Paris 2024 Day One: Antoine Dupont makes Rugby history and Team GB off to a solid start.
THE STORY OF DAY ONE
70,000 French supporters packed the Stade de France to see Antoine Dupont lead France to a stunning 28-7 victory over Fiji in the Rugby Sevens to give the hosts their first gold medal of the Olympics.
The gold medal match was on a knife edge at half time with the score drawn 7-7.
However, Dupont – the golden boy of French Rugby – scored two tries and assisted another to deny the Fijians their third straight Olympic gold after winning the competition in Tokyo and Rio.
It is a marvellous achievement for the home nation considering they failed to qualify for Tokyo 2020.
It is also a moment of vindication for Dupont who raised eyebrows earlier in the year for opting to concentrate on Rugby 7’s rather than competing in the Six Nations championship.
Earlier in the day France beat South Africa 19-5 in the first semi-final before Fiji beat Australia 31-7.
South Africa beat Australia 26-19 in the bronze medal match.
TEAM GB OFF TO A SOLID START
Team GB had not won a medal on the first day of an Olympics since Athens 2004. However, in Paris they got off to a solid start.
Great Britain’s first medal of Paris 2024 came in the women’s synchronized 3m springboard at the aquatics centre where Yasmin Harper & Scarlett Mew Jensen won bronze after a dramatic last round.
Harper and Mew Jensen’s score of 70.68 in their final dive got them into contention for a medal but knew their Australian rivals needed to make a mistake in theirs.
A slip during the Australian routine meant that their score only amounted to 48.60, short of the required 58.68 to overtake the British duo.
Chinese duo Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen comfortably won the gold medal with the United States winning silver.
Team GB’s second medal of the day came in road cycling.
Anna Henderson won silver in the women’s individual time trial with a time of 41:09.83 She finished 90 seconds behind Australian gold medalist Grace Brown.
The race took place under treacherous conditions on the streets of Paris and was marred by several crashes.
However, Brown made the course and conditions look easy and won with a time of 39:38.24. Henderson wasn’t expected to finish in the top two in Paris but added Olympic silver to the European silver medal she won last year.
In the men’s time trial, 19-year-old Josh Tarling could only manage fourth after a puncture cost him several seconds halfway through his ride.
The reigning European champion made up for the lost time but was two seconds short of a bronze medal.
It will feel like a disappointment for now but with many Olympics to come I doubt we have heard the last of Josh Tarling.
In the Pool, Adam Peaty is through to Sunday’s 100m breaststroke final after winning his heat and semi-final.
This now sets up a showdown with China’s Qin Haiyang. If Peaty wins he will become only the second man after the great Michael Phelps to win Olympic gold in the same discipline at three consecutive Olympics.
Max Whitlock is also chasing history in Gymnastics as he qualified for next Saturday’s Pommel horse final.
In Hockey, Great Britain’s Mens team beat Spain 4-0 in their opening match of Pool A.
Goals from Tom Boon, Alexander Hendrickx and a brace from Gareth Furlong secured a comfortable victory despite Spain squandering several chances. They will play South Africa in their second match on Sunday evening.
In the ring, Charley Davison controversially lost her first-round fight against Hatice Akbaş on a split decision. It reduces the number of Team GB boxers to five going into day two.
