Thank you for joining us for day 15 of the Olympics. We will be back tomorrow for the final day of competition with many more medals to come. After the sport is all over we will also have live coverage of the closing ceremony with rumours Tom Cruise will make an appearance. For now here are some of the day’s top stories:

Team GB’s hopes of a further medal in the Olympic velodrome were ended in a crash-riddled men’s Madison when Ollie Wood was unceremoniously butted out of the way by Jan-Willem van Schip of the Netherlands, and sent crashing to the track.

Any fading hopes that Wood and Mark Stewart, who had failed to score highly during the race, might reverse that deficit in the final moments of the 200-lap race, evaporated as a stunned Wood struggled to his feet.

“He hit me so hard, I felt like a crash-test dummy,” Wood said. “It’s not my first crash – just a bit different when you get hit from behind, you don’t see it coming. Instead of taking a high line around the track, I thought he’d cut it a bit fine and just ploughed into me.”

Read more:

Here’s the men’s basketball gold report if you missed any of the action:

Steph Curry played an absolute blinder in the men’s basketball gold medal match against France. The USA took the gold for the fifth consecutive Games but it is Curry’s first. He didn’t compete at previous Olympics as he prioritised his availability for teams and his health. Curry made his Olympic debut in 2024 and struck gold.

The USA have defended their title and they have now won the gold in men’s basketball for the fifth consecutive time.

Faith Kipyegon won the 1500m earlier today to take her third Olympic title. It was an historic silver for Australia’s Jessica Hull and GB’s Georgia Bell won bronze. Here’s the report:

Men’s basketball: There are around five minutes left to go in this gold medal match and France have pushed the USA all the way here but it looks as though the defending champions are going to retain their crown. They are currently leading 82-74.

Beach volleyball: Sweden’s pair have taken the first set against Germany 21-10, if they win the next set they will take the gold medal.

This is an interesting developing story:

Men’s basketball: At the end of the third quarter France have got themselves right back into this gold medal match. They only trail now by 72-66, can they go on to create an upset and stop the USA winning gold?

It is the last day of the Olympics tomorrow, I know it has come around so fast. But how is your nation doing in the medal table on the penultimate day of action? Have a look here:

She checks her watch. She claps her hands. She points at things. She shouts at people. Trinity Rodman jogs past her on her way up the left ­touchline and she gives her a pat on the back. She is basically trying to convince herself that there are still jobs to do when, in fact, her work is done. We are deep into injury time, and Emma Hayes can no more ­influence this Olympic final than the fan in the Uncle Sam hat sitting 50 yards above her.

Finally, the whistle. The ­explosion. Hayes raises her arms, looks ­skywards, lets out a roar. It is, ­perhaps, the only moment of personal indulgence she will allow herself. While her victorious players are dancing in a huddle, Hayes has no interest in thrusting herself into the middle, a move known these days as the “Jorge Vilda”. Instead she walks towards the devastated Brazilian players, offers them a word of comfort, seeks out the retiring Marta to pay her respects.

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Men’s basketball: Well it had been a tight contest with hosts France remaining in the final but the USA are stretching their lead now as they are 61-48 ahead with six minutes to go in the third quarter.

The USA are dominant in the sport though as they are targeting their fifth straight gold.

GB’s Caden Cunningham told the BBC after winning taekwondo silver: “It was very good and fun. I have a lot of respect for that athlete. Like myself, once he is in there he is ready to kill.

“But outside of it, he is a very nice guy. I’ve no problem losing to a guy who was better than me on the day, and he was. I didn’t get the gold for myself, my coach, my family but I very proud to be here today.

“I just want to see my parents. Maybe go home and have a KFC or something.

“I tore my ACL not long ago. I came back very quickly. To qualify for this was hard. To come and beat three world champions and three Olympic medallists and to come up against a fighter like that, it is a good day.

“It is the start of whatever I whatever I want it to be. If I stay in this, I will be the king of taekwondo in the next four years. One fight does not define me as a fighter.”

Beach volleyball: The gold medal match in the men’s beach volleyball has started and it is being contested between Sweden’s David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig and Germany’s Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler.

It is the best of three sets and it has a beautiful back drop of the Eiffel Tower. The athletes could time the gold medal for when the tower sparkles, it does it once every hour after 10pm.

Here’s a fun fact for you, at Paris 2024 Team GB have medalled in each of the athletics relay events. The nation have never achieved that at an Olympic Games before.

The rest of this evening we have some boxing and volleyball but there is also the men’s basketball final taking place. For detailed updates on that have a read of the blog below:

Taekwondo: “Allez les Bleues” rings around the venue as the first round gets underway. The French coach wants a review for a head kick, the crowd thinks Laurin has landed it and it is given. The Frenchwoman leads 3-0.

Laurin takes the third round 3-0 but as we have seen in the earlier bouts anything can happen from here.

Taekwondo: So on we go at the Grand Palais, which is a stunning venue, with the women’s +67kg gold medal content. The home crowd goes wild for France’s Althea Laurin, who faces Uzbekistan’s Svetlana Osipova.

Rebecca McGowan told Eurosport after losing the bronze medal: “It’s a bit raw right now, I am just devastated.

“A massive thank you to those in the crowd supporting and all at home. I am just sorry.”

Taekwondo: No one landed a blow in the first minute of the second round.

A really well timed head kick came from Salimi, that was well executed. The Iranian was totally dominant in the second round and took it 9-1. It all comes down to round three.

Taekwondo: Cunningham lands the first point with a trunk but Salimi hits back quickly with a head kick. Cunningham edges ahead again but then Salimi’s coach wants a head kick review. The review did not give it and so Cunningham remained 4-3 up.

Cunningham landed another blow and took the first round 6-3.

Men’s basketball: The contest remains a close one but the USA are starting to pull away here as they have a 24-20 lead.

Taekwondo: We stay with the sport now as GB’s Caden Cunningham goes up against Iran’s Arian Salimi in the men’s +80kg gold medal contest.

Taekwondo: Kus Aydin looks in a bit of pain here after the two athletes collided, she has received medical attention and is met with applause as she gets back to her feet. Will she continue? Yes she will. McGowan leading the third round 1-0.

Men’s basketball: We have a tense gold medal match between France and the USA with the lead exchanging hands in the early exchanges. As things stands the USA lead 12-11.

Taekwondo: Into round two now and both athletes look a little more apprehensive about making moves here.

It is Kus Aydin who scores first but there is another review to see if McGowan has landed a head kick, incited by GB’s coach but this time it is not given. McGowan hits back and it’s 2-2 heading into the closing moments but Kus Aydin lands another trunk to take the second round.

Men’s basketball: The gold medal match is underway between France and the USA. The USA had the lead but France have just nudged ahead at 11-10.

Taekwondo: McGowan gets another head kick and screams in celebration, it spurs her on and there is another review to see if she has landed another which she has.

The first round goes to the GB athlete 9-7.

Taekwondo: We turn now to the women’s +67kg bronze medal final between GB’s Rebecca McGowan and Turkey’s Nafia Kus Aydin.

It is the Turkish athlete who starts better, getting to a 2-0 lead. But GB’s coach puts in a request to review footage as he believes McGowan slotted a head kick. It is given and McGowan is awarded three points. Kus Aydin responds quickly and leads 5-3.

Women’s 4x400m relay: Does anyone else get nervous at the start line as though they are the ones who are running? No? Just me then.

No false starts and away we go. After the first 400m the USA are leading, the Netherlands in second and Jamaica in third. GB trail in fifth and they have work to do.

After the second 400m the USA are storming clear and oh my word Jamaica are out of it! Around the bend the batton is dropped.

Artistic swimming duet: Before the relay an update on the artistic swimming.

There is one pair to go but at the moment GB’s Kate Shortman and Izzy Thorpe are in the lead so they have at least a silver.

Women’s 4x400m relay: The final will get underway shortly, the action just keeps coming.

Men’s 4x400m relay: Just to update you with the times confirmed, the USA’s gold medal is also an Olympic record time. It was a sensational race, I think if there were 50m more Botswana may have taken it.

Men’s 4x400m relay: It’s a good start from all involved but it is the USA who lead after the first 400m, Botswana in second and GB in third. After the second 400m It is the USA who maintain the lead but Botswana and GB are remaining with them.

Men’s 4x400m relay final: This final is about to get underway, updates inbound with the athletes on track now.

Men’s high jump: McEwen fails at 2.36 so Kerr steps up now. But he also fails, it does down to 2.34 now. The rules are that we go back down the heights until we have a winner.

Men’s high jump: Kerr fails again, will we just keep jumping until one clears it? I think so. The bar is now at 2.36 – it goes until one fails and one succeeds. Apologies for the earlier medal call, I was confused with the scoring but I’m up to date now.

Men’s high jump: So McEwen and Kerr could have shared the gold as was the case three years ago in Tokyo. However, they have decided to jump on and they remain at 2.38 as the medals look to be decided. McEwen has failed his fourth attempt.

Men’s high jump: Kerr takes his final jump, already knowing he has gold, but he doesn’t commit and runs under the bar. But hang on, I think we jump on? The usual rule went back to earlier failures but I think they may be deciding to jump on?

Men’s high jump: Well what a contest it was but it looks like Hamish Kerr who will come away with gold.

McEwen shouts “come on” as he attempts 2.38m. He takes his run but his back smacks the bar.

Men’s high jump: McEwen on his second attempt he didn’t clear and that one looked worse than the first, one more attempt for him to try and get gold. Kerr now steps up and that was so close! It was only a trailing leg that knocks the bar down. One more attempt for him also, Kerr is in gold medal position as things stand as he has the fewest number of trials.

Men’s high jump: USA’s McEwen fails to clear 2.38 on his first attempt but it was close. Kerr now has a chance to put pressure on his opponent, he builds the crowd with some applause but he can’t clear it – that did not look close at all.

Men’s high jump: The final reaches 2.38 and Barshim attempts which he must clear to keep this up. He can’t clear it and he has to settle for bronze. But who will get gold? The last two in this one will battle it out now in McEwen and Kerr.

Men’s high jump: Well Barshim has passed and opts to try the next height but Sottile tries to clear it. But he can’t and he is out of this contest.

Men’s high jump: Barshim’s second attempt fails and he screams while leaning back, pure frustration. Sottile also fails and they both now only has one more attempt to stay in this.

Men’s high jump: New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr has also clear 2.36m, the pressure now is on Barshim and Sottile – they have two more attempts.

Men’s high jump: Italy’s Stefano Sottile is having an impressive final here and is going toe-to-toe with the joint defending champion in Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim. Both athletes have failed to clear 2.36 on their first attempt but the USA’s Shelby McEwen has just cleared it, wow.

Men’s high jump: We are getting to the business end of this final now. Two more athletes have been knocked out after they were unable to clear 2.34m. Ukraine’s Uleh Doroshchuk and Japan’s Ryoichi Akamatsu are out.

Women’s 1500m: Kipyegon’s gold set an Olympic record, breaking her own set in Tokyo. She comes across in 3:51:29.

Silver goes to Australia’s Jessica Hull and GB’s Georgia Bell has bronze.

Cycling: The final repechage race in the men’s keirin has seen a horrible crash. Trinidad and Tobago’s Kwesi Browne hit the deck and he was reportedly knocked out, hopefully he is okay. The race eventually gets back underway and it is Canada’s James Hedgcock and Colombia’s David Ortega who are through to the quarter-finals.

Women’s 1500m: Next up on track is the women’s 1500m final, it is not slowing down this evening. Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon is favourite for the gold here.

Men’s high jump: We have lost some more athletes at 2.31m. Bulgaria’s Tihomir Ivanov and Korea’s Sanghyeok Woo are out after not being able to clear the height.

Men’s 5000m: Silver goes to Kenya’s Ronald Kwemoi and bronze to USA’s Grant Fisher.

Men’s 5000m: Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen had disappointment earlier in the Games but he is in a good position at the moment with 1,300m to go. The moves will be made soon, the pack as strung out along the track but no clear leader yet.

Women’s javelin: Japan’s Haruka Kitaguchi is still leading the final with Colombia’s Denis Ruiz Hurtado in second and Spain’s Yulenmis Aguilar in third. Still a long way to go.

Men’s 5000m: The commentators are calling this final ‘desperately slow’ after five laps and no one looks like they want to make a statement move yet.

Men’s 5000m: The field are still together with 11 laps to go and there is a feeling it could break up with the pace quite slow at the moment.

The pack are starting to split slightly but they are still running as one.

Men’s 5000m: It is a crowded field with 22 runners on track and it starts in a good pace. Australia’s Stewart McSweyn is the pace maker.

Men’s 5000m: Well we are now onto another track final and this one should be a tasty race.

All updates to come, the athletes on the start line now.

Men’s high jump: This final has just progressed from 2.27m with the Czech Republic’s Jan Stefela, Jamaica’s Romaine Beckford and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi who are knocked out.

Tamberi, the joint gold medallist in Tokyo, is out but he has had a lot of health issues at this Games. He looks devastated but he gave it his all.

Women’s javelin: So far in this final it is Japan’s Haruka Kitaguchi who leads with a throw of 65.80. There is still a long way to go in this one though so everything could change.

Cycling: Two more repechage races have taken place in the men’s keirin and it’s GB’s Hamish Turnbull, Germany’s Luca Spiegel, Malaysia’s Muhammad Sahrom and France’s Rayan Helal who are through to the quarter-finals. Only one more race to go there.

Women’s 100m hurdles: France’s Cyrena Samba-Mayela takes silver and bronze goes to Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn.

The top three only separated by three one hundredths of a second.

Women’s 100m hurdles: The final is about to get underway, medal inbound.

What else is happening right now I hear you ask? The answer is a lot of sports! the artistic swimming duet free routine final, women’s javelin and wrestling are among those taking place – I will bring you any major updates and medal winners as soon as we have them.

Cycling: The men’s keirin repechage races have got underway with athletes battling for quarter-final spots.

The first repechage race has taken place and it sees Japan’s Kaiya Ota and New Zealand’s Sam Dakin through.

Men’s high jump: Tamberi has cleared 2.22 on his third attempt and he celebrates wildly.

Only South Africa’s Brian Raats has been knocked out so far in the final.

Men’s high jump: Italy’s Tamberi, who looks in pain, takes his first jump at 2.22 but he doesn’t clear it. Six other athletes have cleared the height so far.

Women’s volleyball: Brazil have won the bronze medal after beating Turkey 25-21, 27-25, 22-25, 25-15.

It was a close battle with the bronze medal final going to a fourth set but the Brazil team saw it out for the win.

Men’s 800m: It is set to be a fast pace of medals on track tonight and first up is the men’s 800m. The athletes are just coming out onto track so stay tuned for a medal update.

Men’s high jump: The final of the event has just got underway and there is confirmation Gianmarco Tamberi, who won joint gold in Tokyo, will take part despite being in hospital earlier today.

Modern pentathlon: Team GB’s Joseph Choong came first in the 200m freestyle swimming with a time of 1:57:52 but overall he is down in 14th. The top three heading into the final event are Egypt’s Ahmed Elgendy, Switzerland’s Alexandre Dallenbach and Korea’s Woongtae Jun

Thank you Adam! Are you strapped in for a bonkers evening full of medals? I am! First up I’ll bring you an update from the modern pentathlon and then the women’s football final. The football in the closing stages now.

And with that, it’s time for me to pass the baton. Thanks for your company over the last five hours – must’ve been about a dozen gold medals decided in that window of time; what a joy. Over to Sarah Rendell. Bye!

Cycling: Portugal 45, Italy 43, Denmark 41 – they’re our leaders. Four points with up to ten on offer in the final sprint – the gold is going to come down to that sprint. Four laps to go. What a Madison final this has been.

Cycling: Spain are out – they have been pulled by the medical staff, saying it is a head injury. More relevant to the medal standings, Portugal has taken a lap! Add 20 points! They are in the mix here… they are in gold medal position! One sprint to go with double points on offer, 8 laps left.

Cycling: 17 sprints down in the Madison and the scorecard reads as it did before – Italy still lead Denmark by five points, with the Czechs in third. Oohh! A crash for the Italians in a handover! One of their pair has hit the deck, which is fine – as long as they have one rider going. But it does mean they have missed the latest sprint, won by Portugal. The Spanish rider who fell off a few laps ago is kicking off now with the officials. All happening!

Cycling: Back to the men’s Madison – 40 laps to go, riders everywhere. We’ve had 16 of the 20 sprints. In addition to that, teams banking 20 points apiece for lapping the pack are Italy, Denmark, Czechia and Japan – sure enough, they are our top four. In the hunt for gold, Italy (43) are ahead of Denmark by five points, which is what a single sprint is worth. This will surely result in a bonkers finish. Oh, and the final sprint counts double!

Modern pentathlon: Here comes the 200m! The only event the outdoor 25m pool is used for – three heats, all very loose, I love the Olympics. As for who is in the lead, that’s Ahmed Elgendy (Egypt), ahead of Taishu Sato (Japan), Woongtae Jun (Korea) and Alexandre Dallenbach (Switzerland). After they’ve all had a swim, we get into the run/shoot grand finale.

Cycling: Oops, I’ve missed the start of the Men’s Madison final. But it’ll be okay, they do have 122 laps to go. Very early days but Italy win the 8th sprint, taking the lead – they’re on 15, Spain 11, New Zealand 10. A reminder points (5, 4, 3, 2, 1) are dished out for each of the 20 sprints, held every ten laps. The other way to earn points, as the Italians have just done now, is by lapping the bunch – do that, get 20 bonus points and punish your opposition to that number as well. Oh, and it’s a relay where you can change spots with your partner, via a sling as often as you want. Capiche?

Football: speaking of Brazil’s women, they are competing for gold right now in the football final against Team USA… but have just got 1-0 down in the 57th minute. We have a dedicated blog going for that one, follow along.

Volleyball: Women’s bronze medal game, Brazil has a 2-0 lead over Turkey and 8-6 up in the third. They won gold in this event in Beijing then London – a wonderful night I remember fondly at the old Earls Court. This should be enough of a lead to get a medal here, albeit not the one they want.

Modern pentathlon: Men’s final! The show jumping is complete; it’s now the fencing round followed by the 200m freestyle and laser run – which includes shooting. A difficult event to stay on top of – I’ll drop back in later when it becomes a bit clearer who needs to do what in the water/run.

Weightlifting: Dajomes hits the deck trying to go for 151kg as well, runs out of breath. But she’s up quickly and off the stage. She’s in the bronze medal position for Eduador, finishing with 267. We’re down to two lifters with Koanda has the advantage of an extra unsuccessful lift. “This is where the strategy and mindgames are at work,” explains the commentator, in reference to what she and Ahmed might now put on the bar.

Weightlifting: Wow, Sana Ahmed (Egypt) breaks their Olympic Record with a successful 151kg clean and jerk – does it easy! She’s still 1kg behind Koanda, and both are still in the competition. Some way to run in this.

Weightlifting: Koanda lifts 148kg but Cikamatana can’t 147kg – the Australian is out of the competition. As the colour commentator says on TV, the drought for Australia in weightlifting continues – we have go back to Atlanta for another. And it’s a long time since Dean Lukan at LA 1984.

Weightlifting. Women’s 81kg. We are here at the right time. Realistically, it’s a race in four for the gold with final clean and jerk lifts to come:

• Solfrid Koanda (Norway): 121 snatch + 148 clean and jerk = 269kg

• Neisi Jajomes Barreta (Ecuador): 122 + 145 = 267

• Sara Ahmed (Egypt) 117 + 146 = 263

• Eileen Cikamatana (Australia) 117 + 147 = 262

“Whether or not this is the best Olympics ever,” says Mark Dawson, “and it’s certainly in with a shout – it’s undoubtedly in the most beautiful setting. You just can’t beat Paris. Curse you, you gorgeous lucky French folk.” Agreed. They’ve planned the shots so well. Unforgettable.

It does not stop at Paris 2024. Back to the weightlifting in a sec for the final stages of the women’s 81kg. You can follow the women’s football gold medal match (no score yet, Brazil v USA) in another tab. We have the men’s modern penthalon final on as well, which I’m definitely going to soon.

Golf: What. A. Shot. Lydia Ko, like it isn’t even a thing, dunks her wedge to within four feet of the pin. A two-putt from there finishes this job. Superb.

Golf: Lydia Ko makes no mistake with her second shot, leaving a short pitch to the green. She’ll then have two putts to finish this in regulation and pick up another gold medal for New Zealand. It’s 3:35am there at the moment but I’m tipping many people are glued to their TVs, and rightly so.

Excuse enough to drop in my favourite New Zealand moment? Yes. I interviewed The Great John Walker for this Guardian piece during the early pandemic days. Here’s his superb 1500m win from Montreal. Legend.

Golf: Lydia Ko has a two-foot putt to par 17… and she pops it in! After a silver at Rio and a bronze at Tokyo, the New Zealander has one hole to go and one shot in hand. Having achieved so much in the professional game over the last decade, these next few minutes will mean so very much. The 18th, if you were wondering, is a 431-metre par five. The debate on TV is whether she tries to reach the green in two, or plays it more conservatively. She’s taking the three wood off the tee, which suggests the latter approach. And she’s helped it well down the fairway – didn’t hit the cover off it, but it is very much safe and that’s by far the most important thing right now.

Golf: Blimey, it’s game on at Le Golf National! Lydia Ko, the New Zealand star, has led all day but an up-and-down round has her where she started this final round at -9. Esther Hensleit from Germany, who has nowhere near the same strength of CV, has given it a real shake through to the finish – birdies at both 17 and 18 got her to -8 by the end! So, with two holes to go, it’s all about whether Ko can hold her nerve and take the gold. Often easier said than done at the best of times, tougher still given the stakes.

Taekwondo: I mentioned before Caden Cunningham’s semi-final win over his more fancied opponent – here’s the moment he found out. 8pm BST is when you will see him kick his way to gold (or silver, if defeated).

Table tennis: China are 11 points away from yet another gold medal on this penultimate afternoon in the team event. After going 1-0 down to the Japanese teen sensation Miwa Harimoto, Wang Manyu’s experience has shone through in the next two sets, taking them 12-10, 11-7.

Taekwondo: I’ve been meaning to get back to Grand Palais! And here’s the good news for Team GB fans Caden Cunningham has knocked off the top seed Cheik Sallah Cisse – he’s into the gold medal match later tonight! He’ll fight the winner of Arian Salimi (Iran) and Ivan Sapina (Croatia).

Women’s football: The gold medal match between Brazil and Team USA at Parc des Princes is underway! But instead of me doing a bad job of staying on top of that along with all the other medals being sorted out over the next couple of hours, open another tab and read along with Beau Dure!

We’re into a very, busy hour. Before trying to capture everything that is going on, let me slow things down briefly with this glorious gallery.

Table tennis: A little misreport from me before in relation to the women’s singles - it was Japan one set up before. But that’s been squared up by Wang Manyu, who was part of the Chinese team who won gold in this event at Tokyo. The pressure goes back onto Miwa Harimoto, the 16-year-old prodigy. She has to win this match to keep their gold hopes alive.

Weightlifting: Now this is an Olympic sport. We’re into the second half of the women’s 81kg final, which started with 13 and now is down to 12 after the Polish lifter pulled out after the three snatch lifts. At that point, there was a three-way tie for the lead after 117kg was raised by Solfrid Koanda (Norway), Sara Ahmed (Egypt) and Eileen Cikamatana (Australia). They now get three cracks at the clean and jerk, with Ahmed and Koanda straight to 150kg, ahead of their rivals. I’ll drop in to this regularly.

Breaking: It’s happening. I’ll tell you who wins, but I’m not watching it.

Table tennis: I mentioned OBS commentators with a real passion for their sport, that’s the great Adam Bobrow when it comes to this sport – love his work. Anyway, what are we watching here? The team final; the gold medal match. Think of this like a mini-Davis/Fed Cup. China, who are having quite the afternoon, against Japan with a 1-0 margin in the women’s singles after winning the doubles 3-2 and the men’s singles in straight sets. So, in short, Japan needs a massive comeback and it must start here.

Golf: It’s getting close again in the women’s stroke play. Lydia Ko has dropped a couple of shots after the turn, with a double bogey on 13. A par on 14 followed to settle at -9, but between times three of her competitors have made their way to -7. The good news for the New Zealander is that she’s in the final pair and will know exactly what she needs to do for gold when reaching the 18th in about half an hour from now. One to watch.

Water polo: Spain are on the cusp of gold, taking their lead against Australia’s women out to 11-7 with just four minutes left in the match.

Diving: Rikuto Tamai needs a 91 to get back into silver medal spot and… it’s a 99! Yep, that’ll push him up above Noah Williams. It would take a belly flop from Cao Juan to get the Japanese diver the gold, but he’s recovered wonderfully after botching his penultimate effort.

Water polo: Spain 7, Australia 5. Not long to go now in the third quarter.

Handball: Norway’s women are home here, leading France 24-19 late.

Diving: Randal Willars Valdez from Mexico has been in the top three for the whole comp and he’s having a dart at a 4.1 here in the final round in an attempt to leapfrog everyone. But he’s missed it! It’s all good until the end but the entry is all over the place. As a result, Noah Williams (Team GB) stays above him in the pecking order – a bronze looks to be coming his way.

Water polo: And they get one back! Spain 6, Australia 4. The comeback isn’t on in the handball final though with Norway’s women now out to 24-17, much to the disappointment of the French crowd.

Water polo: Australia in real strife now with Spain out to 6-3 lead. They call a time out with 3:40 left in the third term. They need a couple in a hurry.

Diving: men’s 10m platform final. It’s a race in two for gold with China’s Yuan Cao and Japan’s Rikuto Tamai only separated by a few points. The latter, very much the underdog, takes off her – his penultimate dive. And no! It’s bad! “He might’ve just handed the gold medal over there,” is the take of the commentator. It’s a 39.10! Oh no. He’s back in the pack now.

China’s Yuan Cao to consolidate the advantage and he does! It’s not the perfect entry so he won’t get triple-digits for it, which was possible with the 3.7 degree of difficulty. He does bank an 88.8 for his troubles though, which means he has taken his lead from three to 45 in the space of a few minutes with just one dive to come.

For Team GB, Noah Williams is in fourth spot – he fives first as the final qualfier; he’s only five points out of the medals now. Goes the forward four a half and sticks it! A big chance for bronze to go with his syncro silver if the judges like it… and they do! 94.35! He’s had a great competition.

Around the grounds to team gold matches then back to the diving…

• Women’s Water polo, half-time: Spain 3, Australia 2.

• Women’s handball, deep into the second half: Norway 19, France 15.

Updated gold tally: China 35, USA 33. Forget what the American TV stations tell you when pulling these together by overall medals (which they lead by 28, for what it’s worth), this is the measure that matters.

Handball: Actually, I’ll give you an update from Lille too in the women’s final – Norway have had a great start to the second half, growing their lead to 17-14. As I switch over to it, they’re putting the French under pressure again. Can they pull away and silence the crowd? Now to gymnastics.

Water polo: While Israel do their thing, I can inform you that in the women’s final Spain and Australia are 2-2 with seven minutes to go in the second term. I’ll be back to this as soon as the gymnastics is decided.

Rhythmic Gymnastics: The all-round team event is right down to the business end now with only two of the eight teams to come in the second and final discipline. Indeed, Italy are just finishing now with the balls and ribbons and they look very happy. But can they jump ahead of China into first place? It’ll take 33.7, which is what Bulgaria scored moments ago TV tells me – the best so far of the second rotation. As we wait for the judges the crowd roars Italia, Italia! Their quintet sit pensively. No! 32.0 is the score, they’re into second spot. So they are going to get a medal, either silver or bronze! Just Israel to come, who are further behind than Italy were. They’re on the way now with a 34.2 needed to pull level with China

Golf: Lydia Ko was challenged early in the final round of the women’s strokeplay but is running away with the gold medal now, currently -11 after 11 holes, her lead out to six shots over Esther Henseleit (Germany) and a group of five one shot back again on -5. The New Zealander took the silver medal home eight years ago at Rio, how sweet this should be for her.

Handball: thanks to Gudrun Wanek, who tells me that the handball has moved from South Paris Arena to Lille for the finals. Back to there now in the women’s gold medal match and Norway are leading France 15-13 at half-time. “This is being played at break-neck pace,” says the commentator. I’ll watch more of this when they return from the break.

Water polo: The women’s gold medal game is set to begin! Spain v Australia. The Stingers knocked out the mighty USA on penalties in their semi. They won’t be favourites, the with Spanish undefeated in the tournament so far, but the Australians have made a habit of winning gold this Paris fortnight claiming 18 of them – their most successful Games ever.

Diving: this is not going to script! It’s Japan’s Tamai Rikuto with a 95.4 who takes the lead after two rounds, China’s Yuan Cao second dive 86.4 – still a nice number, but down to second by a tenth of a point. Randall Willars Waldez (Mexico) and Cassiel Rosseau (Australia) are third and fourth respectively, all within 16 points of the leaders. Am reminded that an Australian, Matt Mitcham, did stun the world to win this at Beijing.

“Hi Adam.” Afternoon to you, Mel Lynam. “Took a camper van for 2 weeks around France with my 16-year-old son. Randomly booked tickets based around destinations rather than events so saw football in Lyon, France v Argentina in Bordeaux (one of the great atmospheres football can bring), went to the shooting in Chateauroux, saw some wrestling, really like the retirement ritual of leaving the shoes behind, brought the house down. The Taekwondo was cool, but the absolute best we saw was the opening display before the Taekwondo, absolute mental ability there. If it’s available on YouTube or somewhere check it out. My phone videos don’t do it justice. Fair play to France, they sure have the confidence to pull something like this off (and the confidence to charge their road tolls), been great. At Lyon airport, sadly heading back to Dublin.”

I do wonder whether we’re going to get some best Olympics ever chat over the next 36 hours? This was a big deal in 2000 with it becoming a bit of a national obsession around whether Juan Antonio Samaranch would say the magic words at the closing ceremony – we were pumped when he did. A version of this was said at London in 2012 too – and rightly so. Whether this is a thing or not anymore, it has been a very special fortnight.

Diving: we’re 15 minutes into the men’s 10m final, which I set up a little while back – the two Chinese superstars the men to beat. We’re into the second of six dives and the most interesting news is that Yang Hao didn’t nail his first, well down in the pack. His teammate Yuan Cao did though, off to a great start with 96.9. Noah Williams (Team GB) has recorded a 78.4 then an 86.4 with his armstand back double 2½ twist. He only just snuck into the final and will need a lot to go right, but a nice start.

Handball: to the women’s gold medal game! And a lively start with France leading Norway 4-3 midway through the first period. But it turns in the space of a minute, the Norwegians going bang-bang to lead 5-4. It’s all action, the crowd going nuts again at South Paris Arena, down the corridor from where the French men took gold in the volleyball half an hour ago.

Medal tally fun! Yes, we’re at that stage of the Olympics. There’s a clever graphic from Australia I’ve seen breaking down the state-by-state results with Queensland the major driver behind the Aussie surge to third – 25 medals for them to New South Wales’ 15 and Victoria’s 12. A great night for sport in that state with the Gold Coast Suns kicking a goal after the siren to end Essendon’s season if that’s your thing (is mine!), but I digress.

Bigger picture though, here’s Beau Dure with the China v USA stoush:

China are about to ramp up the pressure on the USA in the gold-medal count over the next two or three hours. They’ve taken a one-gold lead after Liu Huanhua’s win in weightlifting, and they’re overwhelmingly favored in men’s platform diving (either of their two entries) and women’s team table tennis. They even have a chance to take gold in women’s golf, where Yin Ruoning is now one shot off the lead while Rose Zhang and Nelly Korda have fallen back.

The USA can strike back in today’s marquee events -- women’s soccer, men’s basketball, track and field relays, and of course, breaking, though China could take gold there as well.

By any measure other than only gold medals (total medals, a tally giving more weight to gold medals but counting them all), the USA have an unassailable lead. And today’s two silver medals so far (Brooke Raboutou defying gravity in climbing, Nevin Harrison and Canada’s Katie Vincent separated by 0.01 in the fastest women’s 200m sprint canoe race ever) were nearly as thrilling as any of the golds the USA have claimed in Paris.

A little thing I enjoy about OBS commentary. Not all of it is great, a lot of it is bad – the chap who described the winner of the women’s road race as “today’s GOAT” is an example of the latter. But I do appreciate where they see this as an opportunity to recruit for their sport. “Welcome if you are new today to taekwondo,” says the bloke on right now. “There are clubs everywhere to get involved if you want to take it up.” I might!

Taekwondo: Caden Cunningham gets it done! The Team GB combatant will get his shot at a medal later this afternoon. “It was a slow and cagey match,” the commentator tells me of his win. “For the semi-final we will see him accelerate the pace.” That will be, if I’m reading this right, in about an hour of a half from now and the gold medal final is later tonight.

Taekwondo: Some Team GB action in the men’s 80kg+ quarter-finals, Caden Cunningham (4th seed) getting the point for taking the first round over Cuba’s Rafael Alba (12th). The winner of this is likely to run into Cheick Sallah Cissé in the semi-final, the Cote d’Ivoire star who won gold at Tokyo; those semi-finals are a couple of hours from now. Back to the bout in front of me, Rafael has had the better of the second round – it will go to a deciding third after they have a quick drink of water.

Golf: Lydia Ko with a stunning tee shot at the par-three eighth; she’ll put from five feet to advance her lead to three after nailing a timely birdie on the seventh. The New Zealand superstar has her mojo now.

“Adam.” Hello, Aoife Mac Cana. “ You and your colleagues have kept me sane with your quick off the draw reporting (sprinkled with great British humour) while I was in Paris and then on to Nice for some much-needed respite after a thrilling few days at the Olympics. You all deserve a few days on Riviera sunloungers! I’m sure your editor will approve.”

Thank you! As it happens, having blogged the first full day of the Games a fortnight ago, I’ve spent ten days in Spain. In theory a family holiday, and of course it was, but I missed very little of what has gone down at Paris and hope my four-year-old daughter remembers as much about this when she grows as up as I do from Seoull 1988 when I was her age!

Indeed, this is my first Olympic memory – a wonderful one.

Rhythmic Gymnastics: It’s the group all-round final and it’s all-round hoops in the air as I pop it on – five of them to be precise, how very Olympic of the Chinese quintet… and they finish their routine with I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You – love that. With their 36.95 they’ve jumped ahead of France, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan with Bulgaria, Italy and Israel to come. After they leave the floor, the ribbons and balls follow.

Diving: thinking ahead to aquatic centre for the first time – a final of 12 men will compete in the 10m platform final. From a GB perspective, it includes Noah Williams who won a silver with Tom Daley in the synchronised. But let’s cut to the car chase here: it’ll take something staggering to knock off Cao Yuan or Yang Hao from China, who easily advanced in positions one and two in the semi. The former won this event in Tokyo and the latter won the syncro. It begins in half an hour from now.

Women’s golf: let’s start here. We’re well into the final round for the last few groups with New Zealand’s Lydia Ko even par through five holes but still in front on -9. The issue she has is that both Yin Ruoning (China) and Hannah Green (Australia) are -4 on the day and a shot behind. As I type, Ko out of the rough lands her approach on the sixth to within 25ft of the hole. It won’t be an easy two-putt but silver medal winner at Rio has experience.

Thanks, Taha! Some shift that, what a day of action so far. I got up in time to watch the men’s marathon and didn’t disappoint – what a stunning Games these have been. I can’t quite it is the penultimate afternoon.

But some afternoon we will have together! It will include…

• Rhythmic Gymnastics – all-round final

• Diving – men’s 10m platform final

• Handball – women’s gold medal match (Norway/France)

• Table tennis – women’s gold medal team match (China/Japan)

… and all that’s just in the next hour!

From there:

• Water polo – women’s gold medal match (Australia/Spain)

• Breaking – I will not be watching this, but I’ll tell you who won

• Weightlifting – women’s 81kg final

• Football – women’s gold medal match (Brazil/USA)

• Modern Pentathlon – men’s final

• Cycling – men’s Madison final

• Wrestling – 5 divisions worth of medals! Whoa!

Wish me luck trying to stay on top of all of this. Help me out along the way by dropping me the occasional note or pinging me a tweet.

Right then, enough from me. Adam Collins is in the building.

Climbing: And another medalist confirmed, ending McNeice’s chances in the women’s boulder and lead final. Jessica Pilz scores a cracking 88.1 with her lead effort that takes her to second place. Now just Janja Garnbret to come.

Climbing: Brooke Raboutou is in tears – happy ones – after completing her lead climb in the women’s boulder and lead final because she’s guaranteed herself an Olympic medal with a total of 156 points. Erin McNeice is third … but Janja Garnbret is still to come after topping the boulder leaderboard.

Climbing: Wowzers, Ai Mori of Japan nearly makes it top of the wall in the women’s boulder and lead final, falling just short to secure a score of 96.1. That takes her top over Erin McNeice and that looks a significant blow to the GB athlete’s hopes of a medal.

Basketball: Serbia beat Germany 93-83 in the men’s bronze match, with 19 points apiece for Nikola Jokic and Vasilijie Micic. Consolation for the Serbians after coming so close to defeating the star-studded USA side in the semis.

Some concerning news from the wrestling.

Climbing: Out comes GB’s Erin McNeice, 20 years old, to begin her go on the lead in the women’s boulder and lead final. She’s certainly got a shot at bronze here. She has a few issues getting to the 10-point mark, and with three minutes to go, climbs to the 30-mark. Watching this is doing something to my forearms. She begins to find her flow, getting to the 60-mark before eventually letting go with a score of 68.1. Her final total is 127.6. Now the long wait to see where it takes her in the final count.

Climbing: A lot of sport climbers also have big reputations in traditional rock climbing, and USA’s Brooke Raboutou, who stands second after the boulder phase of the women’s combined final, is one of them.

Boasting an Instagram following of 395,000 that will surely grow with her exposure in the Olympics, Raboutou has been a climbing sensation since age 9. She comes from a climbing family – her father, Didier Raboutou of France, won medals in some of the earliest international climbing competitions, and her mother, Robyn Erbesfield-Raboutou, also found success in the Climbing World Cup’s early years and now runs a climbing gym in Colorado that has trained several Olympians.

Taekwondo: Rebecca McGowan of Team GB, silver medalist in the middleweight event at the 2023 world championships, flings her legs rather effectively to defeat Venice Traill in the women’s +67kg round of 16.

Taekwondo: Team GB’s Caden Cunningham is through to the quarter-finals of the men’s +80kg event where he’ll meet Cuba’s Rafael Alba.

OR alert:

Table tennis: In a continuation of my bronze-medal admin, South Korea have one themselves after victory over Germany in the women’s team third-place match.

Water polo: For the first time in the history of women’s water polo at the Olympics, Team USA miss out on a medal. The Netherlands have beaten them 11-10. USA won gold at London, Rio and Tokyo after the event was introduced 24 years ago in Sydney.

Diving: Good news for the two Team GB divers in the men’s 10m platform, with Kyle Kothari and Noah Williams both through to the final.

Climbing: They’re done with the boulders in the women’s boulder and lead final, with Janja Garnbret leading the way on 84.4 points, Brooke Raboutou trailing her on 84. Team GB’s Erin McNeice is joint-fourth on 59.5, so still very much in contention for a medal, with Australia’s Oceania McKenzie third on 59.7. The lead event begins at 11.35am BST.

Handball: And the bronze in the women’s comp goes to … Denmark, who beat Sweden 30-25. The Danes won this event three times in a row from 1996 to 2004. For the Swedes it’s another loss in the bronze match; they lost out on a medal to Norway at the Tokyo Games.

Climbing: GB’s Erin McNeice has dropped down the standings after scoring 9.6 on the fourth boulder in the women’s boulder and lead final. McNeice will take a score of 59.5 into the lead section of the event, with Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret at the top of the leaderboard with 74.8 – and she’s still got one boulder to go.

Diving: Time for a look at the men’s 10m platform semi-final where there are two GB athletes in contention, Kyle Kothari and Noah Williams. Williams took silver alongside Tom Daley in the 10m synchronised event but it’s Kothari who has a higher score after four rounds, taking him to 10th in the standings. Williams is 14th out of 18 – the top 12 advance to the final. There are two rounds still to go.

Climbing: Now it gets tough for GB’s Erin McNeice in the women’s bouldering and lead final, as she fails to score any points on the very difficult third boulder, which has a very steep start. She had five attempts but couldn’t get into the low zone.

Thanks, Jim. I’m also tuning in to the women’s bouldering and lead final, with the competitors on the boulder side of things. France’s Oriane Bertrone matches Erin McNeice, scoring 24.9 on her second wall, taking her to 49.9, too. As someone who struggles to climb a long flight of stairs, my respect for these athletes is high.

Climbing: That is my stint done as I acknowledge the arrival of Taha Hashim who is currently chalking himself up and swinging his way impressively into the live-blogging chair.

Team GB’s Erin McNeice has had an amazing start in the women’s bouldering and lead final. She takes the maximum 25 points off the second wall and sits on 49.9 points out of 50! Over to you Taha. Goodbye.

Climbing: After Toby ‘The Terminator’ Roberts’ epic Gold medal climb yesterday it is now time for the women’s final in the boulder and lead. This event was such a thrill to watch yesterday. The tension as the competitors dangle off the wall, somehow cling on with spidey strength and manage to thrust their way up it’s unforgiving face was quite something.

Team GB’s Erin McNeice will be trying to emulate the success of her teammate in a tough and talented field.

Men’s Marathon Results:

🥇Tamirat Tola (ETHIOPIA): 2:06:26 OR
🥈Bashir Abdi (BELGIUM): 2:06:47
🥉Benson Kipruto (KENYA): 2:07:00

Team GB’s Emile Cairess was hugely impressive, he does find a wellspring of energy from somewhere deep within and crosses the finish line in fourth position!

What a run from Cairess and what a story – he only qualified for the Paris Olympics after finishing in third place in this year’s London Marathon a few months ago.

Boris Starling and Robert Lewis are the quickest off the draw to name the last man to win a marathon medal for Great Britain:

“Am I a total tragic not just to remember the name of Charlie Spedding, but the fact that he was beaten by a 39-year-old Carlos Lopes and Ireland’s John Treacy?”

Nope, not at all Boris, in fact it seems like you should be doing an Olympics liveblog for a national newspaper. You probably know the answer to Owen Harris’ question too:

“Anyone know the reason for the official pootling alongside the chase pack on a Boris bike. I am finding them incredibly distracting…”

I think they might be pace-setters? Or camera-operators? Or they are just on the way to the corner shop for a baguette and a pack of Gauloises?

Marathon: Tamirat Tola is now 15 seconds clear of his Ethiopian team-mate Deresa Geleta. The crowds are cheering wildly as the chasing pack of Belgium’s Bashir Abdi, Kenya’s Benson Kipruto and Akira Asasaki of Japan try snd close the gap. Tola has a sneaky look behind to see if there’s any danger of a serious challenge incoming but I think he’s got this in the bag.

Team GB’s Emile Cairess in sixth position and has a slight chance of getting into medal contention. It’s been a great run from him, Great Britain’s last medal in the men’s marathon came forty years ago in 1984. Plentiful kudos and a half eaten slice of marmalade on toast to the first person to email in with that man’s name…

Diving: Over at the aquatics centre the men’s 10m platform semi -final is about to get going at 9am BST. Team GB’s Noah Williams and Kyle Kothari are in contention and should be eyeing a place in the final. Remember – no splash = good. Big splash = bad.

Taekwondo: Caden Cunningham is through to the quarter finals in the men’s 80kg + competition! A confident victory for the lad from Huddersfield, he’ll be in action again this afternoon.

Marathon: They are getting down to the business end in the men’s marathon. Can anyone catch Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia? His lead is about 11 seconds with ten kilometres to go.

Team GB’s Emile Cairess put the burners on to go up the hill towards Versailles, getting himself into the silver medal position briefly bu het might have burnt himself out a little as he’s passed by a few runners as it flattens out. “This is where it gets hard, really hard” says Steve Cram.

Taekwondo: Team GB’s Caden Cunningham has just started his bout against Niger’s Abdoul Razak Issoufou Alfaga in the men’s 80kg + competition. The winner will take a place in the quarter finals and it is a good start for Cunningham – as I type he’s been awarded the first round 6-5! One more needed to progress…

Laura Kenny has been brilliant on the BBC tv coverage the last fortnight - full of insight, passion and a charming sense of fun and self deprecation. She’s been writing for us throughout the games too:

I feel a little sad the Paris Olympics are almost over because I’ve had a blast. These have been my first Games as a spectator and commentator, rather than as a competitor, and I have felt the power and joy of sport all over again. There have been so many amazing stories from athletes at contrasting stages of their careers and four British women have provided my personal highlights. Emma Finucane, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Keely Hodgkinson and Bryony Page have all, for different reasons, captivated me in Paris.”

Golf: The final day of the women’s competition is just getting into its swing under blue skies at Le Golf National. New Zealand’s Lydia Ko and Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux top the leaderboard currently – tied at nine under par.

Day 15 of the games will see an epic 39 medals decided. The men’s marathon has just past the half way stage in 1:04:51 which whilst seemingly superhuman to the likes of me and thee (yes, you) isn’t the fastest time. It is warm in Paris and the course is particularly demanding. The drone camera hovers above a majestic looking Versailles and Paula Radcliffe and Steve Cram on the BBC commentary are doing their utmost to sprinkle some historical facts into proceedings, Paula has just delivered a husky riff on Louis XVI as Eliud Kipchoge be struggles with a stitch and falls behind the leading pack.

Thanks Megan and hello everyone. I’ll be with you for the next few hours. Paris is looking a picture this morning, the marathon runners pounding the city’s famous streets in pursuit of Olympic glory. It ain’t too bad here in South London either, though a coffee and some toast is the main thing being pursued.

Men’s marathon: Elroy Gelant from South Africa has been leading the chase pack as they grind up the hill towards Faniel, but Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola has taken over and looks to be adding some pace to the chase. Tola won the marathon at the World Championships in Oregon in 2022 with a time of 2:05:36, so he is definitely a contender. The gap has closed to 19 seconds, so Faniel needs to keep up his speed if he wants to hold on to the lead.

And with that, I’m signing off! Enjoy the rest of the day, stay hydrated and cheer well. It’s shaping up to be a fascinating day.

Men’s marathon: The runners have reached the first real hill of the race now – not the one that might get them walking, but a testing hill nonetheless. Faniel remains in the lead, with a chase pack trying to hunt him down. Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya – the race favourite – is in that pack and they are all keeping pretty close together as they try to close the 23 second gap that Faniel has opened up.

Men’s marathon: We’ve had our first breakaway runner – Eyob Faniel from Italy has decided to make a go of it and dashed out in front. He placed 20th in Tokyo with a time of 2:15:11 so probably not someone we’re looking at as a potential gold medallist, but in these conditions, anything is possible.

Men’s marathon: We’re just at the 10km mark now and Yang from China is in the lead, but it’s still a fairly contained group at the moment. The streets have been lined with spectators along every metre of the course so far. It must be incredible for the athletes who are probably used to having some lonely stretches of road when they run. We’re approaching the first big hill now, so we’ll see how the athletes respond to it.

John Wyver has got in contact by email to ask a question.

I’ve really loved the Guardian blogs over the past fortnight - many congrats to you and your colleagues - and I’ve mostly very much enjoyed and appreciated the BBC coverage; their “studio” analysts have been especially strong.

But one thing has bugged me about the BBC “studios” -- the persistent presence of the irritating little red triangular mascots, either alone or in small groups, in all of the wide shots. Do you know if this is a contractual stipulation by the IOC and/or Discovery?

I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to this question. However, I was at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018 and you couldn’t turn around without bumping into some iteration of Borobi – the blue koala mascot of those games. But Borobi was incredibly popular unlike whatever this red thing is, so I’m not sure if we’re comparing apples and apples here. But it does often feel like mascots are omnipresent figures to the point that it must be stipulated somewhere that they have to be. Does anyone else know the answer to this question?

Men’s marathon: The athletes have passed the 5km mark now and have gone past the first hydration station – very important in this humidity. The commentators are discussing the possibility that the runners may walk up the 16% graded hill, which is basically unheard of. I’m very much looking forward to seeing if they do!

A little interlude to talk about the women’s basketball with the final taking place tomorrow. The US made the gold medal match for the eighth consecutive time, defeating Australia comprehensively.

Men’s marathon: A little stop by Abdi Nageeye who appeared to get a rock in his shoe, but he’s made up the ground pretty easily and is sitting just at the back of the group. We’re 2.1km in and everyone is still running as a group so far, no one is making an early breakaway in this kind of heat.

Men’s marathon: And we’re off! A nice flat bit of course to start and plenty of people out on the streets cheering them on.

Men’s marathon: There have been some comments that this is the toughest Olympic marathon course ever, with climbs of up to 16 and 17% and very high humidity in Paris today. It’s currently 17 degrees Celsius in Paris and 78% humidity, heading for a top of 29 degrees. Paris humidity is truly stifling at the best of times, so let’s see how they manage.

We’re getting very close to the start of the men’s marathon, which is very exciting because I am one of those freaks who loves watching long distance running. I have run exactly one (1) marathon in my life and it was the third hardest thing I have ever done. The speed that these guys run 42.195km in is baffling and I will never get tired of watching them run. The big rivalry to watch out for today is between Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele – both are getting on in years, but they’re still pushing for gold. This is a testing course, so we will see if that becomes an equaliser or sways things in favour of the younger athletes. It all starts in about five minutes, so stay with me and I’ll take you through the start of it before my shift on the blog concludes.

The women’s football final is shaping up to be a brilliant one, between the US who have found form at the right time after a disappointing World Cup performance last year and Brazil – featuring the legendary Marta. Both teams are looking incredible at the moment and it should be a closely contested battle. Karen Carney’s column will get you up to speed before the big match.

Jerry Spring has sent in a lovely email about sport climbing, which I was delighted to receive.

Glad you have enjoyed climbing. If you’ve never tried it , i hope you can get to your local gym or outside. It is just pure fun as you say.

Sadly there are some issues over some athletes restricting their weight and potential longterm effects on joints... but there is increasingly awareness so I hope these get resolved.

More positively, it is the camaraderie that is so special. If you haven’t noticed before, check out how the climbers study the boulder and lead problems together before the final today and willingly share advice ...even at this level of competition. Plus I’ve never heard anything about climbers dissing each other etc or trying to cheat in any way in years of watching IFSC comps... so refreshing ... compared to certain other sports. Yes footy, I’m looking at you.

Jerry, I have tried climbing and I am quite terrible at it, which only makes me appreciate these athletes all the more. They make it look so easy that every time I try it I’m sure I’m about to nimbly scramble up the wall just like them, only to fail miserably.

Weight restriction in athletes is such a devastating topic – one I wrote about earlier this year in fact. I hope the increasing awareness of it in sport climbing – and all sports – leads to it being resolved as well.

Former athletes weighing in angrily on something currently happening in their sport is one of my favourite genres, so I was delighted to see that Carl Lewis has some opinions about batons. He wants to ‘blow up the system’ and while I’m not entirely sure what that means, I’m very excited to find out.

Imane Khelif has had to weather an absolute storm over the past couple of weeks and she managed to put it behind her to go out and win gold in the women’s 66kg boxing category yesterday. Khelif was understandably proud and defiant in victory and the huge between her and her opponent – China’s Yang Liu – after the match was a very special moment. Tumaini Carayol captured the whole match beautifully, including this quote from Khelif.

I am fully qualified to take part in this competition. I’m a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived a woman, I competed as a woman, there’s no doubt about that. [The detractors] are enemies of success, that is what I call them. And that also gives my success a special taste because of these attacks.

There are some big medals up for grabs at Stade de France tonight, including what is shaping up to be a fascinating race for the women’s 1500m title. Australia’s Jess Hull has had an outstanding season on the track – can she cap it off with becoming the first Australian to make the podium in the 1500m?

Sport climbing has been another one of my favourite events this Olympics, so I really enjoyed this story from Ewan Murray about British teenager Toby Roberts and his incredible gold medal winning effort. It features this great quote from Roberts:

I’ve always just liked to climb stuff.

I think there’s a lot to be said for sports where teenagers who just like mucking about and doing stuff are winning (see also: skateboarding, breaking) rather than the rigid programs that often steal childhoods away in sports like gymnastics and swimming. I’m sure there is a lot of intense training that goes into these newer sports, but the young athletes in them still seem to have a sense of childlike joy and a real love of just giving it a go.

And now we must move on to one of my favourite moments of Paris 2024 so far, which happened in the beach volleyball gold medal match late last night / early this morning depending on your timezone. Let me set the scene…

The imported sand was angry that day my friends. The atmosphere was seething as the Canadian and Brazilian players stormed up to the net, yelling in each other’s faces, as an official tried to get in between and send them back to their ends. They persisted, getting more and more worked up before finally retreating. The referee gave one of the Canadians a yellow card and both teams stood fuming at their respective ends. Suddenly, the opening bars of John Lennon’s Imagine filled the air and the fuming players couldn’t stop tiny smiles creeping on to their faces, before eventually succumbing to laughter and the tense atmosphere evaporated. There has not been a more perfect Olympic musical moment since the injured, last placed 50km race walker entered Stadium Australia to the tune of The Proclaimers’ I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

OK, we need to talk about Raygun. This morning, Australians woke up to discover that the women’s breaking (or B-Girl) competition had been run and won, but it wasn’t the winner who was on the world’s mind, nor was it Australia’s 18 gold medallists. It was Rachel ‘Raygun’ Gunn, who everyone was talking about. This story refers to the ‘online hate’ but I don’t know that I’d describe it that way, though maybe I’d feel differently if I was on the receiving end. Ridicule might be a better word, but even that feels a bit strong. From what I’ve seen it’s been more of a gentle poking fun, which I think most Australians can appreciate.

And speaking of medals, I’m keen to get your thoughts on this. We all know the Americans love to make the medal tally ranked on total medals rather than golds. Here in Australia we’re big fans of the status quo, as total medals would send us plummeting down the table faster than a 10m platform diver. But we’re also big fans of the ‘per capita’ argument, especially once the swimming finishes.

But a new contender has entered the arena via Robert C Duncan, a retired astrophysicist from the University of Texas, and Andrew Parece, a strategy consultant and vice-president of Charles River Associates in Boston, Massachusetts, who have come up with the Goldilocks method.

This ranks countries according to how improbable their medal counts would be if all people in competing countries worldwide had equal propensity per capita for winning medals. Therefore, the expected number of medals a nation is expected to win scales with population size. For instance, because the US population is about 13 times larger than Australia’s, the US is expected to win 13 times more medals at the Games.

You can read all about it in Jackson Ryan’s fascinating piece and let me know what you think – the link to email me is at the top of the page.

Before we get too deep into breaking down all the action, let’s check in on the medal tally. Despite most of the ‘girt’ sports being finished, Australia has managed to hold on to third place behind the US and China, who both have a frankly ridiculous amount of medals. Japan, Great Britain and France are all in close succession and with plenty of medals still on offer, anything can happen. Well, not anything, no one is getting near the US and China, but definitely some things can happen.