Key occasions
Thursday’s headlines
That’s all for right this moment’s dwell weblog, though you’ll be able to comply with protection of Germany v Australia within the girls’s soccer. Listed here are the large tales:
Elena Rybakina has pulled out of the Olympic tennis occasions, hours after the draw was made at Roland Garros. The previous Wimbledon champion has withdrawn from the singles and blended doubles, the place she was attributable to associate Alexander Bublik for Kazakhstan.
France’s Caroline Garcia will now transfer into Rybakina’s spot within the draw because the seventeenth seed, going through Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian within the first spherical, whereas Australia’s Daria Saville enters the draw as an alternate.
The ladies’s soccer motion continues with a heavyweight conflict, as Germany face Australia in Group B. Be a part of Sarah Rendell for the most recent:
Girls’s soccer: Spain and Canada win openers
It’s completed Spain 2-1 Japan in Nantes, and Canada 2-1 New Zealand in Saint-Étienne. Either side needed to come from behind after conceding early, and each made the stress rely within the second half to begin their campaigns with three factors every.
Canada 2-1 New Zealand: The Tokyo gold medallists take a late lead by means of Evelyne Viens – it could possibly be essential, with Group A video games towards Colombia and the hosts, France, nonetheless to come back.
Sean Ingle
Three months in the past, Phoebe Gill was anticipating to spend the summer time holidays getting ready for the ultimate yr of her A-levels. Now, extremely, the 17-year-old from St Albans has a real shot at an Olympic 800m medal after successful the British Championships in June.
It’s paying homage to Emma Raducanu’s thrilling rise over the summer time of 2021 and Gill admits she is hoping to attract inspiration from the tennis star, who additionally juggled finding out with sporting success.
“Positively,” she says. “Lots of people discover it tough, and sometimes drop out of their sport due to their profession or lecturers. However I do suppose that going to coaching is such a pleasant break from books all day.”
Spain take the lead! This has been coming for a lot of the second half, and Spain make their possession rely as Mariona Caldentey cuts inside and curls the ball into the underside nook. Excellent news for La Roja, and Arsenal followers – she joined the Gunners from Barcelona earlier this summer time.
Let’s take a look at some extra footage from round Paris, beginning with an incredible shot from Tom Jenkins…
There will probably be 329 gold medals handed out on the Paris Video games – or ought to that be 338? 9 US determine skaters are set to obtain their gold medals from Beijing 2022 at a particular ceremony, after Cas dismissed Russia’s enchantment towards their disqualification from the staff occasion.
Ashifa Kassam
A French sprinter is anticipated to swap her scarf for a cap with the intention to take part within the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics, in a compromise reportedly struck after the nation’s strict legal guidelines on secularism threatened to bar her from the occasion.
Earlier this week Sounkamba Sylla, a Muslim member of France’s 400m girls’s and blended relay groups, stated she wouldn’t be capable of participate in Friday’s ceremony as a result of she wears a hijab.
“You’re chosen for the Olympics, organised in your nation, however you’ll be able to’t take part within the opening ceremony since you put on a headband,” the 26-year-old wrote on social media.
An hour on the clock and it stays Canada 1-1 New Zealand and Spain 1-1 Japan within the girls’s soccer. Spain, Olympic debutants however among the many favourites to win gold, are dominating possession however are but so as to add to Bonmatí’s equaliser.
Angelique Kerber will face Naomi Osaka within the girls’s tennis first spherical – and if she loses, it will likely be her final skilled match, as a result of the German is retiring after the Olympics.
“The end line,” Kerber wrote on Instagram. “Earlier than the Olympics start, I can already say that I’ll always remember #Paris2024, as a result of it will likely be my final skilled match as a tennis participant.”
Kerber received a silver medal at Rio 2016 and received three grand slam titles: the Australian Open and US Open in 2016, and Wimbledon in 2018.
Daniel Boffey
A spectacular boat procession down the Seine on the opening ceremony of the Olympic Video games could possibly be utilized by nationwide delegations looking for to point out “solidarity” with the Palestinian trigger.
Round 90 vessels carrying 10,500 athletes and officers are attributable to float in convoy by means of Paris on Friday night time, together with a delegation from Israel. Professional-Palestine organisers stated discussions had been happening a couple of high-profile demonstration.
A “present of solidarity” might contain some unnamed nationwide delegations flying the Palestinian flag or sporting messages on clothes, sources stated, as a part of a coverage of these against Israel’s involvement within the Video games to focus on open-air occasions over the following three weeks.
Half-time within the two early girls’s soccer matches, with Adriana Leon levelling for Canada simply earlier than the break. It’s Canada 1-1 New Zealand and Spain 1-1 Japan, and all to play for. Get the lowdown on the battle for gold right here.
Within the girls’s staff occasion, the highest 4 groups right this moment get a bye within the knockout spherical. Congrats to South Korea, China, Mexico and India. Staff GB got here eleventh and can face Germany subsequent in a playoff sport.
Within the males’s occasion, Nice Britain had been the bottom scorers of the 12 groups and face a troublesome fixture with Chinese language Taipei, who got here fifth. The highest 4 had been South Korea, France, India and China.
South Korea are dominating the archery occasions – earlier, Lim Si-hyeon set a brand new world document within the girls’s particular person rating evnet.
The day’s archery motion has concluded at Esplanade des Invalides. The rating rounds have taken place to find out the seedings for the knockout phases within the particular person and staff competitions.
The blended staff occasion was led by South Korea, with Germany, USA and China additionally within the prime 4. Nice Britain completed nineteenth, simply lacking out on the highest 16.
Handball consequence: Germany 22-23 South Korea After an exciting finale, Kang Kyung-min’s late purpose proves to be the winner as South Korea maintain on to win regardless of a late pink card. Gold medallists in 1988 and 1992, they had been thought-about outsiders right here however which will now change.
Spain don’t take lengthy to strike again, Aitana Bonmatí ending a fast passing transfer in fashion to degree towards Japan.
Within the handball, an upset on the playing cards: South Korea lead Germany 22-21 with about two minutes to go.
Girls’s soccer: Shock early targets in each video games, as Japan lead Spain 1-0 in Nantes by means of Aoba Fujino’s superb free kick. In Saint-Étienne, New Zealand lead defending champions Canada, Katie Bowen with the purpose.
As an apart, I all the time get pleasure from following the nations with tiny Olympic contingents – and there are 4 nations sending only one athlete to those Video games.
So let’s hear it for 100m sprinters Shaun Gill (Belize) and Winzar Kakiouea (Nauru), cross-country bicycle owner Romano Püntener (Liechtenstein) and 800m runner Ali Idow Hassan (Somalia).
Olympic soccer’s wealthy custom of farce and controversy, in right this moment’s Soccer Each day.
Again to the handball at South Paris Area, and South Korea are hanging in there towards Germany. It’s 13-all and the outsiders have simply scored by means of a beautiful no-look help.
The NZ captain, Dylan Collier, talks to Eurosport pundit (and Guardian wordsmith) Ugo Monye: “Actually blissful, extraordinarily blissful to get away that one. Needed to defend lots within the first half, glad to get some ball and put factors on the board within the second half. This staff’s constructed on effort.”
Eire captain Harry McNulty: “Disillusioned. We’ve solely crushed the All Blacks as soon as [in sevens] and we had them there. We misplaced it ourselves. Into the quarter-finals [v Fiji] we have now to see it as some other sport. The enjoyment of sevens, anybody on their day has an opportunity.”
Males’s rugby sevens final eight are set
The boys’s rugby sevens quarter-finals, which will probably be performed tonight, appear to be this:
New Zealand v South Africa
Argentina v France
Fiji v Eire
Australia v United States
Rugby sevens: New Zealand 14-12 Eire Effectively, the All Blacks have woken up spectacularly within the second half, and when Eire concede a penalty in added time, it’s throughout. It means New Zealand face South Africa subsequent, whereas Eire should defeat the defending champions, Fiji.
It’s been a really completely different story within the second half, with New Zealand piling on the stress after Leroy Carter’s rating, and Ngarohi McGarvey-Black going over with 30 seconds to go. The conversion is added, they usually lead Eire 14-12…
Andy Murray is closing out his storied taking part in profession at Roland Garros, taking part in doubles with Dan Evans. However what will probably be subsequent for him? Staff GB colleagues suppose he would make an incredible coach:
Rugby sevens: Half-time within the massive Group A decider, and Eire lead New Zealand 10-0 by means of tries from Zac Ward and Jordan Conroy. It’s been a inexperienced wave of one-way site visitors up to now.
South Africa took their foot off the fuel considerably within the second half, however nonetheless ran out 49-5 winners over Japan. They are going to face whoever wins this Eire v New Zealand battle arising.
On the South Paris Area, the ladies’s handball preliminaries proceed with Germany and South Korea locked at 7-7. The Handball Planet web site (which in all probability is aware of greater than me on the topic) ranks Germany seventh and Korea twelfth of 12 groups within the match.
Within the rugby sevens, South Africa have to rack up the factors towards Japan to get into the quarter-finals, they usually’re going the appropriate method about it – they lead 35-0 on the break. The Boks have misplaced to Eire and New Zealand, who meet in a crunch sport to determine who wins Group A, subsequent.
Thanks, Tom. Niall right here, choosing up the baton and labouring down the house straight. I’m going to begin with a nudge to our interactive schedule, which seems very good and is filled with information and dwell outcomes for every day:
Anyway, it’s Niall McVeigh’s flip within the chair now so I shall hand you over to him for the remainder of the afternoon. Bye.
Males’s rugby sevens consequence: Fiji 19-12 France. Fiji are an absolute machine at this type of the sport, and their energy and superiority actually shone by means of in that second half. Their unbeaten Olympic document is prolonged, they usually win the group. France advance in second.
How about some alternative photos of the day?
Males’s rugby sevens: Fiji and France are drawing 5-5 at half-time. It is a correct full-throttle match, with a extra “standard” mixture of physicality and aptitude, and France lastly power a method by means of with a well-worked attempt from Aaraon Grandidier Nkanang. Fiji responds although, a scrumptious reverse-pass taking part in in Jerry Tuwai to the touch down. Stick your telly on for this.
Girls’s handball consequence: Spain 18-29 Brazil. An emphatic begin to Brazil’s Group B marketing campaign, their first win over Spain shortly, and well-merited, constructed on resilient defence, sensible goalkeeping and sharp, medical capturing.
Subsequent up on the Stade de France is the Antoine Dupont present, aka Fiji v France in sevens. A mouthwatering conflict, this, involving the reigning Olympic champs and the hosts.
And naturally, it’s not simply the Dupont present – given France’s collective, team-oriented sporting tradition. Philippe Auclair has written about its political roots right here:
Males’s rugby sevens consequence: USA 33-17 Uruguay. An emphatic second-half exhibiting wraps up a satisfying Pool C marketing campaign for the USA – a win, a draw and a loss ought to see them by means of. The jet-heeled Perry Baker was their undoubted star right here, scoring 4 tries.
I say that, however USA have simply scored a transformed attempt to lead 14-12. Staying with USA sport, and politics, the basketball star Stephen Curry has thrown his weight behind Kamala Harris’s presidential election marketing campaign.
USA basketball star Stephen Curry threw his assist behind Kamala Harris’s bid for the White Home on Thursday and stated he believed a profitable US Olympic marketing campaign might assist unite a divided nation within the run-up to America’s bitterly contested presidential election.
The four-time NBA champion and Olympic debutant, again within the nationwide staff for the primary time in a decade, spoke warmly about Harris, a former California senator who was born in Oakland and is a longtime supporter of Curry’s Golden State Warriors.
Girls’s handball: it’s all reasonably unravelling for Spain, as emphatic quickfire strikes from Patricia Matieli and Bruna de Paula put Brazil 21-12 forward, prompting a Spanish day out as we strategy the midway stage of the second half.
Within the rugby sevens, Uruguay’s males are main USA 12-7, which might be an honest scalp after two defeats yesterday.
Right here’s some extra on the safety scenario on the Video games, within the aftermath of a frenetic day yesterday, from Elsie Grover-Jones.
The Paris Olympics have been described because the ‘Battle Video games’ because of the backdrop of conflict in Ukraine and Gaza dominating headlines globally. This has inevitably put safety protocols within the highlight, however, 9 years after terrorist assaults devastated Paris, there have already been safety issues.
Final night time noticed the primary sporting motion on the Olympics, with the sport between Argentina and Morocco ending in chaos. After Argentina equalised 16 minutes into harm time, Morocco followers invaded the pitch, throwing cans and flares galore. The match was consequently suspended for practically two hours, just for the purpose to be dominated out for offside when play was ultimately resumed (with out the presence of the followers).
This isn’t the primary time that French safety at sporting occasions has been questioned. Two years in the past, on the Champions League last in Paris, harmful congestion constructed up exterior the bottom earlier than the match, spectators had been focused by thieves and native thugs, and riot police responded by tear gassing followers.
The Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez, who was appointed shortly after the incident in 2022, has assured critics that there won’t be a repeat of the Champions League chaos, saying “We’re serene, as a result of we have now a strong framework, and it’s prepared.”
The French authorities have already needed to apply this “framework”. In Could a Chechen teenager was arrested in Saint-Etienne on suspicion of planning an assault on the Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium through the Olympic soccer match. Extra lately, French police arrested a Russian man on suspicion of plotting with a international energy to “destabilise the Olympic Video games.”
Officers have stated that these Video games will see the most important safety operation in French historical past, and all eyes will probably be on Friday’s opening ceremony. It is going to be the primary opening ceremony to be held exterior the confines of a stadium, on the Seine. Consequently, strict safety measures are set to be in place, with 45,000 legislation enforcement brokers and 22,000 non-public safety contractors on obligation.
Sean Ingle
Charlotte Dujardin’s mentor and teammate Carl Hester has signed a letter “universally condemning” her for abusing her horse and supporting the choice to droop her for six months.
Hester, who will compete in his seventh Olympics in Paris subsequent week, was certainly one of 10 board members of the Worldwide Dressage Riders Membership to signal the letter after a video was launched of Dujardin whipping a horse 24 instances in a minute.