If the first day at Paris 2024 is anything to go by, sports fans are in for quite a thrilling ride over the next couple of weeks, with both on- and off-field events proving as interesting as they were contoversial in many respects – and the Olympics aren’t even officially underway yet.
Day “minus two” saw the rugby sevens and men’s football get underway, with the latter seeing a pitch invasion, the stadium cleared, an injury-time equaliser ruled out and the final minutes played behind closed doors, culminating in Argentina losing to Morroco – and all that was after the Canada Women’s team had sent home two staff members for spying on a rival’s training session.
Away from the football, more reaction from Charlotte Dujardin’s fall from grace continued and now Paula Radcliffe has raised eyebrows by suggesting she wishes “the best of luck” to a convicted child rapist who is competing at the Games this month.
It’s quite the collection of incidents before the official opening ceremony even takes place – and on Thursday we’re bringing you the start of women’s football, more rugby sevens plus two sessions of archery and women’s handball getting underway. Follow the live blog below for all the latest news and updates from Paris:
Paris 2024 Olympics | Latest events and news
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Olympics pundits and commentators for BBC and Discovery+
Viewers in the United Kingdom will enjoy the insight of plenty of past Olympic greats with both Discovery+ and the BBC unveiling strong line-ups of presenters, commentators and pundits for Paris 2024.
Just like at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo, every moment from the French capital will be shown live on Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service with extensive television coverage on Eurosport’s television channels.
The BBC has also struck a deal with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to continue to provide free-to-air coverage of the Games up to and including 2032.
Harry Latham-Coyle25 July 2024 11:10
Paris 2024 Olympics: World record on opening day of archery action!
Well well well. We thought it might be a quiet day at the archery as seedings are determined before the action intensifies over the weekend, but South Korea’s Lim Sihyeon has other ideas. The 21-year-old has set a new world record in the women’s individual recurve, recording 694 of a possible 720 points to take top spot in the seeding.
Harry Latham-Coyle25 July 2024 11:09
How Keely Hodgkinson can spark a ‘golden era’ for British athletics at Paris Olympics
Could it be a vintage Games for Team GB at the Stade de France? Ben Bloom examines the runners and riders hoping for medal success, led by Keely Hodgkinson.
Harry Latham-Coyle25 July 2024 11:00
Olympics athletics schedule: Every event, date and start time at Paris 2024
And here’s when you’ll be able to watch Katarina Johnson-Thompson and the rest of the athletics stars in Paris.
Harry Latham-Coyle25 July 2024 10:53
Katarina Johnson-Thompson: ‘France will always have a special place in my heart’
Jack Rathborn25 July 2024 10:43
Emma Hayes details Olympic-sized task for USA to regain standing as women’s football elite
Emma Hayes has grit and guile; the question remains will that be enough for gold. The former Chelsea coach was in combative mood as she put the final touches to the USA’s preparations for the Olympic women’s football tournament.
Expectation management is often the name of the game in these seemingly endless days before the Olympic flame actually ignites. Some like to beat their chest and talk themselves up, others – from the ‘no-one puts more pressure on me than me’ school of sports psychology – prefer to fly under the radar.
Hayes – as we’ve come to learn from her seven Women’s Super League titles – doesn’t overthink this stuff, she just tells it like is it.
Karl Matchett25 July 2024 10:33
Paris 2024: Denamrk open handball competition with victory
We’ve seen a few sporting tussles between Denmark and Slovenia this summer, with the two nations meeting at Euro 2024 before Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar duelled at the Tour de France. The latest encounter between the pair has come on the opening day of handball action, with Denmark’s women starting strongly with a 27-19 win.
The Netherlands currently hold a narrow lead over Angola in the second of the day’s fixtures. The group stage action is taking place at the Porte de Versailles expo centre before a relocation to Lille for the knockout rounds and the Stade Pierre Mauroy.
Harry Latham-Coyle25 July 2024 10:26
Paris 2024: Romanian athlete hit with doping ban before Olympics
Romanian athlete Florentina Iusco will not compete at the Paris Olympics after global sport’s top court partially upheld a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appeal on Thursday following her positive test for a banned substance last year.
The 28-year-old, who competes in the long jump and triple jump, tested positive for furosemide, a diuretic on WADA’s prohibited list, in an out-of-competition doping control in April 2023.
The analysis of both her A and B samples confirmed the result, resulting in an anti-doping rule violation.
Romania’s National Anti-Doping Organisation sanctioned her only with a reprimand on February 1 with no period of ineligibility on the basis that she was not at fault or was not negligent.
However, after WADA appealed that decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the arbitrator determined she had failed to exercise the standard of care required for a “no significant fault or negligence” finding.
CAS imposed a two-year ban on Iusco backdated to February 1 and disqualified all of her results from April 23 last year.
Harry Latham-Coyle25 July 2024 10:20
Paris 2024 Olympics: Angelique Kerber confirms retirement
Joining Andy Murray in bowing out among the tennis stars bowing out of the sport after these Olympics will be Angelique Kerber, the German has confirmed. Kerber, like Murray a three-time grand slam champion, won a silver at Rio 2016 as part of a remarkable year that brought titles at the Australian Open and Flushing Meadows and a Wimbledon final.
“Paris 2024 will mark the finish line of the most incredible journey I could have ever dreamed of growing up with a racket in my hand,” Kerber announced on Instagram. “There are many more things I want to say and people to thank, which I will do once I completed my last match…but for now, I will take the time and soak up every second of this final episode on court.”
Harry Latham-Coyle25 July 2024 10:14
Paris 2024 Olympics | Latest events and news
Israel’s participation in the Paris Olympics got under way amid a ring of steel and a chorus of boos at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night.
Over 1,000 French police, including masked counter-terrorist officers, created an additional security barrier prior to the nation’s clash with Mali in their first game in the men’s football competition.
Israel’s national anthem was booed by some sections in the approximately half-full stadium prior to kick-off, and a group of spectators stood in a line wearing t-shirts with initials that spelled ‘Free Palestine’ in protest over the war in Gaza.
Karl Matchett25 July 2024 10:04