Key events
We are underway in the women’s lightweight double sculls final.
Favourites here are GB with Emily Craig and Imogen Grant looking for gold.
It is Romania with the best start with GB a few strokes behind, this was expected but it will all be about tactics as this race continues.
Up next in the rowing is the final of the women’s lightweight doubles sculls.
GB’s Daryll Neita has posted a season’s best in the women’s 100m heats which secured her qualification for the next round. She posted a time of 10.92 seconds.
Joining her from the heats is USA’s Melissa Jefferson, Hungary’s Boglarka Takacs, Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred, New Zealand’s Zoe Hobbs, Italy’s Zaynab Dosso, USA’s Sha’carri Richardson, Luxumbourg’s Patrizia van der Weken, Canada’s Audrey Luduc, Jamaica’s Tia Clayton and GB’s Imani Lansiquot.
There are more heats taking place and I will bring you any other qualifiers when I know them.
So let’s dip into the swimming pool before coming back to the rowing.
The USA’s Katie Ledecky has posted the fastest time in the women’s 800m freestyle heats. She went in the second heat and posted a time of 8:16:62. It isn’t surprising as she is the holder of both the world and Olympic records.
Ireland win lightweight men’s double sculls gold 🥇🥇🥇
Ireland have won the gold, what a performance. Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan are champions.
Italy may have slipped back but they are fighting here. The main three battling for gold being Italy, Ireland and Greece.
Ireland have gone ahead but the two other boats were within touching distance.
Italy take silver and Greece the bronze.
Lightweight men’s double sculls is under way and we’re halfway with Greece ahead.
It was a good start from Italy but Ireland also began in good shape. The entire field were close. Greece and Italy shortly were vying for the lead with Ireland in third.
The commentators were speaking on how Italy may have gone too fast too quickly and it started to show with Ireland’s stroke rate slowly edging them ahead with Greece maintaining their lead.
Athletics: Morgan Lake of Team GB has not had a great morning at the Stade de France, and has failed to qualify for the final of the women’s high jump. She will be disappointed with that.
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And on that note, I am handing you over to Sarah Rendell, who is already on the case with the rowing. I will see you back here later on …
Men’s 3m synchronised diving gold goes to China, silver for Mexico, Team GB take bronze! 🥇🥇🥇
Men’s 3m synchronised diving: China win gold, Mexico take silver and it is bronze for Jack Laugher and Anthony Harding of Team GB! What a tense final round of dives that was, but all three pairs who have ended up on podium pulled out brilliant final dives.
Men’s 3m synchronised diving: Jack Laugher and Anthony Harding dive for Team GB. They will probably win bronze here. It is a good dive. They score 94.62, that’s great. It puts them second for now. Mexico go next, they can score well and nick second place back …
Men’s 3m synchronised diving: the last two dives will be Great Britain and then Mexico. That will shake out the medals.
Men’s 3m synchronised diving: favourites and leaders Daoyi Long and Zongyuan Wang have done their final dive. It was good. They finish on 446.10 points with a 95.76. That is probably the gold in the bag. It will take scores in the mid-to-high 90s to dislodge them from the top of the podium.
Men’s 3m synchronised diving: while all the rowing excitement was happening, the diving has been plugging away, and they are now on the last round of dives. The tldr is that defending champions China lead, Mexico are second, Team GB are third, but there’s not a huge spread of points between them.
I haven’t got time to dwell on the rowing because of the diving …
Gold for the Netherlands in women’s rowing pairs, silver for Romania, bronze for Australia! 🥇🥇🥇
Women’s rowing pairs: a dominant display from Dutch pair Ymkje Clevering and Veronique Meester saw the world champions clinch gold well ahead of the Romanian pair of Ioana Vrinceanu and Roxana Anghel.
Australian pair of Jess Morrison and Annabelle McIntyre were pipped on the line and took bronze, having been second for much of the race, but the Romanians found another gear when it mattered.
We are in the last 500m here, and I would be astonished if the Netherlands blew it from here, they have a five second lead.
Jess Morrison and Annabelle McIntyre are doing Australia proud here in second place but the Dutch are miles* ahead.
[*not literally miles, obviously]
Women’s rowing pair: The Dutch have clear air ahead of Australia now. Lithuania and Romania are battling in the bronze position.
Women’s rowing pair: it is the Dutch duo who take the early lead, Ymkje Clevering and Veronique Meester. Australia are second.
Women’s rowing pair: we are straight on to the next final on the water here – Lithuania, USA, Netherlands, Australia, Romania and Greece duking it out for the medals here, and they are already off!
That was an incredible performance by the British pair, who produced an almost flawless race, leading for nearly all of it. But Croatia’s Sinković brothers would not take no for an answer at the end.
The Croats really left it late, the gap ended up being 0.45 seconds between gold and silver!
Gold for Croatia in the rowing men’s pair, Team GB win silver! 🥇🥇🥇
Rowing men’s pair: Croatia’s Martin and Valent Sinković take gold! Such a tight finish, and Oli Wynne-Griffiths and Tom George take silver for Team GB. Switzerland take bronze.
Rowing men’s pair: Croatia are pulling level with 75m to go.
Rowing men’s pair: Oli Wynne-Griffiths and Tom George are pulling clear here with 300m to go!!!
Oli Wynne-Griffiths and Tom George won bronze for Team GB in Tokyo in this event. Can they do better in Paris?
Rowing men’s pair finals: this is under way, with Great Britain taking an early lead! Romania and Ireland are also in the hunt here.
Athletics: there are several qualifying events taking place in the Stade de France this morning. In the women’s high jump, competitors have to hit the qualifying standard of 1.97m. At the moment the bar is set at 1.92m so they are working their way towards it.
This is a fantastic photo of Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh who appears to have perfected the art of looking relaxed before competing. Olympic sleeping – there is a sport I might personally have a chance with.
The men’s hammer qualification is also taking place. Rowan Hamilton of Canada and Mykhaylo Kokhan of Ukraine are the first men to go beyond the 77m qualifying mark.
Associated Press reports that Japan’s Rui Hachimura, who plays for the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers, will sit out Japan’s game against Brazil due to a left calf injury.
Men’s 3m synchronised diving: this final has started, with French pair Jules Bouyer and Alexis Jandard opening the event for the hosts.
You probably won’t be surprised to learn that Long Daoyi and Wang Zongyuan of China lead after the first dive. In Tokyo only Team GB’s Tom Daley and Matty Lee stopped the Chinese taking a clean sweep of the diving golds, and this time out China have taken the three golds on offer so far.
Anthony Harding and Jack Laugher are representing Great Britain in this event today, and after the first round of dives they are one of three pairs tied in third place on 49.8.
If the question is “can there ever be too much sport happening at the same time?” I would usually say no, but I am having second thoughts this morning because there is a lot happening.
Having diving, swimming and athletics on at the same time would be a handful just by itself, but there is also golf, handball, beach volleyball, hockey and rowing happening as well. And badminton and judo. Hoo boy.
Men’s decathlon: the 100m element is over, with Canada’s Damian Warner, Puerto Rico’s Ayden Owens-Delerme, Sven Roosen of the Netherlands, Till Steinforth of Germany and Australia’s Ashley Moloney making up the top five. Warner was fastest, running 10.25 seconds. The long jump is up next.
Say what you will about the choice of purple for the Olympic track, it is sure going to make footage from these Games instantly recognisable in the future …
Let us have a team sport round-up then. Denmark did beat Hungary in the men’s handball, 28-25, giving the Danes a perfect four from four, and leaving Hungary sweating on other results later today. France play Argentina in this group at 11am Paris time.
In the men’s volleyball, Germany beat Argentina 3-0. These were their final Pool C matches. Germany progress, Argentina are eliminated. The final match in that pool is at 9pm Paris time tonight, and features the USA v Japan. Both are guaranteed to go through, it is just question of playing for form and jockeying for position in the group and consequently in the quarter-final line-up.
In the women’s 3×3 basketball, Germany beat China 18-15 and Australia beat Azerbaijan 21-12. Everybody is in action twice today.
In the women’s hockey, Germany are at present 3-0 up against China in Pool A at the end of the second quarter. China will probably still be placed to progress though if they can get something out of their final match against the hosts, which is tomorrow.
What a dramatic end to that contest. I’m going to have to calm myself down, and then we’ll have a round-up of what is going on elsewhere …
Chiara Leone wins gold in women’s 50m rifle three positions for Switzerland 🥇🥇🥇
Women’s 50m rifle three positions: the gold goes to reigning European champion 26-year-old Chiara Leone of Switzerland. She held a narrow lead going into the final shot, and delivered a sensational nearly perfect 10.8 under all that pressure. She sets a new Olympic record in the process, and it is Switzerland’s first gold of these Games.
Sagen Maddalena of the USA has to settle for silver, but it is her first Olympic medal after a lengthy career, and she will end up looking back fondly on it no doubt. World champion Zhang Qiongyue from China finished third.
Women’s 50m rifle three positions: a shoot-off for bronze between 20-year-old world champion Zhang Qiongyue and the USA’s Sagen Maddalena, tied on 452.9. Maddalena wins! China take bronze.
Women’s 50m rifle three positions: we are about to lost the fourth place shooter … and it is Jeanette Hegg Duestad of Norway who finished agonisingly fourth for the second Olympics in succession. What a shame for her. It means medals are guaranteed for the USA, China and Switzerland. We are about to find out the bronze medallist on the next shot …
Women’s 50m rifle three positions: Natalia Kochanska of Poland has gone in sixth place. Jeanette Hegg Duestad of Norway has pulled out a 10.9 and a 10.4 and is hanging in there. She is fourth, where she finished in Tokyo. Nadine Ungerank of Austria is eliminated in fifth.
Women’s 50m rifle three positions: this final is going to move quite fast now, as they are down to the last six, and then there is an elimination every shot. Hold on to your horses, as they say.
Women’s 50m rifle three positions: the competitors are on the last round of standing shooting now. At the end of this two will be eliminated. The standing position has shaken up the standings, with Zhang Qiongyue of China out in front, with Chiara Leone of Switzerland, Nadine Ungerank of Austria and Jeanette Hegg Duestad of Norway in contention for the medals.
Men’s decathlon: Norway’s Markus Rooth means business, and has just won the first men’s 100m race in the decathlon in 10.71 seconds, which is a personal best. He was well pleased, judging by the celebrations. Here is a shot of the crowd in the Stade de France for this morning session of athletics.
If you didn’t already have that Olympics feeling, then may I present to you a morning of track and field. Track and field, baby.
Or “the athletics” if you prefer the King’s English. We are an international blog here, with an international audience, so you can take your pick.
On the programme this morning is men’s decathlon, women’s high jump qualification, men’s hammer qualification, prelims and round 1 in the women’s 100m and men’s 1,500m. I cannot wait.
Women’s 50m rifle three positions: they have moved into the prone position part of this competition now. Sagen Maddalena of the USA holds the narrowest of leads, 0.1 in front of world champion from China, Zhang Qiongyue. There are three rounds of prone shooting, then a nine minute changeover period while they get ready for the business end of the standing position.
Men’s handball: Denmark are leading Hungary 16-12 in their Group B match at half-time. Denmark’s Mathias Gidsel has six goals already, including three in the last five minutes of the half.
Denmark have won all their matches so far and are top of Group B, already having secured a quarter-finals spot. Hungary are not in such a comfortable position. They have only won one of their three matches. France and Argentina, the two teams below Hungary in the table at the moment, play at 11am Paris time today. If Hungary lose and France go on to win, the hosts would overtake the Hungarians in the standings.
Women’s Badminton doubles: Malaysia’s Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan have got back in to their semi-final with China’s world number one pairing of Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan by taking the second game. Muralitharan has just taken a heavy tumble though, appearing to hurt her wrist, and needed some medical treatment. They are back playing but it looked painful and worrying. The Chinese are leading the third game 16-12.
