31 July 2024 • 11:15am
11:11AM
Yee in contention in final leg The cycling produced an equally gripping leg as the women’s race, but for different reasons as a bunch of 32 collected to form a fast-paced peloton. GB’s Sam Dickinson put in some notable hard graft towards the end, and tries – and fails – to rev up the French crowd as Alex Yee makes the first attack of the run.
Only New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde – having made up a lot of ground in the cycling leg – is able to follow, and now the Kiwi attacks as we approach the half way mark! Yee currently unable to follow, keep up with the action here!
Alex Yee of Britain and Tim Hellwig of Germany Credit: Aleksandra Szmigiel/Pool via REUTERS 11:04AM
Women’s hockey well-poised GB’s hockey team are in a strong position heading into the last five minutes of their match vs South Africa. They went 1-0 down courtesy of a Kayla de Waal goal, but Amy Costello equalised shortly before half time, building momentum for Hannah French to hit the post before giving GB the lead in the third quarter.
The team were sitting in fourth of six in their pool before this game, so this win will be very helpful in helping them hold that position and qualify for the knockouts after two losses to open their campaign.
Gb celebrate Hannah French’s goal Credit: Michael Reaves/Getty Images Europe 10:54AM
Spendolini-Sirieix and Toulson WIN BRONZE They’ve done it! GB’s superb streak in the diving pool continues as Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson’s tournament-best final dive is enough to secure bronze behind China and North Korea! Toulson’s boyfriend, Jack Laugher, who is due to compete in the 3m springboard final on friday is in tears, hugs all around. GB’s second medal of the day. Get all the reaction here.
Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson Credit: Jin Lee Man/AP 10:48AM
Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson in the medals now! Diving contests are notoriously difficult to follow and Great Britain briefly move to silver before a North Korea dive sends them back to bronze. It’s a precarious position though, all eyes on the Canadians here…
10:46AM
Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson finish up The British pair have executed their last dive and face a nervous wait to see if Canada can open the door to bronze. As expected, China have wrapped up gold, with North Korea surging into silver with a strong few dives. GB saved their best till last, and now need a Canada error to take Britain’s 3rd diving medal in Paris.
10:43AM
Imogen Grant and Emily Craig through to final In the rowing, Britain’s Imogen Grant and Emily Craig coast into the final of the women’s lightweight double sculls. They led from the start of the race and earn themselves a shot at a medal that they will very justifiably be fancying themselves for. Follow more rowing here.
10:38AM
Britain out the Badminton There’s been plenty badminton action this morning, but none of it will feature GB.
The biggest hope was always an outside chance, Kirsty Gilmour has ranked in the top 30 for big stretches of her career but failed to make it out the pools for a third consecutive Olympics. She opened her campaign with a 2-0 victory over Azerbaijan’s Keisha Fatima Azzahra, before losing 2-0 to sixth seed He Big Jiao of China to confirm her exit.
Ben Lane and Sean Vendy also dropped out at the group stage in the men’s doubles, losses to Malaysia and China ensuring their victory over Canada was purely consolatory.
Kirsty Gilmour Credit: Ann Wang/REUTERS 10:24AM
2 down, 3 to go for Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix GB’s Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson are in bronze… no wait silver after a Canadian slip up after their first two dives. They’re, as expecetd, a sizeable 14-point margin behind the Chinese duo with three dives left in this final. You never know… Although with Chen and Quan’s current form it feels like you do. Live coverage here.
Britain’s Andrea Spendolini Sirieix and Lois Toulson Credit: Jin Lee Man/AP 10:17AM
Chloe Brew and Rebecca Edwards exit Women’s pair Chloe Brew and Rebecca Edwards finish fifth in their women’s pair semi-final, Netherlands, Romania, and Greece qualifying with Denmark beating them to fourth. Our live coverage’s attention turns to Imogen Grant and Emily Craig in the semi-finals of the women’s lightweight double sculls at 10.34.
10:12AM
Yee out the Seine Alex Yee is out the Seine and into the cycling leg of the Triathlon. Italy’s Alessio Crociani emerges first, Yee following him 17 places and 27 seconds later. Sam Dickinson follows in 21st, giving himself some work to do on the bike with 42 seconds to make up. Follow it here.
Credit: Dar Yasin/AP 10:09AM
Overnight rain in rearview mirror The women’s triathlon descended into chaos in the bike element earlier, with at least seven crashes as cyclists struggled to take corners with slippy ground conditions. The sun is out now though, and the temperature as Paris approaches midday is an uncomfortable 25 degrees.
This will provide easier conditions for the men’s triathlon, but the forecast of 32 degrees this afternoon doesn’t bode well for the tennis players. Hopefully they’ll have cool water today, Jack Draper clearly suffered in the sweltering 35 degree heat yesterday and complained about the lack of refrigerated water on offer as he crashed out at the hands of Taylor Fritz.
Jack Draper complains to the match referee Credit: Anadolu 9:58AM
Tom George and Ollie Wynne-Griffith into the final! The two recover from a precarious start to come second in the race – second to the Romanians and leading the Irish in third, meaning they qualify for the final! The women’s pair, in for the form of Chloe Brew and Rebecca Edwards are up next here…
9:54AM
Busy hour ahead Following Beth Potter’s bronze we have a very busy period incoming.
Alex Yee and Sam Dickinson have made the unenviable leap into the Seine, which you can follow here.
Meanwhile, Britain’s first rowers are getting underway, with Tom George and Ollie Wynne-Griffith in the men’s pair with our live coverage here.
And you can also follow Andrea Spendolini and Lois Toulson in the 10m platform synchronised diving which starts in five minutes here.
Men’s Pair Semifinal A/B 1 – Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium Credit: Yara Nardi/REUTERS 9:47AM
GB back at the shooting range after Hales heroics Nathan Hales came from nowhere to break the Olympic record on his way to gold in the men’s trap yesterday. Before the event he was struggling to emerge from the shadow of his teammate Matthew Coward-Holley, who disappointed yesterday having won bronze at Tokyo. During the event, however, Hales lived up to the significant shooting pedigree that runs throughout his family – his partner is none other than 2008 and 2012 Olympics alumni Charlotte Kerwood.
Whilst GB’s shooters will have no doubt been invigorated by Hales’ success as they lined up for today’s qualification events. It’s been disappointing, however; Michael Bargaron exits the 50m Rifle 3 Positions competition, finishing 29th and therefore 21 spots and six points from the qualifying threshold.
It seems Lucy Hall will be unable to emulate Hales efforts in the women’s trap, despite a strong start. She ranked first after a perfect first round but has slipped to 16th following a particularly weak second and steady third and fourth. With one round to go this morning, she is ten spots and four points behind the qualifying threshold.
Nathan Hales Credit: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images Europe 9:20AM
Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix coming up Our live coverage of Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix’s bid for gold in the 10m platform synchronised diving, with partner Lois Toulson, kicks off at 9.30. Why not warm up for it by reading our exclusive interview with her. You cannot underestimate an athlete who has come back from rock bottom, and Spendolini-Spirieix has fought back from a debilitating Tokyo experience when she was aged just 16 to climb up to the platform today – read the interview here.
Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, Tom Daley, and Noah Williams Credit: Clive Rose/Getty Images 9:13AM
GB triathlon medal streak continues One of the outstanding stories from London 2012 in a fairly saturated market was that of the Brownlee brothers, they have kickstarted a generation of British triathlon fever. All four of GB’s representatives today cite the brothers as a big reason for getting into the sport and since Alistair and Jonny’s respective gold and bronze 12 years ago, GB have earned six medals in the event.
Alistair and Jonny were responsible for two more, a gold and silver respectively at Rio, whilst Alex Yee and Georgia Taylor-Brown took individual silvers at Tokyo 2020 – the two combining with Jess Learmonth and Jonny for a team gold at Tokyo too. Potter’s bronze today elevates her into a dynasty of British triathletes, one of GB’s most elite sporting groups.
Beth Potter takes bronze Credit: David Davies/PA Wire 8:57AM
France’s Cassandre Beaugrand wins triathlon – Potter takes bronze! It looked incredibly tight between the top three but France’s Cassandre Beaugrand has leaned into her home advantage to attack in the last lap, showing a clean pair of heels to Julie Derron six seconds behind in second, and Beth Potter 15 seconds back in third. She wins and La Marseillaise rings out over the finish line. It was a serious effort from GB’s Potter – the choppy conditions in the river and wet surface on the bike ride will have been some of the toughest circumstances she has faced in her young triathlon career, she can be very proud to medal in her first Olympic triathlon race.
Georgia Taylor-Brown comes across the line in sixth – read the reaction on our live blog here.
Cassandre Beaugrand wins the triathlon Credit: David Goldman/AP Photo 8:47AM
2 laps to go in Triathlon There are two laps – 5km – to go in the women’s triathlon. GB’s Tokyo silver medallist Georgia Taylor-Brown has been dropped from a group of four leading the race, she seems to be struggling in the increasing heat as the sun rises over Paris. It is warming up quickly and the road is drying in places which will produce an interesting dynamic for the men’s race.
Medal favourite Beth Potter is still in that leading group though, being led by Julie Derron, so is perfectly poised to continue GB’s considerable triathlon legacy. Stay tuned to our dedicated blog here to keep updated.
Emma Lombardi, Beth Potter, and Julie Derron Credit: David Davies/PA Wire 8:39AM
Rowing underway There are boats in the Vaires-su-Marne as the rowing gets underway – the first medals in the lake are on offer today and GB are being strongly tipped to pick them up in the men and women’s quadruple sculls. The women’s four of Lauren Henry, Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson and Georgie Brayshaw are heavy gold favourites, whilst the men’s four of Tom Barras, Callum Dixon, Matt Haywood and Graeme Thomas may struggle to keep up with the flying Dutchmen, but will be in contention for a podium.
Beforehand, the men and women’s pairs will race their respective semi-finals, as do the LWT Women’s Double Sculls. Follow all the action through this live blog.
8:27AM
Potter and Taylor-Brown well placed for run Having survived what was a bit of a blood bath in the cycling leg, GB’s Beth Potter and Georgia Taylor-Brown are in the leading group going into the 10km run, alongside Olympic champion Flora Duffy.
Potter in particular will fancy herself having done the hard work in the river and on the saddle. She is of course a 10km runner by trade, having competed in it specifically at Rio 2016, but deferred to the triathlon in 2017, citing the race in which Alistair Brownlee carried his brother Jonny over the line as the sliding doors moment. Follow our live updates here.
8:17AM
Brutal cycling conditions in triathlon Despite sweltering conditions in Paris yesterday, the rain returned through the night and the conditions are far from ideal for the triathletes on the bikes. There were several crashes in the women’s road race on day one in what seemed like wetter conditions, but today has been merciless.
There have been at least seven crashes so far, USA’s Kirsten Kasper has been responsible for three of them, and Norway’s Lottie Miller has withdrawn from the race having failed to recover from her second crash.
They’re into the last lap of this leg now, though, and GB’s Beth Potter and Georgia Taylor-Brown are still in the leading group seemingly unscathed.
Norway’s Lottie Miller Credit: David Goldman/AP Photo 8:05AM
The awesome foursome It’s flown completely under the radar that in the men’s 4 x 200 metre relay swimming team, we are in the presence of British sporting greatness. Duncan Scott’s gold last nght drew him level with compatriot Sir Chris Hoy as the joint-third most successful GB Olympian of all time.
You can read our in-depth analysis, with interviews, on how the same four men made history by defending their Tokyo title, and extended GB’s medal streak in this event to three in a row through this link.
7:52AM
What’s coming up We’ll be bringing you various live blogs through the day on top of the triathlon double-header. It’s a busy morning on the rowing lake, as the men’s and women’s pairs race their semi-finals from around 9.30, before the men and women’s quadruple sculls compete for the first rowing medals on offer in Paris.
From 10am, GB aim to extend their highly successful campaign off the diving board as Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, daughter of reality TV star Fred Sirieix, takes part in the 10m synchronised diving with partner Lois Toulson.
Then, we’ll be running a blog from midday at the BMX stadium as Kieran Reilly aims to turn around GB’s fortunes after Charlott Worthington’s performance was hindered by a case of the ‘twisties’ yesterday.
The action continues from 14.30 as Mallory Franklin takes on the rapids in the canoe slalom – she is a big hope for a medal with significant medalling pedigree in the discipline.
There are outside hopes in the men’s all-round gymnastics final in the form of Jake Jarman and Joe Fraser, with our blog going live at 16.15, and keep an eye out on the swimming with qualifying through the day and medals on offer in the evening. No better place to be to keep up with all the action!
7:25AM
Potter 20 seconds behind The women are out the Seine and onto the bikes as GB’s Beth Potter emerges in fifth place, trailing 20 seconds behind leader and Olympic champion Flora Duffy of Bermuda – follow our updates here.
7:17AM
Beth Potter up first Reigning triathlon world champion Beth Potter is GB’s medal hope in day five’s first event, with pollution levels in the Seine deemed low enough at long last – you can follow our live blog of the event, and Alex Yee’s efforts on this live blog here.
7:12AM
Two gold medals yesterday, two more this morning? Good morning and welcome to our live blog of day five of the 2024 Paris Olympics. After magic monday’s six-medal bonanza, yesterday was always going to feel like a slower day but two gold medals helped Great Britain keep their medal count ticking over to 12, placing them fifth in overall medal count.
The day was expected to be even quieter, was it not for Nathan Hales’ surprise win in the men’s trap shooting, the Briton in tears on the podium having set an Olympic record on his way to victory.
For the second gold of the day, however, it felt as though there was already a place reserved at the top of the podium for James Guy, Tom Dean, Matthew Richards and Duncan Scott as the ‘awesome foursome’ stormed to a gold in the 4 x 200 metre freestyle. The four brushed off any semblance of pressure to become the first ever British relay team of the same individuals to defend an Olympic title, and make it a third medal in a row in this event, as GB, and in particular Matthew Richards, put a frustrating few days in the pool behind them.
(left to right) James Guy, Duncan Scott, Matthew Richards, and Tom Dean Credit: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images This morning, though, Britain’s medal hopes are high as Beth Potter, then Alex Yee, finally get their chance to compete in the triathlon after delays owing to pollution levels in the River Seine. Both races have been given the all clear in that regard – ticket logistics in the event not providing any obstacle – and take place back-to-back this morning.
Potter is up first and, following an audacious transition from track running just seven years ago, is favourite as reigning world champion, whilst Alex Yee is a Tokyo silver medallist; he and Sam Dickinson out-qualified GB great Jonathan Brownlee to line up on the pontoon today.