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So much happened on day 15 with medals being awarded left right and centre. And after the dust settled, it was a day to remember for New Zealand with high jumper Hamish Kerr securing a dramatic gold medal, golfer Lydia Ko completing a full set with a two-stroke victory, and canoe sprinter Lisa Carrington winning her third final of the Games to extend her national record of gold medals to a staggering eight.
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Elsewhere, the marathon was fast, the sport climbing was gripping, and the boxing was controversial. Faith Kipyegon and the US men’s basketballers remained invincible; unlike Karsten Warholm.
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So what do we have in store today?
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🥇 Marathon – women’s (from 08:00)
\n 🥇 Modern Pentathlon – women’s (from 11:00)
\n 🥇 Wrestling – men’s freestyle 65kg & 97kg / women’s freestyle 76kg (from 11:00)
\n 🥇 Weightlifting – women’s 81kg (from 11:30)
\n 🥇 Volleyball – women’s (from 13:00)
\n 🥇 Cycling – women’s sprint & omnium / men’s keirin (from 12:45)
\n 🥇 Handball – men’s (from 13:30)
\n 🥇 Water Polo – men’s (from 14:00)
\n 🥇 Basketball – women’s (from 15:30)
\n 🔥 Closing Ceremony (from 21:00)
\n *(All times listed are Paris local)
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Simon Burnton’s day-by-day guide
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Women’s marathon
\n Tradition has it that the men’s marathon should close the Olympic athletics programme, but not this year. At the end of a route that partly follows the women’s march on Versailles, one of the most significant events of the French Revolution, this will be the final medal decided in the Stade de France. Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa, who shattered the world record last year, will be hoping to improve on her previous Olympic experience: coming fifth in an 800m heat in 2016.
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Men’s water polo
\n Though Serbia have won gold at the last two Olympics a three-peat would be a massive achievement given the pure competitiveness of this event – the last four world championships have had four different winners and seven different medallists, with Croatia coming out on top in the latest, in Doha in February. “I have no favourites,” their coach, Ivica Tucak, said. “There is a circle of nine teams from which any can beat any, where every match can be won or lost. Any medal is a magnificent result.”
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Closing ceremony
\n There will be no parade of departing athletes here, just – in the words of Thomas Jolly, director of ceremonies – “a great show where only music will resonate”, and of course a handover to Los Angeles, hosts in 2028. The official website predicts that “like an indelible memory, this closing ceremony will be marked by audacity, fraternity and emotion”, and that it will be “an incredible moment of celebration and sharing” in which “the emotion will be immense”. So quite good, then.
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I’m sure I’ve failed to include something notable to you in this short rundown, so feel free to let me know what’s on your agenda by emailing: jonathan.howcroft.casual@theguardian.com.
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I’ll be around for the first few hours of the blog here in Australia, after which I’m handing over to the the UK.
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Main Events
Carr’s compatriot, Lydia Ko, also showed an iron will, winning the women’s golf tournament by two strokes and going on to win every Olympic medal.
Lydia Ko was overcome with emotion after winning the gold medal and the Olympic Slam. Since golf returned to the Olympic Games in 2016, only three players have beaten her. After a silver medal in Rio, a bronze medal in Tokyo and a place at the top of the podium in Paris, the 27-year-old Ko stood at the top of the podium. Within minutes of her victory at Le Golf National, she was confirmed as the youngest player ever to be inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame.
On the fourth day, it looked like a winning streak at one point. Ko was leading by five strokes after 11 holes. Then drama struck, when she made a double bogey on the 13th hole, and nearest rival Esther Henseleit finished with a flourish. The German birdied the final two holes to reach her target of eight under par. Ko tee’d the 18th hole at minus-nine strokes, but had no room for error. Highlighting the New Zealander’s Olympic prowess, she birdied to win by two strokes.
New Zealand enjoyed astonishing success, including a gold medal in the high jump for Hamish Carr, who could have won two gold medals in successive Olympics, but won in sudden death.
This time, no one wanted to share the gold medal. Three years after Mutaz Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi decided to win the men’s high jump at the Tokyo Olympics in a 50-50 tie instead of a jump-off, two of their competitors found themselves in the same situation but decided to solve it the old-fashioned way.
American Shelby McEuen and New Zealander Hamish Carr were tied for first place after failing to clear 238 meters three times. “You’ve seen this before,” the stadium’s PA man told the crowd. “What are you going to do now?” Carr and McEuen didn’t even stop to debate. The collegiality of COVID-19 competition was long gone, and both wanted to go straight into the sudden-death round.
The U.S. Women’s National Team won four gold medals in the first five Olympic women’s soccer tournaments and silver medals in the remaining tournaments, but since their last gold medal in 2012, they have been in a slow decline as a dominant team in international soccer.
English player Emma Hayes was scouted by Chelsea to help get the team back on track and she made an immediate impact, making some brave decisions on her way to winning gold at her first major tournament.
Ten games was all Hayes needed to make her mark. It still feels like the beginning, but this was a title she so desperately needed. A defeat would have put her at a disadvantage from the start and raised legitimate questions about her thoroughbred style, the fact that Rose Lavelle didn’t play a minute in the final, left back Crystal Dunn and the whole “program.” But she now has credit in the bank and the support of players and the public.
Since its debut in Tokyo, sport climbing has been a huge success, and tweaks to the program in Paris to separate the speedsters from the bouldering and lead technicians have worked wonders, allowing a wider range of competitors to shine.
The emotions on display during the Reid final made for compelling television.
The final day of climbing was a thrilling finale to what is sure to be a fantastic addition to the Olympic Games. Rock climbing is, after all, a fundamental concept: you either go high or you fall. While the details of the scoring system are complicated, the struggles of some competitors speak to the difficulty of certain holds and routes. It was tense and thrilling to watch the best climbers in each event outrun their opponents and break new ground.
Olympic men’s basketball has been less a gold medal contest and more a five-ringed banana peel with US and NBA superstars slipping and falling. They nearly failed multiple times in Paris, but fought back brilliantly against Serbia, keeping France at bay despite the brilliance of rising star Victor Wembanyama.
It is the fifth consecutive gold medal for the United States in the sport and its 17th gold medal in 21 tournaments since 1936.
In the end, the U.S. had too many weapons to fall back on, too many sharp edges to rely on. As the Cuban coach famously said after his failed attempt to contain the first Dream Team in 1992: “You can try, but you can’t hide the sun with your fingers.”
Before we look back at yesterday’s action, let’s pay tribute to Faith Kipyegon. The 30-year-old Kenyan won her third consecutive gold medal in the women’s 1500m and her second podium finish in Paris, after winning silver in the 5000m.
She holds the world records for the 1500m and the mile, and last year she set the 5000m record, which has since been broken. On top of that, she’s also the mother of a six-year-old.
She is currently one of only 14 track and field athletes to win at least three consecutive individual events, and one of only two to have achieved this in pure track events (the other being Usain Bolt).
Amazing.
The final day of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad is much shorter than the others to allow time for all activities to be completed before the Closing Ceremony (9pm local time), but there is great competition and some sort of medal will be awarded in every event.
It all starts at 8am Women’s MarathonAn hour later, Spain will face Slovenia for the bronze medal. Men’s HandballSpain and Greece will play in the fifth place match. Men’s Water PoloAt 10:35 a.m., the United States and Hungary will face off for the bronze medal in men’s water polo.
Most of the day’s activities start at 11:00. The final activity before the closing ceremony was a match between France and the USA. Women’s Basketball The gold medal match will begin at 3:30 p.m.
My pick from yesterday was a perfectly framed action shot of table tennis.
For a detailed look at the medals table and an assessment of who performed well and why, check out this in-depth explanation. I admit that I don’t have a math background so I can’t fully understand all of this, but it seems reasonable that Australia overperformed in this tournament.
China has once again surpassed the United States for the top medal standings, but the U.S. looks promising on the final day and could take the lead for the fourth consecutive tournament.
Australia and Japan are locked in a fierce battle for third place, while France are aiming for their best result since 1948.
Over the past fortnight, 63 NOCs have heard their national anthems and athletes from 91 NOCs have received their medals.
Preface – Schedule for Day 16
Hello everyone and welcome to our live coverage of the 16th and final day of official competition at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
There was so much going on on Day 15 as medals were handed out one after the other and when the competition was over it was a day to remember for New Zealand, with high jumper Hamish Kerr claiming a dramatic gold medal, golfer Lydia Ko winning by two strokes in a five-set victory and canoe sprinter Lisa Carrington winning her third final of the tournament to extend her national gold medal tally to an astounding eight.
Elsewhere, the marathon was fast, the sport climbing was thrilling, the boxing was controversial, and Faith Kipyegon and the US men’s basketball team, unlike Kirsten Warholm, remained invincible.
So, what do we have in store for you today?
🥇 Marathon – Women (starts at 08:00)
🥇 Modern Pentathlon – Women (11:00-)
🥇 Wrestling – Men’s Freestyle 65kg and 97kg / Women’s Freestyle 76kg (starts at 11:00)
🥇 Weightlifting – Women’s 81kg (Starts at 11:30)
🥇 Volleyball – Women (13:00~)
🥇 Cycling – Women’s Sprint & Omnium / Men’s Keirin (12:45)
🥇 Handball – Men (13:30~)
🥇 Water polo – Men (starting at 14:00)
🥇 Basketball – Women (from 15:30)
🔥 Closing Ceremony (21:00~)
*(All times listed are local Paris time)
Simon Burnton’s Daily Guide
Women’s Marathon
The men’s marathon traditionally concludes the Olympic athletics events, but not this year. At the end of a course that partially retraces one of the most important events of the French Revolution, the Women’s March to the Palace of Versailles, it will be the final medal to be decided at the Stade de France. Ethiopia’s Tigest Assefa, who broke the world record last year, will be hoping to improve on his previous Olympic experience, where he placed fifth in the 800m heats in 2016.
Men’s Water Polo
Serbia has won gold at the past two Olympic Games, but a third consecutive title would be a major achievement given the pure competitive nature of the sport. The past four world championships have produced four winners and seven medallists, with Croatia winning the most recent edition in Doha in February. “There are no favorites,” Serbia coach Ivica Tucak said. “There’s a ring of nine teams, any team can win, and every match is winnable. Any medal would be a great result.”
Closing Ceremony
There will be no exit parade for the athletes, just what director of ceremonies Thomas Joly calls “a spectacular show with only music” and, of course, the handover to Los Angeles, the host city in 2028. The official website predicts that “like every unforgettable memory, the Closing Ceremony will be marked by boldness, camaraderie and emotion,” and that it will be a great moment of celebration and sharing where “the emotions will be immeasurable.” Pretty good, then.
We’re sure we’ve forgotten to highlight something noteworthy for you in this brief overview, so please let us know what you’re up to by emailing us: jonathan.howcroft.casual@theguardian.com.
The first few hours of the blog will be in Australia, after which the UK will take over.
