Today at the Games: Day Five of Paris 2024

Paris 2024 31 Jul 24

It was a golden day in Paris for Team GB, with two golds, one silver and two bronzes on Wednesday.

Alex Yee produced a stunning final few hundred metres to win triathlon gold, before the women's quadruple sculls rowing team came from behind to win in a photo finish.

Triathlon

Yee triumphed in the men’s triathlon, producing a mesmerising sprint finish to reel in and overtake New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde to win gold in a time of 1:43:33.

The 26-year-old, who earned individual silver and mixed relay gold in Tokyo, was 15 seconds behind starting the final 2.5km lap of the run but in the final two corners closed the gap and passed Wilde.

"I was just saying 'anything can happen," Yee said. “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.

"I still don't really know what to say to be honest, I'm a bit lost for words and so grateful. 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."

Yee’s run had been preceded by the women’s triathlon, in which Beth Potter claimed bronze after finishing behind France’s Cassandre Beaugrand and Switzerland’s Julie Derron.

The former track athlete said: “I’m just so happy. I was going for the gold, but Cassandre and Julie were just too good for me today. I'm super happy to come away with a bronze.”

Yee throws triathlon script in the Seine to claim gold

Rowing

Wednesday’s second gold medal came in rowing, with the women’s quadruple sculls team producing a stunning photo finish.

The Netherlands, who led the race right up until the finish line, were 0.15 seconds behind Team GB, who crossed the line in a winning time of 6:16.31.

Lauren Henry, Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson and Georgie Brayshaw all received their first Olympic medal.

"It has been a long time in the making and I still can't quite believe it,” Scott said. “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.”

Anderson was inspired by the London 2012 Olympics, writing down her dream to compete at the Games on a piece of paper. She then threw it away, but her father retrieved the note and gave it to her seven years later, just before he died of cancer.

Anderson said: "I forgot about the piece of paper obviously but a couple of years ago my dad reminded me and I know that he would be so, so proud. I am thinking a lot about him right now, it's really lovely."

Team GB's men’s quadruple sculls narrowly missed out on a medal with a fourth-place finish in their final.

Women's quadruple sculls clinch historic first Olympic gold in dramatic style

Men's BMX Freestyle

Kieran Reilly took silver in the men’s BMX freestyle, with his second run giving him a score of 93.91.

Reilly, the world champion, went last having qualified top and was guaranteed a medal as he started his second run as he sat just 0.06 behind France’s Anthony Jeanjean on 93.76 and 1.12 behind Argentina’s Jose Torres Gil on 94.82.

After a long wait for the judges scores, Reilly pipped Jeanjean, improving his first-round effort with the highest score of the second round.

“I felt proud of whatever was going to come up on that board,” he said. “Whatever score I got, I was going to be happy with. I thought it might have been enough for gold, it wasn’t.

“But I’m just as happy knowing that I went out there and I’ll watch it back tomorrow and I know I’ll be proud of everything I did and all the work that went into it.”

Reilly chooses pride over regrets after stunning silver

Diving

Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson added to Team GB's impressive diving haul after taking bronze in the diving women's synchronised 10m platform.

The pair were sixth after three dives but a superb final dive saw them jump above the Canadians into bronze position.

They finished behind China's Chen Yuxi and Quan Hongchan, and North Korea's Jo Jin Mi and Kim Mi Rae, with a score of 304.38 points.

Toulson, 24, said: "I have been diving for 17 years now and this is my third Olympics. My family have been with me throughout all of that and I knew going into this competition, it would be the best chance I will ever have of getting an Olympic medal alongside Andrea. "Having my family here to watch it, I can’t wait for them to see me with my medal around my neck and just enjoy it."

Spendolini-Sirieix steps out of the shadows with bronze

Around the Games

Sailor Emma Wilson continued her domination of the women’s windsurfing, winning three of the four races that took place on Wednesday, while James Peters and Fynn Sterritt qualified for tomorrow’s men’s skiff medal race in seventh.

Heather Watson and Katie Boulter won 6-3, 6-4 against Brazilian pair Luisa Stefani and Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round of the women’s doubles. They play Italians Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani in the quarter-finals tomorrow.

Team GB’s women’s hockey team bounced back from two defeats to beat South Africa 2-1 to move up to fourth in their pool.

In the swimming pool, Laura Stephens qualified for the women’s 200m butterfly final, but team-mate Keanna Macinnes did not, while Ollie Morgan finished sixth in his men's 200m backstroke semi-final so did not qualify for the final.

Around the Games: Day Five of Paris 2024

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