The Olympics continues with Team GB’s focus remaining on the track at both the athletics and the cycling on day 12 of Paris 2024.
Matthew Hudson-Smith’s form in his 400m semi-final marks him as a gold medal contender ahead of tonight’s final at the Stade de France, following memorable medals for Keely Hodgkinson and Josh Kerr over the past two nights.
Great Britain have also made a great start in the velodrome and can add further success this evening in the team pursuit. The men’s team will face Australia for gold later, and the women’s team led by Elinor Barker will try to match them this afternoon.
Last night, American Cole Hocker stunned world champion Kerr and reigning Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen to win a sensational 1500m gold, while Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita missed out on a medal in the women’s 200m final by the barest of margins.
This morning, golf resumes Le National as the women’s strokeplay competition gets underway. Charlie Hull and Georgia Hall lead Great Britain’s bid for gold, but the favourite is the world’s best player this year: USA’s Nellie Korda.
Follow all the action, latest results and medals from Paris 2024 in our live blog below.
Today at the Olympics: Wednesday’s schedule of events at Paris 2024
Matthew Hudson-Smith has overcome mental health struggles and injuries to become one of the world’s best in the 400m, winning silver in the world championships last year. Can he triumph in the 400m final and add to Keely Hodkinson and Josh Kerr’s medals on the track?
It could be another big night at the velodrome with the men’s and women’s team pursuit finals. The women’s team comprised of Elinor Barker, Josie Knight, Anna Morris and Jessica Roberts won gold at the world championship last year. Team GB men go for team pursuit gold in the final against Australia later.
Team GB’s Andy MacDonald, 51, is the oldest competitor in Olympic skateboaring history will bid to reach tonight’s men’s park final.
In sailing, Team GB are in medal contention on the final day of the mixed multihull medal race, while the men’s dinghy medal race also takes place after it was postponed yesterday.
The women’s golf tournament gets underway at Le Golf National, with Charley Hull and Georgia Hall teeing off in the first round.
Here are the day’s top picks for Team GB and a full rundown from around Paris:
Jamie Braidwood7 August 2024 06:00
Yesterday: Heartbreak for Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita as Gabby Thomas storms to 200m gold
Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita missed out on a medal in the women’s 200m final by the barest of margins as the USA’s Gabby Thomas stormed to gold to deny St Lucia’s Julien Alfred a sprint double.
Brittany Brown claimed bronze in a dramatic photo finish, finishing 0.02 seconds ahead of Asher-Smith in fourth with Neita a further 0.01 second behind in fifth.
Neita was fourth in the 100m final on Saturday night, 0.04 seconds off the podium, and the margins were even closer for Asher-Smith, who looked to have held off her British team-mate.
But Brown found a late burst over the final 10m and dipped across the line to take bronze in 22.20.
Jamie Braidwood7 August 2024 06:10
Yesterday: Josh Kerr shocked in 1500m final
It was an astonishing end to perhaps the most enthralling 1500m final in Olympic history. The build-up had been dominated by Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr’s bitter rivalry, yet all the focus was misjudged because now there is a new king.
Cole Hocker sneaked up on the inside in lane one just as Kerr had breezed past the Norwegian favourite. The American snatched gold, beating his personal best by three seconds, in a sizzling Games record of 3min 27.65sec. And it was all down to an injection of raw speed: 39.6 seconds for the final 300m.
Indeed, this was a race for the ages and you did not know where to look with daring candidates throughout a stacked field now littered with four new national records and three more personal bests.
Kerr, who would settle for silver, upgrading his bronze from Tokyo, beat out American Yared Nuguse by one-hundredth of a second. He had promised a vicious battle on the lilac track of the Stade de France, and so it proved. So this was the shock of the Games. But which shock?
Jack Rathborn7 August 2024 06:05