PercyPig
The Pierpoint Princess
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- Aug 20, 2005
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Day 3 - Monday 29 July - 19 gold medals
Gold medal events:Archery (men's team), artistic gymnastics (men's team), canoe slalom (men's C1), diving (men's synchro 10m platform), equestrian (eventing jumping team, eventing jumping individual), fencing (men foil, women sabre), judo (W -57kg, M -73kg), mountain bike (men's cross-country), shooting (men's and women's 10m air rifle), skateboard (men's street) - swimming (women's 400m individual medley, men's 200m free, men's 100m back, women's 100m breaststroke, women's 200m free).
Highlights
Tom Daley, now 30, is back for his fifth Olympic Games representing Team GB. He is paired with 24-year-old Noah Williams in the men’s 10m synchro, an event in which Daley won a dramatic Tokyo gold alongside Matty Lee. Daley and Williams are top-ranked coming into Paris 2024 but the rankings do not fully account for the threat from China, whose pairing of Lian Junjie and Hao Yang have won the past three world titles. The final starts at 10:00.
Eventing reaches its last day of action, concluding with showjumping from 10:00. Will GB be able to take back-to-back titles for the first time since 1972? They are well placed with a lead over France in first place following the dressage and cross-country, going into the final event.
In swimming, GB’s line-up for the men’s 200m freestyle is so strong that Tom Dean, who won Olympic gold in Tokyo, does not make the start list. Instead, Team GB will look to 2023 world champion Matt Richards and Tokyo silver medallist Duncan Scott. Watch out for Romania’s David Popovici when the final starts at 19:43.
Tom Pidcock is in the middle of an exhausting 2024. He arrives at the Paris Olympics immediately after Covid forced him out of the Tour de France, and then he will compete not just in road cycling but also in mountain biking’s cross-country event, which starts at 13:10. Pidcock’s electric performance to win this event three years ago was a British highlight in Tokyo, and he says defending that title is his priority.
In the men’s team gymnastics final (from 16:30), GB have a shot at the podium. Max Whitlock was in the team that won bronze at London 2012 and has since had to endure back-to-back fourth-place Olympic finishes in this event.
Brit watch
Adam Burgess was 0.16 seconds away from a medal in canoe slalom’s C1 event at the Tokyo Games. Burgess has embarked on what he calls “project send it” ahead of Paris – learning to “send it a little bit more in the final” to make sure he can truly compete for medals on the Olympic stage. Also sending it from 14:30 will be Benjamin Savsek, the Slovenian who won gold in Tokyo and remains one of the top-ranked in the world.
In hockey, Ireland’s men play Australia at 09:00 before GB’s women play Australia at 16:00. In rugby sevens, GB’s women play South Africa at 13:00. Ireland play Australia at 13:30.
World watch
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are legends of tennis and face each other for the 60th time in the second round of the Olympics. They have 46 Grand Slam singles titles between them but would like to add to their impressive CVs with a medal in Paris. Nadal already has a tennis gold medal from Beijing in 2008 but Djokovic hasn't and has put huge focus on triumphing in 2024. They play second on the main showcourt, Philippe Chatrier.
From 16:00, skateboarding’s men’s street final - postponed from Saturday - could be dominated by Japan. Yuto Horigome is back after winning gold on home soil three years ago, and he is joined by 2023 world champion Sora Shirai. French hopes rest with world number nine and 2022 world champion Aurelien Giraud. For the US, legend of the sport Nyjah Huston is hoping to make up for missing out on a medal in Tokyo.
Back at the swimming, the women’s 100m breaststroke (20:32) could become a battle royale. Team USA’s Lilly King is back in the mix after winning gold in 2016, as is Tokyo silver medallist Tatjana Smith, while Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutytecould also feature. China’s Tang Qianting is the world champion and this year’s standout performer.
Olha Kharlan is one of Ukraine’s biggest Olympic names, a four-time world champion in women’s sabre and a four-time Olympic fencing medallist. Kharlan qualified for Paris 2024 in unusual circumstances. She did not shake the hand of Russia’s Anna Smirnova at last year's World Championships, Smirnova protested, and Kharlan was disqualified. The International Olympic Committee stepped in to guarantee Kharlan a place at the Games. The women’s sabre final, which Kharlan will hope to reach, takes place from 20:45.
Expert knowledge
South Korea are again the dominant force in men’s team archery (medal matches from 15:48), but there is just a chance that Turkey disrupt that this year. Led by Tokyo individual champion Mete Gazoz, Turkey ranked a lowly seventh after the qualifying round at last year’s World Championships but picked off the Netherlands and Japan in back-to-back come-from-behind victories to set up a final with South Korea. They lost, but Turkey coach Goktug Ergin has already proclaimed his team ready to fight for medals. It is the country’s first Olympic appearance in this event for 24 years.
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