Otherwise, that’s this did. Thanks for your company and comments – we’ll be back with you sooner than seems possible. Peace out.

That, then, is us for another day: Quincy Hall is the men’s Olympic 400m champion, as Nina Kennedy is in the women’s pole vault.

Tomorrow, we’ve only got, in rough order: women’s marathon swimming, women’s golf, loads of diving, climbing, taekwondo; then the start of the heptathlon, some 100m relay heats, the repechage of the men’s 800m, a mixed dinghy medal race, some canoe finals and the final of the men’s 3m springboard, feat. Jordan Houlden and Jack Laugher.

Then it’s sailing, the kite finals the highlight, Egypt v Morocco for the bronze in the men’s football, loads of cycling and Germany v Holland in the final of the men’s hockey. After which, our evening t&f sesh delivers the semis of the women’s 1500m, the women’s long jump final, the men’s javelin final, the men’s 200m final, more women’s heptathlon and the final of the men’s 110m hurdles. Oh, and loads of boxing.

Bring it on.

Khyzhniak is too good for Oralbay I think, cutting him on nose and eye. He’s on you – well, not you but you know what I mean – the whole time and I don’t see how he doesn’t win this.

To close the night, we’ve got Nurbek Oralbay of Kazakhstan facing Oleksandr Kyzhniak of Ukraine in the final of the men’s middleweight boxing.

Not strictly Olympics-related but Rafael Nadal won the men’s singles in 2008, so I’ll advise that he’s pulled out of the US Open.

Split decison in the boxing…

Poor Lamecha Girma is in a bad way. He clipped a hurdle with his knee and hit the deck head first. I’ve only just learnt he was stretchered off in a neck brace; godspeed, old mate.

We’re level at a round apiece in the boxing, and it’s been a really fun tear-up. Both men are coming forward, eating one to feed one.

What a farrago this was; I’m glad they’re reinstating these days.

Sage thoughts from my colleague, Dame Laura Kenny.

Brazil beating Spain last evening was almost lost in the maelstrom of it all, but what a performance this was.

Coming up, though, France’s Sofiane Oumiha takes on Erislandy Alvarez of Cuba in the final of the men’s lightweight competition.

Ghadfa goes through to the final and rightly so, but Aboudou Moindze gave a good account of himself and the crowd gave him all they could; he wins bronze.

Aboudou Moindze knocks Ghadfa down in round three and the crowd go wild, but has he done enough to win? I’m not sure he has.

This is nice.

Ouch.

What a story this is.

This was a lot of fun.

Talking of which, how about this from yesterday?!

This was fantastic, the celebrations too.

In the boxing, we’ve got a super-heavyweight semi-final between Djamili-Dini Aboudou Moindze of France and Ayoub Ghadfa of Spain. the row inside the arena is quite something.

“With Kennedy’s win in the pole vault,” writes Renée, “Australia has now won more gold medals than at any previous Olympics (four added today is a bit nuts too).”

There can’t be many societies that prize athletic participation and accomplishment more highly which, allied to good weather and a bit of cashmoney, perhaps explains a bit.

In my medal projections, I gave the USA a 15% chance of medaling in the steeplechase. When I simplified my projections for the remaining races, I rounded that down to 0%. Oops.

Thanks to Quincy Hall’s mad dash to the finish in the men’s 400 meters and Sarah Hildebrandt continuing a stellar start for the US women’s wrestlers, the USA have maintained a 27-25 lead over China in the gold medal count. I’m now projecting a final count of 40-35, but it’ll go down to the wire. The USA are favoured in seven events, have a 50-50 chance in eight more, and have a shot in 15 more. China have a chance in fewer events but are a surer bet in several – they’re favoured in eight events and have a 50-50 shot in two more.

In the men’s triple jump, all the main contenders are into the final – Jordan Diaz of Spain, Pedro Pichardo of Portugal, Hugues Fabrice Zango of Burkina Faso and Jaydon Hibbert of Jamaica.

In the women’s basketball quarters, USA lead Nigeria 44-31 with 2.45 left in Q2. I’m going to grab a drink, then we’ll reflect on yet another life in a day, while enjoing some boxing medal-matches.

Our bronze medalist:

That’s the end of our athletics evening sesh, but we get to enjoy Gabby Thomas receive her gold medal. She’s good, but Julien Alfred is four years younger and improving fast.

Hudson-Smith tells BBC that “It’s crazy. Sometimes the journey is better than the outcome and it’s been a helluva journey. He’s won Olympic silver, not many can say that, and he’s happy.

He didn’t know his family were here because he hates his parents watching him and they hate watching him, but imagine missing your boy in the Olympic final if you had the wherewithal to get there – never mind what it’s taken for him to get there.

He ran the way his coach told him to, they knew it’d come down to the last 50, but Hall found another gear and he hit his too late; the American had a step on him and it was too late to retrieve it.

His time’s going to come, he says, but back to this race he didn’t see Hall coming, he thought he’d lost the field. He ran through the line though, and he’s healthy so this is just the start and he plans to build on it.

Kennedy is still enjoying her moment – this lap of honour is one of the longest ever, and truss, she’s earned every last millisecond of it.

How good have our t&f finals been, by the way? We’ve not seen many all time greats at their peaks, but goodness me we’ve seen some finishes; some all time displays of grit, pain and passion. And we’re not even nearly finished!

That fall Girma took was nasty; I hope he’s OK. The winning time, by the way, was 8:06.05.

It’s a slow steeple, so load have a chance as the bell sounds and Rooks of USA kicks! He’s gone way too early, but El Bakkali sets off in oursuit, demanding others move out his road, and Girma falls! But El Bakkali is so strong and he’s going to win again! He is so so good, and knows exactly what has to be done to win any race.

“I mean,” begins Matt Dony, “it’s no hot take to suggest that Michael Johnson is a tremendous pundit. Supremely knowledgable and an excellent communicator. But he does offer the odd glimpse into his own genius, and what sets elite athletes apart. He’s repeatedly said tonight about athletes ‘just needing to make the right decisions’ in their races, as if it’s that simple. The idea of having anything going on in my interior monologue during an Olympic final, other than screaming, is laughable. In the most complimentary way, these individuals are not normal. And in a world of super-humans, Johnson is still a king.”

Yup. The doc where he goes to meet Bolt to find Bolt is hours late for training; his horror is fantastic.

We’re pretty bunched, the Ethiopians at the front and El Bakkali hanging back, getting into character.

Amos Serem, also of Kenya, missed a jump in the semi, but because he was pushed, he was handed a final spot, and is good enough to contend.

The favourites are Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco, the defending champ – it’ll take something special to beat him – Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia, whom he always seems to beat in the bigguns, and Abraham Kibiwot of Kenya.

Righto, time for another final wouldn’t you say? So here we go with men’s 3000m steeplechase.

Kennedy has, apparently, noted that being good at sport isn’t a moral standard, and her family and friends wouldn’t love her more or less based on how she did here. Well, she’s no need to test the theory, and the joy of her glee, the glee of her joy, is something to behold.

Kennedy misses, just, so here comes Moon; if she cant get over, Kennedy is champ!

MJ says he was prepared to accept defeat if he ran his race – as Hudson-Smith did – and was beaten by someone who executed better. “I wouldn’t have been happy,” he understates, but he also knew it was effectively impossible, so.

And Moon runs through the take-off! Given her miss at 4.90, she’s only got one more go at it; if she can’t get over, Kennedy takes gold regardless of whether she clears the height herself. But she’s about to try!

In the women’s pole, Newman of Canada misses 4.90 and is out, a bronze medal for company. Kennedy leads on 4.90, but the bar is now up to 4.95, Moon – who, remember, passed the previous height – to have first hack at it

On reflection, I don’t think Hudson-Smith was sharing despair with the man I think is his dad – he ran a PB of 43.44 and is now enjoying a lap of honour, taking congratulations from the crowd. He’ll know how far he’s come – we haven’t a clue – and for him to be here, doing this, is a colossal triumph.

Looking again at the finish, to look at them, Hudson-Smith looks the less devastated, Hall gritting teeth and wrinkling eyes, arms and legs all over the show. And as I type, Jess wonders how he maintains speed when in visible agony, form completely gone; MJ explains that he’s just so strong and humble, he’s able to ignore the pain and keep going.

Oh man, Hudson-Smith is weeping on to his dad’s shoulder, and he’s just stopping there. At 29, he knows this was his time, but he’s an absolute hero, representing himself and his family with candour and honour; how many of us can say that. Well played old mate, well played.

I think Hall’s time is the fifth-fastest ever and I’m not surprised he’s got such speed endurance – he used to be a 400m hurdler. MJ reckons Hudson-Smith ran his best race, it’s just that Hall was better on the night, so it’s lucky I’ve not quite finished typing maybe if he’d gone just a little less hard over the first 50 he’d have hung on, because I’d look a right Charlie then.

Who’d back against a 400m runner called Quincy?! Hall was almost perfect tonight, letting Hudson-Smith go out quicker secure in the knowledge he could come back at him, and he did – just, in another incredible finish. Though the race that unfolded was his race, we didn’t know it till the final strides. He’s been the best runner at the meet, peaking at the right time. And now he’s Olympic champ!

Hudson-Smith is away well but Hall is coming back at him!

They’re on their blocks; can Hudson-Smith get in front? Can he hang on? Here we go!

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We shouldn’t forget Kirani James, the champ in 2012, who’s been running really well here. But has he already used up his best times?

Hudson-Smith didn’t run in Tokyo to protect his mental health. He was also brave enough to reveal this – and the desperation of injuries – caused him to attempt suicide in the past. But he’s in charge of himself now, and what a beautiful thing it’d be if he were to become Olympic champion tonight.

I was seriously impressed with Quincy Hall in the men’s 400m semis, and I’d make him slight favourite for gold because he looks to be in the best form. Hudson-Smith, though, has been doing just enough, and knows that at 29, this is his moment; that might inspire him, or it might amp up the pressure beyond that which is tolerable.

Back to the women’s pole, Kennedy is going after 4.90 … and she’s over! She absolutely loves it! Moon passes at the height…

In the last of the women’s 400m semis, Natalia Kaczmarek of Poland and Amber Anning of GB pull away from the field; the former wins on the dip in 49.45 but that’s a great run from the Brit. She qualifies for the final automatically, with Sada Williams of Barbados and Henriette Jaeger of Norway moving on as fastest losers.

Let’s be real though, her greatest contribution to the Olympic movement is this takedown of Drew Sidora on Real Housewives of Atlanta.

We’re just over 15 minutes away from the men’s 400m final, and this could be one of the races of the games. Sanya Richards-Ross, champ in London and NBC analyst, thinks we’re getting a world record; the time to look out for is 43.03, set by Wayde van Niekerk in Rio.

Two false starts then, at about 200, Paulino eases on to the gas, winning by miles in 49.21; USA’s Alexis Holmes is second and Nielsen third, but she’s slower than third and fourth in the first race, so she’s out – likewise Pryce.

Pryce goes in the second 400m semi as does Paulino; they flank Team GB’s Laviai Nielsen.

This women’s pole is developing into a classic, Moon and Newman now both over 4.85. But now it’s Kennedy who leads on countback.

Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain wins from the front in 49.08 which Adeleke following her home. Ohuruogu is fifth and out.

Anyroad, here’s the first semi of the women’s 400m, Victoria Ohuruogu – sister of Christine – goes for GB. she’s got a lot of work to do at 300m.

Nina Kennedy definitely isn’t worried about countback now! She clears 4.85 first time and takes the lead as others fail their first attempts

I wonder if Hudson-Smith also suffered from impostor syndrome, unsure if a kid from Wolverhampton belonged in the rarefied atmosphere of elite sport. But he’s ready now, and this race might be coming at the perfect time for him.

Back in the studio, we’re discussing the men’s 400m final, coming up in just over half an hour. Eric Liddell was the last British man to win that – also in Paris, a hundred years ago. Matt Hudson-Smith has a really good shot at doing it – he’s the fastest in the world this year but also, he’s matured as an athlete and as a man:

I always say the sport is 10 per cent physical and 90 per cent mental,” he said. “Once you get to this level and everyone is of a similar ability, you know anyone can get to 300m but it’s what you do mentally in the last 100m.

You have to prepare your mind to push through the hurt. Like I said, I was very naive early on. I never took diet, physio and gym seriously because in my head I was doing pretty well just on the track. I was always top 10 in the world. I wouldn’t say I was comfortable or happy but it was kind of being satisfied that I was doing okay in life compared to a lot of people.

Now, for instance, Christine (Ohuruogo, his coach) doesn’t allow me to settle. She’s always in my ear and forcing me to be the best person for myself. It’s just the whole overall process of being an athlete and a better person. It’s understanding my role in the sport instead of doing just one singular thing. You know, being an athlete is just one aspect of it. You’ve got to do so many other things to develop yourself, even outside of it and learn different skills.”

Back to the women’s vault, Moser has missed, just, at 4.85, while another miss for Belgium and score for China means the latter lead 3-2 and will go through if they score their last effort. But first Belgium have to score … and they don’t! China meet the Netherlands in the final!

Belgium miss and China score, so it’s now 2-2 after three. I’d happily watch football shoot-outs that used this method – I tihnk the NASL did in the 70s.

OK, not quite penalties – players get eight seconds to take the ball from the 23-metre line to goal. Belgium are 2/2, the second of those a daring lob; China are 1/2.

Another shoot-out, this time in the women’s hockey semis; China equalised late doors, so they and Belgium now face a test of skill and composure under pressure the lottery of penalties.

Artistic swimming: Artistic swimming was formerly called synchronized swimming, and the looks of disappointment on the faces of Japanese team were eerily in sync as they saw their scores in the acrobatic program. Japan had stood fourth after the first two phases of the three-phase event, but not only did their overall score not surpass Spain, it allowed France to slip past them.

USA came into the acrobatic program in second place, narrowly ahead of Spain. Their degree of difficulty on the start list was lower than that of the teams chasing them, though, so would need to execute well to take silver. They were already winners in many casual observers’ eyes, moonwalking into Olympic immortality.

Their routine looked impressive enough, and indeed, they stayed ahead of Spain to move into first place with one team remaining.

That team is China, of course, who have an unassailable lead. But the USA have ended a 20-year medal drought in this event.

Canada, whose routine closed with the music of Eminem, are poised to finish a respectable sixth.

Next on the track it’s the semis of the women’s 400m. Nickisha Pryce of Jamaica is favourite, but I’m also looking forward to seeing how Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke does – with Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic and Natalia Kaczmarek of Poland also worth a look.

The times in which runners qualify for finals affects the lane draws; here’s an explainer of how those work – and that’s changed.

In the studio, MJ notes that Lyles didn’t run great and has probably spent the last three days talking. Jess Ennis-Hill notes his confidence, which will allow him to run closer to his best in tomorrow’s final, and over 200m I agree. Over 100m, I found his chat a masking agent, misdirecting from his nerves – for him and his rivals – but over the longer distance, he feels impregnable. That said, Tobogo looks really good and it’ll take something quick to beat him.

Erriyon Knighton of USA wins the final 200m semi in 20.09, Joseph Fahnbulleh of Liberia taking second. Zimbabwe’s Tapiwanashe Makarawu is third and moves on to, likewise his compatriot Makanakaishe Charamba – which is to say De Grasse has de gone.

But she makes it look easy, clearing 4.80 for a share of third. She won’t be too worried about countback because she’ll have assumed that for gold, she’ll need to vault higher than everyone else.

“I think people think that I train twice a day all year round and it’s hustling and grinding but we’re in such a high impact sport that you can only train a few times a week,” Kennedy revealed.

“Your body just can’t withstand that power and that force that’s going through it.”. And on what they do, I appreciated this – again from Kennedy.

“I think people think that I train twice a day all year round and it’s hustling and grinding, she said, “but we’re in such a high impact sport that you can only train a few times a week. Your body just can’t withstand that power and that force that’s going through it.”

In other words, however hard you think this stuff is, it’s harder.

Australia miss again, but their keeper saves USA’s fourth go so the match is still alive, then they score to make it 3-3; if USA score their final shot they’re into the semis … and they do. They meet Serbia in the last four.

Back to the women’s hockey semi, China still lead Belgium 1-0, with 11 minutes of Q4 gone. In the water polo, meanwhile, there’s a shoot-out following a 9-9 draw – get it on if you can – with USA leading 3-2, Australia having missed

Tobogo comes through and past Lyles in the last 30 to win in 19.96 – Lyles didn’t start especially well either – but as we saw in the 100m, he can win gold without winning either qualifying race, so.

Also in the second race is Letsile Tebogo of Botswana. Real talk, this isn’t the strongest field we’ve ever had, but he might be Lyles’ closest challenger; remember, Lyles hasn’t lost in 26 races, – since the final in Tokyo.

Noah Lyles goes in the second race, and those of you who followed Sunday night’s blog might recall my noting how brilliant his mum, Keisha Cane Bishop, is – the energy they give each other is beautiful. Well, here’s further evidence.

And immediately it’s time for the men’s 200m semis, Kenny Bednarek of USA in the first … and he wins in 20.00, Alexander Ogando os the Dominican Republic coming in second. Andre de Grasse, the defending champ, must wait and see.

Apologies, the Mish went when I took a comfort break, and he beat Mikhail Iakovlev of Israel. So both Brits are into the last eight but I don’t think there’s a bracket to see who each faces next -– or if there ism I can’t find it.

And now it’s time for the Mish…

Carlin has the inside, it’s close, and Paul of T&T is giving it a good go … but Carlin hangs on, just.

Jack Carlin’s sprint last-16 tie is away, and with two laps to go, he goes.

Benjamin goes out in measured manner but comes on strong around the curve to win, easing up, in 47.86. He is good. Roshawn Clarke of Jamaica is second, while the fastest losers are Dos Santos and Samba from race one and two respectively.

Some belters in here.

USA’s Rai Benjamin goes in the final 400m hurdles semi, and he’s my pick for gold. He’s fit and running fast – fastest – so if he can handle the situation, he has the speed and technique to win. “I need to perform when it really matters and that’s at Worlds, at the Olympics,” he said. “And I haven’t done that yet.”

In the second men’s 400m hurdles semi, Kyron McMaster OBE of the British Virgin Islands, slows up well before the line and is almost punished, but he wins in 48.15 with Rasmus Magi of Estonia coming second. Abderrahman Samba of Qatar is third in a slower time than Dos Santos managed, so he’s struggling.

The GB bronze-medal team are delighted. Josie Knight explains that not that long ago, Katie Archibald broke her ankle, and she thought he hopes went with that. But they reconfigured and here they are.

Elinor Barker says it was closer than she expected. This morning, she felt like a spring coil ready to go, which is rare, and she’s glad everything fell into place.

Back at the velodrome, it’s the men’s sprint quarters, and GB have two men in that: Jack Carlin and Hamish Turnbull – known, of course, as “The Mish” or “The Morpeth Mish”.

Wilma Murto of Finland, Alysha Newman of Canada and Stefanidi are over 4.70, Murto leading having not failed any height yet. And, as I type, Italy’s Elisa Molinarolo clears it too to join here at the top of the leaderboard.

Warholm ties up under pressure from Clement Ducos, the new french star, but he kicks again to win in 47.67; he is ard. Dos Santos, though, finishes in 47.92, will have to wait.

Off in the 400m hurdles, Warholm away well while Dos Santos has work to do…

What a photo we have here.

This, of course, is the classic of the genre – Greg Louganis still qualified for the final and won gold.

USA still lead NZ but they’ve to ease up to come together, and this isn’t quite over yet.

On the track, it’s time for the men’s 400m hurdles semis, Karsten Warholm, the defending champ and world record-holder in the same race as Alison dos Santos, one of the other favorites.

Back to the velodrome, USA lead by 0.845 after 1000, but as we’ve seen, this is not when these races are settled.

In the women’s hockey semis, China lead Belgium 1-0 in Q2, the winners to meet the Netherlands in the final; and in the quarters of the men’s water polo, a Guardian derby, in which Australia lead USA 5-2.

Coming up next: the final of the women’s team pursuit, in which USA take on New Zealand.

While that was going on, Jamaica’s Orlando Bennett won the final 110m hurdle semi in 13.09, Daniel Roberts of USA coming second. Parchment and Shunsuke Izumiya of Japan also qualify for the final as fastest losers.

Oh man this is going ro be close, Josie Knight putting in the pace from the front, and at 3625 it’s dead level! GB are coming and lead at the bell! They look good for bronze!

And as both teams go down to three, Italy increase their lead! But GB close and with 1000m to go they’re within 0.6s…

Halfway, at 2000m, Italy lead by almost a second, but as the lactic builds up, GB will fancy themselves to reverse the deficit – but they’ve not got loads with which to play.

The Italians go out quickly and lead at 1125m, but there’s a long way to go.

Righto, time for our women’s pursuit bronze-medal match: GB v Italy. GB are hot favourites to get this done.

The men’s triple jump heats are also under way. It won’t happen today, but in the final, might someone finally beat Jonathan Edwards’ record of 18.29?

A much slower second semi in the men’s 110m hurdles, Rashid Broadbell of Jamaica winning in 13.21 with Freddie Crittenden taking second. Third and fourth, slower than those who finished there in the first race, go out.

In keeping with pole-vault spirit, Moon and Kennedy opted to share the gold at the world championships. In Tokyo, Kennedy shared practice facilities with Sam Kendricks, the men’s silver medalist in Paris, and when he got Covid she had to isolate.

“I learnt that in your dark times, you do have to pull on your values,” she said. “So that was a really nice lesson and my values really did shine through in those two weeks. It was hard, I’m not grateful for it, but I’m glad it happened.”

It also forced her to re-evaluate the way she prepared and looked after herself – what she calls a “self-development journey”.

“I like to describe it as pole vault exposes the mental demons or the mental struggles you might be feeling,” she said.

“So if I had a really shit day at school, uni, or I’m stressed, stuff’s going on at home or with my boyfriend, if you get to pole vault practise and you’re not in a good mindset, you’re not doing a good pole vault. Pole vault for me is about being calm and being in my body and just executing what I need to.”

In the women’s pole vault, we’re still in the phoney war stage really. Seven athletes have cleared 4.60m first go with three others over having missed at least once. The medal favourites are Katie Moon of USA, Nina Kennedy of Australia and Katerina Stefanidi of Greece.

Coming up tonight, we’ve got the women’s team pursuit – GB take on Italy for the bronze and Australia meet NZ for the gold, the first of those contests at 6.28pm BST. Then we’ve got the men’s 400m hurdle semis at 6.35, the men’s sprint cycling quarters at 6.38, the men’s 200m semis at 7.02, the women’s 400m semis at 7.45, the men’s 400m final – featuring Matt Hudson-Smith – at 8.20 – and the men’s steeplechase final at 8.42.

Yup, Holloway oozes to an easy win in 12.98 and I can’t see anyone stopping him. Enrique Llopis of Wales Spain is also through. Hansle Parchment, the defending champ, came third and must wait to see if any other losers go quicker.

Thanks Katy and hi everyone. You’ll all be relieved to know there just isn’t time for any kind of self-indulgent and facetious preamble, because the first of men’s 110m hurdles semis – featuring hot favourite Grant Holloway – is about to get going.

Right my brief leg is over, as it’s time to hand the baton to Daniel. I’ll leave you with the latest in the medal table: Britain are up to 16 silvers with that men’s team pursuit medal; they’re on 47 medals overall. Australia are now on 17 golds and a combined total of 39 medals. Over to you Daniel ..

We’ve got the women’s team pursuit coming up. Having been defeated by USA earlier, GB are going in the bronze medal race against Italy, while USA will race off against New Zealand for gold.

Ach, so cruel for Hayter. It shows the absolute limits these cyclists are pushing their bodies to.

Here’s Ethan Hayter.

We were so close. I just gave too much and my whole body went weak and I couldn’t stay on the bike any more. I’m sorry for these guys. We’re super happy to win a silver though. We just came short in the end.

“Who is this Snoop Dogg bloke that keeps getting into the coverage of the Olympics?” emails a puzzled Rick Harris. “I can’t find him listed as a competitor in any of the events for any of the sports and I can’t see any reference to him as a former Olympian. I am beginning to wonder if he is related to that Zelig chap who Woody Allen made a film about. Perhaps gatecrashing could be a new Olympic sport at Los Angeles 2028?” Excellent suggestion Rick – I’m game for trying it if you are …

As for Chris Hoy’s verdict: “I think he’s just pushed it a bit too far,” the six-times Olympic champion says.

“A fraction of a second, a blink of an eye, a small loss of concentration or balance,” says Victoria Pendleton. “Ethan Hayter has to accept it and move on. It will be difficult. This is the cruel side of being in sport but they gave it their best shot and the rest is out of your hands in some ways.”

So huge disappointment for Britain, but they pushed Australia all the way until the final lap, and Australia are worthy winners, especially after their world-record run yesterday. And Hayter will at least count himself lucky that he didn’t crash. “I’m slightly confused,” says Laura Kenny on the BBC. “I’ve never seen that happen before. I’m not sure if something happened to the saddle.”

Now they’re down to three riders apiece, Vernon dropping out for Britain, and it’s still so close, with Britain 0.165sec down …

Both teams still have their maximum contingent of four, with the Australians almost at the pace they set in their world record yesterday.

Australia are ahead after 1500m, but there’s less than a tenth of a second in it.

They’re up and running. This is essentially a 4km-long time trial, with the four riders rolling around the velodrome in a line, with the riders taking turns on the front. They then drop down to three riders, with the clock stopping when the third rider from a team crosses the finishing line.

Right, so now it’s Team GB’s turn, as Ethan Hayter, Charlie Tanfield, Dan Bigham and Ethan Vernon get on to their bikes for the men’s team pursuit final. They’re looking to regain the Olympic title lost in Tokyo, after Britain dominated the event at the previous three Games. But they’re up against Australia – Kelland O’Brien, Sam Welsford, Conor Leahy and Oliver Bleddyn – who set a huge new world record of 3:40.730 in the heats.

Men’s team pursuit: Italy, the Olympic champions in Tokyo, cross the line first in 3min 44.197sec to bag bronze. Denmark, the world champions, leave with nada. I didn’t read the discussion earlier Krishna – but my suggestion would be to award three points for a gold, two for silver and one for bronze – that would seem like a fair way of sorting out the medal table … though getting all the countries on board with the same format is another matter …

A slight delay at the velodrome, with the bronze medal race in the men’s team pursuit between Denmark and Italy getting under way a few minutes late, so here’s an email from Krishna Moorthy. “Hello Katy. Earlier this afternoon there were mails from many about medal tables. We may not be good in designing anything but we sure can find mistakes once something is designed. We wanted video assistance in football similar to cricket and now lament VAR. We complained about six-day Test matches (one rest day in between) being too long and now cry that T20 has destroyed the game. It is Olympics time, so let’s attack the medals table. Am sure those complaining are not from USA or China!”

Under the watchful eyes of skateboarding grandmaster Tony Hawk – and Snoop Dogg – Australia’s Keegan Palmer confirmed his domination of the Olympic park event after securing back-to-back gold medals in central Paris.

The 21-year-old overcame knee injuries in the lead-up to the Games and ferocious competition from American Tom Schaar to secure a second gold medal, defending the gold he won in Tokyo as a teenager.

The medal is the second gold of the Games for Australia from the four skateboarding events on the programme, after Arisa Trew won goal in the women’s park on Tuesday. Seventeen-year-old Keefer Wilson finished eighth place behind Palmer after failing to complete a run in the final.

Palmer’s winning run was his first in the final, setting an early benchmark that nobody could match, even as the field got close – the top five skaters all scored above 91, and were spread by just two points.

Yet the final started slowly, after six skaters stacked on their first run. It left only Schaar and Keegan to complete their allotted 45 seconds. Schaar posted a 90.11 immediately before Palmer, but the Australian bettered him, celebrating with his rivals with hugs and high fives.

World No 1 Tate Carew put together a spectacular run on his second go-round, and the crowd waited anxiously for the scores, but even that was only 91.17. And Schaar immediately followed with what seemed like another combination that would test Palmer, but again the judges only scored it a 92.23.

You can read more here.

Phew. No time for a breather though, because it’s over to the velodrome, where Britain’s men will be going for gold in the men’s team pursuit final against Australia in about 10 minutes’ time. The evening athletics session is also under way at the Stade de France, with the women’s pole vault final taking place – minus Molly Caudery and Holly Bradshaw after they failed to qualify.

The medal-winning scores:

Keegan Palmer (Australia) 93.11
Tom Schaar (USA) 92.23
Augusto Akio (Brazil) 91.85

Hi everyone. It’s getting even hotter at the Place de la Concorde, where Brazil’s Pedro Barros is screaming and raising his arms in the air; it’s fair to say he’s happy with his run. But his 91.65 is only enough for fourth. Australia’s Keegan Palmer is still in the gold medal position.

What a gloriously brief stint from me. Katy Murrells is next in the hot seat.

Men’s skateboarding: After messing up his first two attempts, Akio comes back with a fine third run. He puts his board aloft at the end and goes to do some juggling but it’s only good enough for third with 91.85.

USA’s Hampton Morris looks more like a statkeeper than a weightlifter – and a young one at that. He is indeed young, making his Olympic debut today at age 20.

In last year’s world championships, Morris set a junior world record and won the clean and jerk. At the World Cup in April, Morris set a senior world record in the clean and jerk and completed a solid lift in the snatch, good enough to finish second behind China’s Li Fabin.

Today, Morris was in fifth place after the snatch, and he set off some alarm bells by missing his first clean and jerk at 168kg, well below his world record of 176kg. But he came back to lift 172kg, tying the Olympic record and moving into third place. He gave the world record a shot with a lift that would’ve improved his position to silver, but he couldn’t hold it.

(For non-metric people – 172kg is 379lbs.)

Bronze for Morris – and gold for Li, the first of many expected medals for China in weightlifting.

Men’s skateboarding: Tony Hawk applauds Tom Schaar and Snoop comes for a hug to celebrate some fine work from the American and his backside alley oop etc. It is 92.23 to put him second.

Men’s skateboarding: Snoop Dogg, 52, celebrates a cracking run from Tate Carew who moves into second thanks to a smooth routine.

Is sport good for you? Asks Adrian Chiles.

If you were paying close attention during Tokyo 2020, you may remember Fernando Dayan Jorge Enriquez. If you are Cuban you absolutely do. He won the country’s first gold medal in canoeing, when he was competing with Serguey Torres in the two-man 1,000m sprint.

Andy Bull on Fernando Dayan Jorge Enriquez.

Men’s skateboarding: Pedro Barros has his earphones in. What do we reckon he is listening to? Guardian Football Weekly? The Brazilian seems to lose his way but somehow gets back on track to score 86.41. Decent but not likely to keep him in bronze.

Men’s skateboarding: Defending champion Keegan Palmer plays it relatively safe to complete his run and gets 93.11, which is a might fine score, but I am sure he has more to give.

Men’s skateboarding: 90.11 for Tom Schaar shows everyone how it is done by actually completing a run.

Hampton Morris wins the 61kg weightlifting bronze. It’s the first US men’s weightlifting medal since 19884. And Morris, 20, is the youngest US men’s medalist since 1956.

Men’s skateboarding: Not much to discuss after the first three Brazilians because they’ve all fallen off. Finishing a run would be useful for any skateboarder.

Men’s skateboarding: Augusto Akio does some juggling before the start of the final. I hope that wins him some points.

Men’s skateboarding: “We are in for the greatest skateboarding competition of all time” toot the BBC commentators. The atmosphere sounds pretty lively as the final eight prepare to show Snoop Dogg what they can do.

In the meantime, have a look at the best images of the day.

Hello all! Let’s see if we can keep up with everything going on for the next 37 minutes.

That’s my stint done for today, and indeed for live-blogging these Games. Thanks for all your emails and for the kind words about the team’s collective blogging efforts. Feel free to bung us a couple of quid. Will Unwin is now stepping into the breach for the next bit.

“Regarding Victor Lee’s email: US colleges give huge numbers of scholarships for academically weak students to attend their colleges,” writes Nelson.

“This is done to raise the school’s profile. As educational institutions are not taxed the sports teams are in effect being subsidised extensively. Having a culture of competitive college sports teams that continually attend “meets” maintains high standards.

“But as many of the individual athletes do not have to work full time to simply pay for living expenses it puts them at huge advantage. The vast majority of USA-based college athletes certainly are not going from the factory at the end of the day and squeezing in training before bed.”

My colleague Tom Lutz has sent this from my other colleague, Beau Dure.

Beau counts that from Team GB one hockey player, one golfer, seven rowers, one swimmer, three tennis players, and 16 track and field athletes went to US universities.

France agonisingly lost their men’s handball quarter-final 34-33 against Germany on Wednesday, ending the Olympic hosts’ dream of another handball double gold and marring the end of left back Nikola Karabatic’s career as he retires from the sport.

France had been ahead at half time but made a huge mistake when they lost possession in the final seconds, allowing Germany right back Renars Uscins to score and take the game to overtime. The 22-year-old also scored the final tie-breaking nine-metre shot.

“I think in a thousand times it won’t happen again, it’s maybe impossible, but today that it should happen is crazy, that our guys catch the ball and Renars Uscins scores,” said Germany captain Johannes Golla.

Earlier, Spain edged Egypt 29-28 and will play the Germans in the semis, with right wing Aleix Gomez pouring in nine points, including the final tie-breaking shot during overtime.

Later on Wednesday, Tokyo silver medallists Denmark will face Sweden, while Norway meet Slovenia as they battle to advance to the semis on Friday. Reuters

Andy Macdonald speaks to the BBC about the emotion of competing in skateboarding in Paris at 51, and his post-run celebrations today: “It’s excitement, it’s relief, it’s every emotion you can think of that comes out. And you’re like: ‘Oh, I did it!’”

Women’s golf: Celine Boutier of France reaches the clubhouse, possibly to enjoy a lager shandy, having carded a seven-under par round of 60. She is three strokes clear of Ashleigh Buhai (South Africa), her closest challenger, who is on the 16th.

Men’s volleyball: Poland and Team USA are now level at a set all in their semi-final. USA take the second set, 27-25.

Australia has won four consecutive Olympic gold medals in the men’s dinghy (laser) sailing, after sailor Matt Wearn defended his Tokyo gold medal in light Marseille conditions on Wednesday afternoon.

The nation’s remarkable winning run began at London 2012, through Tom Slingsby, before Tom Burton won gold at Rio 2016. Wearn, now 28, first won gold in the class three years ago at the Tokyo Games, before a composed performance in the final saw him sail away as Olympic champion once more. He is the first man to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the dinghy class.

“I want to clear up some misconceptions about how the US funds the development of Olympic athletes,” emails Victor Lee.

“The US has no federal central planning or funding for Olympic sports. The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee is entirely privately funded. Remember, we’re the only leading industrial nation that doesn’t have national health care.

“The success is due to a large country which has lots of resources and lots of ambitious people who are used to thinking that if they try hard, they can succeed, with lots of private institutions (EG gymnastics schools and fencing schools), plus a high school and university culture that sometimes puts more emphasis on sports than academics.

“We know university-age athletes around the world often seek to come to the US for training. Those universities do not receive federal funding for sports. Even state (provincial) schools are not fully funded by the government, but need to balance their budgets through high tuition, donations, and for-profit enterprises.”

The Paris Olympics promised to be the most eco-friendly Games in history, reducing by half the amount of single-use plastic compared to London 2012.

French environmental groups, however, have criticised what they called a “bizarre” and “surreal” sight at certain venues’ drinks stands run by the main sponsor, Coca-Cola. Servers can be seen filling plastic reusable, so-called “eco-cups” from 50cl plastic bottles, amassing sacks of empty bottles for recycling.

Men’s weightlifting: Seems like Shota Mishvelidze (Georgia) and Kaimarui Erati (Kiribati) are duking it out in the clean & jerk. Follow the live scores here.

Women’s golf: Celine Boutier continues to lead the way for France in the women’s golf. She is seven under through 16.

Men’s volleyball: Poland are a set up on the USA in their semi-final. The US are 16-13 up in the second.

Men’s water polo: Greece 10-11 Serbia in Q4! It’s another classic.

It was one of the greatest Olympic 1500m finals in history. Perhaps even the greatest. And while Cole Hocker was a deserved champion for the United States, what really made it an all-time classic was that Britain’s Josh Kerr, the US’s Yared Neguse and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen could have all won if their tactics had been slightly different.

Ingebrigtsen went too fast early on. Neguse let Hocker slip past him on the back straight, while Kerr was also a bit too wide when he struck for glory. In a race of such fine margins, pacing strategies and even the Stade de France track made all the difference in a race for the ages.

Kristen Faulkner is one of the most surprising gold medalists for the USA in these Games. She only received her berth in the women’s cycling road race when Taylor Knibb opted to focus on triathlon and cut her cycling efforts to one event rather than two.

Faulkner will leave Paris with a second medal, this one a lot less surprising. Before Knibb gave up her spot in road cycling, Faulkner was already Paris-bound in track cycling’s women’s team pursuit. The USA slipped past Great Britain in the semi-finals and will ride for gold against New Zealand.

One of Faulkner’s teammates, Chloe Dygert, also will have two medals, having won bronze in the road cycling time trial. Jennifer Valente also has a good chance of taking a second medal, competing later in the omnium, in which she’s the reigning Olympic and world champion.

Skateboarding: The men’s park final will be coming up in an hour.

Palmer (Australia), Schaar (USA), Sorgente (Italy), Carew (USA), Wilson (Australia), Barros, Cini and Akio (all Brazil) qualified.

The 51-year-old Andy Macdonald bows out.

Cricket: Did you know cricket is returning to the Olympics in LA in 2028 after a 128-year absence?

Did you also know I’m only mentioning it only because I wrote an article about it a couple of weeks ago?

“Paris has been fabulous in every way,” emails someone called aa bb. “One thing I really like is the shades-of-purple colour scheme. Also the beautiful new fonts – see the track numbers: 4 is especially nice.

“Also the collage type styling of the decor is a homage I think, to Robert Delaunay’s paintings for the Paris 1924 games. Also thanks for the MBM. I’m really going to miss these games.”

Lots of interesting emails about the medal table, funding and fair sport so thanks for those.

This is from Neil Perry:

“In response to Dan Davies’ email about the suggestion that richer nations should train and support athletes from other countries, I would point out the US does that to an extent, via government support for American universities and their athletic programs.

“The National Collegiate Athletics Association reports that Olympic athletes from 125 countries participate in college sports in the United States. Yes, one-third of those athletes compete for the US, but it also includes athletes like Julien Alfred from St Lucia, gold medalist in the women’s 100m sprint.”

Sailing: A couple of races are going on now after a lack of wind hampered things earlier today. The Men’s ICLA 7, Medal Race, and Men’s Formula Kite, Race 8 are ongoing. That’s what the computer is telling me and I can offer little of insight or value.

But wait! The BBC commentator tells us that Micky Beckett may have a shot at bronze in the men’s ICLA 7 event. Seems like silver or gold are out of the question.

Table tennis: France lead Brazil 2-0 in the men’s team last-eight encounter.

And in the women’s competition, China lead Chinese Taipei, also 2-0.

Men’s water polo: Latest score: Greece 6-6 Serbia in Q3. There is no separating these two.

It’s wanting more. It’s training more. It’s taking care of yourself more. It’s being ready to play 90 plus 30 minutes. This is what I ask of the girls. There’s not going to be a Formiga for ever. There’s not going to be a Marta for ever. There’s not going to be a Cristiane. The women’s game depends on you to survive. Think about that. Value it more. Cry in the beginning so you can smile in the end.

In June 2019 Marta, Brazil’s captain and all-round trailblazer, stood distraught on the side of a pitch in Le Havre. As the cameras came to her after Brazil had again fallen early on the world stage – beaten in extra time by the hosts, France, in the last 16 of the World Cup – she launched into an impassioned speech to her country’s next generation that drew worldwide traction.”

Men’s volleyball: Poland v USA has begun, the men’s semi-final. People will be glued to their TVs in Poland, where volleyball is almost like a religion.

“I’d be interested to know your views on what makes these Olympics so special to me,” emails Jean Sesques from France. “The Vasque in the Tuileries Garden Parc des Champions for Medallists & Parc des Nations at la Villette.

“I do think Paris 2024 made something really incredible making these games popular & affordable for supporters (the zones I mentioned are free zones to enjoy the games) but also valuing the athletes (look at Djokovic or Marchand at the Parc des Champions the past days!)”

Weightlifting: People are lifting incredibly heavy weights in the men’s 61kg at South Paris Arena 6. I’m no expert, but you can keep across the live scores here.

Aniq Kasdan (Malaysia) has lifted 126kg in the snatch, and so has Hampton Morris.

Men’s water polo: Latest score: Greece 4-4 Serbia in Q2 of their quarter-final.

Women’s basketball: Belgium 71-53 Spain is a latest score with six minutes or so to play. A mountain to climb for the Spanish.

India’s Olympic contingent are devastated after one of their marquee athletes, the female wrestler Vinesh Phogat, was disqualified hours before her gold medal match for exceeding the 50kg restriction by the weight of a medium-sized banana despite even cutting off her hair in an attempt to fight for gold.

Women’s golf: Celine Boutier of France now leads overall, four under par through 13. Vu (USA) is second, on three under, and Gabriela Lopez (Mexico) is in the clubhouse on two under.

What’s going on over on the official Olympics X account? Artistic swimming is the answer:

I was given a real insight into how life has changed for Olympic mothers when I did a joint interview with Denise Lewis a few months ago. Denise was an extraordinary competitor who won gold in the heptathlon at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, at a time when little was expected of GB athletes. But, 24 years later, she explained how horrendously she had been treated as a mum.

Men’s water polo: Greece 1-1 Serbia is a latest score from the first quarter of their quarter-final.

Track cycling: Katy Marchant of Team GB has safely made it through via the keirin repechage to the quarter-finals.

Men’s handball: Germany edge ahead, 34-33, in the second half of extra time. France have a player in the sin bin, or whatever they call it in handball.

“To build on Daniel Coomber’s comment from 13.44,” emails Pietro Aronica.

“I am a data scientist and I have been interested in finding out which disciplines have the greatest ‘overlap’, in medals and participants. I performed some basic analyses using a database of all Olympic athletes from every Olympics going back to 1896, and indeed some of the greatest overlaps can be found in gymnastics, because there is an event (the all-around, in individual and team) that encompasses several other events (rings, vault, etc) that each have their own medal, athletes have effectively multiple shots at getting a medal for the same skill. Compare this with the decathlon, which is also composed of several events which have their own medal, but nowadays there is no overlap in athletes and medals given.

“If a nation wants to increase their medal tally, they can prioritise the disciplines that reward the same skill many times. For example, South Korea does well in archery, so it’s probably no coincidence that the archery program was expanded at the ‘88 Seoul Olympics.

“I don’t want to curtail anyone’s fun or diminish any athletes’ accomplishments, just applying some mathsy fun to see interesting patterns!”

Women’s hockey: The Netherlands lead Argentina 3-0 in the fourth quarter of their semi-final. Argentina need a miracle.

Men’s handball: Germany and France are into extra time, now locked at 31-31.

Skateboarding: Macdonald’s old friend Tony Hawk is there in Paris! MacDonald completes his first run, collapses in a heap, and roars with satisfaction at finally becoming an Olympian! Hawk applauds warmly along with the rest of the crowd.

Macdonald scores 72.07 on his first run, which is a fair way off the pace, but he’s won just by making it to Paris.

Skateboarding: In the men’s park, Palmer, Schaar and Sorgente are still the three skaters with a ‘Q’ next to their name. Here comes the 51-year-old Andy Macdonald for Team GB!

Men’s handball: Wow! France were a couple of seconds from winning, 29-28, and booking their place in the semi-finals – but Germany stole the ball after a mistake by Dika Mem and Renars Uscins levels it spectactularly to force extra time!

“When I look at the medal table I just see a bunch of rich nations specialising and focusing their massive resources to hoover up medals,” writes Dan Davies in an email titled “Fair Sport?”

“Sure, it’s great Team GB is doing well alongside France, US, China etc. but the vast majority of nations leave with no medal in any competition. You effectively have well-funded and trained professional sports people competing with amateurs. This doesn’t really embody the Olympic spirit does it?

“Should rich nations be made to support/train a percentage of athletes from poorer countries?”

Men’s handball: Two minutes to go in this quarter-final. Germany 26-28 France. Germany were favourites to win this. The home crowd continues to make plenty of noise.

“Daniel Coomber is spot on about the medal table being daft,” emails Thomas Atkins. “But our country’s obsession with it has more unfortunate implications than just on the silly “who’s the best” conversations. Take basketball, for example, which is played widely across the country, including in areas where those in charge of sport claim to want to improve participation rates and inspire people, but which receives precisely no funding as part of the Olympic cycle because there are only six medals on offer. Contrast this with rowing, a sport concentrated within a fairly predictable demographic but where there are multiple medals to be had, and so gets money thrown at it.”

Golf, sailing, handball, water polo, hockey, track cycling, basketball, Taekwondo and canoe sprint are all live right now.

You can keep across it all on our live schedule.

Men’s handball: Another classic is playing out in the quarter-finals. Germany 26-27 France with five minutes remaining in Lille. There is a break in play after a clash of heads between two opponents. The home crowd is making a ton of noise.

Track cycling: “Why are the UCI still using petrol dernies in the keirin, while the Olympics seemed to adopt electric bikes some time ago?” inquires Tom on email.

“That little red motorbike cannot be powered by fossil fuels, can it?” adds Andrew. “Looks like it has a fuel tank and an engine. Why not electric bike for a ‘greener’ cycling competition?”

Skateboarding: Luigi Cini of Brazil just did a totally gnarly trick in the men’s park heats and whipped up the crowd once he was done. What’s actually going on, though?

Well, Keegan Palmer tops the charts right now, with a score of 93.78, and has qualified, along with Tom Schaar of the US and Alex Sorgente of Italy.

“As you’ve asked for emails,” writes Daniel Coomber.

“I do enjoy a little rant about the medal table and how pointless/misleading it is. Isn’t it just too weighted towards sports that are give medals out liberally?

“Simone Biles, for example, is clearly a phenomenal Olympian. But why does she get to compete for five medals, one for each gymnastic element as well as overall, when a hypothetically equally-dominant handball player can only compete for one? There’s no gold medal for best goal / top scorer / best save etc etc.

“Usain Bolt has eight Olympic medals - for running 100m and 200m faster than anyone else. And Michael Phelps has 28, for doing the same distances ... in different styles. Bolt surely might have won 28 too if he’d been allowed to win one for the 100m running, the 100m hopping, the 100m running backwards etc. Of course hopping wouldn’t be as fast as running - but breaststroke isn’t as fast as freestyle, that’s the point.

“None of this detracts from the Olympics being bloody brilliant - the best fortnight of every four years. Just ignore the daft medal table.”

Parisienne Projections is a Getty Images project throughout the host city of Paris, which displays the action and competitors’ reactions during their Olympic competitions.

Steven Bloor has compiled this attractive gallery:

Track cycling: The Dutch world-record holder, Harrie Lavreysen, comfortably wins his men’s sprint heat against Max Doernbach of Germany.

Women’s hockey: Netherlands v Argentina has kicked off, or sticked off, at Stade Yves-du-Manoir. It’s the semi-final and Joosje Burg has gone down with a painful-looking and bloody facial injury. The score is 0-0 in the second quarter. Hope Burg is OK.

Track cycling: “I think the organisers are missing a trick by not putting that keirin leader in a beret and stripy top with a basket of baguettes behind him,” emails Jean.

“The guy on the Derny always looks like Donald Trump, dern he?” chips in Jeremy Boyce. “Just weird. What I really like is the way the Derny looks like an old classic French Solex moped, re-designed for modern day weirdness.”

Ilias Kurtudis has been in touch on email to point out an interesting fact. Last night at the Stade de France, Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou became the only other athlete apart from Carl Lewis to defend an Olympic long jump title. A brief Reuters report below.

Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou leapt 8.48m to become only the second man after Carl Lewis to successfully defend the men’s Olympic long jump title on Tuesday, delivering his country’s first gold of the Paris Games.

In a high-quality competition, Jamaican Wayne Pinnock took silver with 8.36m and Italy’s Mattia Furlani (8.34m) claimed bronze.

Poker-faced world champion Tentoglou clinched the title with his second attempt, cracking a smile only once he was able to embrace his team in the stands before wrapping himself in the Greece flag.

Tentoglou joined long jump royalty as only American Lewis, who won the title four times from 1984-1996, had retained the title.

“This is for my country. Greece is the country that invented the Olympics, so I am happy to do it for them,” he said. Reuters

These women’s team pursuit riders are deep in the pain cave now … but Team GB trail by half a second with two laps to go.

Track cycling: The women’s team pursuit continues at the velodrome and it’s Team GB v USA up next … Barker, Knight, Morris, Roberts ride for GB.

Women’s golf: Lilia Vu (USA) has stormed to four under par through seven holes at Le Golf National. Second-placed Celine Boutier (France) is three under, also after seven, and Aditi Ashok (India) is two under after 17, in third place. Celine Borge, the early pacesetter, is two under through 16. The Norwegian is fourth.

Why not email me? Especially if it concerns the Olympics.

Thanks Barry. Yes, that’s me on the left.

Sit back, relax, and let the sports commence.

Handover: Luke McLaughlin is back to pace you through the next few hours of coverage on his little velodrome motorbike. Enjoy …

Track cycling: Emma Finucane, the most famous cycling enthusiast to come out of the Welsh town of Carmarthen since comedy and podcasting’s Elis James, has just won her heat of the women’s keirin and is through to the quarter-finals. Team GB’s Katy Marchant is among those who will have to run the repechage gauntlet later this afternoon after failing to qualify automatically.

Athletics: George Mills found himself in a heated altercation with France’s Hugo Hay after he was involved in a collision in his 5,000m heat, with the British athlete later reinstated with three other fallers.

Track cycling: Team’s GB’s Katy Marchant has failed to qualify automatically by finishing in the top two of her first round race in the women’s keirin (the race with the pacemaking motorbike or “derny”).

Her third place finish behind New Zealand’s Ellesse Andrews and France’s Mathilde Gros consigns her to this afternoon’s repechages.

Track cycling: Team GB’s Jack Carlin and Hamish Turnball have both qualified for the next round of the men’s sprint, qualifying in fifth and seventh place respectively.

Athletics: Everyone loves saying the word “repechage” but it’s generally one we only get to use every four years. Team GB’s Revee Walcott-Nolan has come second in repechage to qualify for the women’s 1,500m semi-finals. Ireland’s Sophie O’Sullivan and Sarah Healy will not be joining her after finishing fourth in their respective heats.

Track cycling: The Olympic swimming pool and running track have been decried as being too “slow” in some quarters but there are no such conerns over the boards in the velodrome.

Not long after Mikhail Yakolev set an Olympic record for the men’s individual sprint, Australia’s Matt Richardson came out and set a world record of 9.091sec for his flying 200m. He didn’t have it for much longer than a minute before Dutch cyclist Harrie Lavreysen beat it by posting a time of 9.088sec.

Track cycling: Hamish Turnbull has been bumped down to third in the men’s sprint qualifying. Israel’s Mikhail Yakovlev has just set an Olympic record of 9.152sec for his flying 200m, while Australia’s Leigh Hoffman is in second place.

Track cycling: To the velodrome, where Team GB’s Hamish Turnball leads the men’s team sprint qualifying with a time of 9.346sec for his flying 200m and will definitely be among the top 24 riders (out of 30) who make it through to the next round.

The 25-year-old from Northumberland has already won a silver medal at these games as part of the Team GB men’s team sprint trio that finished second behind the Netherlands last night.

Sport Climbing – Boulder & Lead: “The men’s semi-final lead round was incredibly dramatic and emotional,” writes the Guardian’s South Africa correspondent Rachel Savage, who into this particular sport and watching the event so that I don’t have to pretend I have a clue what’s going on. “As well as Team GB medal favourite Toby Roberts, Hamish McArthur also made it through, so GB is the only country to have two athletes through to the men’s final.

“The top qualifier was 17-year-old wunderkid Sorata Anraku (Japan), who made it through even before having climbed the lead route, thanks to an amazing boulder round. His teammate Tomoa Narasaki, who was second in bouldering, fell early on the lead route - as did many other top athletes - putting him out of the final. It was heartbreaking for him, as he came fourth in Tokyo Olympics and his wife, Tokyo bronze medallist Akiyo Noguchi, was in the crowd”

Women’s basketball: The Australian team, the Opals, are through to the Olympic semi-finals after downing Serbia 85-67 in the first quarter-final of Wednesday. It is revenge for Australia after the Serbian men’s team defeated the Australian Boomers in quarter-finals yesterday. Alanna Smith led the scoring for Australia with 22 points. The Opals will now await the outcome of the United States’ meeting with Nigeria tonight to see who they will face in the semi-finals on Friday.

Women’s golf: While some of us have been off the smokes for nearly three months, Charley Hull remains a martyr to the coffin nails and earlier this week bemoaned the fact that she is not allowed to light up while competing at the OIympics. The Team GB golfer could clearly do with a cigarette, as her first round has started very badly. She’s five shots over par through nine.

Athletics: A late call-up to the British team following the injury suffered by Jake Wightman, Elliot Giles advances from the his heat of the men’s 800m, finishing second behind gold medal favourite Djamel Sedjati (Algeria), who has said he is targeting the world record of 1min 40.91sec set by Kenya’s David Rudisha at London 2012.

Athletics: Good news for George Mills! The Team GB athlete and the three other athletes who fell in the home straight of their heat of the 5,000m have been advanced to the final by the race officials. Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu (Refugee Olympic Team), Mike Foppen (Netherlands) and Thierry Ndikumwenayo (Spain) are the other “lucky” fallers. This largesse on the part of the judges means there will be a field of 20 men in the final, which could lead to more carnage.

Athletics: There was further drama in the second heat of the men’s 5,000m, when a TV cameraman wandered across the track to the infield, apparently oblivious to the fact that the field of runners were heading his way.

He ended up getting in their way and the competitors had to dodge him, a state of affairs that prompted Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen to gesture angrily at the rogue technician. Ingrebrigsten, who surprised many including himself by finishing out of the medals in last night’s thrilling 1,500m race, did go on to qualify for the final.

Good day everybody. Everyone loves a row and arguably the most entertaining thing to happen from a British perspective so far this morning was George Mills finding his progress impeded in the home straight of the first heat of the men’s 5,000m and taking a tumble along with three other athletes.

Mills got back to his feet, finished the race well out of the qualification places and angrily confronted France’s Hugo Hay, who he felt had brought him down. Hay was in more conciliatory mood and tried to calm down Mills, who is the son of former England footballer Danny, but the English runner was in no mood for a pacifying arm around the shoulder.

In a post race interview with the BBC, a considerably more calm Mills said “I think it’s pretty clear, I got stepped out on. I was about to kick into the straight and boom: the French lad took me down.”

Interestingly, on the BBC coverage, I think it was Paula Radcliffe who said the pace the race was run at was far too slow which meant that a pile-up was almost inevitable as the athletes jockleyed for position in the home straight. She felt Mills had got himself in a bad position and had nobody to blame but himself for coming a cropper. Anyway, he won’t be in the final unless the race officials see fit to reinstate him, which seems extremely unlikely.

Sport is happening all over the place in Paris. Not to mention Lille and other locations. And Barry Glendenning is now here to take you through the next bit … over to you, Barry.

Men’s climbing: boulder & lead: Thanks to Ivana for the heads up on email:

“Toby Roberts (GB) just qualified for the final in sport climbing (boulder&lead).”

He did! Alberto Lopez of Spain was first in the semi-final, with 72 points, GB’s Roberts second with 68.1, Adam Ondra of Czech Republic third, also 68.1.

Women’s golf: Celine Borge continues to lead the way at Le Golf National. The Norwegian is three under par after eight holes.

Aditi Ashok (India) is one under through nine holes, Yin Ruoning of China is one under after six.

But … Nelly Korda is three over after seven!

Women’s 50kg wrestling update from Beau Dure:

The Indian wrestler, Vinesh Phogat, didn’t make weight for today’s gold medal match at 50kg and has been disqualified.

Contrary to some reports, Phogat’s disqualification does not mean the USA’s Sarah Hildebrandt wins gold. The wrestler Phogat beat in the semifinals, Yusneylis Guzman Lopez of Cuba, has been put through to the final.

In her first match, Phogat pulled off one of the shocks of the Games, beating Yui Susaki, who hadn’t conceded a point in Olympic or world championship matches in five years.

Even though Phogat’s results have been scrubbed from the competition, the wrestlers she defeated, including Susaki, are still in the repechage and can get bronze.

Phogat was a nominee for the Laureus Sports Awards comeback of the year honour a few years ago.

Women’s basketball: The Australians have extended their advantage through the second quarter at the basketball, with the Opals leading by 16 at the half-time break, 48-32. Jade Melbourne has led the scoring for Australia, knocking down 14 points with only one missed three detracting from an otherwise perfect streak. Ivana Raca has been Serbia’s most effective scorer, with 57% accuracy.

Men’s handball: Under a minute left … Spain 28-28 Egypt … penalty Spain!

Men’s diving: Wang Zongyuan (China) currently tops the charts in the 3m springboard with a total of 435.25.

Men’s handball: Spain 27-27 Egypt with about three minutes to go in extra time … but Ali Zein has just been sent to the sin bin for Egypt after making contact with an opponent’s face!

Men’s high jump: Mutaz Barshim (Qatar), Shelby McEwen (USA) and Stefano Sottile (Italy) currently top the standings in qualifying. Tamberi is fourth.

Men’s high jump: JuVaughn Harrison (USA) has crashed out in qualifying after three failed jumps. He appears to have injured himself on the third and final effort, too.

Men’s 5000m: George Mills of Team GB is very unhappy with Hugo Hay of France after the 5,000m heat at the Stade de France, for some reason. I did not see the race so not sure what occurred but will try and bring you more on that when I get it …

Narve Gilje Nordas of Norway won the first heat in a time of 14min 08.16sec. Hagos Gebrhiwet (Ethiopa) second, John Heymans (Belgium) third.

The Australian Opals are up by seven points after the first quarter of the women’s basketball quarter-finals, leading Serbia 26-19. It has been a physical opening contest - Yvonne Anderson looking dangerous for the Serbians, but the Opals doing well to control the contest. The winner of this match will face the United States or Nigeria in the semi-final.

Men’s handball: You could tell a classic was brewing … Spain 25-25 Egypt is a final score in the quarter-final in Lille. The match goes to extra time: two five-minute periods.

Egypt had a chance to win it in the final seconds, but the Spain goalie, Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas, pulled off a stunning save.

Jakob Ingebritsen has taken to Instagram, reacting to last night’s shock result in the 1500m:
”My team always say that “because you have a big mouth and is the one to beat, you have everything to lose in competitions”. Today, Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse and Josh Kerr outsmarted me. They were “the best guys” when it really mattered. And I want to congratulate them all on a great performance! … Of course, I am disappointed!

“Running is the ultimate sport. Everyone can participate. Everyone can set their own goals and achieve them. All you need is to show up … Thank you to all my competitors for putting on a great show today. Congratulations to the guys bringing home the medals! Luckily for me, I get to do it all again tomorrow morning.”

Who is leading the medal table? You can find out here:

Thanks to Fabiana Scarazzato for the following email regarding the high-jumper Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy, he who lost his wedding ring:

“Three days ago Tamberi was rushed to hospital where it was discovered he had kidney stones, so the fact that he managed to be in Paris today for the qualifier is quite the miracle.”

Over the hardest three laps of his life, Cole Hocker clung on with the stub­bornness of a mule. Then, in an ­Olympic 1500m final for the ages, he kicked like one.

It took the 23-year-old ­American past the fading Tokyo gold medallist Jakob Ingebrigtsen of ­Norway. Then, in an extraordinary last few yards, Britain’s world ­champion Josh Kerr. And suddenly, and without warning, a 37-1 underdog from Indianapolis had shaken up the world.

Women’s golf: All, or certainly many, eyes are on Nelly Korda at Le Golf National. She has dropped a shot early doors, though, and is one over par through three holes.

Borge of Norway leads on two under par after five.

Men’s handball: Spain 17-20 Egypt after 48min.

Josh Kerr speaks to the BBC after last night’s silver medal in the men’s 1500m: “I was just trying to stay as close as possible … I could feel like we were really rolling, it was unrelenting pace.

“He [Cole Hocker] is a fantastic athlete … we could feel there were some guys still there and it wasn’t just us [Kerr and Jakob Ingebritsen].

“It was a great move for him, but it took the sting out of my legs a little bit, I was just trying to get to the finish line as fast as I could.

“You shake everyone’s hand, you move on, and you try and get better from it.”

Tomorrow night at the Stade de France, it’ll be McLaughlin-Levrone v Bol in the women’s 400m hurdles final. Not to be missed.

In skateboarding, the men’s park final is coming up this afternoon, with the BBC coverage beginning at 4.30pm. A little later there is track cycling – including men’s and women’s team pursuit. The men’s 400m final will feature in the athletics this evening.

The men’s 800m heats will be coming up a bit later at the Stade de France, which is nice.

Men’s diving: In the men’s 3m springboard semi-final, Team GB’s Jack Laugher is currently placed eighth after two dives, having scored 86.70 and 87.50.

Yona Knight-Wisdom of Jamaica leads the way at the top of the standings.

A humble statement, on behalf of the media and the entire athletics establishment. In light of the surprising events at the Stade de France on Tuesday, we wish to make a few minor clarifying amendments to some of the coverage you may have seen over the last 12 months.

For example, when we described the Olympic men’s 1500m final as a head-to-head showdown between Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen we should of course have pointed out these two men would end up finishing second and fourth. When we thrust microphones in front of Kerr and Ingebrigtsen and asked them to take pot shots at each other, we in fact misspoke when we actually meant to be asking them both to trash talk Cole Hocker.

Men’s high jump: Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy takes out 2.20m after whipping up the crowd before his jump at the Stade de France. For some reason, he pulls a disgusted face after successfully completing the jump. What a showman!

He’s the bloke who lost his wedding ring in the river during the opening ceremony.

“It will remain forever in city of love,” he said.

Full results for the inaugural Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay can be seen here.

As stated it’s gold for Spain, silver for Ecuador and bronze for Australia.

Women’s golf: Celine Borge (Norway) leads at Le Golf National. She’s flown out of the blocks, so to speak, and is two-under par after three holes.

Women’s 100m hurdles: The American-born British runner, Cindy Sember, is through, running 12.72sec in her heat. “I think I’m ready for a medal,” she tells the BBC.

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (Puerto Rico), Pia Skrzyszowska (Poland) are also qualified after the heats, and now Nadine Visser (Netherlands), Masai Russell (USA) and Cyrena Samba-Mayela (France) are also through after the heats.

Men’s handball: Spain 8-12 Egypt at half time in the quarter-final in Lille. Ali Zein of Egypt just executed a fantastic dinked penalty shot on the stroke of half time. He feinted to go low and hard and then popped it over the goalie’s head. The handball equivalent of a Panenka.

There really is … quite a lot of sport happening at the Paris Olympics today. You can check out our live schedule here. (Sympathy for live-bloggers optional.)

Women’s 100m hurdles heats: Tobi Amusan wins in 12.49sec. Alaysha Johnson of the USA second in 12.61sec, Janeek Brown (Jamaica) third in 12.84. The top three qualify.

It’s Serbia vs Australia redux at the basketball this morning at Bercy Arena. On Tuesday, the Serbian men’s team overcame the Australian Boomers in over-time to win through to the semi-finals. But today is another day and the Australian women, the Opals, will be hoping to get revenge. The Aussies started slowly at this tournament but showed plenty of grit to progress through to the knock-out round, overcoming home nation France in a must-win clash last Sunday. Keep an eye on Lauren Jackson - the legendary basketballer, 43, is back at the Games after first retiring before the 2016 Rio Olympics due to injuries. Talk about longevity.

Men’s handball: Spain 8-9 Egypt after 26min. A classic encounter appears to be developing.

Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay: It’s 40sec now for Perez up front. Montag is in bronze medal position for Australia, more than 30sec down on Morejon of Ecuador.

Women’s golf: Yin Ruoning of China has obviously been in the drink at the first. She’s pictured chipping out of the drop zone and hits a fantastic shot that pitches beyond the hole and spins back to within a couple of feet. That is why she’s in the side.

Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay: Correction, the overall race distance is 42.195km, or 26.2 miles in old money.

Tom Daley Tokyo content over there on the official Olympics X feed:

Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay: Spain remain in control as the race moves into its final 2.5km. (It’s 40km in total: four legs of 10km).

Maria Perez of Spain leads by 32sec and it would appear to be an insurmountable lead. A brilliant performance by Perez because the gap was only a handful of seconds when the fourth leg began.

Women’s canoe sprint: Gazso (Hungary) and Wood (Australia) place first and second in heat two and progress to the semi-finals. Wang (China) and Peters (Belgium) follow suit in heat three.

Men’s handball: Spain 6-8 Egypt after 20 minutes in the quarter-final. This is end to end stuff.

Women’s golf: Charley Hull of Team GB hits a stunning second shot at the first after an indifferent drive. A brilliant hit with a fairway wood with the ball nestled on the edge of the fairway, carrying the water and leaving a very long putt for birdie.

Women’s golf: Maria Fassi of Mexico drains a magical chip at the first to move one under par. Meanwhile, back on the tee, the world No 1 Nelly Korda is getting ready to tee off. She receives a warm round of applause from the fans gathered around the tee.

Men’s handball: Spain 5-4 Egypt is a latest score from Lille after 14min of the first half.

I snaffled a ticket for the handball at the Copperbox back in 2012, which was nice. France v Croatia if I remember correctly.

Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay: Perez of Spain continues to lead Ecuador’s Morejon on the fourth and final leg. They’ve been racing for 2hr 16min now. Perez has 13sec.

Women’s taekwondo: The 49kg competition has begun. Oumaima El Bouchti (Morocco) has already beaten Ana da Costa da Silva Pinto Belo (East Timor) 2-0.

Men’s handball: Egypt have just taken the lead against Spain after seven minutes of their quarter-final.

Women’s canoe sprint: The Women’s K1 500m heats have now begun at Vaires-sur-Marne. Aimee Fisher (NZ) and Brenda Rojas (Argentina) place first and second respectively in the first heat and qualify for the semi-finals.

Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay: Pintado has pulled a couple of seconds clear of Martin. He’s also just been yellow-carded by a judge. He seems to be sailing close to the wind, to employ an entirely inappropriate metaphor.

Now Martin of Spain has overtaken Pintado! The race time has ticked past two hours. The fourth leg will be contested by women athletes. Martin of Spain tags to Maria Perez, Pintado to Glenda Morejon.

Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay: Ecuador, Spain, Italy and Australia is the top four and we’re still in leg three. Pintado and Martin, of Ecuador and Spain respectively, are 36sec up on the chasers.

Pintado has two red cards. (Red cards are given for technical infringements, typically for bending the knee or not keeping one foot on the ground.) Another one and they’ll get a three-minute penalty and they’ll be out of contention.

Men’s handball: Spain v Egypt are about to begin their quarter-final at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille.

According to the Wikipedia page, Handball at the 2024 Summer Olympics, the venue can be changed from a football stadium (or rugby) by a hydraulic system in three hours, creating “a lower-level centre floor around which up to 30,000 seats can be set up.”

In other live Olympic sport news, the women’s golf has commenced at Le Golf National. I’ll bring you occasional updates from there throughout the morning, as we like to call this part of the day in Europe.

Thanks Jonathan and hello everyone. It promises to be a busy day indeed. China have just been ruled out of contention in the mixed relay race walk after another three-minute penalty. They have dropped way back down the field.

Thank you for joining me this morning. It’s been fun to have some early action to cover for a change. It’s now over to Luke McLaughlin for the culmination of the Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay and the avalanche of other sport that’s about to descend from Mt Olympus.

PreviouslyID9637740

07 August 2024 7:46am

Kellie Harrington dancing in the ring after winning her second gold medal last night was joyful. It will be one of the memories of these games.

Boxer, dancer, singer. I think Kellie Harrington is what the entertainment industry would call a triple threat.

MRWMR: There is now a gap of 36 seconds between the leading eight (ECU, PER, ITA, ESP, MEX, CHN, BRA, and AUS) and the rest, towards the end of the second of four legs. This marathon is going to be a two-legged 20km sprint.

We’re a few minutes away from the start of taekwondo action for the day, beginning with the men’s flyweight (58kg) and women’s flyweight (49kg).

At the same time the opening tee shot will be struck in the women’s golf at Le Golf National. Defending champion Nelly Korda (USA) has been the star of the 2024 season so far, and she tees off at 09:55 local time.

Bewildered1

07 August 2024 7:20am

Are they walking laps? What is the course like? Finding it hard to picture this relay walk.

Yes – they are walking laps. I can’t locate exactly how long the laps are, but I reckon approximately 3km. These loops start and finish at the Eiffel Tower, so the views are spectacular.

The course – It’s the same as the one used for the individual 20km race walks.

The action – we’re about halfway through the second leg (the first female leg) and there’s a leading bunch now of eight teams (ECU, PER, ITA, ESP, MEX, CHN, BRA, AUS) with Australia’s Jemima Montag working hard to join the front runners walkers. The gap to the chasing pack is almost 20 seconds.

The US Women’s National Team haven’t won Olympic gold since 2012, which represents an unprecedented drought, but new coach Emma Hayes is leading a revival with her side now clear favourites for a fifth title.

A year to the day since one of their lowest ebbs, the loss on penalties to Sweden in the first knockout stage of the 2023 World Cup, a hard-fought and sometimes hard to watch 1-0 extra-time victory over Germany sent the US into Saturday’s final against Brazil, ensuring the Americans at least a silver medal.

The team is yet to recapture the imperious brilliance that was the hallmark of American sides of yesteryear; perhaps it never will, given the dramatic improvement of other nations. But in reaching the Olympic final the US are back on a familiar stage after the uncertainty and insecurity of the past couple of years under the previous head coach, Vlatko Andonovski, as a group of exceptional veterans endured a slow fade.

MRWMR: After 43 or so minutes of walking, it’s over to the second leg of the race. There is no baton to pass, with the rule in place being the two members of each team must touch at the changeover.

There’s a leading five of Germany, Spain, Brazil, Ecuador, and Japan. Canada and Italy are not far off the pace. Australia in ninth have around 20 seconds to make up, which already feels significant even at this early stage.

There’s not a better date on the basketball calendar than the Olympic men’s quarter-finals, according to Bryan Armen Graham.

Thirty-two years on from Barcelona, basketball has taken its place alongside hip-hop and jazz as America’s richest cultural exports. With all those kids long since grown and the international talent pool deeper than ever, the last eight of the Olympic knockout stage has become the best day basketball can offer: an all-day quadruple-header of win-or-go-home quarter-finals that winnows eight of the best teams on the planet down to four. The winners move within touching distance of a medal, the losers hit the bricks and the whole thing crackles with an energy that only national pride can engender.

MRWMR: Dunfee (CAN) and Kawano (JPN) have been reeled in by the chasing pack. There is now a leading group of eight walkers, with a further five still in touch.

However, it remains to be seen if this matters greatly as the strategy of this race unfolds. There have been so few Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay races nobody is quite sure what the best approach is. Go hard, and treat it like two 20km dashes, expecting to recover sufficiently during the women’s leg? Or conserve energy and make up lost ground towards the end of the race as early bolters tire?

I’ll keep you updated with the walking but continue to stud this blog with other stories from around the Games. Like this one from Bryan Armen Graham on Bob Bowman, swimming’s supercoach, whose golden touch extends from Michael Phelps to Leon Marchand

Four years ago, Bowman, soon after taking the coaching job at Arizona State University, received an email from a French teenager hoping to attend college and train in the United States.

Dear sir, I am a French swimmer, my name is Léon Marchand (18 years old). I would like to join the university of Arizona State in summer 2021 for swim and compete in NCAA with your amazing team. Do you think I could benefit from a scholarship? What level of education is required? (TOEFL, SAT …) You will find attached my presentation sheet. Thank you for the time granted to my request.

Sportingly, Léon

ArchieStaircrow

07 August 2024 6:38am

When it’s this good athletics is absolutely thrilling to watch. The 1500 men’s final was just incredible. All complemented by wonderful performances in field events too. At this rate I will have to be surgically removed from my armchair.

All of which has been enhanced by the Stade de France, which is proving a magnificent Olympic stadium, and the French crowds, that have packed out every session and contributed greatly to the atmosphere.

Credit also due to Mondo Worldwide, the track manufacturer, for laying a surface that is encouraging such fast times.

MRWMR: Canada’s Evan Dunfee made a fast start to the Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay. The bronze medallist in the 50km race walk at Tokyo struck out on his own, but he has now been joined by Japan’s Masatora Kawano, with the bulk of the field five or six seconds further back. We’re about a quarter of the way through this opening leg.

MRWMR: The coup de bâton has been performed just a few metres from the Eiffel Tower. The very first leg in the history of the Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay is away!

MRWMR: There are 25 pairs competing along the historic course through the centre of Paris. At the 2024 World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Italy took gold from Japan and Spain. The Spanish pair of Alvaro Martin (20km walk bronze medallist) and Maria Perez (20km walk silver) are heavily fancied to secure gold this morning.

It’s nearly time for the first starter’s pistol of the day with the marathon race walk mixed relay almost upon us. This is the first time the 42.195km race has been staged at the Olympics, after it was introduced to replace the 50km race walk, which was deemed too long (men’s winners came in at around 3h 30, women’s around 4h).

The relay involves two athletes, one man and one woman. Each has to complete two legs in the following order: male 11.45km, female 10km, male 10km, female 10.745km.

In other good news for Australia, 14-year-old Arisa Trew handled gold medal favouritism with aplomb.

The Australian had entered the Olympics in strong form, winning qualifying events in Shanghai and Budapest. But she looked somewhat shaky in the preliminaries earlier on Tuesday, only qualifying in sixth of eight. The pressure built when Trew came unstuck on her first run, a big opening 540 followed by a Madonna before she fell to the ground. An excellent first run from Hiraki, scored at 91.98, only added to the occasion.

On her second run, Trew showed the composure that had many considering her the pre-Games favourite. She began with another big 540, before closing out the run without a wobble, earning a 90.11. It was enough to move Trew into the medal placings – and by the end of the field’s second runs, the Australian was ranked third.

It all came down to the final run, and Trew held nothing back. “I was just thinking on my third run that I had to land it no matter what,” she said afterwards. “I need to land this run.”

But the Australian track cycling team are ready to make their mark after a few olympiads in the wilderness.

The Australians are no longer underdogs. That changed over two quick-fire evenings at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome. On Monday, the Australian squad of Oliver Bleddyn, Sam Welsford, Conor Leahy and Kelland O’Brien, surprised the field to qualify fastest, in a time of 3:42.958 – barely a second away from the world record. Just 24 hours later, in Australia’s first round encounter with Italy, the team not only set a new world record, but smashed the old one – finishing in a time of 3:40.730.

It has been five years since Australia were world champions in the men’s team pursuit. It has been two decades since the Australians were last Olympic gold medallists in the discipline, at Athens 2004.

The Netherlands, and Harrie Lavreysen in particular, are very fast in the velodrome.

In a one-sided final, Great Britain’s sprint trio of Jack Carlin, Hamish Turnbull and Ed Lowe, were valiant but powerless, as Lavreysen and teammates, Jeffrey Hoogland and Roy van den Berg led almost from the first bend.

As the Dutch, having already broken the world record earlier in the competition, sped to a world-record time of 40.949sec, Carlin, Turnbull and Lowe could only look on as Lavreysen and his two teammates raised their arms in celebration.

At a Games where Armand Duplantis turned the pole vault into performance art, Simone Biles did what Simone Biles does, and Novak Djokovic completed tennis, it would be easy to overlook the accomplishments of Cuban wrestler Mijaín López, but his fifth gold medal in a row sets new standards for endurance.

At the end, alone in the wrestling ring with his name ringing out from the stand, Mijaín López untied his boots and raised them to his lips. He placed them in the centre of the mat and walked away from his sixth Games as arguably the greatest Olympian of all time.

In winning the Greco-Roman wrestling title for an unprecedented fifth consecutive time just two weeks before his 42nd birthday, López has done what no other Olympian has achieved – and on a balmy night at the Champ de Mars Arena in Paris he made it look easy.

Despite the controversy surrounding her participation Imane Khelif remains on course for a boxing gold medal.

Imane Khelif’s ­extraordinary Olympic Games still has one round left to run. At a wild, steamy, increasingly unbound Roland Garros, Algeria’s fifth seed outclassed Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand to win the women’s 66kg semi-final bout and set up a final against Yang Liu of China on Friday.

This was a startling event in so many ways, in large part here because of its exuberantly ­Algerian tone. The snaking queue outside Roland Garros in the hours before this ­evening round of Olympic ­boxing had been heavily stacked with Algerian flags and football shirts. Centre court, reconfigured into a breathtaking boxing area, was similarly decked with the red and green.

We begin our look back at yesterday’s action with a thrilling men’s 1500m final that saw Cole Hocker turn the Kerr v Ingebrigsten narrative on its head.

Perhaps there is a lesson here for all of us: in the power and fallacy of narrative. This is, after all, the most competitive and volatile of events, a function not just of speed or endurance, but luck and tactics and sometimes blind opportunism.

An hour later, Hocker stepped on to the podium to receive his gold medal. He didn’t look stunned or overawed. He looked like he belonged there. Turns out he was the one with the vision all along.

We are open for business much earlier than usual today with an 07:30 start. That’s because it will take around three hours for the winners of the marathon race walk mixed relay to be decided, and it’s best that all that pavement pounding concludes before the midday sun turns the event from gruelling to dangerous.

From 09:00 we have women’s golf and taekwondo, followed by canoe sprint and handball at 09:30.

From 10:00 there’s more action than you can shake a shinty stick at. Except shinty, of course, which is not an Olympic sport. Although, it’s near cousin hurling was a demonstration event at St Louis 1904.

Here’s the best of yesterday’s images. Don’t dwell on the underwater shot of France’s artistic swimming team; consider yourselves warned.

For fans of per capita medal tables, I don’t have a fancy graphic for you, but I can tell you the tiny Caribbean islands of Dominica and St Lucia lead the way courtesy of their performances in track and field.

Of the nations that have won multiple medals via a range of athletes, the standouts are New Zealand (with surely more to come with the canoe sprint getting under way), Ireland (here’s looking at you Daniel Wiffen), and perennial overachievers Australia.

It’s taken longer than expected but the USA have wrested control of the medal table from China. Behind them Australia remain at the front of the peloton after another gold yesterday.

Athletes from 48 countries have now saluted their national anthem, with 76 NOCs in total earning a medal.