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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
John Brewin , Sarah Rendell , Tom Davies and Jonathan Howcroft

Paris 2024 final day of Olympics: USA deny France to win women’s basketball and top medal table – as it happened

Paris Olympics Olympics (Event)
USA players celebrate their narrow victory over France in the women’s basketball.
USA players celebrate their narrow victory over France in the women’s basketball. Photograph: Caroline Brehman/EPA

Right, that’s the end of the final day blog. Thanks to all who contributed and got in contact. It’s been a long haul. But before Paris 2024 is done, there’s the closing ceremony, which will include the Los Angeles 2028 segue. Is this when we get to see Tom Cruise? Follow that live here.

Emily Campbell had to wait until the final day, and her weightlifting medal ended up being an important one.

Kurt Perleberg is back for more: “My moments of the Olympic Games from a US perspective was the return of Simone Biles in gymnastics,the super close finish in the men’s 100M in athletics & the triumph of the USWNT in women’s football.”

“Gimme the microphone first, so I can bust like a bubble
Monmartre and Long Beach together, now you know you in trouble.”

Let’s not leave out Flavor Flav, either.

Some housekeeping, we’ve had a request from Italy to mention the volleyball, not a sport that was given much precedence in UK TV coverage. Italy won women’s gold, as Associated Press report below:

Monica De Gennaro of Italy made three previous trips to the Olympics only to leave empty-handed each time. Finally, at age 37, she’s going home with the gold.

Italy beat the defending champion U.S. team Sunday to win gold in women’s volleyball at the Paris Olympics. “It feels special,” she said. “It’s the dream of every player to play in the final of the Olympics and win it. It is something unique. We worked so hard for so many years to be able to reach this final.”

When Italy scored the match point to end it, many of the players collapsed to the court, then began hugging in a huge scrum. Together they tossed De Gennaro into the air.

The victory came in straight sets, 25-18, 25-20, 25-17. The Italians ended a dominant tournament having lost just one set.

It’s the first medal in the sport for top-ranked Italy and sends the Americans home in disappointment after they won their first Olympic title in Tokyo. It’s a huge win for the Italians, whose previous best Olympic finish was fifth.

Léon Marchand was the king of the pool. Though there were suspicions surrounding the swimming events.

What about that road race cycling? Remco’s puncture and celebration won’t be forgotten.

Mark Dawson shares a highlight: “Women’s park skateboarding. Not so much for the action, although it was spectacular and enthralling to the end. More for the selfless excitement in each others performances of the competitors. An absolute joy to behold.”

One of Team GB’s unlikelier medals came from Georgia Bell, though the talent was always there. Tech security’s loss was Paris’s gain.

Lexy Topping will be on her way home soon, after a busy final week in Paris.

Britain’s cycling boom, as begun by Chris Boardman in 1992, and in full gear by Sydney 2000, has had its brakes slammed on, though 11 medals isn’t so bad. Well done. Emma.

Kurt Perleberg sums it up rather well: “It’s hard to believe that the Paris Olympics is over. After everything that has happened in the past two weeks.”

Tumaini didn’t get to include the women’s basketball classic we have just witnessed, but this is a fine primer on the Games.

Does it get any closer than this?

Noah Lyles lands 100m gold.

How about that brilliant men’s 1500m final? And its surprise winner?

The women’s 800m was just as exciting.

Updated

So, what was your highlight? This from high jump gold medallist Hamish Kerr, was a personal favourite.

And for true Brit grit, Tom Pidcock in the mountain biking.

USA tops medal table

So, that’s it, no more medals to be handed out. Basketball gold also means Team USA top the overall medal table, China losing out.

Updated

USA 67-66 France. United States take women's basketball gold medal.

Basketball: France get two free throws to take it to two points but soon enough, Kelsey Plum gets the chance to kill it off from the free throw line. That’s done. THen comes a three pointer from Williams. Copper has two free throws to win it. Then Williams, with a hail mary, launches the ball, and it goes in. She was on the line so it’s only two points, rather than three! Drama to the very last microsecond. Incredible.

Updated

Basketball: USA, three points up, are called for travelling. But they must score. And they launch a long shot that misses. Team USA get two frees, scoring one. That’s a four-point game, and just 17.4 seconds on the clock.

Basketball: Into the last 90 seconds and there’s a one-point game. USA 60-59 – amd a timeout is called, the Americans’ last one. “Allez les bleu” rings out as does, er, Gloria Estefan. Nothing but net will do now.

Basketball: USA steal into a three-point lead. Gabby Williams, who has been brilliant for France, claims the rebound after her team misses the three-point. USA’s Jackie Young is meanwhile removed after reaching five fouls. Back to a one-point game.

Basketball: Some dead-eyed free throws, as the scores level at 51-51. Then a US foul coughs up two points to France. The home fans believe. They will have to live on their nerves.

Updated

Basketball: United States unable to shake off France, even if they look the more powerful. 47-47, this really is a thriller. Make that 49-49. There’s six minutes left.

Basketball: It continues to be a full rollercoaster, with the United States winning free throws to go into the fourth quarter with a 45-43 lead. They were down by 10.

It would not be the Olympics without the suits jockeying for position. Seb Coe’s on manoeuvres, as Sean Ingle reports. The former head of London 2012, Tory MP, now life peer though retired from the Lords and current president of the IAAF fancies the top job with the International Olympic Committee.

Basketball: Team USA were 10 down, now it’s five. And the French call a timeout. But the score goes to 35-33. The French want a flag on the play. But that’s the power of Team USA. It goes to 38-33. France have been dogged, it’s all rather frantic. 38-35. Then 40-35. The scoreboard burning up.

Australia also have this moment to explain away. Breaking may never recover. It won’t be back in LA.

Basketball: We are back underway in the third quarter, and France off to a flier, taking a 30-25 lead. Then 33-25. Sacre bleu! Team USA call a timeout.

Yeah, this one stings a bit. With more to come. Australia will host the Games in Brisbane in 2032.

With a funding boost in the order of a few hundred million dollars on the way, as all eyes turn towards Australia’s home Olympics in Brisbane in eight years’ time, it seems the old order has returned.

The debate in the UK would appear to be between “sport for all” and “elite performance”. Better facilities for the public across the board would seem to be more use to a country worried over a disaffected population. It doesn’t have to be either/or, of course, bur there is only so much money. And bigger issues to attack.

Wrestling: The last men’s wrestling medal available, as to a rock soundtrack, Akhmed Tazhudinov pinned Givi Matcharashvili, which means Bahrain beats Georgia for gold. The Georgian slipped, and went for a big throw ended up being pinned. No need for a Big Daddy splash, and that’s a painful loss. Akhmed Tazhudinov, from Dagestan, and a former Russian athlete was just too wise to his opponent.

Basketball: France are fighting tooth and nail with Team USA. It takes a tipped rebound from the Americans to be square at 25-25.

From now on, I am always going to associate Ewan Murray with the Modern Pentathlon, which as he says, is going to gain fresh modernity. This being the event where they play LaserQuest – is that modern? – the equestrian event will be replaced by obstacle course running. Hopefully, like this.

Who knew Gordon Burn was Peter O’Sullevan’s rightful heir?

Thanks, Sarah. Great work all through the lastt few weeks. Watching a partisan crowd – including Monsieur et Madame Macron in the crowd – willing the American team to miss free throws. The Olympics does funny things to people.

This is where I leave you today with John Brewin taking you through the end of the women’s basketball gold medal match – the final competition at the Olympics.

This is my last bit of reporting on the 2024 Games so thank you for all your contributions and for reading along.

Basketball: This arena is electric right now after Williams slots another to close the gap to just one point. Could we be on for an upset here?

Well the USA extends their lead with Young scoring but France are really pushing.

Basketball: The second quarter has started and France are really going for this and they close the gap to 17-13.

The French men’s basketball team, who won silver yesterday, are in attendance.

Everyone loves receiving a postcard don’t they? Well here is one from us to you:

Basketball: After the first quarter the USA are leading 15-9 with France remaining firmly in this contest.

France’s Johannes has been impressive but the entire USA team are taking their chances when they have them.

Catch up with all the modern pentathlon action:

Basketball: France have had a lot of shooting opportunities but they keep missing, if they don’t score when they have the opportunity it will be the USA going home with gold.

The USA are leading 8-5 with just over two minutes left of the first quarter.

This must be the image of the Paris Olympics and now it is a mural in Berlin:

Basketball: The USA have two free throws after a foul and both are scored and so the favourites go 6-5 up.

It is a very close affair in these early stages.

Basketball: What a shot to put France temporarily in the lead, it is the first time the hosts have led in this gold medal final. France have all the momentum now and a foul is called from Gray.

Basketball: A wall of noise descends on the court as France slot their first points in this final. France trail 4-3 at the moment.

I will continue to take you through this one with all the headline news but we also have a dedicated blog for this final:

Basketball: France miss their first shot and the USA quickly respond with the first points of this gold medal match, they are 2-0 up.

Basketball: The crowd is lively in here and they count down to the start of this match. The USA have the first possession but there is some good defence from France initially and the USA miss the first shot.

Basketball: The final event of the 2024 Paris Olympics is about to get underway and it is the women’s basketball gold medal match between the USA and France.

We have an update from GB’s Jack Carlin, who was involved in a crash in the men’s keirin final. Carlin was looking to add a third medal to his collection in Paris after already winning silver and bronze but the crash took him out of the race. He told the BBC:

I’m alright. I’m just a bit sore, but that is part and parcel of racing.

I mucked it up a little bit, I was on the backfoot and then two riders collided in front of me and your day is done after that. It is what it is.

I’ve done well, I was hoping for more today. This is the one I felt really confident [about] and I was doing really well, I just got it wrong and I paid the consequence for that.

Updated

Here are some pictures to sum up the day’s action so far:

So after hundreds of events, highs and lows and records broken there is just one event left in these Olympic Games, the women’s basketball final. That begins at 2.30pm BST and will be contested between the USA and hosts France. The USA will be favourites to take the gold.

Serbia win men's water polo gold

Croatia really ran Serbia close to the wire in the fourth period but it is the latter who come away with the gold medal.

Serbia won the match 13-11 and were in the lead after every period had finished.

Updated

As well as Alex Yee, Bryony Page will be GB’s flagbearer after she won gold in the trampolining event:

It is now official, the USA’s Jordan Chiles has been ordered to give back her gymnastics floor bronze with Ana Barbosa given third place. It occurred as the challenge to Chiles’ score came too late. All the details:

Denmark win men's handball gold

Denmark have beaten Germany 39-26 in the men’s gold medal match.

It was an utterly dominant performance from the Danes who led throughout.

Updated

Water polo: Serbia and Croatia are playing for the men’s gold and in the fourth period it is Serbia leading 11-9.

Handball: The men’s gold medal match is well underway and Denmark are leading Germany 38-24 with less than five minutes to go.

The Danes led at half-time 21-12.

GB’s Emma Finucane won three medals at her first Olympics in Paris, her third coming in the women’s sprint today where she picked up bronze. She told the BBC of the achievement:

Honestly, it feels amazing. I know I had the expectations coming into the Olympics but a gold and two bronze is more than I could have expected. It’s been such a rollercoaster this week, my friends and my family experience the lows, the crying, the happy tears and I can’t thank everyone enough who has helped me get to this place.

That bronze medal, I literally gave it everything I could. To celebrate with my family who have been here all week, the support I’ve had back home, the National Lottery, I wouldn’t be here without them. I wouldn’t be here without British Cycling, Team GB, my friends, everyone that loves me. I am just really proud to deliver it on the final day and to just come home with another bronze medal is incredible. I can’t believe it.

The main headline of the day is Sifan Hassan’s women’s marathon win after already winning two bronze medals at this Games. Have a read of the action:

That gold medal win for Valente in the women’s omnium means if the US win the women’s basketball gold later on this afternoon then they will top the medal table. The gold would level them with the 40 golds China have but the US have more silver and bronze medals and so would top the table.

Team GB are not in any other events left to be competed in the Paris Olympics and so finish with 65 medals. That means they have eclipsed their Tokyo haul by one medal but with only 14 of those gold GB are down in seventh in the medal table.

So that is the cycling finished at this Olympic Games. The velodrome action is over.

Women’s omnium: New Zealand’s Wollaston came into the final race in seventh place but rode a sensational points race to bag bronze medal. Absolutely huge.

Valente wins women's omnium gold

Jennifer Valente takes gold after a masterful performance across all four races in the women’s omnium.

After a lot of leapfrogging in the points race, it is silver for Pikulik and bronze to Wollaston.

Women’s omnium: It is so hard to keep up with this here, it’s changing every few seconds! Pilulik is into second with Wollaston in third. Valente remains in gold position.

Women’s omnium: Baker has still not scored any points in this race and now it sees her drop into fourth with Pilulik into bronze.

Baker needs to make a move and fast, seven laps to go.

Updated

Women’s omnium: Absolutely sensational from New Zealand’s Wollaston who laps the field and it boosts her to silver! Baker now into bronze medal position.

Wollaston now chasing down Valente, she is 20 points behind.

Women’s omnium: Valente and Baker are still in the top two position but Dideriksen is back into the bronze position, less than 20 laps to go.

Women’s omnium: Well the bronze has changed again with Pilulik in third now, she is closing in on Baker in second. The Aussie yet to score in this race yet.

Women’s omnium: The top of the podium does not seem to be changing but the bronze medal is the real battle.

Denmark’s Dideriksen now in third after a strong few laps. 30 laps to go.

Japan’s Yuka Kagami has held off the challenge of the USA’s Kennedy Blades in wrestling to win gold.

Italy closed out the USA in women’s volleyball to deny the US gold.

It’s all up to Jennifer Valente and the US women’s basketball team now.

The USA may just have to content itself with its mere 126 total medals, the most they’ve won since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, held without the participation of the Soviet Union, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Cuba, Poland

Women’s omnium: So as things stand Valente is in gold position, Baker in silver and Stenberg in bronze.

But this is ever-changing at the moment, a really great ride from several athletes.

Women’s omnium: Norway’s Stenberg has gone into bronze medal position with a lapped 20 points given to her, this is starting to get tasty now. Gillespie is up to fourth, can Ireland make the podium?

Women’s omnium: Valente is still leading by 16 points here as she picks up some more sprint points. Baker yet to score in this omnium.

Have a read of the basketball, which happened earlier today:

GB’s Alex Yee has been selected as the flag bearer at tonight’s closing ceremony. He won an individual triathlon gold and mixed relay triathlon bronze at the Games.

Women’s omnium: France’s Fortin is outside of the medals and she won’t be able to get into those top three spots but she is really putting on a show for her home crowd. She is half the track away from the rest of the pack, she picks up 25 points with a great attack. Fortin in 15th place overall.

Women’s omnium: Valente picks up all five points in the first sprint with Poland’s Pilkulik with three, Coles-Lyster picks up two and and Stenberg with one.

The American on track for gold as things stand.

Women’s omnium: Switzerland’s Aline Seitz makes an early attack but riders in front of her cannot see her coming and she almost crashes but the collision is narrowly avoided.

Women’s omnium: So this last race in the women’s omnium is underway. 80 laps, sprints to give you points, can Valente take the gold? She is favourite to do so as things stand.

Volleyball: The USA are now 2 sets down to Italy in the women’s volleyball gold medal match.

They are playing their third set now.

A lovely story from the marathon:

Women’s omnium: Okay so we will shortly head into the final race of the women’s omnium and it is a point race.

Heading into it the USA’s Jennifer Valente is first, Australia’s Georgia Baker is in second and Canada’s Maggie Coles-Lyster in third.

Men’s keirin: The delay has come because Malaysia’s Sahrom has been relegated which sees him move from fourth to sixth.

I think that is the only change to happen, it is. The medal ceremony to come and then the women’s omnium.

Men’s keirin: The protest could impact the medals and so the presentation has not yet taken place.

Once that takes place the women’s omnium’s final race will get underway.

Updated

Men’s keirin: It is being reported that there is a protest but it is not clear what has been lodged.

As soon as I know I will let you know.

With Li Wenwen winning the women’s 81+kg weightlifting gold, China will finish the Paris Olympics with 40 gold medals. The USA trail by two but have four opportunities to make up the gap:

  • Women’s omnium: Defending champion Jennifer Valente leads heading into the final stage.

  • Women’s wrestling: Kennedy Blades is due up soon for her gold-medal match.

  • Women’s volleyball: The USA trail Italy 1-0.

  • Women’s basketball: The USA are heavily favoured against France.

If China prevail, their most valuable Olympian may be New Zealand pole vaulter Hamish Kerr, who pushed for a jumpoff instead of sharing gold with the USA’s Shelby McEwen, who agreed but later admitted he might have taken the tie if Kerr had expressed interest in following the lead of Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi and Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim, who agreed to share gold in Tokyo.

Updated

Men’s keirin: Jack Carlin walked over to the medical staff by himself, a really great sign. The other riders involved in the crash, Sahrom and Nakano, did not come off as bad there and got back to their feet quite quickly.

China's Wenwen wins weightlifting gold, GB's Campbell wins bronze

Campbell has got bronze! It was always going to be a tall order to lift 9 kilos above her pBm on the final lift and she couldn’t manage it. But it’s a second medal for Campbell - incredible stuff. Park gets silver and Wenwen a truly masterful gold.

Updated

Weightlifting: Li Wenwen has lifted 173kg to go into the lead here, she’s just so far ahead of the rest. She’s in gold, Park is in Silver and Campbell is in bronze.

Park misses her 173kg final attempt and Campbell is going for an ENORMOUS 174kg to try to get silver.

Men’s keirin: Carlin ripped his riding suit as he came off his bike, Japan’s Shinji Nakano is back to his feet which is a very good sign.

On a replay it looks like Nakano is the one who caused the crash, of course it isn’t intentional.

Carlin has now walked off the track by himself which is a great sign.

Men’s keirin: All the riders involved in that crash are conscious, updates on that as soon as we have them.

Carlin is reportedly sat up and reviewing his elbow and hands.

Lavreysen wins men's keirin gold

Lavreysen wins gold and Richardson has silver and Glaetzer has bronze.

It has been 20 years since a British rider has not won this event, Jack Carlin is GB’s hope.

A steady start and the racing begins at lap three. Carlin and Glaetzer make an early move but it is Lavreysen who takes it.

But oh my, there’s a huge crash with Carlin hitting the deck quite hard, the other riders who didn’t medal involved in that.

Updated

Men’s keirin: The gold final will be contested shortly but Ortega has won the 7-11 race.

Medals continue to rain.

Weightlifting: ANOTHER change at the South Paris Arena, as frantic weight changes keep going into the desk backstage. This is truly one of the great things about weightlifting. Fundamentally is a simple sport - the person who lifts the heaviest weight is the winner. But in reality it’s as strategic as chess and requires the team to have lots of mathematical nouse.

Campbell’s team had put 156kg for her first attempt, the team pushed that to 157 and now it’s on 160 - five kg off Park’s first attempt of 165. they could see silver slipping away and they’ve decided it’s time to go for it.

She walks on stage and goes through her routine of breathing out while pushing her hands in a downwards motion, like a kung fu fighter. She pulls the bar to her clavicle, and this it’s up. GOOD Lift!

Marathon: A bit more detail on that appeal rejection. Ethiopia lodged the appeal after Assefa said Hassan had pushed her and she said it stopped her from winning gold. But it has been rejected.

Marathon appeal rejected

The earlier appeal put in on gold medal winner Sifan Hassan after she made some contact with a rival in the sprint finish has been rejected. Her gold will stand.

New Zealand's Andrews wins women's sprint gold

So the gold contest now. Andrews has the upper hand, Friedrich needs to win here to keep her gold medal hopes going.

Friedrich takes an early lead, Andrews definitely wanted to be the chaser here as she is so slow at the start to ensure she was behind. The German starts to pull away but Andrews follows her. She takes the lead and she is miles ahead – wow.

Andrews with gold, Friedrich with silver.

Andrews makes history as the first New Zealand women’s rider to medal in the women’s sprint.

Finucane wins women's sprint bronze

Weirdly they are doing a medal presentation while this bronze women’s sprint takes place.

But back to the riding and Finucane is in the lead with two laps to go but Van de Wouw is making a move, can the Brit hold her off? Yes she can.

Updated

Women’s sprint: So we are in our second race in the women’s sprint finals.

The gold medal race saw Ellesse Andrews win against Lea Friedrich, while in the bronze Emma Finucane beat Dutch rider Hetty van de Wouw.

The bronze second race is about to start, Van de Wouw needs to win here or Finucane will take bronze.

Australia win women's basketball bronze

The Australian women’s basketball team, the Opals, have won bronze at the Paris Olympics, downing Belgium in a thriller. It is their first medal since 2012. Ezi Magbegor starred for Australia with 30 points, shooting 71% from the field, along with 13 rebounds and three assists. The match finished 85-81.

Updated

Women’s omnium: Norway’s Stenberg is fifth as we come into the closing stage of this third of four events.

Belgium’s Kopecky is fourth, Canada’s Coles-Lyster in third.

The USA’s Valente takes the win, she has a 10 point lead heading into the last event. Baker in second in the sprint elimination.

Women’s omnium: Ireland’s Gillespie is ninth in the sprint event in this competition, we’re coming to the end of this one now.

Weightlifting: Fascinating calculations going on in the backroom here for the second part of this competition. Campbell was going to start on 156kg in the clean and jerk (her PB is 165), but that’s nudged up to 157kg . Park is starting a whole 10kg higher on 165kg and Wenwen on 170kg.

But, for me at least, every lift is exciting in this competition. Superb moment just now when The Dominican Republic’s Crismery Santana Peguero missed her two first attempts at 140kg. She came out for the third and the noise in here was incredible - Santana Peguero soaked up those vibes and powered that bar into the sky. Crying again.

A story for you:

Women’s omnium: Thank you Tom, I rejoin you with the third event in the women’s omnium. Here the last rider on every lap is excluded, the latest lap sees GB excluded but initially Poland were called and she thought she was out. She began to slow down but then realised and had to make up the time.

Women’s sprint: Emma Finucane sits at the back at the start of the first race in her bronze medal tussle against Van der Wouw; it’s very cagey before Finucane dashes to the front two laps out and holds it fairly comfortable. She’s one win away from bronze.

And with that, Sarah will get back into the chair and talk you through the next couple of hours. There’s loads going on.

Modern pentathlon gold for Hungary

Modern pentathlon: It’s the runnin’ and shootin’ final event of the modern pentathlon; the leader and home hope Clouvel makes a hash of her first visit to the range, but pulls it back on her second. Hungary’s Michelle Gulyas leads though and is unerringly, brilliantly accurate with her third shoot, Clouvel and Korea’s Seung are behind her. But Gulyas is unstoppable and romps to a gold, Clouvel gets silver to rapturous reception and Seung third.

Updated

Women’s marathon: She may not be leaving Paris with a medal, but Bhutan’s Kinzang Lhamo did produce a performance of Olympian effort in the women’s marathon on Sunday.

Sifan Hassan took gold for the Netherlands after coming home in a new Games record of 2hr 22min 55 sec on a scorching morning in Paris, which accounted for 11 runners on the exceptionally hilly course. But almost 90 minutes after the Dutchwoman had crossed the line, Lhamo was still running and slowing to a walk at the back of the field, with a burgeoning crowd of fans on the roadside following her efforts.

Women’s basketball: This bronze medal encounter between Australia and Belgium is continuing to thrill at the Bercy Arena. Holding a one-point lead at the half, the Australian Opals extended that advantage to nine points minute through the third, before the Belgians went on a charge. At the final break, the Belgium team hold a one-point lead. This bronze medal is very much still up for grabs.

Weightlifting: It is going OFF at the South Paris Arena for the women’s heavyweight weightlifting competition, for my money, the best event of the Olympics. We’ve just got to the end of the first half of this medal battle, the snatch, and after three lifts Great Britain’s Emily Campbell’s is in the bronze medal spot, with Korea’s Hyejeong Park in silver and the Chinese powerhouse Li Wenwen in gold.

Wenwen, who honestly makes lifting these ridiculous weights look so easy, is on 136kg, 5kg ahead of Park on 131kg, Campbell in third on 126kg.

Incredible atmosphere here with each of these three competitor’s urged on by sizeable contingents from their home countries. One of the great joys of this sport though is that every person in this arena wants the competitor to make their lift when they walk on the stage. It’s so intense; I’ve already cried about four times.

Updated

Men’s keirin: The second semi-final is a keenly contested one, and it ends in calamity for Britain’s Hamish Turnbull, who’s overhauled in the final lap and collides with Luca Spiegel of Germany. Both are out. Turnbull looks OK but needs treatment. Matthew Richardson of Australia wins to qualify for the final, alongside Harrie Lavreysen of the Netherlands (second) and Kaiya Ota of Japan in third.

Modern pentathlon: We’ve not dipped into that for a bit, and France’s Elodie Clouvel is leading on 844, ahead of Hungary’s Michelle Gulyas. South Korea’s Seung-min Seong is third on 813. Britain’s Kerenza Bryson is back in seventh place with 783. The laser run’s up next.

Men’s kierin: The first of two semi-finals of six, the first three go through. Jack Carlin goes in the first race. Carlin tucks himself in at the front behind the motorised bike, but Glaetzer hits the front as soon as it goes, but Carlin’s judged this perfectly and romps clear in the last lap to seal a place in the final in style. Glaetzer of Australia is second and Nakano of Japan third. All qualify.

Women’s weightlifting: And here comes China’s Li, the defending champion, at 130kg. She nails it, not easily, but she gets there and that’s a statement opening.

Women’s weightlifting: Emily Campbell’s looking in fine fettle, lifting 123kg then 126kg confidently. Three from three in the snatch. But the Korean Park Hye-jeong goes one better, lifting 127kg, and we still haven’t seen the Chinese powerhouse Li Wenwen.

Updated

Men’s water polo: Always a good watch, the water polo, and the US have taken bronze with a hard-fought 11-8 win over Hungary. The gold medal match, between the defending champions, Serbia, and their neighbours Croatia starts at 1pm BST. Water polo’s a huge deal in that part of the world.

Women’s sprint: the decider between Van de Wouw and Friedrich for a place in the final against New Zealand’s Andrews. And experience tells - Van de Wouw leads from the front, but Friedrich attacks down the back straight in the closing lap and though the Dutch woman sticks doggedly at it, Friedrich takes it by a wheel length, condemning Van de Wouw to a bronze medal contest with Emma Finucane.

Marathon medal ceremony delayed

Women’s marathon: There has been a protest regarding the women’s marathon (I think regarding elbows being out in the final metres) so the medal ceremony and media conference are all delayed

Women’s basketball: Another buzzer beater from Australia has kept the Opals ahead of Belgium in the basketball bronze medal match, with a one-point lead at the half-time break. Australia’s Isobel Borlase made a last-second bucket at the first break, before team veteran Sami Whitcomb again hit home in the last second of the second quarter, to maintain Australia’s slender advantage in this closely-matched encounter, 37-36.

Women’s omnium: Right, so here are the scores on the doors after two events. the US’s Jennifer Valente leads on 78 points, from Georgia Baker of Australia on 70. Maggie Coles-Lyster of Canada is third on 60, from Denmark’s Amelie Dideriksen on 58. Ally Willaston of New Zealand is fifth on 56, ahead of Ireland’s Lara Gillespie on 52. Neah Evans of GB is back in 20th with seven points.

Women’s omnium: Ireland’s Lara Gillespie goes first and goes alone to snag the first points, almost lapping the main bunch with 24 laps still to go for an extra 20 points. Valente ups the pace on 10 laps for points, Baker and Vikulik of Poland go with her. They’re properly strung out with 12 to go. Niaih Evans goes off the front of the main group in the final 10 laps, but the front three are way out front. And Evans is reeled in by Lopecky. Valente finishes first, ahead of Pikulik and Baker third. But Gillespie tops the points tally courtesy of her earlier burst.

Women’s omnium: Thanks Sarah, and we do indeed go straight into the tempo race of the omnium. GB’s Neah Evans looking to recover from the fall that kiboshed her first race and condemned her to last.

Well I am heading to grab a bite to eat but I’ll return for some more Olympic action this afternoon. I handover to Tom Davies now who will take you through the second event in the women’s omnium, among other sports.

Women’s sprint: It is now GB’s Finucane who needs to win here to level her semi against New Zealand’s Andrews.

Finucane leads early, Andrews is completely staring her down and is on her shoulder. The Brit trying to get some pace into her lead but Andrews is really coming through here and she takes over! Andrews is through to the final and Finucane will compete for a bronze later today.

Updated

Basketball: The Belgium team, nicknamed the Cats, roared out to an early lead in the bronze medal match at the Bercy Arena. But Australia’s Opals steadied midway through the first, improving their defensive pressure, before a buzz-beater from Isobel Borlase gave Australia a one-point lead at the initial break.

Women’s sprint: Friedrich needs to win here to keep her gold medal hopes alive.

Van de Wouw is ahead early on, a flip of the first race where she chased Friedrich instead. The German tries to attack before they hit the final lap but the Dutch rider maintains her lead. Friedrich stays in the slipstream and then sprints to the line to level this semi-final.

Women’s sprint: The second race in both heats are about to get underway.

A reminder Hetty van de Wouw won the first race against Germany’s Lea Friedrich and New Zealand’s Ellesse Andrews pipped GB’s Emma Finucane.

Updated

Men’s keirin: The third and final heat in the quarter-finals now and Australia’s Matthew Richardson is targeting a semi spot.

New Zealand’s Sam Dakin makes an early break but was that an error? He’s used a lot of energy with that move and soon Richardson is ahead.

The Aussie takes the win with Dakin, Poland’s Mateusz Rudyk and Germany’s Luca Spiegel all joining him in the semis.

Updated

Basketball: The women’s basketball bronze medal match is about to tip off at the Bercy Arena. It features Australia, a long-time heavyweight who have won five Olympic medals previously (albeit none gold) and Belgium, a relatively Games newcomer - playing in only their second Olympics. The Australian team, nicknamed the Opals, are favourites - but will they be deflated from their heavy defeat in the semi-finals against the United States? The gold medal match, team USA against local favourites France, is up this afternoon.

Men’s keirin: In the second heat there is another GB athlete with Hamish Turnbull in this one.

The Netherlands’ Harrie Lavreysen, who has already won gold this week, is also in this heat and he is leading early on. Canada’s Nick Wammes makes a move to the start of the pack but he is soon swallowed up in the field.

It is Lavreysen who wins it and Turnbull, Colombia’s Cristian David Ortega Fontalvo and Japan’s Shinji Nakano are all through.

Men’s keirin: In the first heat there are six riders facing one another, including GB’s Jack Carlin and Australia’s Matthew Glaetzer. Remember the top four riders will progress.

A fairly steady start but with three laps to go it is Glaetzer who makes an initial move and Carlin looks in danger but somehow he comes through to win that heat – wow. Carlin, Glaetzer, Malaysia’s Sahrom and Japan’s Kaiya Ota are all through. Second heat coming up.

Updated

Modern pentathlon: The majority of athletes have either scored 300, 293 or 283 in the riding show jumping but some athletes have been eliminated.

France’s Marie Oteiza and Spain’s Laura Hereida have failed to score in the first event. Next up is the fencing event.

Men’s keirin: So there are three heats in this quarter-final and the first four riders will progress to the semi-finals.

Women’s sprint: GB’s Finucane and Andrews in a battle now. Andrews stares down Finucane on the start line and she leads in the first lap. Finucane makes an attack on lap two but can’t get ahead. The Brit does all she can but Andrews is just too fast.

Women’s sprint: I find this event so intriguing, it really is all about tactics and reading your opponent well. Freidrich takes an initial lead but what an absolutely blistering attack from Van de Wouw and she gets the win in the first of three between these two. Heat two coming up.

Women’s sprint: So there are two heats in the semi-finals and the athletes will face each other in a best of three. The races decide who will compete in the gold medal contest and the bronze medal contest. Heat 1 sees Germany’s Lea Friedrich go up against the Netherlands’ Hetty van der Wouw. Heat 2 is GB’s Emma Finucane against New Zealand’s Ellesse Andrews. Heat one about to get underway.

Cycling: Next up in the velodrome we have the first of the women’s sprint semi-finals, then it is the men’s keirin quarters. Strap in!

Women’s omnium: The USA’s Jennifer Valente has won the scratch race with Canada’s Maggie Coles-Lyster in second and Australia’s Georgia Baker in third.

In the last 10 laps everyone was being quite cagey with the pace impressive from all of the field. They started to stretch out a bit with six laps left, when the cameras go to the bike view you can see just how close these athletes are to one another. It takes such skill to race and maintain the safety of themselves and their competitors.

Norway’s Stenberg is the first to make a move but once she goes it gives the green light for everyone else. It’s coming down to the final lap and Valente manages to put the after burners on to take it.

GB’s Neah Evans finishes last after coming off her bike, she looks okay to continue in this competition.

Women’s omnium: Fortin is looking to try and lap the riders at the back of the pack but she is about a quarter of the track ahead. However, now she decides to pull up slightly, maybe with an eye to keep some energy for the rest of the day’s racing.

Women’s omnium: After 10 laps it is France’s Valentine Fortin who attacks and gets a huge lead, no one really follows her.

Women’s omnium: A steady pace at the start of this first event in the women’s omnium. It is all about your finishing place in this one rather than points.

Updated

Women’s omnium: Before we get underway Italy’s Letizia Paternoster changes her bike so there is a slight delay to the start but they are now riding.

Modern pentathlon: The first event in the women’s competition is the riding show jumping and three athletes have already competed. Italy’s Alice Sotero, Lithuania’s Gintare Venckauskaite and Hungary’s Blanka Guzi have all scored 300 points.

Women’s omnium: The riders are preparing for this scratch race now as they get on their bikes and get into position on the start line.

A reader has sent some quotes to me from Sifan Hassan on Dutch TV. The marathon gold medallist and 5km and 10km bronze medallist said:

When I started I never thought about the marathon, than I thought why not, let’s try it. And then I won and now I am Olympic champion. Yeah!

This one feels like 10 gold medals. It was impossible. Too hard to do it all. Yeah, I did it. First I thought why did I run the 5 and 10k, but after 20 km or 30 km I thought let’s go.

Thank you Louise for sending those over!

Women’s omnium: So the first cycling event of the day begins and there are several parts to the women’s omnium. The first is the scratch race which will see 22 athletes ride 30 laps of the track. All the action to come.

Before the women’s modern pentathlon and cycling gets underway on the final day of the Games, have a look as to where you nation is on the medal table:

You can recap Hassan’s heroics here:

Former athlete Michael Johnson in awe of Sifan Hassan’s achievements at this Games:

What’s coming up, I hear you ask? Well we have multiple events in cycling, the women’s modern pentathlon, weightlifting and basketball on the list as well as a few other sports sprinkled in. The action in the velodrome will start at 10am BST and we will have a keen eye on that with updates from the other sports too.

Here are some stories for you to catch up on:

GB's French withdraws from modern pentathlon

The women’s individual event will take place later on today, starting at 10am BST, but Team GB have confirmed Kate French will not compete because of illness.

The team say: “This has been an extremely difficult decision for Kate as she had hoped to defend her Olympic title and ride in the jumping for a final time in Olympic competition.”

Updated

Handball: The men’s bronze medal match has been so close throughout with the half-time score 12-12 but it is Spain who manage to get over the line and claim the medal.

They win the match and edge out Slovenia 23-22.

Here is the finish from Hassan in the women’s marathon (the clip is from the BBC and so some may not be able to view it):

Marathon: Not only has Hassan won gold but she has also broken the Olympic record with a time of 2:22:55, what a great run from the Netherlands’ athlete.

Marathon: Silver goes to Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa and bronze to Kenya’s Hellen Obiri.

That is Hassan’s third medal at these Games after already winning two bronzes. There was some contact between Hassan and Assefa coming into the home straight with elbows touching but the Dutch athlete tried to weave side-to-side to get around her rival and it wasn’t working. The contact point was where the overtake happened.

Hassan wins women's marathon gold

The Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan takes gold.

The last 2km saw the leading five remaining together until Ethiopia’s Shankule dropped off the back and so five became four.

Kenya’s Obiri looked strong but the Netherlands’ Hassan remained on her shoulder, the Dutch runner is a good sprinter and it could come in handy towards the end.

It’s so cruel that one of these four won’t medal, they have all put in such a heroic effort. Lokedi started to struggle and dropped off, she may be the one not to medal here.

Obiri dropped out and it is Hassan who has a monumental sprint to the line – WOW. What an absolutely iconic finish with an iconic backdrop.

Updated

Marathon: We have our final time split before the finish at 40km (24.6 miles) and Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi comes over first but she is surrounded by four other athletes. Around 2km to go.

Marathon: So who will blink first? The leading five runners are still running as one with around 3km left but someone will eventually have to make a move to ensure gold. It has to be timed to perfection though, go to soon and you could be out of the top three.

Marathon: The leading five athletes are now running in front of the Eiffel Tower and Eurosport have beautiful shots from above and below the iconic structure. Around 15 minutes left in the final athletics event of Paris 2024.

Marathon: The people who organised the course knew what they were doing with a beautiful shot of the Eiffel Tower as the athletes close in on the end of this absolute slog on the streets of Paris. The leading pack is now five strong and it will be between those athletes for the medals now, they have a 12 second lead on the next fastest runner.

Marathon: The crowds are starting to build once again as the athletes run back into the centre of Paris, the noise will lift them and they will know the end is in sight after a gruelling run so far.

Marathon: Kenya’s Hellen Obiri has dropped back from the leading pack, she was one of the favourites to medal and so she will have to push to get back there with just a few miles to go. She can still see the leading runners so it is not out of the question.

Marathon: The leading athletes have passed 35km (21.7 miles) and it is Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi who continues to hold the lead. We are in the closing stages now and the pace of all of the athletes has increased.

Updated

Marathon: The leading pack has been cut down to five but it does not contain the defending champion as she is around 30 seconds behind. It would take a lot for Peres Jepchirchir to get into the medal spots now.

Marathon: The leading athletes have reached the bottom of the hill and now they have completely flat road and so let the real racing begin. Athletes will begin to put their tactics in place to establish a lead in the closing stages.

Marathon: A sixth athlete has pulled out with Zimbabwe’s Rutendo Joan Nyahora unable to finish.

At the front of the race is a pack of nine athletes but the picture is ever-changing and there is a lot of race to go here.

Marathon: 30km (18.6 miles) is the point just passed and we have another different leader with Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi is in front after the horrid hill, the leading pack have now completed the hill and are on the downhill.

Handball: The men’s bronze medal match has reached half-time and the timeout worked for Slovenia as they have once again levelled the match at 12-12.

Marathon: This hill has been described as the athletes climbing a ladder and I have to say this looks absolutely gruelling. The pack is really pulling apart now but after this hill I believe the course is mostly flat so it will be key for the athletes to conserve some energy so they can either make up time or build a lead.

Simon Kamp has emailed and said:

I just read that the American Jordan Chiles is being harassed on social media over losing her bronze medal for her floor exercise. I would like to express that the Olympics bring so much joy to our family and my husband and me in particular. I am so grateful to all athletes for striving to do their best and to amaze us with that.

I don’t think I could ever do or achieve anything that has come close to what Jordan Chiles (or any of the other gymnasts) can do on the floor. I don’t care which prize she gets, I am full of admiration and respect for her achievement even if it did not provide her with a medal.

I think it is important to realise that the exceptional athletes who win can only do so because other people -who are almost as good as they are- don’t. At the Tokyo Olympics a Belgian athlete (who is a teacher during the day) surprised herself by coming 21st in the woman’s marathon, her surprise, joy, emotions (and lack of ego) with that place made her a national hero. There is so much more to admire about the Olympics and the stories of the athletes than just boiling it down to who wins which medal and which country ends up where on the medal table.

Thank you all at the Guardian for your extensive reporting on the Olympics, much love and gratitude to all the athletes who made all these stories possible.

Thank you Simon. Yes, it is unfortunate for Jordan Chiles, it does look as though she will have her bronze taken off of her after the challenge to her score was lodged too late. That must be so tough for her, it was her first individual floor Olympic medal.

Updated

Handball: The men’s bronze medal match is approaching half-time and it is Spain who have a slight edge with a 12-10 lead, Slovenia’s team have called a time out with just over a minute to go in the first half.

Marathon: We have a new split time everyone! The athletes are just going through 25km (15.5 miles) and it is Israel’s Salpeter who leads with Kyrgyzstan Sardana Trofimova in second and Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir in third. They will be approaching the steepest hill on the course now.

Also I have been notified the email link may not be working for some so if you would like to email me it’s sarah.rendell.casual@guardian.co.uk.

Marathon: I thought the flat road would see some making a move here and the USA’s Dakotah Lindwurm has done just that. She split from the 20-or-so pack but Israel’s Salpeter has moved with her.

There are several medals to be decided today and more memories to be made but here are some the athletes have made already:

Marathon: Halfway has just been passed and it is Jessica Stenson who has retaken the lead as the course hits a flat part. The hills aren’t over yet but this part of the course may see some athletes try to build a lead.

Marathon: The athletes have just passed 20km (12.4 miles) and so we have another split time and it is Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter who leads, coming through at 1:09:31.

Medal hope the Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan is back in 15th.

Marathon: The commentators are criticising Jessica Stenson’s tactics here. They think she has broken away too early here and that she should have saved that energy for a later moment in the race. But you’d think she would have analysed this course and spoken tactics with her coaching team, though a medal may not be in her grasp.

A fourth athlete has dropped out of the race with Germany’s Melat Yisak Kejeta pulling out.

Handball: The men’s bronze medal match between Spain and Slovenia got underway just a few minutes ago and Spain are currently leading 2-1.

Updated

Thank you Jonathan and hello everyone. Yes I join you as the athletes just complete 10 miles in the women’s marathon, a long uphill stint has started to pull the field apart but Australia’s Jessica Stenson is making a good move here. She looks to have loved this hill where many will be feeling the lactic acid starting to build in their muscles now.

With it being the final day of the Games I’d love to hear from you on your favourite moment and which sport you think you would compete in if you were an Olympian.

This is my final sign-off for the Games, so a big thank you to everyone that has joined me over the past couple of weeks for these early sessions.

It’s now over to Sarah Rendell for the completion of the marathon and the remainder of the final day of Paris 2024!

Marathon: At the 15km marker the timesheet indicates the leading bunch has been whittled down to 14 runners. The medals are going to come from that group. It contains Obiri (KEN), Jepchirchir (KEN), Lokedi (KEN), Alemu (ETH), Assefa (ETH), Shankule (ETH), and Hassan (NED).

The pace has quickened, and we’re now on track for something around 2.24.

Marathon: USA runner Fiona O’Keeffe is the third athlete to drop out of this race.

Marathon: And now the breakaway runners have been absorbed into the leading pack. All the favourites are in it, with Hassan just a few paces off the back, on the opposite side of the road. She’s so good.

Marathon: Oh wow, Peres Jepchirchir has just floored it, reeling in Julien in the blink of an eye at serious pace. It looked like the defending champion was going to streak off into the distance, but instead as soon as she drew level she slowed up and helped herself to ice and water.

Marathon: France’s Melody Julien has made the first breakaway of the race. It’s not a massive change of pace, but it’s enough to start to string out the leading bunch. Julien has a 2:25 personal best.

Marathon: Romania’s Joan Chelimo Melly is another early retirement.

Marathon: We’re reached the 10km mark, which is roughly a quarter of the race distance. All the big names are still in the leading bunch, but the serious hills begin soon and the race proper will take shape.

Passing the marker post, the main bunch of runners were all on the right hand side of the road. Sifan Hassan, running her own race, was hugging the left. It was a perfect visual metaphor.

While the women’s marathon remains our focus, at 09:00 Spain take on Slovenia for a bronze medal in the men’s handball, and Spain and Greece meet to determine fifth place in the men’s water polo. I’m going to be honest, two sports I find impossible to watch.

Updated

Marathon: The favourites are all safely among the leading pack, and they have just passed the 5km mark. They’re on track for a time around 2:27.

Marathon: Australia’s Sinead Diver is an early casualty. The 47-year-old pulled up with an injury just a few minutes into the race. Diver set a new Australian record in 2022 aged 45 – but she will not finish in Paris.

Updated

Marathon: The final event on the athletics program for Paris 2024 is under way. In front of the famous Hôtel de Ville, an incredibly strong field will race to Versailles and back over the next two and a quarter hours.

The weather is beautiful. It’s sunny, dry, and still, with temperatures in the high teens.

Updated

This is great – Kathrine Switzer (linked earlier) – is delivering the coup de baton before the start of the race. Well done Paris.

Updated

But the most interesting athlete in the race is Sifan Hassan, from the Netherlands.

“Dear Jonathan,” emails Johan Barnard. “The Dutch will watch Sifan Hassan in the marathon to see whether she can add one more medal to the bronzes she got on the 5,000 and 10,000m. We believe it is very rare for athletes to have success both indoors and outdoors. Some journalists in the Netherlands wrote about a “plan Zatopek” in describing this set of races. Have a nice day!”

Thanks Johan. What Hassan is attempting is extraordinary. she has already raced a 5,000m heat, a 5,000m final, and a 10,000m final in the past nine days. She also qualified for the 1500 but opted not to participate.

Ethiopia leads the way on the world rankings through Tigst Assefa, with compatriots Amane Beriso Shankule and Megertu Alemu not far behind.

Kenya are well represented with defending champion Peres Jepchirchir, and two-time 5,000m silver medallist Hellen Obiri.

Here is that route, for anyone who still can’t get enough of the majestic Paris cityscape.

The Paris marathon route is 42km of jaw-dropping scenery.

Time to turn our attention to the women’s marathon, which gets underway at 08:00 local time.

Today’s race is historic for a couple of reasons. Firstly, history. The course traces the route of the Women’s March on Versailles, on 5 October 1789. From the Olympics website:

On 5 and 6 October 1789, market women, shopkeepers and workers from the popular quarters gathered in front of the Hôtel de Ville in Paris to demand bread and arms. Between 6,000 and 7,000 Parisian women, joined by men, marched through Paris to Versailles to bring the King back to the Tuileries. That day, Louis XVI finally agreed to ratify the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens.

Secondly, the women’s race is being run the day after the men’s, in a more prestigious slot. This is a reflection of the ambition of Games organisers to make Paris 2024 the most female-focussed Olympics in history.

The first women’s marathon race at the Olympics wasn’t staged until 1984. And as recently as 1967 women were being manhandled by race organisers to prevent them from competing.

We have become accustomed to Jamaica excelling on the track at the Olympics but a series of cruel injuries have restricted their performance in Paris.

These Olympics were very nearly an unmitigated disaster for Jamaica – suddenly on the back foot without Bolt padding their results, and back under pressure from a US federation that is finally reaping dividends from their decade-long investment in sprints. Instead there’s hardware coming home from field stars in spite of the country’s faltering track performances. Here now is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for one of the pluckiest Olympic nations to diversify its track and field holdings. Jamaica’s sporting directors should probably make the most of this moment before the rest of the world passes them by and Jamaica’s luck really runs out.

Staying with controversy, the court of arbitration for sport has ruled that US gymnast Jordan Chiles will lose her floor routine bronze medal.

Cas ruled on Saturday that the appeal by US coach Cecile Landi to have 0.1 added to Chiles’ score that vaulted her from fifth to third came outside the one-minute window allowed by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).

Cas wrote in its decision that the initial finishing order should be restored, with Barbosu third, teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea fourth and Chiles fifth. The organization added the FIG should determine the final ranking “in accordance with the above decision”.

Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea were left outside the medals in the floor final in Paris after finishing with matching scores of 13.700. Barbosu thought she had won bronze over Maneca-Voinea via a tiebreaker – a higher execution score – and began celebrating with a Romanian flag.

Chiles was the last athlete to compete and initially was given a score of 13.666 that put her in fifth place, right behind Maneca-Voinea. Landi called for an inquiry on her score, and after a review, judges boosted Chiles’ total by 0.1. That was enough to leapfrog Barbosu and Maneca-Voinea for the last spot on the podium.

Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting was another of yesterday’s gold medallists, but hers arrived amid ongoing controversy over her participation in the women’s 57kg category.

Lin and the Algerian fighter Imane Khelif – who won gold in the women’s 66kg category on Friday – had entered the Olympics amid controversy. Both boxers were disqualified from last year’s world championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after it said they had failed unspecified gender tests. The IBA, run by the Russian businessman Umar Kremlev and funded by Russia’s state oil company Gazprom, had its Olympic status revoked in June 2023 due to concerns around governance issues and corruption.

Earlier this month the IOC criticised the “arbitrary” testing imposed on Lin and Khelif. It pointed to a lack of due process and “proper procedure” in the IBA’s treatment of the women.

Kerr’s compatriot, Lydia Ko, also showed nerves of steel, winning the women’s golf by two strokes to complete a full set of Olympic medals.

Lydia Ko was overcome with emotion as gold and the Olympic slam were secured. Since golf was restored to the Games in 2016, only three players have beaten Ko. Silver in Rio, bronze in Tokyo and now the top step of the podium in Paris for the 27-year-old. Within minutes of her triumph at Le Golf National, it was confirmed she will become the youngest inductee into the LPGA hall of fame.

For a spell on day four, this threatened to be a procession. Ko raced five clear of the field after 11 holes. Drama then beckoned; she double bogeyed the 13th as her closest challenger, Esther Henseleit, finished with a flourish. The German managed birdies on her last two holes to post an eight under par target. Ko stood on the 18th tee at minus nine and with no margin for error. In emphasising the New Zealander’s Olympic specialism, she produced a birdie to win by two.

Onto the Kiwis and their extraordinary day of success, including high jump gold for Hamish Kerr. For the second Olympics in a row there was the potential for two gold medals to be awarded but the New Zealander prevailed in sudden death.

This time around, no one wanted to share the gold. Three years after Mutaz Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi decided to go 50-50 on first place in the men’s high jump at the Tokyo Games rather than jump-off for it, two of their competitors found themselves in the same situation but decided to work it out the old-fashioned way.

The USA’s Shelby McEwen and New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr were tied in first place after they had both failed three attempts to clear 2.38m. “You may recognise this situation,” the man working the stadium PA told the crowd, “what are they going to do this time?” Kerr and McEwen didn’t even stop to discuss it. The kumbaya spirit of the competition during the Covid years is long gone, and both men wanted to press on into the sudden death round.

The USWNT won four gold medals from the first five editions of women’s football at the Olympics. They won silver in the other. But since that final gold in 2012, the dominant side in international football has been on a long slow decline.

Englishwoman Emma Hayes was recruited from Chelsea to steer the juggernaut back on course, and she has made an immediate impact, making some brave decisions en route to a gold medal in her first major tournament.

And so 10 games was all it took for Hayes to leave her mark. Yet while this still feels like preamble, this was a title she badly needed. Defeat would have set her on the back foot from the start, raised legitimate ­questions about her suffer-ball style, about Rose Lavelle not getting a minute in the final, about Crystal Dunn at left-back, about the whole “program”. Instead she now has credit in the bank, ­buy-in from players and public.

Since debuting in Tokyo, sport climbing has been a roaring success. The tweak to the program in Paris to separate the speedsters from the boulder & lead technicians worked superbly, allowing a wider range of competitors to shine.

The emotions on display during the lead final made for engrossing television.

It was a thrilling end to a brilliant final day of climbing, which has continued to establish itself as an excellent addition to the Games. Rock climbing is, after all, a basic concept – either you climb high or you fall. While the specifics of the scoring system are complicated, the struggles of certain competitors provide context for how difficult certain holds and routes are. The sight of the exceptional climbers on each event outstripping their opponents and breaking new ground is tense and thrilling.

The men’s basketball tournament at the Olympics is less a competition for gold than a five-ringed banana skin for the USA and it’s NBA superstars to slip on. They looked set for a pratfall more than once in Paris but rallied superbly against Serbia and kept France at arm’s length despite the brilliance of rising star Victor Wembanyama.

It is the USA’s fifth gold in a row in the sport and 17th out of a possible 21 since 1936.

In the end the USA just had too many weapons, too many sharp edges to call on. As Cuba’s coach famously said in 1992, after trying and failing to stifle the first Dream Team: “You can try, but you can’t cover the sun with your finger.”

Let’s begin our look back at yesterday’s action by saluting Faith Kipyegon. The 30-year-old Kenyan won the women’s 1500m gold medal for the third consecutive Olympics. It was her second podium finish of the Paris Games after running to silver in the 5,000m.

She is the world record holder over 1500m and the mile, and broke the 5,000m record last year but that has since been eclipsed. On top of all that she is mother to a six-year old.

She is now one of only 14 track and field athletes to win the same individual event at least three times in a row – and one of two (the other being Usain Bolt) – to do so in a pure track event.

Phenomenal.

This final day of action of the Games of the 33rd olympiad is much shorter than the rest to allow time for all activity to be wrapped up in advance of the closing ceremony (9pm local time). It’s all killer no filler though, with every event offering medals of some description.

It all kicks-off at 08:00 with the women’s marathon. An hour later Spain take on Slovenia for a bronze medal in the men’s handball, while Spain and Greece meet to determine fifth place in the men’s water polo. At 10:35 the USA and Hungary will battle for men’s water polo bronze.

The bulk of the day’s activity comes online from 11:00 with the final activity before the closing ceremony featuring France v USA in the women’s basketball gold medal match. That tips off at 15:30.

My pick of yesterday’s snaps: the perfectly framed table tennis action shot.

More on medal tables and assessing who’s done well and why in this detailed explainer. I confess to not being mathematically literate enough to fully get all of this, but it does seem to stand to reason that Australia have massively punched above their weight at these Games.

China have once again snuck ahead of the USA in the ding-dong battle at the top of the medal table. The US’s final day looks promising though, so they could well end up in pole position for the fourth Games in a row.

Australia and Japan are locked in a tight battle for third, while France are set for their best result since 1948.

63 NOCs have heard their respective anthems over the past fortnight, with athletes from 91 NOCs receiving medals.

Preamble - Day 16 Schedule

Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of the 16th and final official day of competition of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.

So much happened on day 15 with medals being awarded left right and centre. And after the dust settled, it was a day to remember for New Zealand with high jumper Hamish Kerr securing a dramatic gold medal, golfer Lydia Ko completing a full set with a two-stroke victory, and canoe sprinter Lisa Carrington winning her third final of the Games to extend her national record of gold medals to a staggering eight.

Elsewhere, the marathon was fast, the sport climbing was gripping, and the boxing was controversial. Faith Kipyegon and the US men’s basketballers remained invincible; unlike Karsten Warholm.

So what do we have in store today?

🥇 Marathon – women’s (from 08:00)
🥇 Modern Pentathlon – women’s (from 11:00)
🥇 Wrestling – men’s freestyle 65kg & 97kg / women’s freestyle 76kg (from 11:00)
🥇 Weightlifting – women’s 81kg (from 11:30)
🥇 Volleyball – women’s (from 13:00)
🥇 Cycling – women’s sprint & omnium / men’s keirin (from 12:45)
🥇 Handball – men’s (from 13:30)
🥇 Water Polo – men’s (from 14:00)
🥇 Basketball – women’s (from 15:30)
🔥 Closing Ceremony (from 21:00)
*(All times listed are Paris local)

Simon Burnton’s day-by-day guide

Women’s marathon
Tradition has it that the men’s marathon should close the Olympic athletics programme, but not this year. At the end of a route that partly follows the women’s march on Versailles, one of the most significant events of the French Revolution, this will be the final medal decided in the Stade de France. Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa, who shattered the world record last year, will be hoping to improve on her previous Olympic experience: coming fifth in an 800m heat in 2016.

Men’s water polo
Though Serbia have won gold at the last two Olympics a three-peat would be a massive achievement given the pure competitiveness of this event – the last four world championships have had four different winners and seven different medallists, with Croatia coming out on top in the latest, in Doha in February. “I have no favourites,” their coach, Ivica Tucak, said. “There is a circle of nine teams from which any can beat any, where every match can be won or lost. Any medal is a magnificent result.”

Closing ceremony
There will be no parade of departing athletes here, just – in the words of Thomas Jolly, director of ceremonies – “a great show where only music will resonate”, and of course a handover to Los Angeles, hosts in 2028. The official website predicts that “like an indelible memory, this closing ceremony will be marked by audacity, fraternity and emotion”, and that it will be “an incredible moment of celebration and sharing” in which “the emotion will be immense”. So quite good, then.

I’m sure I’ve failed to include something notable to you in this short rundown, so feel free to let me know what’s on your agenda by emailing: jonathan.howcroft.casual@theguardian.com.

I’ll be around for the first few hours of the blog here in Australia, after which I’m handing over to the the UK.

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