French swimmer Marchand takes historic double within 2 hours
French superstar Leon Marchand stunned reigning champion Zac Stubblety-Cook to take his second Olympic gold medal in a day with an Olympic record time of 2:05.85 in the 200m breaststroke at Paris Games. With his second gold, Marchand accomplished the rare feat of winning two golds in the same swimming session. In just two hours, he secured two gold medals, dethroned two reigning champions, and set two Olympic records.
This marked the first time since 1976 that a swimmer has won two gold medals in a single night at the Olympic Games.
The 22-year-old first overtook reigning champion and world record holder Kristof Milak of Hungary to claim the 200m butterfly title. Less than two hours later, he returned to the pool to dominate the 200m breaststroke, securing his third gold medal of the Games.
In the process, Marchand became the first French swimmer to ever win three gold medals, and he did it all within four days in front of an electric home crowd of over 15,000 at the Paris La Defense Arena.
Pan sets world record to win 100m freestyle
China’s Pan Zhanle has set a new 100m freestyle world record of 46.40, the first swimming world record of the Olympic Games 2024.
Pan touched the wall a second ahead of Australia’s Kyle Chalmers, who took silver with a time of 47.48, followed by Romania’s David Popovici in bronze-medal position with a time of 47.49.
Pan’s time eclipsed his own previous record of 46.80 set in Doha in February. His gold-medal victory also represents a first-ever medal for China in the 100m freestyle.
Nadal’s Games end in doubles loss with Alcaraz
Rafael Nadal’s Paris Games and his Olympic career ended on Wednesday night when he and Carlos Alcaraz were eliminated in the men’s doubles quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-4 loss to the fourth-seeded American duo of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.
The match was played at Court Philippe Chatrier, the same stadium where Nadal has won his record 14 French Open titles, part of his haul of 22 Grand Slam trophies. The full house roared and sang to support Nadal and Alcaraz — well, mainly Nadal — especially as they tried to stave off defeat in the final game.
Georgian Bekauri retains judo title, Croatia’s Matic wins historic gold
Georgia’s Lasha Bekauri retained the men’s under 90kg judo title he won in Tokyo three years ago, while Croatia’s Barbara Matic won her country’s first gold medal of the Paris Games in the under 70kg category.
Bekauri, now a double Olympic champion at the age of 24, beat Japan’s Sanshiro Murao in a controversial final that saw the Georgian awarded a decisive second waza-ari after a video review just four seconds before the end of the bout.
Swiatek beaten in semifinals by China’s Zheng
Poland’s world number one, Iga Swiatek, suffered a shock defeat against China’s Zheng Qinwen in the semi-finals of the Olympic women’s singles at Roland Garros on Thursday.
Swiatek, the overwhelming favourite for gold after claiming a third successive French Open title this year, was outplayed by the sixth seed, losing 6-2 7-5 on Court Philippe Chatrier.
In snapping Swiatek’s 25-match winning streak at Roland Garros, Australian Open runner-up Zheng became the first Chinese player to reach the singles final at an Olympic tournament.
Alcaraz gets into medal rounds
Spain's French Open winner Carlos Alcaraz quelled a tough fight from Tommy Paul of the United States to reach the men's singles semifinals of the tennis competition at the Olympic Games at the Stade Ronald Garros here on Thursday. Alcaraz was pushed hard but found a way to continue his quest for Olympic glory to reach the last four stage and get into the medal rounds, maintaining his chances of adding to the French Open and Wimbledon titles he won in the last couple of months. The Spaniard recovered from a slump at the start of the second set to overcome American Tommy Paul 6-3, 7-6(7).
Italian boxer quits bout with opponent who failed gender test once
Italian boxer Angela Carini abandoned after just 46 seconds her bout with Algerian Imane Khelif in the women's 66kg round of 16 match in the Paris Olympics on Thursday. Carini quit the match as her opponent had earlier failed a gender eligibility test. Carini broke down in tears and didn't even shake hands with her opponent after the referee raised Khelif's arm as she progressed to the quarterfinals. She was also heard saying, "It's not right."
Khelif, one of only two athletes, with elevated testosterone levels cleared to compete in women’s boxing at the Paris 2024 Olympics, had been disqualified from last year's Women's World Championships in India for failing to meet eligibility requirements.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which oversees the boxing events in Paris but was not responsible for the World Championships, said welterweight Khelif was disqualified in India because of elevated testosterone levels.
Germany stun Netherlands to reach hockey quarters
Germany stunned the Netherlands 1-0 in the men’s hockey at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday to secure a spot in the quarterfinals as the Australian, Argentine, Belgian and Dutch women’s teams also progressed to the knockout stage.
Niklas Wellen, the Germany skipper, found a sliver of space in the third minute for the only score of a tight Pool A game in which attritional defences limited shots on net on a humid afternoon at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium.
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