Team GB secured their first gold medals of Paris 2024, with Tom Pidcock among them after a thrilling win in the men’s cross-country mountain bike final, while Tom Daley claimed diving silver in his fifth Olympics.
Pidcock stormed back from a front tyre puncture to defend his Olympic gold from Tokyo three years ago, overtaking French hope Victor Koretzky on the final lap.
Pidcock’s race was in danger of unravelling when he found himself 35 seconds adrift after suffering from a flat front tyre on the fourth of eight laps of the 4.4 km circuit carved in to Elancourt Hill.
But Pidcock fought his way back to reclaim the lead with a lap and a half to go, before the lead changed hands twice more in the last couple of kilometres – the pair dramatically touching wheels at one point before the Brit burst forward to take the win.
The partisan French crowd booed him as he crossed the line nine seconds ahead of Koretzky, with South Africa’s Alan Hatherly in third.
Pidcock, who had to pull out of the Tour de France about two weeks ago when he contracted COVID-19, joins Paola Pezzo and Julien Absalon as the only riders with two mountain bike Olympic gold medals.
“It wasn’t easy,” Pidcock told the BBC. “The Olympics is so special and you never give up. You give everything and that’s what I had to do.
“I knew Victor [Koretzky] was going to be superfast on the last lap. I knew it was going to be a big, big fight. He left a gap and I had to go for it.
“That’s racing. Some people might do it differently but I wanted to show what the sport is. Not giving up.
“It’s a shame the French were booing me.”
Daley completes medal set with Olympic silver in Paris
Earlier on Monday, Daley and partner Noah Williams produced six brilliant dives in the men’s 10m synchro diving final to take home the silver medal.
The pair were ultimately beaten into the gold medal position by flawless Chinese duo Lian Junjie and Hao Yang, who led from the first round and finished on 490.35 points.
Daley and Williams finished on 463.44 points, while Canada’s Ryan Wiens and Nathan Zsombor-Murray claimed the bronze.
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Hear from Olympic silver medal winning duo Tom Daley and Noah Williams about their partnership and how it earned them both a medal plus what the future may have in store.
Daley was competing at a fifth Olympic Games, returning from a two-year break from diving after he won gold during the delayed 2021 Tokyo Games.
Daley’s husband Dustin Lance Black and sons, Robbie and Phoenix, were in attendance, with the 30-year-old having said that being able to dive in front of them at an Olympics was a factor in his decision to return.
His silver in Paris is his fifth Olympic medal and sees him complete the set, as he secured three bronze medals across his home games in London 2012, Rio 2016 and in the 10m platform at Tokyo to go with his synchro gold.
“It’s just so special,” Daley told the BBC. “To be here, in Paris, diving in front of my son [Robbie], who actually asked me to come back, it’s just so special. He’s six years old now and I think he might remember some of this.
“It completes the set. I now have one of every colour.”
On the possibility of also competing in four years’ time at Los Angeles 2028, Daley added: “I don’t know. Right now I want to enjoy today and then we’ll see what the future holds.”
It is 24-year-old Williams’ first Olympic medal, with Daley having changed partners since winning gold in Tokyo with Matty Lee who was ruled out of these Games due to injury.
Great Britain win first gold medal in team eventing
Team GB won their first gold medal of Paris 2024 as equestrian eventing riders Ros Canter, Laura Collett and Tom McEwen emerged victorious in the team event on Monday.
The British team ended the three-day competition with a combined score of 91.3 penalty points, ahead of France in silver with 103.6 and Japan who took the bronze with 115.8.
It’s a fifth gold for Team GB since eventing has been on the Olympic programme, making them the most successful eventing nation ever.
“I am on top of the world,” Collett told the BBC. “I have never ridden in an atmosphere like that. Thankfully I have a trusty horse and team-mates as well and thankfully we brought it home.”
McEwen said: “It was a class last round from Laura to get the gold, the first of the Games. It has been a rollercoaster but we rose to the occasion.”
Later on Monday, Collett also secured an individual eventing bronze
Burgess takes silver in men’s canoe single final
Elsewhere on Monday, Team GB’s Adam Burgess won a silver medal in the men’s canoe single final.
It was redemption for Burgess, who avenged his maiden final from three summers ago in Tokyo, where he finished fourth and missed out on a medal by just 0.16 seconds.
In the men’s singles tennis, Dan Evans crashed out in the second round, losing in straight sets to Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-1 6-2.
The 34-year-old returns to partner Andy Murray in the men’s doubles on Tuesday, the pair having heroically battled back from facing five match points to claim a dramatic first-round victory on Sunday.
There was disappointment in the men’s team archery for Team GB’s squad of Tom Hall, Conor Hall and Alex Wise as they failed to make the quarter-finals, losing to fifth seeds Chinese Taipei.
British judo star Lele Nairne‘s Olympic hopes were also ended with a 10-0 first-round defeat to Eteri Liparteliani of Georgia in the under-57 kilograms category.
And in the women’s badminton, Team GB’s Kirsty Gilmour saw off Azerbaijan’s Keisha Fatimah Azzahra in her first group match, winning 2-0 in straight sets (21-13 21-11).
She returns to action at 6.30pm on Tuesday, taking on China’s He Bingjiao, a player she is level with at 2-2 in their career head-to-head.
How to follow the Olympics on Sky
Keep up to date with the action from the Paris 2024 Olympics across Sky Sports’ digital platforms and Sky Sports News every day between now and Sunday August 11.
Alongside live news blogs and updates as records are broken and medals won on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app, Sky Sports News will also have dedicated reporters on the scene in Paris during the Games to gather the latest news both inside and outside the arenas in France as well as reaction to the big moments from medal winners, coaches, relatives and pundits.
Launching this August, Sky Sports+ will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app – giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Stream The new EFL season, Test cricket and more top sport with NOW.