2024 Paris Olympics: Monday wrap
Five thousandths of a second – this was the difference for American track star Noah Lyles in claiming the men’s 100m final on Monday morning at a sold-out Stade de France.
A race which will go down in Olympic folklore, a clever late dip for the line by 27-year-old Lyles was enough for him to pip Jamaican Kishane Thompson in a photo finish, with both men getting home in 9.79 seconds.
Lyles’ compatriot Fred Kerley secured bronze.
The build up prior to one of the biggest events on the Olympic calendar was unlike anything many had ever seen before.
A sea of lit up phones and intense music greeted all eight competitors as they made their way to the starting blocks in the dark.
For several minutes, the athletes patiently waited as music continued to play – some appearing visibly agitated by the length of this process.
When proceedings did get under way, it was extremely close. Thompson, got away well in lane four and appeared to be on course for a gold medal, while Lyles was the slowest out of the blocks.
However, the American’s middle to late stages of the race were on point, with his final stride ensuring he joined an illustrious group of talented athletes.
Overall Medal tally (Monday, 6am WST)
The US (19 gold, 26 silver and 26 bronze) leads the medal table, with China (19 gold, 15 silver and 11 bronze) in second. France (12 gold, 14 silver and 198 bronze) is in third.
Australia is in fourth – with 12 gold, 11 silver and eight bronze.
Archery – South Korea finished with gold and bronze in the men’s individual competition. Woojin Kim outlasted Brady Ellison of the US 6-5, while Wooseok Lee comfortably defeated Germany’s Florian Unruh 6-0.
Athletics – Australia and Ukraine dominated the women’s high jump final, with both countries have two representatives each in the final four.
Ukrainian Yaroslava Mahuchikh won gold ahead of Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers, with the 22-year-old now having won almost every world and Olympic title already in her promising career.
Despite having already wrapped up victory with her 2m jump, Mahuchikh attempted a jump at 2.04m and was inches away from making it.
Olyslagers’ teammate Eleanor Patterson shared bronze with Ukraine's Iryna Gerashchenko.
Ethan Katzberg will also likely be the toast of Canada right now, following his remarkable gold-winning effort in the men’s hammer throw final.
With his first 84.12m throw, Katzberg sent shivers down the spines of his rivals. His follow up effort of 84.28m was also head and shoulders above anything else the chasing pack would be able to muster.
It also means that Canada tasted gold success in men’s hammer throw for the first time in Olympic history.
In the men’s 1500m semifinals, race favourites Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr, of Norway and Great Britain respectively, both qualified for the final after finishing in the top two of their heat.
Basketball – An offensive masterclass from Rockingham Flames talent Sami Whitcomb and Cayla George inspired Australia during their 79-72 win over France in their final women’s pool match in Lille.
With Nigeria stunning Canada 79-70 a few hours earlier, the Opals knew they would only secure second place in their pool with a victory over the host nation by six points – and would finish top if the victory was in excess of 18 points.
Whitcomb (12 points, five rebounds) was brilliant inside the paint, going 5/6 overall. She was also extremely active off the ball as well, despite France often executing their full-court press to perfection.
Leading 59-50 at three quarter time, the Opals faced some nervy moments in the final few minutes – with ball retention and sloppy ball movement contributing to France’s early 12-3 offensive run.
However, heads up offensive plays from Whitcomb and forward Cayla George ultimately swung momentum back for the Opals, who have advanced to the quarter final stage of the tournament, which begins on Wednesday night.
The US women's basketball team also extended their remarkable winning run at Olympic level, defeating Germany 87-68. The Americans have not lost a game since 1992 and enter the quarter finals having won 58 games in a row.
Fencing – Japan took gold in the men’s foil team gold medal match, 46-35 against Italy, while France beat the US 42-35 to take home bronze.
Hockey – Australia has been knocked out of the men’s competition, after the Kookaburras fell 2-0 to the Netherlands on Sunday night.
Goals to Duco Telgenkamp and Thijs van Dam helped the Dutch advance, with the Kookaburras unable to convert when chances presented themselves.
Swimming – Australia’s unforgettable run of the results in the pool reached its crescendo at the Paris La Defense Arena.
Meg Harris won silver in the women’s 50m freestyle behind Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström and became the second Australian behind Cameron McEvoy to medal in this event in the space of three days. China’s Yufei Zhang joined them both on the podium with bronze.
Australia’s 4x100 women’s individual medley relay team – comprised of Kaylee McKeown, Jenna Strauch, Emma McKeon and Mollie O’Callaghan – won silver behind the US, which set a new world record of 3min:49sec.63.
China, the US and France completed the podium in the men’s 4x100m individual medley relay, with Australia placing sixth.
American Bobby Finke took out the men's 1500m freestyle, ahead of Italy's Gregorio Paltrinieri and British-Irish sensation Daniel Wiffen.
In doing so, Finke set a world record time of 14min:30sec.67 - eclipsing the previous mark set by China's Yang Sun, 14min:31sec.02, at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Table tennis – China’s Zhendong Fan defeated Truls Moregard of Sweden 4-1 in the men’s singles gold medal match.
Tennis – Despite having won 24 Grand Slam tennis titles during his incredible career, Serbian Novak Djokovic had never won an Olympic gold medal prior to Paris.
The 37-year-old, battling a nagging knee injury, finally added the only title to elude him on Monday morning, defeating Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz 7-6, 7-6.
Saturday wrap
Athletics – The tiny Caribbean nation of St Lucia won its first ever gold medal, thanks to 23-year-old Julien Alfred, who won the women’s 100m final.
Alfred claimed line honours in a time of 10.72 seconds ahead of American duo Sha’Carri Richardson and Melissa Jefferson.
The Netherlands also sprung a surprise in the 4x400m mixed relay, knocking off the US and Great Britain.
Swimming – Ariarne Titmus put thoughts of a grueling week behind her in the pool, finished second behind American champion Katie Ledecky in the women’s 800m freestyle final.
Golden girl Kaylee McKeown also got more than she bargained for in the women’s 200m individual medley.
Initially touching the wall in fourth, McKeown was upgraded to bronze, after American Alex Walsh was disqualified following an infraction regarding one of her turns.
Tennis – Australia won its first men’s doubles gold medal since Atlanta 1996, with Matt Ebden and John Peers defeating the American pairing of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram 6-7(6/8), 7-6(7/1), 10-8.
