1 Ireland

Women’s volleyball

• Turkey 3-1 Dominican Republic

• Brazil 3-0 Japan

Men’s water polo

• Greece 13-11 USA

• Spain 15-11 Serbia

• Australia 9-8 France

All of the individual match statistics for these games can be found on our interactive live schedule.

Men’s singles tennis: Carlos Alcaraz beats Tommy Paul 6-3, 7-6 (7) to advance to the semi-finals. He becomes the youngest Olympic semi-finalist since Novak Djokovic in Beijing 2008.

Our incredible picture desk have been curating the best images from each day of Olympics action. Today’s collection has just dropped from John Windmill and it includes some big smiles, a bloody eye and some extra snazzy superhero swimming trunks – confirmation that Paris really is the fashion capital of the world. See for yourself.

Men’s kayak single canoe slalom: Check complete, Clarke finishes with a time of 89.51sec. A massive result ahead of the final.

Men’s kayak single canoe slalom: Here comes Clarke. Remember the 31-year-old won gold in the finals of this event in Rio 2016.

The world No 4 starts with great rhythm and does really well at the beggining of the course. He is already looking better than his heat yesterday.

He has to dip his head down on Game 14 and it’s super tight but then he looks relaxed in the final stretch and he soars ahead to the top spot with a time of 89.51sec with no penalties. There is still an asterisk beside his name though, which means they are checking through his race to see if they missed anything.

Men’s kayak single canoe slalom: We are well into the semi-finals and as it stands, Austria’s Felix Oschmautz is the leader with a time of 91.83sec.

We are still waiting on Great Britain’s Joe Clarke.

Men’s singles tennis: Caros Alcaraz is currently playing in his quarter-final against world No 13 Tommy Paul. The Spaniard took the first set 6-3 but the American is currently leading the second 3-1. He has just failed to convert two break points, leading to a loud “Vamos!” from Alcaraz.

Women’s basketball: Australia bounced back from defeat in their opening game of these Games by beating Canada in Lille this afternoon, 70-65. The Opals led at every break, withstanding a late Canadian push to confirm the win and improve their standing in group B ahead of a final clash with hosts France. Sami Whitcomb led the scoring for Australia with 19 points, plus 10 assists and five rebounds.

Some of the standout images of day six.

Sailing: Weather interruptions continue. The men’s skiff medal race in Marseille has been abandoned due to the wind. No word yet on when the deciding race in would be re-run.

Swimming: In case you missed the drama in the swimming pools in Paris, the athletes are playing a game of “he said, they said”.

China’s Pan Zhanle accused Australia’s Kyle Chalmers of snubbing him on the opening night of competition and the American swimmer Jack Alexy of allegedly acting disrespectfully towards Chinese coaches during a training session.

Chalmers labelled the allegation towards him “a bit weird” and added: “We had a laugh together at warm-down last night – but no issues from my end.”

Rowing: Helen Glover hinted her glittering rowing career is over after being denied a third Olympic title by the wafer-thin margin of 0.18sec.

Just 24 hours after Team GB women’s quadruple sculls crew claimed gold by the margin of 0.15secs, Glover, Rebecca Shorten, Esme Booth and Sam Redgrave were on the wrong side of a race to the line as the Netherlands held on in a thrilling finale.

Glover, who won pairs gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016 with Heather Stanning, took four years out of the sport before the Tokyo Olympics to start a family with her husband.

She took another 12 months off after those Games before deciding to come back for more in the women’s four boat, despite now being a mother of three and trying to balance family commitments with rowing.

“Half the team think I’ll carry on, but I don’t plan to carry on,” said Glover. “My focus has been on crossing the finish line and then we’ll see. Right now I just want to spend time with my family and enjoy being mum. I’m not really thinking about rowing and I’ll take my time to reflect on the Olympics.

“It’s been totally different [build-up to Paris 2024] as my world doesn’t revolve around rowing or results. My world revolves around my kids, and this is just a really awesome extra I get to do.” PA Media

Football: What a treat – Football Weekly Extra has just dropped.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Suzy Wrack, Tom Garry and Sophie Downey for a women’s football special. The panel discuss Canada’s spygate, Bev Priestman’s suspension and the six-point deduction. The panel debate whether the punishment fits the crime.

Despite the deduction, Canada will advance to the knockout rounds after winning all three of their matches in Paris. The defending Olympic champions will face Germany on Saturday in Marseille.

Gymnastics: Simone Biles and the rest of team USA stunned in earlier events, winning gold in the women’s gymnastics team final. But the greatest gymnast of all time isn’t done quite yet with the all-around final taking place later today.

To any American readers just waking up and joining us, here is all you need to know about when and where to watch Biles compete.

Men’s hockey: Some late drama but Team GB hold on to beat France 2-1 and are off the the quarter-finals. France felt they were hard done by some calls but ultimately, with 41 seconds to go, they had two shots that went wide.

Women’s doubles tennis: Katie Boulter and Heather Watson fail to reach the semi-finals after falling 6-3, 6-1 to the Italian duo Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani.

Unfortunately for the British duo, they were unable to come back from their poor start. Boulter double faulted twice in her opening service game and Watson then dropped her serve.

Errani is a five-time grand slam champion in doubles. Her prowess at the net along with Paolini’s strength from the back make them a potent combination, and Boulter and Watson simply could not find a foothold.

Boulter dropped serve again at the start of the second set and there was no way back, the Italians booking their spot in the last four in just 62 minutes.

Women’s singles tennis: Anyone who has watched Swiatek knows how much pressure she has been under, coming into the tournament as such an overwhelming favourite but her opponent picked apart her game masterfully. An “upset for the ages, seismic” say the commentators on Eurosport and the match stats back up that statement. Zheng had six aces to Swiatek’s two and 13 unforced errors to the Pole’s 36.

Zheng, who was this year’s Australia Open runner-up, may win China’s first single’s tennis medal.

Zheng Qinwen speaks after knocking out Iga Swiatek in the women’s singles semi-final:

I feel more than happy. Happy is not enough to express my emotions right now. I always had a lot of expectations for the Olympic Games but I knew how hard it would be to get here. Every match, I have been through a lot of pressure.

To beat Iga in this stage is absolutely not easy. It is an important tournament for me and for her. It was unbelievable. I played a lot of great tennis today. I was really patient in the game.

I have had a lot of matches against Iga. I am always the one who misses more than her. I am always the one to have more winners than her but I always lose the match. So today I said I had to be more patient against Iga. I said if she had to take this match she’s going to have make a lot of winners. It’s on clay, it is not easy. maybe on hardcourt it is different but that was my gameplan. I tried to play consistent and have a lot of variation when I step inside.

Iga is absolutely putstanding on clay court. she is such a great player. Four grand slam titles, the French open … It is not easy.

My mental is holding me up. My body is at a limit but i don’t know why in this tournament I have this extra energy. But today, when I am tired, I am able to push. If you asked me to play three more hours for my country, I would.

Handover: Yara El-Shaboury is back to guide you through the next few hours. Thanks for your company during a very eventful couple of hours.

Men’s rowing: The US victory in the men’s fours will surely have many people breathing a sigh of relief.

In Tokyo, US rowers were shut out of the medals for the first time in any Olympics the USA had attended. Through three races today, a feeling of deja vu might have emerged. The men’s four smashed that feeling with the first gold for the USA in the event since 1960.

This gold medal also steadies Team USA as a whole in terms of medal projections. With gold medals today in shooting and walking, China were steadily gaining. As of this moment, the US projection for gold is at 43 to China’s 39. But given trends in the pool in Paris, it’s unlikely that the US swimmers will meet their projections today, while China might walk away with another gold or possibly two.

And it’s surely a special accomplishment for the men in the boat. One of them, Michael Grady, was in the men’s four that finished fifth in Tokyo. Three of them – Nick Mead, Justin Best and Liam Corrigan – were in the men’s eight that took fourth. When athletes have seen medals slip through their grasps, they tend to cling to medals a bit more tightly when they earn them. Corrigan has another notable victory, though. He was on the Oxford boat that won The Boat Race in 2022.

Women’s tennis: Poland’s Iga Swiatek is in big, big trouble against China’s Qinwen Zheng in the semi-finals of the singles. Unbeaten at Roland Garros since 2021, Swiatek lost the first set and Zheng is currently serving to close out an unexpected win.

Men’s hockey: It’s an enjoyably bad-tempered game and Team GB are losing by the only goal scored so far in their penultimate Pool B match against France in front of very partisan (and Parisienne) crowd at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium as they approach the end of the third quarter.

Tennis: Team GB’s Heather Watson and Katie Boulter are a set down in their women’s doubles quarter-final against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani. The British duo have just lost on Boulter’s serve in the opening game of the second set and while it’s not quite time to hit the panic button, they clearly have it all to do.

Skateboarding: Team GB’s Tokyo bronze medallist Sky Brown dislocated her shoulder in training on Sunday but has announced she still intends to compete in the women’s park skateboarding next week. The 16-year-old arrived in Paris with doubts over her fitness after she suffered a serious knee injury in May. It would be fair to say her preparations for these Olympics have been somewhat less than ideal.

Women’s boxing: Before the Carini v Khelife bout at the Paris North Arena, the IOC’s Mark Adams was asked about the controversy surrounding the contest.

“I repeat that all the competitors comply with the eligibility rules,” he said. “But what I would say is that this involves real people. And, by the way, this is not a transgender issue. I should make this absolutely clear.”

Women’s boxing: Sean Ingle tweets from the boxing arena, where Italy’s Angela Carini has tearfully told reporters that she abandoned her fight against Algeria’s Imane Khelif because she had never been punched so hard before and felt she simply could not continue.

Sean also reports that Carini’s coach said: “I don’t know if her nose is broken; I have to speak with the girl. But many people in Italy tried to call and tell her: ‘Don’t go please; it’s a man, it’s dangerous for you’.” We’ll have more from Sean as this story develops …

An email: “Thanks for your coverage as French TV isn’t showing any rowing at the moment, maybe because they have no medal prospects,” writes Jeremy Boyce.

“I’m not sure your speculation on how things are between the British men’s four crew is all that helpful. Obviously they’d have been hoping for gold (aren’t they all?), but they actually achieved a bronze. Of all the crews that started out, only three can lay their hands on a coveted Olympic token. Let’s be happy for them and for the return to decent health of British rowing.”

Well, I would respectfully argue that I am not a Team GB cheerleader and it’s not my job to be helpful. And besides, I was only reporting on – possibly baseless – speculation that all is not well in the camp, whether that’s through illness, injury or some sort of feud. It would have been very easy for them to address this speculation but they elected not to, a state of affairs that has only further fanned the flames.

Olympic athletes in niche sports like rowing that most of us pay little or no attention to for most of the four-year Olympic cycle four years are normally glad of any publicity, so their silence is noteworthy. It’s also noteworthy that while they all looked happy enough on the podium during the medal presentation, there is still no sign of the customary BBC interview.

Hockey: Unbeaten in three games in Pool A following a win over Spain and back-to-back draws against South Africa and the Netherlands, Team GB’s men are currently playing France at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium.

It’s scoreless as they approach the end of the first quarter and the British men are looking good to qualify for the quarter-finals. They are slated to play Germany in their final Pool match tomorrow.

Gymnastics: Italy’s Giorgia Villa won silver with her teammates in the women’s team final this week but her passion for all things Parmesan has also gained attention. Armed with his trusty cheese grater, Bryan Armen Graham scratches beneath the surface of a fascinating Olympics sub-plot …

Golf: The men’s tournament started this morning, with a strong field teeing off for the first of four rounds. It’s very early doors yet, but Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama currently leads the field on -6 through 11.

But what’s this? He’s just been joined at the top of the leaderboard by Germany’s Matthias Schmid, who has played three holes more. Great Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood is on -3 through 11, while Ireland’s Rory McIlroy is on the same score through nine.

On a sombre note, it’s been a traumatic week for Fleetwood and his coach Phil Kenyon, who are both from Southport and have had to try to come to terms with the shock of the knife attack and subsequent civil unrest that has unfolded in their locale in recent days. We wish them both well.

Olympic spirit dept: A war of words has opened up between the Australian and Chinese swim teams at the Paris Olympics, after three-time Olympian Kyle Chalmers labelled an allegation that he had snubbed China’s Pan Zhanle on the pool deck “a bit weird”.

Today in Paris: With invariably hilarious consequences, angry, pompous people on Twitter/X often confuse the Guardian’s golf correspondent Ewan Murray, with his near namesake the Sky Sports golf commentator Ewen Murray.

Watching this piece to camera being delivered by our man at Le Golf National in which he delivers a taster of what’s coming up at the Olymnpics today, it’s not difficult to see why. Take it away, Ewan …

Rowing: Helen Glover missed out on a third Olympic gold medal after the Team GB women’s four were pipped by Netherlands at the Vaires-Sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

Rowing: The men’s four recover from an awful start to win a bronze medal in the final race of the day, to make it two bronzes and a silver from three British crews today.

It’s a decent return but will the men’s four be happy with third place, or curse the bad start that coould have cost them something better? They have, by all accounts, been maintaining a stoney media silence in the build-up to and during this week, fuelling rumours that, for whatever reasons, all might not be well in the camp.

Rowing: It’s neck and neck between the USA and New Zealand as the race approaches its conclusioon. The USA pull half a boat-length clear. Team GB look to have nailed down third place.

Rowing: Great Britain move into third place with 500 metres to go. The USA lead from New Zealand, who are still in with a great shout.

Rowing: At the halfway point, the USA lead New Zealand, with Italy in third place. Great Britain haven’t panicked, recovered from their bad start and and are challenging for the bronze.

Rowing: The six boats contesting the final of the men’s four go about the important business of their day and it’s a very slow start for Great Britain, with David Ambler, Freddie Davidson, Matt Aldridge and Oliver Wilkes pulling the oars. They’re almost a length down on the USA with 1,500m to go. New Zealand are in second and Italy are currently in third.

Hello everybody. The men’s four is next up, with the atmosphere on BBC television bordering on the funereal after the British women were beaten by the Dutch in the women’s equivalent. Luckily, the rowers themselves don’t seem as gloomy as the presenting team.

“I think we’ve all done a good job,” says Rebecca Shorten to TV’s Matthew Pinsent. “We’d all have been happy with gold but we’ll take the silver.” The Netherlands boat led from pillar to post, so the British team were beaten fair and square.

Barry Glendenning will take over now before the men’s four. I will be back in a bit.

Women’s four rowing: At the 200m mark, GB move ahead of the Dutch boat. Both teams have a stroke rate of 41. It’s going to come down to the tiniest of milliseconds.

Women’s four rowing: Team GB level with Dutch at the halfway mark. They will hope to pull away now.

Women’s four rowing: Glover, the 38-year-old, is a two-time gold medalist. Team GB are sitting in second, 2m behind the Dutch.

Women’s four rowing: Will we get another Team GB medal in rowing? Helen Glover, a flag bearer at the opening ceremony, is in position alongside Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten. In their way is China, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Romania and the United States.

Women’s rowing double sculls: Before we get to the final rowing events, we get our medal ceremony. Hodgkins-Byrne and Wilde are absolutely beaming.

Along with the medals, the athletes get a special Parisian scroll that is made of either gold, silver or bronze.

Men’s rowing double sculls: The Dutch and Romania are going back and forth for the gold with 500m to go. The United States are just keeping Ireland off the podium.

Men’s rowing double sculls: The Dutch missed out on gold in Tokyo by 2/10ths of a second. Can they do one better this time around? Let’s see. They’re taking on Spain, Romania, Ireland, the United States and New Zealand.

Women’s 20km race walk: The gap has gone from 40sec to 20sec to 13sec at the top. Pérez is chasing Yang but she only has two laps to make it up completely.

But Australia’s Jemima Montag in third has made up quite a bit of distance and is around 11sec behind Pérez. So, the Spaniard has to chase down the leader and now constantly look over shoulder.

We are coming up on the last lap.

Women’s 20km race walk: Wow! María Pérez has halved the gap between her and Yang. The Chinese looks over shoulder and is trying to respond.

Women’s 20km race walk: The defending champion, Antonella Palmisano, drops out and is being consoled by her coach. We are approaching the 14km mark and the stakes are getting higher and more red cards are being dished out as the stakes are getting higher.

If this is a new sport to you, you may be confused as to how these red cards work. Race walking’s strictest rule is that athletes must keep one foot in contact with the ground at all times, without any running.

If a judge deems an athlete is running, they serve a two-minute time penalty after three rule violations, known as red cards.

So while Yang is currently not physically the first athlete on the track, she is still in the lead because of her opponent’s time violations.

A timely email from Peter comes in:

Why at this level they couldn’t have a chip in each shoe to ensure that one foot is always in contact with the ground, which is supposed to distinguish race-walking from running?

There has always been controversy surrounding the use of foot sensors despite the fact there has been some investment in the tech. But some believe it could change the way athletes race walk. There will always pushback to change, but I do believe we will see it sooner rather than later.

Swimming: Adam Peaty has raised hopes he could compete in his relay events later this week as he returned to the pool following two days of “bed rest”.

Hours after winning silver in the men’s 100m breaststroke, Peaty tested positive for Covid-19, having struggled with a sore throat ahead of Sunday’s final before his symptoms worsened.

Unlike the last Olympics in Tokyo, there are no specific coronavirus restrictions on athletes but Team GB said in a statement “all usual precautions (were) being taken to keep the wider delegation healthy”.

Peaty’s diagnosis led to doubts about whether he would be fit enough to take to the pool in the men’s and mixed 4x100m medley relays, with the 29-year-old crucial to to their hopes on the breaststroke leg.

But he posted a picture of himself on his Instagram story on Wednesday evening in a swimming pool along with the caption: “Back in the water with the French public today (2 days of bed rest).”

The mixed medley heats is first up with heats on Friday and the final on Saturday - the men’s preliminaries are on Saturday with the showpiece on the last day of the swimming meet on Sunday. PA Media

Women’s 20km race walk: Yang Jiayu is still in the lead 11km in and it is hard to see anyone catching her, unless some red cards come in to play. She is ahead of Mexico’s Alegna González by 36sec.

Swimming does not make a start until later today but there has been a lot of conversation surrounding world records in Paris … or should I say lack thereof. The theories have been flying. Is it the athletes? Is it the shallow pool? Here is Shane Keating’s take:

When swimmers dive into the pool and power through the water, they naturally create waves that radiate outwards. Some of these waves will propagate along the surface of the pool and be damped by gutters at the edge. Others will travel downward, bounce off the bottom of the pool, and return to the surface to create turbulence.

Turbulence can slow a swimmer down in two ways. First, it creates a choppy pool surface that can disrupt a swimmer’s rhythm and reduce their speed.

Second, turbulence increases the effect of water drag by dissipating the swimmer’s momentum – the water motion literally “sucks” the speed from the swimmer.

The slow pool theory says the shallower pool means more waves bounce back to the surface, creating more turbulence and slowing swimmers down. But does it hold water?

Keating’s thesis research was on geophysical wave processes in the Sun (astrophysics and plasma physics) and his post-doctoral research was on satellite oceanography and mathematical modeling of ocean eddies. Basically, he knows more about this than you and I ever will. More below.

Men’s 50m rifle three positions: Shot 42 eliminates Jon-Hermann Hegg of Norway. Standing is usually his best scores but a 9.9, he is eliminated after leading for so long.

Shot 43 means that world No 1, Jiri Privratsky, is eliminated at fourth.

Men’s 50m rifle three positions: We are close to finding out another gold in a shooting competition. So how does this work? Fifteen match shots are taken in each position: kneeling, prone and standing, in that order.

We are now at the standing phase with the final five, with someone being eliminated after every shot.

An interesting aside about some of the shooting events is that they play music in the background. This morning, the DJ at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre has opted for some Dua Lipa and Ellie Goulding. Along with the sporting updates, I will try to bring you the latest music picks.

An email from Guy who is in “a sultry south Manchester”:

After the incredible highs of Monday and Wednesday, today feels like a bit of a middle overs of week one, or perhaps a lull before the next wave breaks. I’m not quite on my metaphors game today. But as you’ve said, there’s great chances on the water, and a throwback for me, having been lucky enough to witness Helen Glover and Heather Stanning win their gold at Eton Dorney in 2012. I’m hoping she can make it 3 golds!

Is anyone on their metaphor game in the AM? Certainly not me. That being said, I am also keen to witness some great rowing action today.

Women’s 20km race walk: Weather looks good and we are underway. China’s Yang Jiayu has made a quick start and is an early leader. Yang holds the world record for this event, registering a time of 1:23:49 back in 2021. This season, her fastest time was about three minutes slower. The racers now are just taking the first bend at the Eiffel Tower. What a beautiful view.

Women’s 20km race walk: The race was scheduled to start at 8.30am BST but it has been delayed due to weather conditions. However, we shouldn’t be left waiting too long. Can Antonella Palmisano defend her gold from Tokyo?

Rowing: A big day at the Nautical Stadium in Vaires-sur-Marne today with a huge chance today for Team GB to pick up some more medals.

Helen Glover, who won gold in London 2012 and Rio 2016, is targeting a third Olympic medal in the women’s fours alongside Rebecca Shorten, Esme Booth and Sam Redgrave a bit later.

There is also British representation in the women’s double sculls final with Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne and Rebecca Wilde, while David Ambler, Freddie Davidson, Matt Aldridge and Oliver Wilkes contest the men’s fours final just after noon.

Men’s 20km race walk: Pintado celebrates his gold with a Cristiano Ronaldo SIIIIUUU celebration and is able to call his family back home in Ecuador right as he crosses the finish line.

Caio Bonfim from Brazil takes silver and Álvaro Martín takes bronze.

All three athletes on the podium take home their very first Olympic medal.

Team GB’s Callum Wilkinson finished in 16th.

Women’s 3x3 basketball: Alex Wilson hits a two and gets Australia the win against China.

Wilson, once again, proving the difference maker on the 3x3 court with 11 points. Australia were overall much more clinical with a 0.78 efficiency compared to China’s 0.54.

A reminder as to how the format of the 3x3 basketball works: The eight teams will play a round robin and the first and second placed teams will qualify for the semi-finals. Teams three to six will face off in play-in games for the remaining two spots.

Thanks Angus and hello all! It is the first day of August and what a day of Olympic action we have ahead of us.

Don’t believe me? Just take a look at our live schedule. Unsure where to look and how to follow along? Well, that is what we are here for.

Have any thoughts, questions, comments, concerns or Olympic household traditions you want to share? Send me a mail. You can find the information at the top of the page.

As a four-man pack make a lighting move for the finish in the 20km race walk, it’s time for me to race stroll into the Paris night! Hereafter I hand the baton to Yara El-Shaboury. Thanks for your company and have a wonderful day six. Au revoir!

On the hour mark in the 20km men’s race walk, it’s the marvellous moustache of Massimo Stano leading the way. The Olympic champion and the world champion are breathing down his neck though as Brian Pintado and Brazilian Caio Bonfim stay close. We are at the 15km mark now and the lead pack is, for the first time, breaking away from the stragglers. Exciting 15 minutes ahead here…

The 3x3 basketball isn’t far off. This is basketball’s attempt at a Twenty20 reinven tion. Here in Paris we are nearing the end of the pool stage. Teams play each other once each over a total of six games. The squads are then seeded one through six, with the top two receiving byes to the semi-finals. The unseeded teams play in a single-game elimination round before the semi-finals and final. So far, the USA are emerging as favourites.

For those who came in late, Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson has been shown the door by Football Australia after the Tillies’ premature exit in the Olympic pool stages.

As some nervous golfers wait to tee up the first round of men’s individual event, Brazil’s Brian Bonfim has snatched the lead in the 20km men’s race walk from Italy’s Massimo Stano with the Spaniards McGrath and Martin in third and fourth and Ethipia’s Misgana Wakuma in fifth. Australian Declan Tingay is also making his move and now sits sixth.

The lead pack has been overtaken in the Men’s 20km walk and Ecuador’s BD Pintado has stolen the lead. At 40 minutes, we are past the halfway mark. The Spanish duo of Martin and McGrath are still loitering with intent. Conditions are tough in Paris, with 88% humidity and greasy conditions on the course.

Race walking has a proud tradition at the Olympics, debuting at the 1908 Games where it was contested over 3500m and 10-mile distances. A 10km event was introduced in 1912 and there was also a one-off 3000m walk at the 1920 Olympiad in Antwerp. This 20 km event has been the standard race walk for men since the Melbourne Games in 1956 and replaces the longer men’s event over 50 km which ran 1932-2020.

Here in the 2024 version, it’s Sweden’s Perseus Karlstrom with the lead, a couple of paces in front of a pack headed by Spain’s duo of Paul McGrath and Alvaro Martin. The world record they’re chasing today belongs to Yusuke Suzuki at 1:16:36 while the Olympic record stands at 1:18:46, as set by Ding Chen in London in 2012.

For those who find race walking a contradiction in terms, here’s a fun primer…

Electrical storms in Paris have been threatening all morning but the men’s 20km race walk has begun and the competitors are striding the slimy cobblestones as we speak. Australia has Rhydian Cowley, Kyle Swan and Declan Tingay to cheer for in this one.

Italy’s Francesco Fortunato has an early lead with Ukraine’s Ihor Hlavan hot on his heels…

I found myself reflecting on the 1924 Paris Olympics recently while swimming laps at the famous Sydney Harbour pool named for Andrew “Boy” Charlton who took gold in the 1500m at that Games.

It was in that pool, situated near Sydney’s Domain and today overlooking Russell Crowe’s loft apartment at Garden Bay, that teen prodigy Charlton beat world record holder Arne Borg, a boilover that sent ripples of shock through the world and which Borg celebrated by rowing Charlton up the pool in a dinghy hailing “the new king”.

In Paris, Borg and Charlton swapped world records in the heats before ‘Boy’ took a minute off Borg’s world mark in the final to win a famous gold medal. Charlton also won silver in the 4x200m freestyle, losing to US swimmer Johnny Weissmuller who later achieved even greater fame as cinema’s most famous Tarzan.

At the 1928 Amsterdam Games, Weissmuller relegated Borg and Charlton to silver and bronze in the 400m. Borg would win the 1500m ahead of another future US film star in Buster Crabbe who went on to play Flash Gordon.

Of course, Chariots of Fire – and its glorious theme by Vangelis – was celebrated at the London Olympiad in 2012 in a beautifully British way…

The first Paris Olympics was a century ago and was memorably immortalised on celluloid by the 1982 Oscar winner Chariots of Fire. That film centred on two very different British athletes Eric Lidell and Harold Abrahams who each won gold.

Tim Costello remembers:

The plot had a remarkable twist. Eric stayed true to his perceived duty and pulled out of the heats. But then at the last moment his Olympic team entered him in the 400m, not his event nor one for which he had trained. He claimed gold in a world record time of 47.6 seconds. He had fulfilled the duty he felt to a higher calling, willing to sacrifice his specialist event with all his training, but remarkably managed to win anyway. His fierce sprinting British competitor Abrahams ran and did win the 100m for Britain. The team were triumphant.

It’s a true story and a feelgood story that offers a vision of there being a higher duty than one’s own personal success and national glory.

Golf swings into Olympic action today and, having endured the civil war that has wracked the game of late, seven “rebels” from the active LIV Golf players will be representing four different countries in the 60-player field in the men’s competition

Jon Rahm is making his Olympics debut after qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics but withdrawing due to Covid, while Abraham Ancer, Adrian Meronk, Joaquin Niemann, Carlos Ortiz and Mito Pereira are competing in their second consecutive Olympics. Pereira came close to finishing on the podium at the Tokyo Games, making the seven-man playoff for the bronze medal before being eliminated on the third playoff hole.

Play gets going in the men’s individual stroke playin about 90 minutes.

The Paris weather has been as turbulent as the emotions on display in the athletes. After days of rain, the weather turned hot and heavy yesterday. Day six has dawned overcast but the predictions are that the overcast skies will burn off as the day gets under way.

Great sport and great photography truly go hand in hand

When you’re an official flagbearer for your country at an Olympic Games, the pressure ratchets up a few notches. Australian kayak queen Jess Fox accepted the double-edged sword, chosen as flag bearer, leading the team down the Seine, as the face of her team.

Expectations on Fox were already high – both her parents are former Olympians and her sister is also competing at these Games – but somehow she found a way…

The axe has swung swiftly after Australia’s shock elimination in the women’s football, with Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson axed with immediate effect.

I’ve just received this statement from Football Australia:

“The Matildas’ journey at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has come to an end. Despite their best efforts, the team has not progressed to the quarter-finals.

“This outcome is undoubtedly disappointing for the team, the fans, and the entire Australian football community. The team’s objective was to improve on the previous fourth place finish at Tokyo 2020, and while this Olympic campaign did not unfold as hoped, Football Australia remain immensely proud of the dedication and hard work displayed by the Matildas throughout the qualification period and the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament.

“Following the conclusion of the Matildas’ Olympic campaign, head coach Tony Gustavsson’s four-year contract with Football Australia has also come to an end by mutual agreement. Gustavsson addressed the players and staff following the final group stage match against the United States to farewell them and wish them every success with their futures.”

Gustavsson said: “It has been a great honour and privilege to have been able to be the head coach of the Matildas over the past four years. This journey with the team has had many incredible moments and memories that I will forever treasure.

“Thank you to the incredible players for letting me play a small part in their stories, my staff for being beside me every step of the way, Football Australia for backing our vision for this team, the Australian football family for embracing me and the Australian public for the tremendous support.

“Australian football will be forever in my heart, and I will be watching on and cheering on your success in the future,” Gustavsson concluded.

Plenty of fat, salty tears have been shed in Paris but few had the bittersweet tang experienced by Great Britain’s Lola Anderson who yesterday stormed to gold in the women’s quadruple sculls crew on the wings of her late father Don. Bedridden with illness one day in 2019, Don asked her to fetch his safety deposit box full of his greatest life treasures. Inside was Lola’s diary as a 14-year-old and a prescient entry reading:

“My name is Lola Anderson and I think it would be my biggest dream in life to go to the Olympics and represent Team GB in rowing and, if possible, win a gold medal.”

Whether you’re an avid sports fan or casual viewer, the Paris Olympics has delivered plenty 0f stunning scenes and gorgeous scenery. As Barney Ronay noted in his triathlon piece, yesterday’s triathlon was:

“An aesthetic triumph, an impossibly beautiful and luminous event, the kind of moment where Paris gets to flex its shoulders and it becomes necessary to marvel at the splendour of what humans have managed to do here.”

For Team GB, Alex Yee’s gold in the men’s triathlon was sweet. With one lap remaining, the Briton sat 14 seconds in arrears behind his great rival, New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde. Then Yee heard four words that helped change the course of ­Olympic history…

Australians are still crying tears of joy for Jess Fox’s double-gold in the whitewater while weeping in shock at the Matildas’ dramatic exit from the women’s football field.

Although Team Oz is sitting pretty at fourth on the medal tally, the torrent of antipodean gold on days 1-5 might soon slow to a trickle as events leave the pool and head to the track. Day six still holds plenty of promise…

As day six dawns let’s revisit the current medal table (as soundtracked by famous French freestyler Plastic Bertrand on Top of the Pops

Inspired by the words of the Bishop of Pennsylvania, Ethelbert Talbot, and echoed into infamy by Pierre de Coubertin, at a reception given by the British government on 24 July 1908, the Olympic creed has evermore stood as: “The important thing in life is not the triumph, but the fight; the essential thing is not to have won, but to have fought well.”

And nothing embodies it like Eric Moussambani AKA “Eric the Eel”…

Eighteen gold medals are up for grabs at the 2024 Games today.

Of all the simmering rivalries at this Paris Olympiad, one that comes to an angry boil tonight is the duel in the pool for the 4x200m women’s freestyle relay title. Team USA, spearheaded by women’s GOAT Katie Ledecky, will face off against their arch-rivals Australia, as led by Mollie O’Callaghan and Ariarne Titmus.

Australia won gold in the prestige women’s 4x200m in Beijing 2008 before the USA exacted revenge at London 2012 and Rio 2016. Both awesome foursomes finished behind the People’s Republic of China and the Americans at Tokyo 2020. With Australia having won the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay gold with an Olympic record, the USA will be desperate to square the ledger.

Or will the Aussie beef burger-fueled China shock the world again?

Here are some of the events and when to watch (all in Paris times):

Track and Field

The Men’s 20km Race Walk, 7:30am

Women’s 20km Race Walk, 9:20am

Shooting

Men’s Smallbore Rifle, Three Positions, 9:30am

Rowing

Women’s Double Sculls, 11:18am

Men’s Double Sculls, 11:30am

Women’s Four, 11:50am

Sailing

Men’s Skiff, 2:43pm

Women’s Skiff, 3:43pm

Judo

Men’s Half Heavyweight (100 kg/220 lbs.), medal rounds begin, 5:18pm

Women’s Half Heavyweight (78 kg/172 lbs.), medal rounds begin, 5:49pm

Canoe Slalom

Men’s (K-1) Kayak Single, 5:30pm

Gymnastics

Women’s Individual All-Around, 6:15pm

Fencing

Women’s Team Foil, 7:10pm

Swimming

Women’s 200m Butterfly, 8:30pm

Men’s 200m Backstroke, 8:38pm

Women’s 200m Breaststroke, 9:11pm

Women’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay, 10:03pm