Day four is ON, even if it is still very early (verging on indecently early) in Rio and so it’s time for a new live blog. Head over here for that.
Thanks for reading and for all the comments.
Yusra Mardini, a Syrian swimmer competing under the banner of the first Refugee team, topped her heat in the 100m butterfly earlier on day three, but unfortunately not with a time speedy enough to take her through to the semi-finals.
She nonetheless embraced her achievement:
Proud refugee, proud Syrian, proud swimmer.
— Yusra Mardini (@YusraMardini1) August 8, 2016
Thanks for everyone who worked for this amazing results.#YusraMardini pic.twitter.com/QyRLQyN4Iu
Mardini will be back for the 100m freestyle heats later in the week.
Day four will see another member of the Refugee team, Rami Anis, in the men’s 100m freestyle heats.
British fans will be cheered this morning by news of a bronze medal in the synchronised diving. But what’s this? Somehow diving-meister Tom Daley has managed to synchronise all by himself:
Tuesday's Telegraph front page:
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) August 8, 2016
Banks told to start mobile revolution#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/rZF615i0AU
Tuesday's Daily Mail front page:
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) August 8, 2016
Greed and sexism at heart of police#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/Y0Fu6vBJXk
Sharon Goodfellow, mother of the missing Dan Goodfellow, was not impressed:
@suttonnick I am very surprised by this photo. Is it for real? I am Dan's mum
— Sharon Goodfellow (@goodfellowshar1) August 8, 2016
@cab121187 Just done my first bit of media bashing. How insensitive! I hope they sort before morning
— Sharon Goodfellow (@goodfellowshar1) August 8, 2016
Read the full story here:
It wasn’t all success for Team USA in the pool on Monday evening, as Missy Franklin – winner of five medals in the 2012 Games – faltered and failed to make it to the 200m freestyle final.
She finished last in her semifinal and 13th out of the 16 contenders, and struggled to talk to reporters afterwards:
Just trying to hold it together … It’s so hard knowing all the work that you put in every day and then to get here and to be so far behind where you feel like you can be.
But I’m not there and I gave it my best. Just disappointed that I let the team down.
Media commentators are coming under fire for reports perceived to be undermining female Olympians’ achievements as record numbers of women take part in the Games.
Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszú – nicknamed “The Iron Lady” – won gold in the 400m individual medley on Saturday night, beating the previous world record by nearly two seconds.
But speaking on TV after the event, the NBC commentator Dan Hicks referred to her husband and coach, Shane Tusup, as “the man responsible” for Hosszú’s record-breaking performance, sparking criticism on social media.
“With live TV, there are often times you look back and wish you had said things differently,” Hicks later told the Associated Press.
And a Twitter user in Dallas, Texas, was awarded “the gold medal in mansplaining” by BuzzFeed for his response to a tweet by the Dutch cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten, who is recovering in hospital after a horrific crash in the women’s road race on Saturday.
“First lesson in bicycling, keep your bike steady … whether fast or slow,” Martin Betancourt said in response to van Vleuten’s message.
Yulia Efimova gave what sounds like a spirited, if emotional, response after her silver-medal success:
Right now I’m really happy after all the stuff that has happened because I’m here racing.
I did the best I could but I can’t explain my feelings.
Efimova has had two positive drugs tests, and said the first of those was a case of her making a mistake for her first test. On the second, when she was taking meldonium, she was innocent, she insisted:
If WADA was to say yoghurt or protein or something else all athletes use was banned and you stop but it stays in your body for six months and they test you two months later, is that fair?
The press conference for the medal winners from the women’s 100m breaststroke final was, shall we say, compelling theater.
On one end sat Yulia Efimova, who had wept uncontrollably in her agent’s arms in the mixed zone after the race and was still clearly emotional as she fielded questions over whether her presence in Rio was appropriate.
On the other was Lilly King, who stood by her remarks from the build-up and even took aim at Team USA stablemate Justin Gatlin when asked whether the sprinter – himself a two-time drugs cheat – should be at the Olympics:
Do I think someone who has been caught for doping should be on the team? No, I don’t.
That left bronze winner Katie Meili (USA) as the bystander in the middle, who appeared mostly bemused as the tension built around her.
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And now here’s Michael Phelps on the doping issue. “Sports should be on an even playing field,” he told reporters:
I think it’s sad that we have people in sports today who are testing positive not only once, but twice, and still having the opportunity to swim at these Games.
It breaks my heart and I wish somebody would do something about it.
USA win their meeting with China in the beach volleyball and remain unbeaten in the tournament. Although they’ve only played two games so that’s less dramatic than it sounds.
Lilly King is really not holding back on her views about athletes who dope – even those who’ve served a ban and are now back in Team USA. Yes, Justin Gatlin, she means you:
Lilly King on whether Gatlin should be on U.S. team: "Do I think someone who has been caught for doping should be on the team? No, I don't."
— Bryan Armen Graham (@BryanAGraham) August 9, 2016
Lilly King, speaking after her gold medal win in the 100m breaststroke, isn’t stepping back from her comments about her rival – and now silver-medallist – Yulia Efirmova, whom she earlier labelled a drug cheat:
I do stand by what I said yesterday, but I have to respect the IOC’s decision that they made and swim my race like I planned and not let that affect me.
I basically said what everybody’s thinking. They were glad I spoke out and I had the guts to say that and I appreciate their support.
First set to USA in their beach volleyball match-up against China. The US are No3 seeds and China are No15, so the Americans are big favorites for this one.
Just as well Rio is a late-night city – the contest will end well past midnight local time.
You can read our full report on another busy night in the Olympic pool here:
Back at the beach volleyball, Australia’s women have just beaten Venezuela 2-0 in their pool F game.
So Team GB’s Siobhan-Marie O’Connor soars through to the 200m individual medley finals tomorrow with the fastest time of the semis.
She’s joined, of course, by Katinka Hosszú (Hungary), along with Maya Dirado (US), China’s Ye Shiwen, Melanie Margalis (US), Alicia Coutts (Aus), Canada’s Sydney Pickrem and Viktoria Andreeva of Russia.
British former Olympian Rebecca Adlington enjoyed the show:
LOVE watching @SiobhanMOConnor race!!! British record for her 2.07.5 winning her semi final! Congratulations ! Bring on the final tomorrow!
— Becky Adlington (@BeckAdlington) August 9, 2016
And at the close it’s Katinka Hosszú first, Ye Shiwen second, and Team USA’s Melanie Margalis in third.
At the halfway mark, it’s Hosszú first, with Ye close behind.
The second semi-final follows hot on its wet heels, with the defending champion, Ye Shiwen of China, and Katinka Hosszú, of Hungary, who’s already won a gold medal this evening.
Alicia Coutts says she hopes her third place will be enough to propel her into the final. She’s in some pain, she tells Australia’s Channel 7:
That’s all I had tonight. It really hurt … We’ll see what happens.
And that’s how it finishes: Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, Madeline Dirado and Alicia Coutts, with Canada’s Sydney Pickrem fourth.
At the 100m mark, it’s Siobhan-Marie O’Connor in first, Madeline Dirado for the US in second, and Alicia Coutts third.
Here’s that women’s 200m individual medley semi-final. Alicia Coutts swims for Australia here, while Team GB has two contenders: Hannah Miley and Siobhan-Marie O’Connor.
And somewhere in that live blog handover, we were too distracted watching the second men’s 200m butterfly semifinal to tell you the result.
Hungary’s Tamás Kenderesi placed first, ahead of someone called Michael Phelps, who looked pretty good at swimming. Third was South Africa’s Chad le Clos.
The final comes on day four.
Gold for USA's Lilly King in 100m breaststroke
Lilly King has won gold in the 100m breaststroke with an Olympic-record time of 1:04.93, edging her Russian rival Yulia Efimova in a showdown pregnant with anti-doping overtones.
Efimova, who served a 16-month suspension for a pair of positive drug tests before failing another screening for meldonium earlier this year, was initially one of seven Russian swimmers banned from Rio who had either failed tests or were named in Wada’s investigation into state-sponsored doping – but was controversially reinstated to the competition on Saturday amid unclear circumstances.
That prompted a war of words – and finger-wags – which set the stage for the most compelling grudge match of these Olympics so far.
“Tonight has been so crazy. My life is changing right now. I’m a gold medallist and it’s what I’ve always wanted to be and it’s an incredible feeling,” King said afterward.
“I’m probably going to start crying. I’m usually not a crier but this is a special moment so we’ll see if it gets to me or not.”
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This is Claire Phipps in Sydney taking up the live blog again.
It’s still day three and we’re still not done: we have the women’s 200m individual medley semi-finals coming up in the pool, plus ongoing games in the men’s basketball and women’s volleyball (beach and not-beach).
Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh places first on the first semifinals race. And I’m exhausted just watching him, which means it’s probably time for me to end my shift here. I’m going to hand over control to the liveblog here. Thanks for reading!
And back to swimming; We’re at the Men’s 200m Butterfly Semifinals.
Women’s Beach Volleyball: Spain beat the Czech Republic 2-0 . Australia are currently playing Venezuela, it’s 0-0.
Another medal ceremony. This one’s even more awkward than the last since we have a tie for the bronze in the Women’s 100m Backstroke.
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Lilly King; “I showed you can still compete clean and win.” There may be some shade here.
And King beats out Efimova to grab the gold! Efimova has to settle for silver. The US’s Catherine Meili grabs the bronze.
There’s a bit of delay to start the 100m breaststroke. When Efimova comes out, she gets booed while Lilly King gets a much warmer reaction.
And we have the medal presentations here. These are always way more awkward to watch than your remember them as being. The next event will the Women’s 100m Breaststroke Final which will pit Lily King and Yulia Efimova. So we may have drama coming soon.
Ryan Murphy is just 21 years old, it’s been a big night for the US youth movement.
Ryan Murphy wins gold for USA in 100m backstroke
Swimming: Not a bad showing for the US in the 100m Backstroke, Ryan Murphy picks up gold while David Plummer gets bronze.
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Elsewhere, France and China are facing off in the Men’s Basketball Preliminaries while Brazil and Argentina are about to start off in Women’s Volleyball Preliminaries.
Gold for Hungary's Katinka Hosszú in 100m backstroke
Hungary’s Katinka Hosszú gets gold at the Women’s 100m Backstroke. While Kathleen Baker, just 19, wins silver in the backstroke for the US.
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Forgot to note that the US’s Conor Dwyer picked up bronze in the 200m men’s freestyle.
I’d spend more time apologizing but we’re already moving ahead to the Women’s 100m Backstroke Final.
Gold for Sun Yang and China in 200m freestyle
China’s Sun Yang wins the 200m freestyle! He points up to the sky in victory.
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Swimming: Here back in the pool, we’re moving on to the Men’s 200m Freestyle Final.
Also we have beach volleyball going on: Women’s preliminary match: Elsa Baqueriz/Liliana Fernandez (ESP) vs Barbora Hermannova/Marketa Slukova (CZE)
Swimming: It’s neck-and-neck until the end for the 200m, Sarah Sjostrom beats Katie Ledecky by .16 seconds in the Semi-Final.
Swimming: It’s time for the big events. We’re starting off with the Women’s 200m Freestyle Semifinals.
Men’s water polo: Croatia beats Montenegro 8-7 with a goal in the game’s final seconds
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Handball: Women’s Group A action has begun with Angola facing Montenegro
So, in swimming so far we have Lily King calling out Yulia Efimova and the Russian claiming that Michael Phelps’s cupping is roughly the same as using P.E.Ds. If you think things are not looking good for US and Russia relations right now wait until Wikileaks gets involved.
Hey this is Hunter Felt here with you for this next stretch. The main event tonight looks like it will be the swimming competition that’s set to start in around 10 minutes or so, but I’ll also do my best to keep track of all the other events going on.
I’m watching water polo right now for instance. Nothing to do with horses, it turns out.
That’s all from me. I’ll pass it on to Boston’s finest: (no, not Mark Wahlberg) Hunter Felt. Good night everybody. Hasta mañana.
Meanwhile in boxing USA’s Nico Hernandez upset the number two seed, Vasilii Egorov from Russia in the 49kg weight division. A great win for the man from the 20-year-old American-latino from Kansas.
What an amazing moment for the Colombian.
Uh-oh.
In tennis men’s doubles, Spain overcome Argentina 2-1 in sets.
Just looking ahead: Swimming will begin in less than an hour where we will see the following medal-worthy battles:
- Men’s 200m Freestyle Final
- Women’s 100m Backstroke Final
- Men’s 100m Backstroke Final
- Women’s 100m Breaststroke Final
Men’s basketball. And the US have run out 113-69 winners against Venezuela. It was a weirdly even blowout - it was 18-18 after the first quarter and the third quarter was 27-25 to the US. The other twoperiods weren’t so pretty for the South Americans though: the US were up 30-8 and and 38-18 in the second and fourth. Paul George was the top scorer with 20 for the US. They play Australia next, who will be a much tougher proposition with Andrew Bogut in fine form.
UK: Lawrence Okolie loses to Erislandy Savón in heavyweight class
For someone who was bullied at school for being overweight, flipped burgers and then found boxing, Lawrence Okolie from Stoke Newington in north London is living the dream. He even doesn’t resent being knocked down by Erislandy Savon, a Cuban heavyweight in the fine tradition and a nephew of the great Felix. On Monday night Okolie went over again, having been stopped in a round by Savon before the tournament, but got up and gave a decent account of himself to go the distance.
“It was good and bad,” he said, as a psychology student might. “Bad because I didn’t get the decision, good because I’ve progressed since our last fight. This time I went the three rounds. The knockdown took a lot of the momentum that I was trying to build.”
His seemingly modest effort has to be put in context: Savon has had more than 250 amateur bouts; Okolie has now had 26 - and he would fight the Cuban again tomorrow if he could. He reckons he could be among the top four amateur heavyweights in the world, and says he is learning new tricks in every fight. Good place to learn them: at the Olympics against a Cuban.
“It’s heartbreaking knowing there’s someone better than me out there but it can’t stay that way much longer.”
Okolie said he took a call before the fight from the world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, who took a close decision against Savon in London four years ago. “He told me to just relax,” Okolie said. But not to the point of going on the canvas, he might have added.
And that’s game, set and match for Serena Williams as she beats Alize Cornet in two sets (7-6, 6-2.) When this match began it seemed as if it was going to be an all-nighter, with Cornet pushing Williams to the limits. But Cornet’s resilience slowly faded and Williams - who only gets stronger as the night progresses - capitalized on her opponents fatigue.
In weightlifting men’s 62kg, Oscar Figueroa from Colombia wins gold. It’s the first medal for Los Cafeteros.
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Beach Volleyball: The Dutch beat Germany and they are now 2-0 in pool play. A great performance from both teams.
In beach volleyball right now there are two nations who really surprise me with the fact that they play beach volleyball in the first place. Germany and Holland are going through a great game so far. Tied up in sets 1-1 and tied up in the third 6-6.
A minor miracle in the men’s basketball as Venezuela keep the margin below 845 points against USA. As in the first game, Golden State Warriors hero/Oklahoma City Thunder villain Kevin Durant - the best player on the US team in the absence of LeBron James, Steph Curry et al - is leading the way with 16 points. At the end of the third it’s USA 75-51.
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There’s also men’s doubles where Spain (Lopez/Nadal) take on Argentina (Gonzales/delPotro) It’s a great one so far with Spain taking the first set and currently 5-5 in the second.
Tennis. Finally the first set is over as Williams takes it but believe me, it was not easy. An intense tie-breaker finally caved and Williams capitalized winning 7-6. She cannot afford to relax, however, as Cornet is playing brilliantly in order to stay in the game against the best player in the world.
Australian gold.
This tennis match is intense. We’re still in the first set as Williams leads 6-5. We might be here all night.
Here is a piece from Les Carpenter and Jonathan Watts on Rafaela Silva, recipient of Brazil’s first gold medal.
Basketball. It’s the end of the first half and USA leads Venezuela 48-26. Kevin Durant with 11 points and Anthony with ten. The Americans outscored their South American opponents 30-8 in the second quarter.
The US men’s basketball team has finally woken up as they now lead 43-24 and Carmelo Anthony makes some history with 258 all-time points at the Olympics. Becomes 3rd all time and passes a certain Michael Jordan.
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Tennis: Wow. Just Wow. Cornet is giving it her all against Williams. It’s 4-4 in the first set and the Wimbledon champion looks bewildered.
Apparently the real star of these Olympic Games is the resident DJ at basketball events.
If I'm not mistaken, DJ just played a Portuguese version of "Watch me (Whip/Nae Nae)" during the break. #Rio2016
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) August 8, 2016
Australia win gold in the rugby sevens! New Zealand score with the last play of the game, but it matters not! Australia can add the Olympic title to their recent World Series triumph, and they are the undisputed queens of rugby sevens. The final score: 24-17. A brilliant achievement by these women. There are some pretty despondent faces in the Kiwi huddle at full-time, but it should be noted that New Zealand have also enjoyed a wonderful tournament and silver is a fantastic achievement. They bid goodbye to Rio with a tearful haka. There is nothing but joy in the Australian ranks though after a golden tournament and they will return home to a hero’s welcome.
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Back to tennis and Cornet is really doing everything she can to make it hard for Williams, who looks extremely frustrated thus far. The American leads 4-2 in the first set and it’s already been close to 40 minutes of playtime. This is intense.
Another injury.
It’s not over yet! McAlister now breaks through the Australia defence to pull New Zealand back into some kind of contention - they still trail by 14, with one minute left on the clock. Anything’s possible in this fast-paced, physical, skilful and exciting game - a brilliant addition to the Olympic roster.
And just about to start: women’s hockey between Spain and China and some men’s waterpolo where Japan takes on Brazil.
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And another! Caslick gets her name on the scoresheet, capitalising on some lax Kiwi defending to get her head down and burst over the line. Dalton is on target with the extras again and at 24-5, Australia are closing in on their fourth gold of these Games.
Australia take a huge step towards gold! This time it’s Ellia Green, the speedster, who scores after some great work by Charlotte Caslick and then Emilee Cherry. Green is left with the relatively simple task of haring over the line and touching down. Chloe Dalton adds two points with the first successful kick of the game, and Australia lead 17-5 midway through the second half.
How great is this by the way? Leslie Jones, the comedian and Ghostbusters actress is heading to Rio.
Men’s basketball. It’s the end of the first quarter and guess what, it has not been all that peachy for USA as Venezuela’s aggressive defense keeps them in it. It’s all tied up 18-18.
Australia grab a second try on the stroke of half-time, Evania Pelite taking full advantage after New Zealand’s Portia Woodman was sent to the bin for a deliberate knock down, just as Ellia Green looked like scoring. 10-5 to Australia, and they’re halfway to a gold medal.
Japan celebrate their gold.
Australia level the scores through Emma Tonegato, who stretches every sinew in her body to get the ball down. There’s a suspicion she might have lost control of the ball when looking at the super slo-mo replays, but it’s good enough for the officials. It’s 5-5 and evenly poised.
Let’s have a look at tennis. Serena Williams leads in the first set 3-0. Cornet is making the most out of every game, however, so it’s not just another day at the office for the American right now. Cornet wins the 4th game and it’s now 3-1.
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A try for New Zealand! It’s not long before the Kiwis do cross the line, as Kayla McAlister barges her way over the line. The kick of no good and New Zealand hold a 5-0 lead with 4 minutes on the clock.
Rugby women’s sevens: Ooof, some hard hits flying in early on at Deodoro Stadium. Both teams appear, entirely understandably, pretty pumped for this one but it’s New Zealand who are threatening, and only a superb tackle from Parry prevents the Kiwis scoring the game’s opening try.
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Meanwhile in men’s gymnastics, Japan win Gold! Russia takes silver and China settle for bronze.
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Rugby sevens gold medal match: the anthems are over, and we’re up and running in the inaugural sevens final, between reigning world series champions Australia and their trans-Tasman rivals, New Zealand. Should be a cracker!
Hello everyone, I’ll be taking over from now on. Brace yourselves. Serena Williams currently taking on Alize Cornet from France in the women’s singles. Meanwhile, the US men’s basketball will look to live up to their name as they take on Venezuela. It is also time for the women’s rugby sevens gold medal match where Australia will take on New Zealand. I don’t know about you but that sounds tasty.
And that’s all from me tonight. Luis Miguel Echegaray will take over from here.
Rugby sevens bronze for Canada!
They’ve thumped Great Britain 33-10! What a performance!
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Norweigan man says to Bolt: "I don't really have a question I just want to say I really love you man." Then breaks into a rap. Most applaud.
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) August 8, 2016
Bolt conference takes unexpected turn pic.twitter.com/236Gjnnyds
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) August 8, 2016
There’s better news in the women’s hockey in Pool B. Great Britain lead 3-0 against India in the third quarter.
GB are fighting back in this second half, scoring an early try. Yet they still trail 26-10.
Joshua Kelly, a handsome stylist from Sunderland (no, he does not work in a hairdressers), produced a near-perfect performance to bamboozle bewildered Egyptian Walid Mohammed into unanimous defeat in the welterweight boxing here on Monday night. Kelly, who will attract a lot of interest from professional promoters and managers, was smooth and hurtful from start to finish to earn a 30-27 shutout from each of the three judges.
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Another try for Canada! Kelly Russell powers through to make it 26-5!
Great Britain are in big trouble now. They lose a player to a yellow card and moments later Bianca Farella makes it 19-5 to Canada.
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Ghislaine Landry locates a gap and scores a soft try for Canada! GB are 14-5 down.
Danielle Waterman scores a try for GB! They can’t make the conversion, though, so Canada lead 7-5.
And now Canada have scored. They lead 7-0.
The bronze medal match between Great Britain and Canada in the women’s rugby sevens is underway! No score yet. Canada just went close.
Hunter Felt has live coverage of the men’s basketball between Venezuela and USA. Join him.
Tom Daley, who really is a lovely chap, looked like he’d just stepped in after a brisk walk or a trip to the cinema after that sensational bronze-snaffling dive. “You’ve just got to enjoy it, be in the moment, and see what you can do,” he said, making light of what was a truly steely last ditch medal-grab. Daniel Goodfellow looks a bit more spaced by it all. “Before I knew it i’d pounced on Dan and he wasn’t expecting that! Suddenly we’d done a seventh dive” Tom says. Great talker. He’s bossing this presser. The Chinese and Americans are just sort of sitting there listening. Chen incidentally kicked off his own gold medal press conference by saying “first I would like to thank all the press here”. This could catch on. Football, I’m looking at you. Either way Daley looks extremely relaxed after that, saying all the right things about the individual competition next week. Wouldn’t bet against him being there or thereabouts, in and around etc etc.
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Now here’s a story about tickets from Jonathan Watts and Owen Gibson. Headline: Olympic Council of Ireland denies role in alleged Rio ticket touting scandal. Read more by clicking the link below!
I am sat among the hundreds of journalists and hangers on at the Cicada des Arts for Usain Bolt’s pre-Olympics press conference. Originally it was due to start at 5pm local time. Then 6.00pm. Finally we look set to get underway, although with three other Jamaicans are expected on stage before Bolt, who is scorching favourite to win 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay gold in Rio, it could overrun by a distance. The word among the Jamaican press is that he is in sub 9.70 shape. Come this weekend, we will see ...
Chinese diver just began his own gold medal press conference by saying "first I would like to thank all the press here". This could catch on
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) August 8, 2016
Fencing gold for Russia!
Yana Egorian beats her compatriot, Sofia Velikaya, in the women’s individual sabre. It’s a Russian one-two! Hip hip!
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In the women’s hockey, Great Britaand and India are about to get underway in Group B. Let’s play! Should be interesting.
Melissa Hoskins, a member of the Australian team pursuit track cycling team from Perth, has been stretchered off the track at the Velodrome and brought to hospital following a crash during training in which four of her team’s five squad members were brought down. Hoskins came out worst from what has been described as a horrific accident and is now a serious doubt for the Games. The Australians are the current world champions and are favourites to take Olympic gold.
The Death Star music is playing before the all-Russian fencing final. I’m saying nothing.
Judo gold for Japan!
The irrepressible Shohei Ono, streets ahead of the rest of the field, has won the men’s 73kg event. He’s beaten Azerbaijan’s Rustam Orujov. It looks like it’s just another day in the office for Ono. Job done. He barely manages the hint of a smile.
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Fencing bronze for Ukraine!
Olga Kharlan has beaten Manon Brunet in the sabre bronze medal match. They’re both crying. Brunet because she’s not won a medal. Kharlan because she’s not in the gold medal match.
It’s time for a doping story!
#Kos #Olympic judo gold medallist refused drugs test before #Rio2016. @helenpidd https://t.co/DObxc7DCb7 pic.twitter.com/Ou4wGobAJy
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) August 8, 2016
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Warm applause just rippled through the media centre to the announcement of judo gold for Brazil’s Rafaela Silva, who beat Sumiya Dorjsuren of Mongolia in the 57kg final. She grew up in a Rio favela and wears a tattoo on her right bicep which reads: “Only God knows how much I have suffered and what I have done to get here.” She became Brazil’s first world judo champion in 2013 and is universally adored. This, by the excellent John Branch, in the New York Times, tells the story... I know nothing about judo - except it looks bloody difficult - but Silva is a proper star.
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Weightlifting gold for Thailand!
Sukanya Srisurat has taken gold in the women’s 58kg division and set an Olympic record with a score of 240 in the process. Thailand also took silver, Pimsiri Sirikaew delighted, and Taiwan’s took bronze.Kuo Hsing-chun
Tom Daley and Dan Goodfellow have won diving bronze for Great Britain. Surely that overshadows China’s gold and silver for the USA. eh? Niall McVeigh has more.
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Spare a thought for Sumiya Dorjsuren too – she took silver for Mongolia.
Judo gold for Brazil!
Rafael Silva collapses to her knees, a picture of pure ecstasy! She’s just won Brazil’s first gold of these Olympics and the crowd’s gone wild! She’s being mobbed after winning the women’s 57kg final! A star has been born. They’ve had to wait a while for their first gold.
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These are big moments in the judo. We could be about to see Brazil’s first gold, with Rafaela Silva in the women’s 57kg final. She’s up against Mongolia’s Sumiya Dorjsuren and the Brazilian is on top as they approach the halfway point.
Judo bronze for Portugal!
Telma Monteiro has beaten Romania’s Corina Caprioriu in the 57kg bronze bout by yujko! And she’s just jumped into the crowd. Not to unleash some judo. To celebrate.
There’ll be an all-Russian affair in the women’s sabre final. Heartwarming. Sofia Velikaya beat France’s Manon Brunet in the first semi-final and Yana Egorian beat Ukraine’s Olga Kharlan in the second.
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A couple of tennis results for you. Juan Martin del Potro, the conqueror of Novak Djokovic, overcame a gruelling schedule to reach the third round of the men’s event, beating Portugal’s Joao Sousa 6-3, 1-6, 6-3. He’s got to play doubles for Argentina against Spain later. Meanwhile Australia’s Sam Stosur is through to the third round of the women’s event after beating Japan’s Misaki Doi in straight sets.
Tom Daley had hoped for cloudy skies at the outdoor diving venue and he got his wish. The stands are not quite full but there is a raucous atmosphere, with Jamie Murray among those cheering on Daley and his partner Daniel Goodfellow. They sit third - if only just - after two dives on 101.4, behind the American pair and the inevitable Chinese favourites.
Who wants some volleyball? The indoor type, not the sandy one. The Netherlands, whose Olympic history can be summarised as “not much of one”, are two sets up to one against USA whose Olympic history can be summarised as “yeah we won silver in the last two Games”. A shock is on the cards ...
I’m going to take a short break and head off in search of food. A reminder: you can follow the diving with Niall McVeigh and the gymnastics with Michael Butler elsewhere. They both start soon.
Shooting gold for Croatia!
An immaculate display of shooting from Croatia’s Josip Glasnovic is enough for him to win the men’s trap final! One false move from Italy’s Giovanni Pellielo is all it took. The Italian has to settle for silver.
If you want to follow the men’s gymnastics final, here’s Michael Butler! Micky Buttz has all your gymnastics news!
Hurrah!
Thomas Bach tells AP the IOC will try again to enact a rule barring any former dopers from competing in future Olympics.
— Steve Wilson (@stevewilsonap) August 8, 2016
Shooting bronze for Great Britain!
Ed Ling makes his final target and he’s beaten his Czech opponent in the bronze medal match!
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Heather Watson won’t be joining Johanna Konta in the third round of the women’s tennis. The British No2 can’t reach a gorgeous drop shot on match point from Elina Svitolina and the Ukrainian wins 6-3, 1-6, 6-3. It’s been a tough year for Watson.
Having well and truly shot themselves in the foot by getting not one, but two players sin-binned just before half time, Great Britain lose 25-7 in their women’s sevens semi-final against New Zealand. They will play Canada in the bronze medal match later on, while Australia will play New Zealand in the final. They’re a violent bunch, these British girls - Abbie Brown was lucky to avoid sanction for playing face and loose with her elbow into the chops of Tyla Nathan-Wong late in the game
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Great Britain’s Ed Ling is through to the bronze medal match against the Czech Republic’s David Kostelecky. Ling has just won a tense shoot-off against Egypt’s Ahmed Kamar.
The rugby sevens women’s final, meanwhile, will feature New Zealand and Australia. New Zealand have crushed Great Britain, winning their semi-final 25-7. The final will be at 11pm BST.
The gold medal match in the men’s shooting will be contested by Croatia’s Josip Glasnovic and Italy’s Giovanni Pellielo. They were excellent during the semi-final. We’re waiting to see if Great Britain’s Edward Ling nabs a place in the bronze medal match.
Great Britain briefly led New Zealand in the first half of their semi-final. A converted Alice Richardson try gave them a 7-5 advantage, but in the time it took me to type that sentence, Alice Tui restored New Zealand’s lead, before both Katy McLean and Amy Wilson Hardy were sin-binned for Great Britain. Another Portia Woodman try for the Kiwis and it’s 15-7 to the Kiwis at half-time, with Great Britain down to five women.
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Oh. Ah. New Zealand are undeterred, going straight up the other end to score another try thanks to Ruby Tui. They lead 10-7.
But Great Britain hit back straight away! It’s an equalising try from Alice Richardson after a turnover and the conversion’s nailed too. That’s a 7-5 lead!
Great Britain are already in trouble in their sevens semi-final against New Zealand. There’s no stopping Portia Woodman as she barrels over the line! New Zealand look 5-0.
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You probably wouldn’t want to be a lifeguard during the Olympics.
Job satisfaction: zero pic.twitter.com/wZryfElIPH
— Paul Campbell (@campbellwpaul) August 8, 2016
Meanwhile the USA beat Spain in the women’s basketball.
Here’s some more on Adam Peaty’s swimming gold.
Back to the tennis for a moment and Great Britain’s Heather Watson has forced a decider against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina. Watson lost the first set but showed good spirit in the second.
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Now it is. It’s finished Australia 17-5 Canada. The Australians are through to the final! But who’ll join them? New Zealand? Or Great Britain?
It’s not quite over yet. Charity Williams has scored a try for Canada; it’s Australia 17-5 Canada.
Another try for Australia. Chloe Dalton powers over the line. This semi-final is done and dusted. Australia lead 17-0.
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Sitting in a one quarter-full Deodora Stadium where the women’s rugby sevens semi-final between Canada and Australia is underway. Raucous pockets of fans from both countries here, exchanging what can only be described as ‘bawdy rugby banter’. No sign of any braying posh boys in fancy dress while drinking pints of ale through a sock, as seems to be the custom at less sparsely attended sevens tournaments in Twickenham. Australia lead 12-0 at half-time courtesy of two tries (one converted by Chole Dalton) from Emilee Cherry. All The Single Ladies is currently blaring over the PA. Australia’s fans are attempting to drown her out with a rendition of Waltzing Matilda
Already leading 7-0 in the first semi-final of the sevens, Australia could just kick it out to end the first half. Instead they continue to attack and eventually they’re rewarded for their persistence, a second try carving out a commanding 12-0 lead. Canada have a job on their hands.
Jo Konta has won again! The British No1 is through to the third round of the women’s tennis event, beating the lively Caroline Garcia of France 6-2, 6-3 in 91 minutes. Konta played very well but she’ll need to be even better when she faces Svetlana Kuznetsova, who was handed a walkover when Monica Niculescu retired with a back injury.
The USA’s Madison Keys won a minor classic in the women’s tennis to reach the third round. She beat Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 6-7, 7-6.
The first women’s rugby sevens semi-final is about to get underway. First up it’s Australia versus Canada, then it’s New Zealand versus Great Britain.
Ibtihaj Muhammad, USA’s black Muslim fencer, has spoken after her defeat in the women’s saber. At a time when Donald Trump has injected anti-Muslim rhetoric into the US presidential election, Muhammad had a bit to say on her place at the Olympics:
I don’t know what necessarily is going through everyone’s mind ... but a lot of people don’t believe that Muslim women have voices or that we participate in sport. And it’s not to just challenge the misconceptions outside of the Muslim community but within the Muslim community. I want to break cultural barriers. I want to show girls that it’s important to be active, that it’s important to be involved in sport.”
Muhammad fights again the team saber later this week.
In the sailing, Great Britain’s Nick Dempsey has won his second race of the day. He finished first in the first race of the men’s RS:X.
Rushed home to tune into day 1 of sailing Olympics. Awesome start for @nickdempsey1 with two bullets #BringOnTheGreat #nailedit
— Ben Ainslie (@AinslieBen) August 8, 2016
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Angelique Kerber has just walloped Eugenie Bouchard. 6-4, 6-2 to the German. That means it won’t be long before Juan Martin del Potro is on court, less than a day after stunning Novak Djokovic. The tennis schedule is attracting a lot of criticism. Del Potro faces Portugal’s Joao Sousa and he might not be in tip-top condition.
Kerber wins 11 of last 13 games over Bouchard to advance. Here comes @delpotrojuan barely 15 hours after knocking off Djoker ...
— Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) August 8, 2016
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Read past the headline.
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Paul Drinkhall is through to the fourth round of the men’s table tennis for the first time! The Brit has beaten the 15th seed, Croatia’s Andrej Gacina. That’s a fine win.
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Jo Konta leads by a set and a break against Caroline Garcia. The French youngster is a talent but she’s so erratic.
Get yer schedule! Get yer schedule here!
Emiliano Grillo has lost his golf clubs. That’s unfortunate.
There’s a huge roar from the crowd as Brazil’s Leonardo De Deus starts the fourth heart brilliantly. He’s swimming so hard and forces the very best out of Hungary’s Laszlo Cheh in the final 100m. Cheh wins it in the end, swimming in a time of 1:55:14. Denmark’s Viktor Bromer is second with a time of 1:55.77 and De Deus is third. Another Brazilian is fourth, Kaio Marcio through in 1:56.45. Both Brazilians make it into in the semi-final.
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Hungary’s Tamas Kenderesi doesn’t seem too fussed about the fact he’s just swam faster than Michael Phelps, who didn’t look too sharp in the pool. The Hungarian wins the third heat of the men’s 200m butterfly in 1:54:73. Australia’s Grant Irvine was second in 1:55:64 and Phelps was third in 1:55:73. Japan’s Daiya Seto should be fine after registering a time of 1:55:79.
In the tennis, Britain’s Jo Konta is looking in good nick against France’s Caroline Garcia, who’s struggling with a lower arm injury. Konta has served well and taken the first set 6-2. She’s a set away from the third round.
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Chad Le Clos, the gold medalist four years ago, has won the second heat in the men’s 200m butterfly. In the next heat: none other than Michael Phelps.
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For a sporting superpower the US isn’t much of a force in hockey - they’ve won only two bronzes in Games history. But their women’s team is doing pretty well, they’ve won both their games so far, including a 2-1 victory over Australia this morning and now top their group. The Aussies are no pushovers either - when are they ever? - and have won the gold on three occasions.
Irish boxer Paddy Barnes has been the recipient of some unpleasant abuse on Twitter since his surprise exit in the light-flyweight division this morning, probably because his well-meant but close-to-the bone tweets at Rory McIlroy this week (Barnes took a selfie with the golfer’s ex, Caroline Wozniacki, and tweeted McIlroy as to whether they made a nice couple) caused some typically overblown reaction. Barnes is one of Ireland’s most successful Olympians of recent times and his colleague Michael Conlan was quick to defend him.
2x medalist 3x time Olympian & use keyboard warriors at home doing nothing with your lifes but criticising him without a clue about boxing!
— Michael Conlan (@mickconlan11) August 8, 2016
Our first port of call is the rowing and there’s good news for British fans because the Great British team have won the third heat in the men’s four. They bolted home in a time of 5:55:59, beating Greece, France and South Africa. They were utterly dominant as they qualified for the semi-final.
Great stuff from the #GBR Men's Four to finish the #rowing at @Rio2016 for today. A solid win! https://t.co/tuGxzecHT4
— British Rowing (@BritishRowing) August 8, 2016
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Cheery hello! Thanks to Gerard for his excellent work this afternoon. I’ll be with you for the next five and a half hours. Some sport’s taking place.
And that marks the end of that from me for today. I’m signing off and handing over to Jacob Steinberg who will take you through the afternoon and evening, Rio time.
Cheery bye!
And in the final rowing event of the day, the British quartet are roaring clear in the men’s four and look in very good shape to keep the gold medal in British hands for the fifth consecutive Games.
Here’s Kevin Mitchell’s take from the boxing arena where it has been a difficult day for Great Britain’s Galal Yafai.
Pellegrini wins it but Franklin found that tough going. Ai Yanhan of China was second, Franklin was down in fourth and will have to wait and see about the semis.
Now it’s time for Katie Ledecky. And she takes victory in a solid if unspectacular 1.55:01.
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Heat four of the women’s 200m freestyle now. Missy Franklin and Italy’s world record holder Federica Pellegrini …
In the rugby seven’s 9-10th placed match, Brazil are 12-5 to the good against Japan at half-time.
British judoka Nekoda Smythe-Davis lost in a close-fought second round match with France’s Automne Pavia, who won bronze in London in 2012. It was always a tough draw, with the Frenchwoman ranked world No3 to Davis’s 12, but the 23-year-old from London was determined to dwell on the positives, even in defeat.
“I’m the strongest I’ve ever been. I came prepared today and you can have a hard draw and that’s just judo. You get beaten on the day, that’s just the way it is. You’ve got to come back stronger, fitter. I 100% believe my day will come. I know I will be world champion, European champion and hopefully Olympic champion one day,” she said. Tokyo 2020 will be her time, she vowed.
She said she was mentally stronger than any of her opponents, largely because of her background. She was brought up by a single mother on a west London council estate and said the hard knocks toughened her up:
“I didn’t have everything as a kid growing up. I didn’t have a lot of materialistic things. My mum didn’t have a lot of money. So dealing with those things, and my mum had quite a tough upbringing in life, she came over here from Jamaica with me to give us a better life. She always taught me not to take things for granted and anything you do get in life you’ve got to work hard for. I think that’s where my mental strength and toughness comes from, my mum being a single mum and how hard she struggled. I knew that I would have to put the work in in life to make something of myself and not be poor. So it really comes from that.”
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Paul Drinkhall is in table tennis action now against Andrej Gacina of Croatia in round four. It won’t get many column inches but the fact he’s got this far is impressive enough already.
The swimming heats are about to get under way. We’ll start with the women’s 200m freestyle with Katie Ledecky, fresh from her 400m victory, going in heat five.
That feels like an excuse to plug this again.
Lots more questions about empty seats at today’s press briefing with the IOC and the organisers. Ticketing chief Donovan Ferreti said 84% tickets have been sold but struggled to square that with the empty seats still on show in many areas. Questioned over complaints about the extent to which the famous Copacabana beachfront had been hidden behind security fences and checkpoints, damaging the atmosphere at the cycling road races, Rio 2016 spokesman Mario Andrada spoke of the “need to balance atmosphere with security”.
So far so good for David Florence and Richard Hounslow in the canoe slalom. The Brits, silver medallists at London 2012, are second fastest after the first run in the C-2 event.
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Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund is out of the Olympic tennis competition – he’s gone down 6-4, 7-5 to Japan’s Daniel Taro. Elsewhere, Petra Kvitova was comfortable in defeating Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets while Eugenie Bouchardand Angelique Kerber have just got going.
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Emiliano Grillo, the Argentina golfer who cannot find his clubs and is laying the blame squarely at the airline he flew with, is still understandably unhappy.
Dónde crees que están mis palos?
— Emiliano Grillo (@GrilloEmiliano) August 8, 2016
Where do you think my clubs are?
In the rugby sevens, Kenya have clinched 11th place, condemning Colombia to 12th, with a 22-10 victory.
Confirmation that Ed Ling’s trap semi-final is scheduled for 3pm local time, 7pm BST.
The rugby sevens reaches the business end today and the action to decide the outside placings has just started. Kenya and Colombia are now 10-10 with a few minutes to go in the 11-12th place match.
Water sports
A little reminder that the canoe slalom heats are just under way. David Florence, who impressed in qualification in the C-1, goes with Richard Hounslow while the sailing events are due to begin and the swimming heats start in about 20 minutes.
A medal is in the individual eventing is looking increasingly unlikely for William Speed Lane Fox-Pitt. He’s down in ninth on the day in the cross-country and ninth overall.
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John Inverdale is currently plumbing new depths … his James Bond villain chat is questionable at best.
Ireland’s Paddy Barnes followed Birmingham southpaw Galal Yafai out of the light-fly division in his second bout, dropping a split decision to awkward Spaniard Samuel Carmona Heredia. Barnes gave it everything he had in a hectic finish and looked desperately disappointed with the verdict - rightly so. He did just about enough on effort alone to get the nod, but two out of the three judges did not see it that way.
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Hmmmm. Did I speak too soon? The Danes are hanging on and hanging on… but here come the Brits. Stanning and Glover, unbeaten since their London 2012 gold medal, have come through to win their heat but they had to really work for that. That can be filed under ‘wake-up call’.
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Following a long ould trek from the station, I have just arrived at Deodoro Stadium, where Australia, Canada, Great Britain and New Zealand are still in the hunt for an Olympic medal after reaching the semi-finals of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games women’s sevens competition. There’s a lot of support here for all four countries, but the Aussies seem particularly well-represented. Most of their fans are wearing yellow and green t-shirts with a misplaced apostrophe – Aussie 7’s – a state of affairs that is bound to turn most right-thinking neutrals against them.
In better apparel news, I spotted one young Kiwi kid wearing a “Jonah Lomu 1975-2015” tribute T-shirt. The RFU chairman and World Rugby chief BIll Beaumont is in the locale and looking dapper in a light-blue blazer. I suppose even in searing heat, rugby chiefs and chairmen are obliged to wear blazers.
Today’s semi-final action kicks off at 2.30pm local time (6.30pm BST), when. Australia take on Canada. After that, Team GB meet second seeds New Zealand.
Sunday was the biggest digital day ever at BBC Sport: 14.9m global browsers. Beating England v Wales by 300k.Saturday was 12.7m global browsers or thereabouts - 59% up on the 8m of Day One in 2012.
Heather Stanning and Helen Glover are in their women’s pair heat at the moment. They’re in second place at the halfway mark but I can’t see Denmark holding on to this lead …
GOLD MEDAL!
We have our first gold medal of the day and it goes to Italy’s Niccolo Campriani in the men’s 10m air rifle. He followed up his Olympic record in qualifying with a final Olympic record and it’s gold for the Italian.
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In the men’s lightweight double sculls, Great Britain are through but in second place behind an impressive performance from South Africa. Food for thought for the Brits.
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Confirmation from the shooting range that Great Britain’s Ed Ling has advanced through trap qualification in second place and will go in the semi-finals and perhaps the final in a few wee hours. Great Britain have a rich Olympic shooting history – in London it was of course Peter Wilson who won a gold medal (in the double trap) – and Ling will hope to emulate him.
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Ibtihaj Muhammad lost her round of 16 duel against France’s Cecilia Berder. The final score was 15-12. After taking a 6-2 lead the American Muslim fencer who has spoken against Donald Trump fell behind 8-7 and never caught up, ending her hopes in the individual event. She does however still have the team event to compete in.
Back at the rowing lake where we’re into the men’s lightweight double sculls heats and the French duo of Pierre Houin and Jeremie Azou have really flexed their muscles with a comprehensive win in their heat. Great Britain’s Will Fletcher and Richard Chambers are up next …
Tennis update for you now – Petra Kvitova is closing in on victory against Caroline Wozniacki while the USA’s Madison Keys is a set up on Kristina Mladenovic of France and Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund is a set down but a break up on Japan’s Daniel Taro.
And while Muhammad was able to rally to 14-12, she’s been eliminated by her French opponent.
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In the women’s sabre, Ibtihaj Muhammad is up against it in her bout with France’s Cecilia Berder, she’s 13-8 down …
Paddy Barnes has lost his light-flyweight preliminary with Samuel Carmona-Heredia. That’s a bit of a surprise, and a disappointing one at that if you have any attachment to Ireland.
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Over in the judo hall, Nekoda Smythe-Davis has lost her last-16 match against France’s Automne Pavia. It was a close contest, the Frenchwoman prevailing just 1-0 after the full four minutes. Smythe-Davis will at least go into the repechage and have a shot at bronze.
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Meanwhile, here’s some more, if somewhat different equestrian news …
The bullet that flew through the media work room at Rio 2016’s equestrian venue on Saturday was fired at a police blimp from one of the Brazilian city’s notorious favelas.
Mario Andrada, the chief spokesman for Rio 2016’s organising committee, said the intended target was a security camera on the blimp and not the international equestrian media.
“According to the security forces the bullet came from a community far from here,” said Andrada.
“They were aiming at the blimp which carries cameras.
“The same source, from the ministry of defence, says the first findings showed that the bullet arrived with low energy and low speed.”
Andrada added that this will be confirmed when the security forces check the camera on the blimp.
“Our first goal is to protect you and our second goal is to keep you informed,” Andrada assured journalists.
The equestrian venue is on the site of a large military complex, so it was initially believed the bullet may have come from an army shooting range.
The actual incident caused a storm on social media but did not stop any of the journalists working at the time.
William Fox-Pitt, or William Speed Lane Fox-Pitt to use his full name, is currently lying fifth in the cross-country after his run, which involved one 20-second penalty, which puts him fifth overall. He’ll be disappointed to slip out of the medal placings but there’s the jumping to come.
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On the shooting range, it’s still a partial result, but by the looks of things, Great Britain’s Ed Ling will take his place in the semi-final in the men’s trap, going through in second place. I’ll confirm that when I can.
Paddy Barnes is in action in the boxing ring now … read this excellent interview to whet the appetite.
Coming up
Here’s a reminder of what’s coming up in the next hour or two …
- Rowing: Great Britain begin their quest for yet another gold medal in the men’s four while Heather Stanning and Helen Glover, Great Britain’s first gold medallists of London 2012, and unbeaten since, begin their campaign in the pair.
- Basketball: Spain face the USA in the women’s preliminaries at 12pm local time.
- Judo: the women’s -57kg and the men’s -73kg categories continue. There’s British interest in the women’s event with Nekoda Smythe-Davis.
- Fencing: the women’s individual sabre competition continues – Ibtihaj Muhammad is in action for the USA.
- Kim Woojin is looking for gold in the men’s archery while Great Britain’s Ed Ling may be in contention for a medal in the men’s trap shooting final.
Galal Yafai went out in the second round of the light-flyweight division, but gave the Cuban world champion Joahnys Argilagos a fright in a split-decision three-rounder of good quality.
“I thought I won, thought it was close,” Yafai said. “Don’t know what everyone else thinks but I’m not going to shout ‘I got robbed’. It was a close fight. That’s boxing.
“I wouldn’t say I was over the moon with my performance, but I thought I did enough, probably good enough to get a win. Others might think differently. I’m in there with a world champion at the Olympic Games, so I can take some positives from that, but I’m still gutted, still gutted.”
In approximately 20 minutes, the USA will face Spain in the women’s basketball. Join DJ Gallo here if that’s what floats your boat …
Not long now until William Fox-Pitt, the leader of the individual eventing competition after the dressage, tackles the cross-country course. It is still France’s Nicolas Astier with the best score so far, he leads the way with 42.00.
Tennis time! Petra Kvitova has taken the first set against Caroline Wozniacki 6-2 while Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund is in action against Japan’s Daniel Taro and it’s 3-3 in the first set.
Team sports update: The USA held on for a 2-1 win in the women’s hockey; Sweden won their women’s handball clash with South Korea 31-28 and Greece and Serbia finished at 9-9 in their men’s water polo clash.
Hmmmm …
IOC spokesman says #Rio2016 venues are clean, without advertising. Calls Omega & Panasonic logos at swimming "branding not advertising" ...
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) August 8, 2016
It’s an all South American affair in the women’s beach volleyball. Brazil against Argentina – Brazil have a narrow 6-4 lead in the opening set.
The USA lead Australia 2-1 in their women’s hockey match. Caitlin van Sickle made it 2-0 before Kathyrn Slattery pulled one back for the Hockeyroos …
And more bad news for Great Britain from over at the rowing lake. Kath Copeland was, along with Sophie Hosking, a gold medallist at London 2012 but she and Charlotte Taylor have come last in their lightweight double sculls heat and will go into the repechage.
Bad news for the British boxer Galal Yafai, who has lost his boxing bout to Cuba’s Joahnys Argilagos.
American Muslim fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad won her preliminary bout in the round of 32 against Ukranian Olena Kravatska. Competing in a hijab as she always does, Muhammad came from behind to win 15-13 to the boisterous shouts of friends and family who chanted “USA! USA USA!” Before the bout an announcer asked the sparse crowd to “respect the diversity of competitor,” though it was unclear if this was a customary statement before many fencing competitions. Muhammad has been critical of anti-Muslim comments made by Donald Trump.
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Victory for Ibtihaj Muhammad but she most certainly had to work for it, prevailing 15-13eventually. She may have to up her game in the last 16 if she’s to advance.
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Britain’s Nekoda Smythe-Davis has made a strong start in her first round judo match at the Carioca 2 arena, comfortably beating the Austrian, Sabrina Filzmoser. The 23-year-old from London was brought up by a single mother on a council estate in Ealing and has delayed going to university to dream of Olympic gold. She will now face French judoka Automne Pavia in the last 16. Pavia won bronze in London in 2012 and also came third in last year’s world championships, so it will be a tough battle for Commonwealth gold medallist Smythe-Davis, who was ranked ninth in the world last year.
It’s 12-12 between Muhammad and Kravatska in the fencing. It’s going to the wire …
Spare a thought for Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo. He’s due to compete in the golf competition – he may not get the chance …
@AmericanAir delays, rerouting and 20+ calls can't find my golf bag. I am going to miss my chance to compete in the Olympics. @Rio2016
— Emiliano Grillo (@GrilloEmiliano) August 8, 2016
Ibtihaj Muhammad takes a 6-4 lead in her last 32 bout – make that 7-4.
In the boxing hall meanwhile, Great Britain’s Galal Yafai is in action against Cuba’s Joahnys Argilagos.
Back at the fencing, a spot of paranoia from the commentator who wonders, “are they wearing the same shoes?” before announcing, quite rightly, that “there are other makes of fencing shoes available”.
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Over in the fencing arena, the USA’s Ibtihaj Muhammad is in action now against Olena Kravatska of Ukraine. Muhammad has become quite the symbol for American muslims – she’s the first US Olympian to wear a hijab at the Games – but she’s no slouch with sabre in hand either.
Great Britain’s Jonathan Walton and Jon Collins in control in the double sculls repechage – comfortable enough in the end – and they’ll be joined in the semis by Bulgaria and Serbia.
Back to the rowing lake and the repechage for the men’s double sculls. Great Britain’s Jonathan Walton and Jon Collins are going for a place in the semis. They should manage it – three of the four boats will make the semis.
Staying in the judo hall and in the men’s -73kg event, the world No1, An Changrim wastes little time in defeating Mohamad Kosem of Syria with ippon (worth 100 points and it ends the game ((a bit like the golden snitch)). He’ll take some stopping.
Nekoda Smythe-Davis is closing in on victory. A waza-ari earns her 10 points and an 11-0 lead with just 10 seconds to go … and that’s victory over Sabrina Filzmoser and a place in the last 16 for the Brit.
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In the judo, Great Britain’s Nekoda Smythe-Davis is in action and takes a significant step towards victory with a waza-ari (worth 10 points) but it is reduced to a yuko (one point). She’s 1-0 up then.
The Netherlands’ Theo van de Vendel has a tumble. His horse rolls over him on landing but fortunately he’s OK – the riders wear air vests that inflate and offer some protection.
Great Britain’s Gemma Tattersall has finished and is currently fifth – she won’t be staying there though.
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Time for a brief aside … this is far too complicated for my little mind but those of you with a bit more technological know-how will no doubt very much enjoy this …
In the women’s hockey, the USA currently lead Australia 1-0 – Michelle Vitesse with the only goal so far.
Things are not going particularly well for Gemma Tattersall – she’s just had a second refusal and that means time penalties. In the team competition, lest we forget, it’s three of the four scores that count so not terminal for Great Britain’s medal hopes by any means.
Gemma Tattersall is on the cross-country course – she’s GB’s first eventer to tackle it.
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Olympic record!
In the men’s 10m air rifle qualification, Italy’s Niccolo Campriani has racked up a score of 630.2 to go through in top spot. Woof!
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Back to the shooting and Great Britain’s Ed Ling is ranked in third place after his fourth round. One more to go and it’s very close but a place in the semis looks a genuine possibility.
Ouch. A spill for Ireland’s Padraig McCarthy in the cross country section of the eventing. He looks OK, thankfully, as does his horse.
In the fencing arena, South Korea’s defending women’s sabre champion Kim Ji-yeon is making swimming progress. In about 45 minutes, Ibtihaj Muhammad will be in action. Read more about her here.
Shooting now and Great Britain’s Ed Ling is currently fifth and in his penultimate round. More on him shortly.
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A quick team sports round-up for you now. China have taken the first set against Italy in their women’s volleyball clash, it’s 14-14 in the women’s handball between South Korea and Sweden, and the USA and Australia are 0-0 in the women’s hockey – that one has just started.
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The judo action is also set to begin imminently. Nekoda Smythe-Davis is in action for Great Britain in the-57kg category.
There’s a little bit of a lull in the fencing arena – they’re playing the Spice Girls – but the action will resume at 10am local time which is also when the eventing gets under way. Great Britain’s William Fox-Pitt leads the individual standings after the dressage while Great Britain are fourth in the team standings. Cross country – arguably the best of the three events to watch – is the order of the day.
A spot of archery now and the USA’s Mackenzie Brown is into a fifth set against Italy’s Claudia Mandia … it’s falling apart a bit for the Italian and Brown takes her place in the second round.
Let’s have a brief rewind to yesterday’s swimming action shall we? Who likes a snazzy interactive graphic? Well here’s one of Katie Ledecky’s remarkable 400m freestyle world record.
There are now scheduled a vast amount of repechages in the men’s and women’s single sculls and so we’ll head elsewhere, but just as I say that, a rower from Kazakhstan has capsized! Not entirely sure what happened there but he can’t blame the wind this time …
As expected, Germany have cruised to victory in their men’s eight heat over at the rowing venue. Germany v Great Britain for gold it appears …
In the water polo – a vastly underrated sport of champions and one that my cousin competed in at London 2012 – Greece lead Serbia 3-1.
Ah great, John Inverdale is in position for the BBC … opening things up with a spectacularly clumsy declaration about making things look easy. More from him later.
Great Britain win their men’s eight heat to take their place in the final. No fireworks but that was a very solid performance for the 2012 bronze medallists. Looking very strong. Over to you Germany …
Further bantz
World's Most Useless Job... Olympic Swimmer Life Guard pic.twitter.com/qgKQtfBsHC
— Fill Werrell (@FillWerrell) August 8, 2016
Curious to know more about those purple circles on Michael Phelps’ shoulder? Read all about ‘cupping’ here.
The first men’s eight heat now. Great Britain and New Zealand to feature. For GB there’s Andrew Triggs Hodge and Peter Reed – gold medallists in the four in London. Germany go in the second heat.
Bantz
Still everything to play for, in the Men's Hoovering #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/L1JwxBk4u8
— Nick James (@jamesy1962) August 7, 2016
Great Britain come through to take victory in the women’s eight second heat. That was an impressive finish and also the first time GB have qualified directly for the final in the women’s eight. Looks like it might be a shootout between Great Britain and the USA, although don’t write New Zealand off.
Updated
Back in the rowing, New Zealand, Great Britain, who are motoring, and Canada are all extremely close. Great Britain have gained a small lead …
Updated
Meanwhile, following yesterday’s women’s road race, which featured that awful crash by Annemiek van Vleuten, the UCI has defended the course which has been described as ‘dangerous’ and ‘brutal’ among other things.
Helen Pidd has more …
Great Britain’s octet features Fran Houghton – like Katherine Grainger competing in her fifth Olympics. New Zealand are expected to be their closest competitors for first place.
Updated
It’s just before 9am in Rio which means a number of other sports are set to begin for the day – stay tuned for some red hot shooting, archery, water polo and fencing action! ANd more rowing of course.
The USA have won their women’s eight heat by a country mile – basically a training session for them as they romp into the final. Second heat to begin shortly. Just a reminder that it’s only the heat winners that go through, everyone else into the repechage.
The first heat of the women’s eight is now under way. The American octet is the boat to beat here – they’re the world champions and Olympic gold medallists from London 2012. Great Britain go in the second heat.
A fine comeback from the Netherlands to take first place, edging out Poland while China take the third place available in the final in a photo finish with the USA, who also reach the final. Hmmm. So only Australia missed out, having come last.
Sweet lord the music blaring out at the Lagoa Stadium is utterful woeful!
Poland have opened up a sizeable lead here – a good three seconds ahead of their closest rivals which happen to be the Netherlands and the USA, battling it out for second.
The women’s turn now. The Netherlands, Poland, Australia, the USA and China lock horns for a roundabout route into their quad sculls final …
Germany hold on to win the men’s quad sculls repechage but they were pushed all the way by Great Britain’s quartet who can be very pleased with their morning’s work. Both had clear water and both are into the final and should both be competitive, particularly if the wind is down.
500m to go … Germany are comfortably ahead but Great Britain have their noses in front in the race for second place. In fact, they’re closing in on Germany …
Germany, now in far calmer waters, are cruising in the quad sculls, comfortably ahead after 500m.
Wind watch
No wind! So it’s the men’s quad to go first to squeeze into the final – a top two place is required. Great Britain, of course, have had to deal with the late withdrawal of Graeme Thomas. They’re in lane five in a race that also features the world champions Germany. Two from six then … they’re off!
First up at the rowing venue will be the rescheduled repechages from the men’s and women’s quadruple sculls followed by the opening heats of the men’s and the women’s eight. Not long to go now …
Before the rowing begins though, which is in approximately 15 minutes, the mother of Annemiek van Vleuten, the Dutch cyclist who suffered a frankly awful crash in the women’s road race, has been speaking to Dutch media.
“At that time [of the end of the race] we did not know how he was Annemiek and whether she was still alive. Still I keep that picture of the fall with me. It will be a long time before it’s gone.”
It is also worth noting that exactly a year ago, Van Vleuten was in hospital with numerous fractures and a collapsed lung. August 7 is not a good day for her.
Hello world! Gerard here for the next few hours or so. And the good news is that we’ll have some live sport in just a matter of minutes. Day three will kick off with rowing and the even better news is that the wind seems to be causing less of a problem than yesterday …
First check in the Rio daybreak - wind - down a lot on yesterday. Fingers crossed for a full schedule at the Lagoa. #rowing
— Matthew Pinsent (@matthewcpinsent) August 8, 2016
Day three so far
There has been no action thus far, so we have been reflecting on the events of the second evening in Rio:
- Michael Phelps picked up his 19th (NINETEENTH) Olympic gold as part of the US 4x100m team, who held off France to win.
- Adam Peaty won GB’s first gold with a spectacular performance in the 100m breaststroke, breaking his own world record.
- Nana Peaty rather enjoyed it.
- Katie Ledecky destroyed her own world record in winning the 400m freestyle final. Britain’s Jazz Carlin claimed silver.
- Novak Djokovic was knocked out by Juan Martin del Potro in the men’s tennis, while the Williams sisters and the Murray brothers lost in the doubles.
- Brazil’s footballers put yet another nail in the coffin of jogo bonito, drawing 0-0 with Iraq, and are now in danger of going out at the group stage.
Today’s action
The full schedule is here, but highlights include Britain’s Tom Daley in the synchronised diving and the men’s gymnastics team final; US and China are favourites in that. We will also discover the winners of the women’s rugby sevens this evening.
Gerard Meagher is waiting to be tagged in for round two, so I’ll be off. Thanks for your company, bye.
This, from last week, is worth revisiting: the peerless Don McRae meets the remarkable Adam Peaty.
Thanks @adam_peaty for talking to me about the psychology of great barbers, grime, NWA & chasing Olympic gold in Rio https://t.co/cDYJQ7FdiT
— Donald McRae (@donaldgmcrae) July 30, 2016
Guardian Witness We’d like to hear from you. Whether you’re watching in person or from your sofa at home, we want to see how you are experiencing the Olympic Games – and hear any stories from Rio. You can share your experiences, photos and videos by clicking on the blue ‘Contribute’ button or via our form. Just remember not to take pics inside the stadiums. You can also get in contact with the Guardian via WhatsApp by adding the contact +44(0)7867825056.’
Here’s another of our special interactives: if you’re a jogger, you can bring Rio to Rochester High Street.
We’re not far away from the first action on day three. The rowing begins in just under an hour, with fencing, water polo and shooting to follow at 9am local time.
The joy of Twitter
Hey @chicagotribune, I fixed your tweet. (p.s. Maybe edit the article to focus on her achievements?) #Olympics pic.twitter.com/edtoExBua4
— Laura Keeney (@LauraKeeney) August 8, 2016
The men’s 25-metre rapid fire pistol is a favourite of Time Crisis aficionados, and one of the most challenging shooting events at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games for competitors and for spectators. Here’s everything you need to know about the 25-metre rapid fire pistol:
“Their medals over morals mentality disgusts me”
Here’s Owen Gibson’s report on last night’s news that no Russian athletes will be allowed to compete at next month’s Paralympic Games.
Updated
It’s 6.45am in Rio, so alarms will be getting on wicks all across the capital. It’s time for day three of #Rio2016. And if you’d like a precis of day two, you could do significantly worse than this briefing.
Tennis bits and bobs In case you missed it, Novak Djokovic shedded a few after his surprise defeat to Juan Martin del Potro.
The Williams sisters and the Murray brothers were also beaten in the doubles. Jamie and Andy Murray were beaten 7-6, 7-6 by the Brazilian pair of Thomaz Bellucci and Andre Sa. The second of those tie-breaks ended 16-14.
The sailing starts at around 1pm local time. It could be quite a challenge given the conditions - the rowing events were postponed yesterday because of high winds - and all eyes will be on Robert Scheidt, who is aiming to become the first sailor and the first Brazilian to win six Olympic medals.
“I’ll be satisfied if I can get a result,” said Scheidt. “That is my goal: a medal, no matter the colour.” There is some concern about viruses and bacteria from the human sewage in the water, though Scheidt is not too perturbed. “I’ve been sailing here for more than 25 years,” he said earlier this year. “I’ve never had a problem, not a single infection. Perhaps some athletes who’ve never sailed here have suffered something, but in general there’s no danger.”
Max Groy, a coach with the German team, says the bay is the cleanest he has seen for some time. “It seems clearer than ever, especially in the harbour,” h said. “Where it’s one metre deep, you can see the ground. I almost found that sensational, because that’s never happened before.”
Each his own, Max, each his own.
A reminder that Adam Peaty was not the only British medalist last night in Rio. Jazz Carlin really is all that (sorry): she took silver in the 400m freestyle, becoming the first female Welsh swimmer to win an Olympic medal since Valerie Davies in 1932. It’s an uplifting story, this one: Carlin missed London 2012 with glandular fever and almost gave up the sport. Her post-race interview was rather lovely, too.
Here is the latest medals table. Anybody know how the Expected Medals table is looking?
This is an interesting bit of research from Sporting Index, who have estimated that our passion for sports we know nothing about and only pay attention to once every four years is so powerful that the British economy will lose a walloping £1.6bn in the next fortnight.
This is not new, but if you haven’t seen 9.79 - a brilliant documentary about the men’s 100m in 1988 - you should do so at your earliest convenience.
Updated
Enough of Rio 2016, let’s revisit some classic Olympic moments.
Brunchtime reading
This is a superb piece from Barney Ronay on a very difficult day in the life of Lizzie Armitstead.
Eye candy department
I politely implore you to click on the below link, for there are some stunning pictures contained therein.
Updated
Here’s more on #OlympicNan, Chris Morris’s latest creation.
Updated
The good news for Brazil’s football team is that, whatever they do in this tournament, it cannot be as humiliating as their exit from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The bad news is that they were jeered during a 0-0 draw with Iraq and are now in serious danger of going out at the group stage.
Woe is Baz
Was lucky enough to have this view from my outdoor office today. pic.twitter.com/dJPBMfbskZ
— Barry Glendenning (@bglendenning) August 7, 2016
It was not all gold and goodwill on the second day in Rio. There was plenty of controversy, both actual and perceived, and you can read all about it here.
Old people > young people, part 34209232423494636568
A grandma's delight - here's how Uttoxeter's #OlympicNan @Mavise42Mavis reacted when @adam_peaty won #Rio2016 goldhttps://t.co/S1y3gVMkFI
— BBC Midlands Today (@bbcmtd) August 8, 2016
Here are video highlights (UK only, I’m afraid) of Adam Peaty’s stirring victory in the 100m breaststroke.
And here’s our video round-up (again, UK only) of day two: Michael Phelps’ 19th gold, Novak Djokovic in tears after losing to Juan Martin del Potro - and Brazil’s footballers ramming another nail into the coffin of jogo bonito.
You want a visual replay? We’ve got a visual replay. Here’s how Katie Ledecky demolished her own world record in the 400m freestyle.
Updated
Annemiek van Vleuten is recovering in hospital after that awful crash in the women’s road race yesterday. She was leading the field when she lost control on the steep descent. It was such a bad fall that Anna van der Breggen, who eventually took gold, thought she was dead.
Van Vleuten is being kept in intensive care overnight but tweeted that she is okay apart from a few fractures. You can read the full story here.
I am now in the hospital with some injuries and fractures, but will be fine. Most of all super disappointed after best race of my career.
— Annemiek van Vleuten (@AvVleuten) August 8, 2016
It’s almost 4am in Rio, so there won’t be any live action for a few hours. But there is plenty to catch up on, depending where you are in the world. Let’s start with this outstanding piece of writing from the great Andy Bull on the even greater Adam Peaty.
Jazz Carlin also won silver in the 400m freestyle - a race won spectacularly by the American Katie Ledecky, who shattered the world record and helped put Team USA top of the early medal table.
What an amazing snapchat photo @JazzCarlin @adam_peaty !!!! Olympic medalists!!! pic.twitter.com/tH51CawPaD
— Becky Adlington (@BeckAdlington) August 8, 2016
Thanks to Claire for that comprehensive briefing, which has saved me a job while I jolt myself into life via the medium of coffee. We’ll come to the rest of the action in a moment, including the considerable matter of a 19th gold for Michael Phelps, but for Team GB the star of day two was Mavis Adam Peaty, who obliterated an excellent field in the 100m breaststroke to take gold and break his own world record.
His entirely adorable nan Mavis has just been interviewed on BBC1. Apparently when he was a child Adam hated water and would scream every time he was put in the bath. There’s a moral in that story somewhere, though I’ve no idea what it is.
Well you have done it @adam_peaty you have made it, your hard work paid off. Congratulations to you and @massivemel. So proud love Nan x
— Mavis (@Mavise42Mavis) August 8, 2016
Day 3 briefing
It’s Monday in Rio at the end of a weekend that’s already seen fistfuls of medals, broken limbs, myths created and debunked, and wind. A lot of wind.
Find all our Olympics coverage here, the latest results and medals table here, and Monday’s full minute-by-minute schedule here. Once you’ve read all those, you might even have time to see some sport.
The big picture
Rio is keeping the swimmers up late but it doesn’t seem to be wearing them out: Sunday night saw a fresh batch of gold medals with world records thrown in just for the hell of it. Team GB grabbed its first medal of the Games – a gold to boot – thanks to Adam Peaty, who tore through his 100m breaststroke final to become the first British man since 1988 (that was Adrian Moorhouse) to win an Olympic swimming gold, taking a 57.13s world record with him.
Better still, he made his Nan very happy.
There was gold and a world record 3mins 56.46s too for Team USA’s swimming superstar Katie Ledecky in the 400m freestyle final. Nearly a full five seconds behind, but nonetheless jubilantly silver, came GB’s Jazz Carlin.
Another world record fell to Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström – beating her own previous best – in the 100m butterfly, where she took her country’s first 2016 gold. The secret to her success? A game of Yahtzee with her roommates before the race, she revealed.
And that was before we even got to Michael Phelps … He’s now on his 19th Olympic gold medal after the US won the 4x100m relay by seeing off France. Australia nicked third place from the (roundly booed) Russians at the last.
Boos also greeted Russian swimmer Yuliya Efimova at her 100m breaststroke semi-final. The banned, re-banned and un-banned athlete won her heat and will compete in Tuesday’s final.
Elsewhere it was a bad day to be a 2016 Wimbledon champion twinned with your sibling in a doubles match, as both the Williams sisters and the Murray brothers were dispatched in straight sets (although Andy Murray strolled through in his singles match). Novak Djokovic is out too, walloped in the first round 7-6, 7-6 by Juan Martin del Potro, who prepared for his match by being stuck in a lift for 40 minutes.
Así empezó su día @delpotrojuan: encerrado 40 minutos en un ascensor de la villa olímpica por un corte de luz. pic.twitter.com/AOcTGFxanM
— Jorge Viale (@jorgeviale) August 7, 2016
He was rescued from the lift by Argentina’s handball team, who then went on to lose their opening game against Denmark 25-19, which hardly seems fair.
It was a bad day too for hosts Brazil, whose football team – generally considered to be Quite Good – drew 0-0 with Iraq and face the prospect of a very early exit on home turf.
Sunday also brought us some real flinching moments, with a horrific crash in the women’s cycling road race leaving Annemiek van Vleuten in intensive care with three cracks in her spine.
You should also know:
- Israel protests after Lebanese athletes refuse to share Olympic bus.
- Rafael Nadal cruises into second round.
- Day two of rowing regatta called off due to weather problems.
- British Olympic chiefs criticised for Strongbow cider sponsorship of Team GB.
- Kenyan athletics chief sent home over claims of bribes for dope test warnings.
Picture of the day
Turns out it doesn’t get dull stepping to the top of the podium for the 19th time:
Diary
All times are local: add four hours for UK, add 13 hours for eastern Australia; subtract one hour for east-coast US and four for west coast. Or take a look here and stop counting on your fingers.
The full schedule is here, including archery, boxing, handball, rowing heats and semi-finals, the start of the sailing, more table tennis and tennis-tennis, volleyball beach and otherwise, and waterpolo.
- At 10am it’s the eventing cross country, team and individual, with Australia and Team GB galloping along nicely in the standings so far.
- 4pm sees the men’s gymnastics team final; China and the US will be jostling for victory but Team GB will fancy a shot at a medal too.
- Britain’s Tom Daley and Dan Goodfellow are aiming high (low? deep?) in the men’s synchronised 10m platform final at 4pm. Remember to lose the shoes, guys!
Synchro warm up today with @danngoodfellow :) pic.twitter.com/gNs5XEGBIK
— Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) August 4, 2016
- Heaps more swimming too, including finals in men’s 200m freestyle (at precisely 10.21pm) and men’s 100m backstroke at 10.38pm. Women’s finals come in backstroke at 10.30pm and breaststroke at 10.54pm.
- At 2.15pm Canada and Serbia’s women bring on the basketball preliminary rounds; the US women’s team and Australian men’s teams get a bye this time, but the US men must take on Venezuela: that’s at 7pm.
- Team GB fans need to watch out for 2012 silver medallists David Florence and Richard Hounslow in the men’s canoe slalom doubles, at 12.30pm and 2.20pm. Britain’s Fiona Pennie also competes in the women’s kayak heats at 1.10pm and 3pm.
- Plenty of hockey, with Australia’s men taking on the USA at 10am; and at 6pm it’s India v Great Britain in the women’s rounds.
- At 12 noon it’s the the final of the 10m men’s air rifle; at 3.45pm it’s the men’s trap final.
- There’s a gold medal up for grabs in the women’s sabre individual at 5.45pm; and two golds going begging in the judo: at 5pm in the women’s -57kg final, and 5.20pm in the men’s -73kg. Britain’s Commonwealth gold medallist Nekoda Smythe-Davis will take the floor.
- Hefty golds in the weightlifting, with the women’s 58kg and the men’s 62kg.
- And we’ll see another gold – and an Olympic first – in the women’s rugby sevens from 7pm.
Team GB roundup
Off the mark with a stunning gold from Adam Peaty and sterling silver from Jazz Carlin in the pool, so you can now abandon the bad-cheese dreams where the team comes home with nothing.
Andy Murray skipped through his opening round with a straight-sets (6-3, 6-2) win over Serbia’s Viktor Troicki. It didn’t go so well once he teamed up with brother Jamie. But he’s not, he insists, feeling the pressure to defend his 2012 singles victory, not least because – unlike his Wimbledon trophies – he got to take that prize home:
I’m not defending a gold medal. I will always keep that. That’s always going to be there. You don’t have to give it back.
There was frustration for Team GB with Lizzie Armitstead rolling in fifth in the women’s road race, and Richard Kruse foiled (sorry) in the men’s fencing bronze match. Men’s judo hopeful Ashley McKenzie did not, I’m sure, intend for his defining image of the Rio Games to be him crying beside a bin, but after he lost by a single point to Kazakhstan’s Yeldos Smetov in the second round of the under-60kg category, that’s where he ended up:
Thank you all for your support.. My journey has been tough but you've all helped! Thank You pic.twitter.com/if0gGoeHKv
— Ashley McKenzie (@Ashleymckenzi12) August 6, 2016
-
Britain’s women set up rugby sevens semi with New Zealand with Fiji win.
- Ellie Downie gets back off the mat to help GB into gymnastics all-round final.
- Pippa Funnell relishing cross-country stage as Great Britain stay in touch.
- Chris Froome sure of his recovery for Olympic time trial after brutal road race.
Team USA roundup
Well, there’s Michael Phelps, isn’t there? Nineteen Olympic golds (23 medals in total) confirm him as the most decorated Olympian of all time, which presumably now affords him a spot on Mount Rushmore. While we’re on the superlatives, Katie Ledecky had a pretty good night too.
And the – look, just find a thesaurus and insert the formidable adjective of your choice here – astonishing Simone Biles continued to boing her way towards the gymnastics all-around gold with an awesome first performance.
Team USA is top of the overall medal table, with three gold, five silver and four bronze. So yep: a good day. (Mostly.)
- Venus and Serena Williams crash out in first round as Czechs post huge upset.
- Women’s basketball: USA set Olympic scoring record in win over Senegal.
Australia team roundup
That ego-boosting number one position in the medals table has been handed baton-style to China and then to the US, but it’s still a cheerful start to the Games for Team Aus, with another gold in the women’s trap shooting, thanks to Catherine Skinner. Maddison Keeney and Anabelle Smith took bronze in the synchronised 3m springboard diving, as did the men’s 4x100m relay swimmers.
The women’s rugby sevens teams will face Canada in the semi-finals after booting out Spain, and the women’s basketball team saw off Turkey in their Group A game.
But there was less fun for swimmer Mack Horton, who found himself in the middle of a social media onslaught after he criticised rival Sun Yang as a “drugs cheat”. Horton hasn’t commented on the row. He’s probably a bit busy buffing his gold medal.
- China says Australia is ‘on fringes of civilisation’ after Mack Horton attacks Sun Yang.
- Read more on Team Australia here.
Underdogs of the day
Few – OK, possibly only family and very close friends – would have fancied the chances of the Czech Republic’s Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova against the Williams sisters (Olympic doubles tally: played 15 matches, won 15 matches) in the opening round of the tennis. Add in the fact that Strycova and Safarova had played only one match together before – they lost – and their 6-3, 6-4 victory over the mighty Serena and Venus becomes all the more eye-rubbingly-check-again-yes-it-did-happen extraordinary.
Awkwardness of the day
Uproar in China as the national flags hauled up for Du Li and Yi Siling, silver and bronze winners in the women’s 10m air rifle, had the four smaller stars pointing in the wrong direction, a gaffe repeated when Sun Yang stepped up for his men’s 400m freestyle silver. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV thundered: “No mistakes are allowed!” The flags were, reports the South China Morning Post, made in China.
Tweet of the day
There’s finding the local angle, and then there’s overlooking half a century of societal progress:
Wife of a Bears' lineman wins a bronze medal today in Rio Olympics https://t.co/kwZoGY0xAX pic.twitter.com/VZrjOvr80h
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) August 7, 2016
As well as being a wife, amazingly Corey Cogdell-Unrein is also a bronze-winning Olympian in trap shooting.
If today were a song
It would be Joe Jackson’s Nineteen Forever. Or, given that Phelps has a few more heats to go, the Courteeners’ Not Nineteen Forever.
And another thing
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