French swimmer Leon Marchand (left) and the Spanish tennis giant Rafael Nadal.
AFP
Syed Irtiza Ali
Day 5 of the 2024 Paris Olympics witnessed an exciting unfolding of events. Team GB racked up five further medals, with two gold. Canada’s women’s football team faced a six points penalty for spying on the opponent team’s training session; Nadal crashed out while the French swimmer Leon Marchand bagged two golds on a captivating night.
Leon Marchand’s Brilliance
The 22-year-old French swimmer has become a darling of his nation, bagging three gold medals in the ongoing Games.
Leon clinched a gold at the 400m individual medley on Day 3, but on the fifth day, he managed to knock on the doors of history with two golds under the duration of 2 hours.
He won the golds in 200-metre butterfly and 200m breaststroke in front of a rousing cheer from the home crowd.
GB’s Dream Day
Star Great Britain triathlete Alex Lee romped to a sensational gold with a sprint that helped him finish six seconds clear of New Zealand’s Wilde.
In the women’s category, GB’s rowers – Lauren Henry, Hannah Scott, Lola Anderson and Georgie Brayshaw – won a gold in Quadruple Sculls, as they finished 0.15 second ahead of the second-placed Netherlands.
Spendolini-Sirieix and Lois Toulson won a bronze in a nail-biting synchronized 10-metre platform, in what turned out to be an emotional showdown for both the athletes.
GB’s 23-year-old cyclist Kieran Rielly managed to secure a BMX silver.
Katie Ledecky’s Triumph
The Olympic swimming pool witnessed an epic unfolding of events. Leon Marchand made headlines in the men’s category. Katie became the second female swimmer to win 8 Olympic gold medals, after her record-equaling gold on Wednesday.
She won a gold in the 1500-metre freestyle, winning with an Olympic record time of 15:20:2, having already secured a bronze in the 400m freestyle on Saturday.
Nadal exits as Djokovic marches on
In tennis, Spanish giant Rafael Nadal faced another humiliation, as he and his countryman Carlos Alcaraz crashed out of the men’s doubles, losing the quarter-final to the US seeds Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram, 6-2 and 6-4.
The 14-time French Open champion, Nadal, is considering retirement having also lost to his chief rival Djokovic in a one-sided men’s singles second round match on July 29th.
Djokovic, meanwhile, booked a spot in the men’s singles quarter-final as he remains on course for his first Olympic Gold, having bagged a bronze at 2008 Beijing Games.
Women’s Football
However, a controversy in women’s football also made the headlines, as Canada was discovered using a drone at New Zealand’s training session ahead of both team’s clash on July 25th. As a result, Canada faced a six-point deduction from FIFA – a decision they took to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
But on July 31st, the CAS rejected Canada’s appeal. As a result, Canada had to settle for three points on the second spot behind France despite winning all three Group A games.
The Leaderboard
China stand on top with 19 medals, including 9 gold after their swimmer Pan Zhale came first in the 100m freestyle swimming.
Japan slipped to third, after an impressive show from the French athletes helped the hosts jump to second with 26 medals. In terms of gold medals, France and Japan stand equal with eight golds.
The picture shows the 2024 Paris Olympics Medals Tally. Screengrab from Reuters
Great Britain has jumped to the fifth spot, while the United States is surprisingly trailing at seventh with five golds, but 30 in total.
But, with some fierce competitions still to come, the tally will see exciting changes in the coming days.
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