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Paris 2024 Olympics Day 5 Recap and Highlights – July 31

Paris 2024 Olympics Day 5 Recap And Highlights - July 30

Swimming

  • Leon Marchand, a 22-year-old French swimmer, made history by winning gold medals in both the 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke. He is the first swimmer ever to achieve this feat.
  • Katie Ledecky of the United States won her 12th Olympic medal, tying her with three other American women as the most decorated female athlete in U.S. history.
  • Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden stunned the 100m freestyle field, winning her second gold medal and fifth overall.

Basketball

The U.S. men’s basketball team remains undefeated after a 103-86 win against South Sudan. The team was led by:

  • Bam Adebayo with 18 points
  • Kevin Durant with 14 points off the bench
  • LeBron James with 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists

James also became the third U.S. men’s basketball player to score 300 Olympic points, joining Durant and Carmelo Anthony.

Tennis

There were some surprises in the tennis doubles competition:

  • Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram defeated Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal in the men’s doubles quarterfinals.
  • The top-seeded U.S. duo of Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula lost in the second round to the Czech team of Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova.

In singles, German player Angelique Kerber, a three-time major champion and former world No. 1, played her final match before retiring. She lost to China’s Qinwen Zheng in a hard-fought quarterfinal.

Gymnastics

In the men’s gymnastics all-around final, Japan’s Shinnosuke Oka won gold in his first Olympics. The podium was rounded out by:

Medal Athlete Country
Silver Boheng Zhang China
Bronze Ruoteng Xiao China

American gymnasts Fred Richard and Paul Juda finished 15th and 14th, respectively.

Other Notable Moments

  • The U.S. women’s national soccer team won their final group stage match against Australia 2-1, finishing with the best goal difference in the tournament.
  • Tom Daley, a British diver, unveiled a sweater he knitted during the Paris Games, following his popular knitting at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
  • The U.S. women’s volleyball team defeated two-time defending world champions Serbia in a thrilling five-set match.
  • Lola Anderson of Great Britain won gold in rowing, fulfilling a promise to her late father.
  • The Refugee Olympic Team is hoping for their first-ever medal, with boxer Cindy Ngamba advancing to the next round in the women’s 75kg event.
  • Adriana Ruano secured Guatemala’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in shooting, after her gymnastics career was cut short due to a back injury.
  • Fencing events at the Grand Palais have been captivating crowds, with France defeating Egypt in a closely watched men’s team quarterfinals.

Dramatic Photo Finish in Women’s Quadruple Sculls

Great Britain’s rowers won a stunning Olympic gold in the women’s quadruple sculls after a thrilling photo finish with the Netherlands. The Dutch led for most of the race and were half a boat length clear with just 200m to go. But an incredible late surge from the British crew saw them pip the Netherlands at the line by the slimmest of margins – just 0.15 seconds .The British boat, featuring England’s Lauren Henry, Lola Anderson and Georgina Brayshaw along with Northern Ireland’s Hannah Scott, crossed the finish in 6 minutes 16.31 seconds to clinch the gold. The victory, adding to their 2023 world championship title, is Great Britain’s first ever Olympic gold in this event.After an anxious wait for the photo finish result, the British rowers collapsed into each other’s arms in emotional scenes of joy and exhaustion. “I still can’t quite believe it,” an overwhelmed Scott told BBC One. “The immensity of it hasn’t caught up with me yet.”22-year-old Henry, the youngest in the crew, had urged her teammates on for one final push, sensing they could overhaul the Dutch boat. “I’d felt we’d won it because I sensed I was ahead of the Dutch bow girl,” she said. “But it wasn’t until I saw ‘GBR 1’ on the big screen that I believed it. That moment was just ecstatic.” 

Contrasting Fortunes for GB Men

In the men’s quadruple sculls event, there was disappointment for Great Britain as they finished just outside the medals in fourth place. The Netherlands successfully defended their Olympic title from Tokyo 2020, with Italy taking silver and Poland claiming bronze.Tom Barras was the sole remaining member of the British crew that won silver in this event in Tokyo. Along with Callum Dixon, Matthew Haywood and Graeme Thomas, they finished almost two seconds adrift of the Polish bronze medalists.The gold for Britain’s women, after a largely disappointing rowing campaign in Tokyo, will raise hopes of a resurgence in form for Team GB in the sport. With established star Helen Glover and the women’s four among the other British medal prospects in the coming days, these are exciting times for British rowing.

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