Paris Olympics 2024: Day 14’s biggest moments, including twin silver medals for Aussies in diving and cycling
1. Keen for success
West Australian diver Maddison Keeney had to wait the full two weeks after a night-one heart-break in the synchronised 3m springboard competition. It was worth it.
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“The event is so competitive and anything can happen... for nothing go wrong for me, it’s more of a relief than anything,” Keeney said.
2. Rich reward
It wasn’t long ago Matthew Richardson was a gymnast and three years ago he finished 26th in the men’s sprint at the Tokyo Olympics.
He came agonisingly close to becoming a champion on Saturday morning, beaten by the Harrie Lavreysen, the man they call the king of cycling.
Richardson won his semifinal on Friday night to make it through to the final, but the Dutch reigning champion hardly made a mistake in their two duels to claim a second consecutive gold medal.
3. Golden glow
The women’s boxer at the centre of the Olympics’ gender eligibility storm has fought through the controversy to win gold in the welterweight division.
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif beat Yang Liu of China 5-0 in their gold-medal bout, putting a bow on the best series of fights of her career.
The revelation Khelif had been excluded from a tournament last season for not meeting gender eligibility requirements lit up the controversy last week, but the International Olympic Committee clarified its position is to classify fighters off their passport.
4. Juggernaut continues
The Opals’ run at the Paris Olympics is over, humbled by the all-conquering United States.
Their latest effort to take down the perennial giants of women’s basketball ended in an 85-64 semifinal defeat and sends them into a bronze-medal play-off against Belgium.
Captain Tess Madgen held her own with 10 points, while 19-year-old Isobel Borlase scored 11 points to impress when given the chance in the final quarter.
5. Volleyball heartbreak
There will be no medal this time around for popular Australian pair Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar in the women’s beach volleyball tournament.
The duo were beaten in straight sets by Swiss pair Tanja Huerberli and Nina Brunner, but revealed post-match the pain of missing out on a medal after landing silver in Tokyo could drive them towards competing together in Los Angeles.
Clancy said she wanted to “bawl my f...ing eyes out” after the defeat.
6. Kayak bronze
They weren’t able to defend their K2 Olympic crown from Tokyo, but Tom Green and Jean van der Westhuyzen were both back on the podium in Paris.
The sprint kayak duo snared bronze in a 500m event that was half the distance of their triumph from three years ago.
7. Baton blunder
Even without Noah Lyles, the gold was USA’s to lose in the men’s 4x100m relay final - and they duly lost it with their first baton changeover.
Christian Coleman and Kenny Bednarek botched their handover and there was no time to recover, paving the way for Canada - and veteran sprinter Andre de Grasse - to snare an unlikely gold.
8. Too quick
In contrast to the US men’s relay woes, their female compatriots flexed their muscle as Sha’Carri Richardson cruised home in the rain at Stade de France.
Richardson took the baton in third spot but powered to the line and let out an almighty roar to go some way to making up for her silver medal run in the individual 100m event in Paris.
9. Spain inflict pain
This was meant to be a crowning moment for French soccer legend Thierry Henry, coaching his nation in front of a packed and feverish home crowd. Instead, it was a Spanish fiesta.
Two goals in extra-time — after a 3-3 draw in 90 minutes — secured a gold medal in the men’s football for Spain just weeks after they also won the sport’s European Championship.
10. Golden arm
In a dramatic conclusion to the women’s shot put final, Germany’s Yemisi Ogunleye produced the throw of her life with her very last attempt to pinch gold.
Ogunleye overcame an early slip in the wet conditions to create a hard-luck story for New Zealand’s Maddison-Lee Wesche, who had to settle for silver.
