Key events
As ever, there was a series of incredible images to come out of day nine in the Olympics. I in particular found the image of Egypt’s Mohamed Essam and the United States’ Alexander Massialas really cool.
Massialas may need to brush up on his Wu-Tang Clan: Protect Ya Neck!
There are few things on earth more capable of capturing the imagination than the 100-metre dash at the Olympics. For ten seconds, it feels as if the World takes a breath as a collective, stops what it’s doing, and loses itself in the moment, as the bounds of humanity are tested.
Julien Alfred first wrote herself into Olympic and St Lucia folklore as she took out the women’s 100m on Saturday and the great Barney Ronay was at the Stade de France last night as Noah Lyles etched his name into legend with a gold medal-winning run.
Not to be outdone, Sean Ingle was also on hand at the Stade De France and broke down a dramatic, photo-finish race.
And on Simone Biles, given that she is 27 years old, you’d be forgiven for thinking that today could be the last time we see her competing at an Olympic Games. The average age of women in artistic gymnastics has been creeping up in recent years but, at the same time, she has said at these Games “I am getting really old” (ouch, nothing makes you feel as old as when someone younger than you says something like that).
But while she’s definitely retiring her Yurchenko double pike vault after Paris, the superstar isn’t ruling out a run at the Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
The Medal Tally Heading into Day Ten
And if we’re going to be discussing medal events, we may as well use that as a segue to see what the medal tally looks like after day nine.
And well, no more creative counting metrics are needed for the United States of America to sit atop the count, with Team USA moving to its summit after drawing level with China’s 19 gold medals and outpacing their rival’s silver and bronze tallies.
Hosts France retains its position in third and Australia follows in fourth but with the latter’s girt-powered run in the pool now at an end, the likes of Team GB, South Korea and Japan will be eyeing closing in on their 12 gold medals. Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany, then round out the top ten.
Medal Watch
For those more inclined to a bit of scoreboard-watching, there’s a swathe of gold medals available today.
All eyes will inevitably be on the Bercy Arena for women’s gymnastics as Simone Biles –the 🐐GOAT🐐 — competes for the final time in Paris in the finals of the women’s beam and floor.
🥇Athletics – Men’s Pole Vault / Women’s Discus, 500m, 800m
🥇Triathlon – Mixed Team Relay
🥇Shooting – Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol
🥇Badminton – Women’s Singles / Men’s Singles
🥇Gymnastics – Men’s Parallel Bars, Horizontal Bar / Women’s Beam, Floor
🥇Shooting – Men’s 25m rapid fire pistol / Team Mixed Skeet
🥇Surfing – Women’s Shortboard / Men’s Shortboard
🥇 Basketball – Women’s 3×3 – Men’s 3×3
🥇Canoe – Women’s Kaya Cross / Men’s Kayak Cross
🥇Track Cycling – Women’s team sprint
Day Ten Schedule
The swimming portion of the Games concluded yesterday, giving the athletics greater scope to take the spotlight, with athletes such Team GB’s Keely Hodgkinson and Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis in action. Focus will shift to the velodrome as the track cycling commences, alongside the beginning of artistic swimming, sport climbing, and the purist’s Olympic event, wrestling. Conversely, today will be the final day for badminton, the basketball 3X3, canoe slalom, gymnastics, shooting, and triathlon events.
Preamble
Howdy folks! Welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the tenth official day of competition at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. I’m Joey Lynch and I’ll be taking you through the first few hours.
The big news from day nine, undoubtedly, was the crowning of Noah Lyles as the new fastest human on Earth: the American backing up the hype by taking the gold after a dramatic finish in the men’s 100m, edging out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson to the crown by just five-thousandths of a second, with fellow American Fred Kerley claiming bronze.
Indeed, it was a good day nine for the Americans, with Team USA’s women setting a new world record in winning the 4x100m medley and Bobby Finke setting a new world record as he took out gold in the men’s 1500m freestyle.
Elsewhere, Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour became the first African to win Olympic gold in gymnastics, holding off a challenge from reigning world champion Qiu Qiyuan to take out the women’s uneven bars while Carlos Yulo continued a golden run for the Philippines in claiming his second gold in as many days in the men’s vault. Novak Djokovic took out one of the few prizes that have eluded him in his illustrious career as he beat Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros to take gold in the men’s tennis singles and, in a history-making moment, Cindy Ngamba became the first-ever athlete from the Refugee Olympic Team to ensure themselves a medal as she reached the semi-finals of the women’s 75kg boxing.
But there’s plenty on tap for day ten to keep this momentum going and, with my handy-dandy Australian time zone making it possible, I’ll be getting you set for all the action for the next few hours as those in Europe rise from their slumber.
