Team GB picked up five medals on Wednesday as Great Britain’s women’s quadruple sculls broke Dutch hearts at the line to win gold on the water and Alex Yee produced a stunning finish to claim a dramatic gold medal in the men’s triathlon.
There was drama in the rowing when Great Britain’s women’s quadruple sculls crew dug deep to beat the Netherlands at the line for an incredible gold medal.
The quartet of Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson, Georgie Brayshaw, and Lauren Henry, who became world champions in 2023, turned on the afterburners over the final 250m to pip their rivals in a photo finish, winning it by a margin of 0.15 seconds.
“It has been a long time in the making and I still can’t quite believe it,” said Scott. “I don’t even know if I am emotional yet, that will come. We were so process-driven today, the immensity of what this is, it hasn’t come for me. I have just been trying to play it really cool.
“We kept it so cool until right at the end, we knew we had it, we had the confidence, we have done so many hard miles in training. For anyone out there, just go for it. If you think you can, you might just one day and that’s the really cool thing about the Olympics.”
Yee finds extra gear to win stunning triathlon gold
Yee had looked destined to settle for silver as he fell behind Hayden Wilder during the 10km run, only to find an extra gear to conjure a remarkable finish down the stretch to leave the New Zealander in his wake.
The race had initially been due to take place on Tuesday before being postponed due to concerns over bacteria levels in the River Seine, with Olympic organisers clearing the way for both the men’s and women’s events to go ahead in the early hours of Wednesday following improved results in water testing.
Wilder, who won bronze in Tokyo, looked on course for gold as he made an early move, before being dealt a ruthless reminder of Yee’s speed late in the final lap.
“I still don’t really know what to say to be honest, I’m a bit lost for words and so grateful,” said Yee.
“At 5k I was going through a real bad patch and at 2.5k I thought – I’m going to give myself one last chance and not give up and here we are. I’m still a bit lost for words.
“I was just saying ‘anything can happen’. I’m still just that normal guy who works hard at my sport and loves what I’m doing. For me, it’s amazing that I can be in this position and I just believed it.”
Reilly earns first-ever men’s Team GB silver in BMX Freestyle
Kieran Reilly took silver
Kieran Reilly added to Team GB’s trophy haul for the day with a silver medal in the BMX Freestyle final on Wednesday afternoon.
The BMX world champion collapsed to his knees after pouring everything he had left into his second run, with a score of 93.91 pushing him above French favourite Anthony Jeanjean but not enough to match the 94.82 achieved by Argentina’s Jose Torres Gil.
Reilly packed both of his 60-second runs full of tricks but the pace had been set by Torres Gil, who had fully pushed the boundaries of the park with two runs full of creativity.
Reilly’s silver builds on the bronze won by Declan Brooks in the men’s event when BMX Freestyle made its Olympic debut in Tokyo three years ago – the same day that Charlotte Worthington won gold for Britain.
“It was pretty special,” Reilly said.
“I’ve worked three years just to get here so to end up on the podium is huge. A lot of work comes down to one minute on that course and I feel like I left everything out there.
“We’re going to grow the sport and I hope this shows kids that you don’t have to be from somewhere with the best skatepark in the world. You can make it work. The hard work will pay off, and if you’re someone who loves riding their bike, that’s not hard work.”
Spendolini-Sirieix and Toulson dive to bronze
Great Britain racked up another diving medal courtesy of Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson as the pair fended off stiff competition to win bronze in the women’s synchronised 10m platform event.
A score of 77.76 on their final dive would prove crucial, a nervous wait to discover their podium fate ending as Canada managed just 68.16 in their bid to oust their rivals.
It was the Chinese duo of Chen Yuxi and Quan Hongchan who took gold as they retained their Olympic crowns, with North Korea’s Jo Jin Mi and Kim Mirae winning silver.
“It was so tense for us,” said Spendolini-Sirieix. “First off, we didn’t look at the scoreboard so we did not know how close it was. Our back twist is our strongest dive and we just wanted to be strong whatever happens.
“I was disappointed more than worried after the third dive because I knew we could bring it back. I gave it my all on the inward and let it all out.
“Just having family and doing it alongside Lois is so much sweeter. I can’t wait to celebrate with them.”
Potter secures bronze in women’s triathlon
Beth Potter fought hard to claim bronze for Team GB in Paris
Beth Potter kicked off the day in style as she raced to bronze in the women’s triathlon on Wednesday morning.
Parisian Beaugrand emerged victorious in a thriller as she stormed home with the support of her French fans ahead of Switzerland’s Julie Derron.
Beaugrand crossed the line in a winning time of 1:54:55, six seconds ahead of Derron with Potter 15 seconds adrift and Emma Lombardi agonisingly missing out on a medal.
“I’m so happy, I was going for the gold but Cassandre and Julie were too good for me today,” Potter told BBC Sport.
“I’m super happy to win bronze, I’ve come a long way in eight years, I’m so happy to be here.
“I feel like I did it for me but everybody who has helped me over the last eight years and who believed in me.”
Great Britain’s Tokyo runner-up Georgia Taylor-Brown finished sixth after falling behind the lead pack during the run section, with Kate Waugh coming 15th.
Who else featured for Team GB on Thursday?
Katie Boulter and Heather Watson produced another very impressive performance to defeat Brazilian sixth seeds Beatriz Haddad Maia and Luisa Stefani 6-3 6-4 and reach the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles.
One break of serve in each set proved the difference, while the British pair were rock solid under pressure, particularly when Watson faced 0-40 serving at 4-3 in the second set.
Boulter and Watson now face third seeds Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini from Italy, where victory would guarantee them a shot at a medal.
Joe Fraser and Jake Jarman fell short of gaining Great Britain’s first gymnastics medals of the Paris Olympics in the men’s all-around final at Bercy.
The duo finished fifth and seventh respectively in a high-calibre competition won by Japan’s outstanding Shinnosuke Oka, who forced Chinese pair Boheng Zhang and Ruoteng Xiao to settle for silver and bronze respectively.
Jarman, who still has other medal chances having qualified for vault and floor finals later in the Games, started strongly but it was Fraser who took it down to the high bar finale where the athletes above him held firm.
Light-middleweight Lewis Richardson kept British Boxing’s hopes alive as he secured a tense split-decision win over Serbia’s Vakhid Abbasov.
The victory stops a total GB Olympic wipeout after Chantelle Reid suffered a split-decision defeat to Khadija Mardi.
Team GB are now 5-1 in Paris.
Sailor Emma Wilson continued her domination of the women’s windsurfing, winning three of the four races that took place on Wednesday. James Peters and Fynn Sterritt qualified for tomorrow’s men’s skiff medal race in seventh.
In the pool, Laura Stephens qualified for the women’s 200m butterfly final, while archers Tom Hall and Megan Havers made it to the final eight.
Elsewhere, Spain’s dream team met its match as Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz’s hopes of an Olympic doubles gold medal were ended by American duo Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek in the quarter-finals.
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