Monday, December 23, 2024

Olympics 2024 LIVE: Nadal and Alcaraz in tennis battle as Marchand chases history

Must read

Alex Yee wins spectacular gold with unbelievable comeback in the men’s triathlon

Day five of the Olympics has already seen a Team GB medal rush, starting with the women’s and men’s triathlon events to kick off another busy day at Paris 2024.

Alex Yee turned his Tokyo silver into a spectacular Paris gold with a scarcely believable comeback in the men’s triathlon, which had to be postponed yesterday after failing safety tests due to pollution in the River Seine, just after Team GB’s world champion Beth Potter took a gutsy bronze in the women’s triathlon amid treacherous conditions.

Shortly after, the women’s quad sculls rowers added to the GB haul with an incredible comeback of their own to pip the Dutch boat to gold on the line. Meanwhile, in diving, Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson won a resilient medal in the women’s 10m platform synchro, coming from behind to win bronze on their final dive, while BMX freestyle star Kieran Reilly secured a stunning silver at Place de la Concorde.

This evening, Katie Ledecky returns to the pool looking to extend her dominance in the women’s 1500m freestyle and claim her eighth Olympic gold, while Leon Marchand chases an unprecedented double in a single session as he goes for gold in the 200m breaststroke and butterfly.

And Spanish duo Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz are in tennis action in the men’s doubles quarter-finals.

Follow all the action, latest results and medals from Paris 2024 in our live blog below.

1722451307

Olympics 2024: Swimming – Men’s 200m butterfly

Kristof Milak is out quickly, attempting to show his strength. Leon Marchand’s first underwater is excellent – but Milak matches it. 0.6sec between them at the first turn.

And it’s that same margin at 100m. Marchand has a lot to do…

Harry Latham-Coyle31 July 2024 19:41

1722451240

Olympics 2024: Swimming – Men’s 200m butterfly

How does Marchand play this with the breaststroke to come a little later? Kristof Milak looks ice cold emerging into the arena, shutting out the noise. His Olympic record is 1min 51.25sec.

Harry Latham-Coyle31 July 2024 19:40

1722451141

Olympics 2024: Swimming – Men’s 200m butterfly

Right, get ready for the noise – it’s Leon Marchand time. Can he stop the Hungarian machine Kristof Milak? Hungary just seems to churn out these hardy 200 fly swimmers, and Milak is the fastest of all-time.

Here’s your line-up, which rarely for a swimming final does not include anyone from the USA, Australia or China. The roar is enormous as Marchand arrives.

1 Alberto Razzetti (Italy)

4 Kristof Milak (Hungary)

6 Noe Ponti (Switzerland)

7 Krzysztof Chmielewski (Poland)

8 Martin Espernberger (Austria)

Harry Latham-Coyle31 July 2024 19:39

1722451032

Olympics 2024: Men’s tennis doubles

Nadal/Alcaraz 3-6, 4*-5 Krajicek/Ram

There’s at least one more game in this!

Carlos Alcaraz pulls out some good shots, but after taking a lead it comes back to 40-30.

The Americans fight back to deuce.

Nadal and Alcaraz take the advantage, it’s Nadal on serve…and he fires it wide with a great angle to save the game!

Sonia Twigg31 July 2024 19:37

1722451024

Olympics 2024: Women’s 100m freestyle

Stunner! The Australians miss out on a medal and Sarah Sjostrom at last has the second Olympic gold medal she so deserves!

Absolutely outstanding from the Swedish freestyler, timing her surge to perfection down the final 25 metres. 15 years after winning her first world title in Rome, Sjostrom is the Olympic champion in the 100m freestyle!

GOLD: Sarah Sjostrom (Sweden)

Silver: Torri Huske (USA)

Bronze: Siobhan Haughey (Hong Kong)

Harry Latham-Coyle31 July 2024 19:37

1722450823

Olympics 2024: Women’s 100m freestyle

Out into this Paris cauldron the fastest women in the world come. Marrit Steenbergen in lane two is the reigning world champion, admittedly beating a weakened field in Doha earlier this year, but showing the depth of this event.

They are on the blocks…

Harry Latham-Coyle31 July 2024 19:33

1722450769

Olympics 2024: Men’s tennis doubles

Nadal/Alcaraz 3-6, 3-5 Krajicek/Ram

All the interest in Nadal’s return to Roland Garros alongside Alcaraz, but it hasn’t quite worked today.

The Americans move to within a game of being able to put ‘Nadalcaraz’ out of the tournament.

(AFP via Getty Images)

Sonia Twigg31 July 2024 19:32

1722450648

Olympics 2024: Women’s 100m freestyle

First up, though, is the women’s 100m freestyle, which is totally stacked. Mollie O’Callaghan is seeking a 200/100 double having surged past compatriot Ariarne Titmus over four lengths in her first individual final of these Games, and it could be another Australian in Shayna Jack who proves her toughest competition here.

That said, Sarah Sjostrom is one of the greatest of all-time, even with just a single Olympic gold on her mantelpiece. Can the Swedish superstar finally be gilded at the Games in the way her talent deserves to be?

Women’s 100m freestyle final

2 Marrit Steenbergen (Netherlands)

3 Mollie O’Callaghan (Australia)

4 Siobhan Haughey (Hong Kong)

5 Shayna Jack (Australia)

7 Sarah Sjostrom (Sweden)

Harry Latham-Coyle31 July 2024 19:30

1722450471

Olympics 2024: On to a busy evening of swimming…

Leon Marchand will swim both finals tonight as he attempts to become the first swimmer to medal in both butterfly and breaststroke. It is, frankly, ludicrous to even attempt it, let alone have a genuine shot at winning both. Stopping Kristof Milak in the fly will surely be tough, but we know that home crowd will lift him.

Harry Latham-Coyle31 July 2024 19:27

1722450408

Olympics 2024: Men’s tennis doubles

Nadal/Alcaraz 3-6, 3*-4 Krajicek/Ram

There are 26 Grand Slam titles between Nadal and Alcaraz.

They have called the umpire over, trying to get a change of decision, but it hasn’t worked and they have been broken!

The American pair take a 4-3 lead in the second set.

Sonia Twigg31 July 2024 19:26

Latest article