Important events
The medal table at this year’s Paris Olympics continues to grow, but the top three remain intact. The US still leads with 30 gold medals, with China close behind with 29. There is a gap between those two superpowers and Australia, which is in third place with 18 gold medals.
Preamble
Hello everyone and welcome to the live broadcast of the 14th official competition day of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
Day 13 was a veritable bourguignon of drama, glory and controversy. The US became the first country to win 30 gold medals, thanks in large part to the brilliant performances of its track and field athletes. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone led the way by breaking her own world record in the women’s 400m hurdles, before the Americans took more gold by Tara Davis-Woodhall in the women’s long jump. When Holloway Awardthree-time world champion and silver medalist in Tokyo, effortlessly won the 110m hurdles.
The only bitter moment for the American team came when Noah Lyles was robbed of gold in the 200m final. He had a reasonable excuse, but even the gloriously immodest Lyles could not deny Botswana its first medal of these Games – a gold medal, no less – when Letsile Tebogo ran the fastest race of his life, preventing Lyles from winning the 100-200m double.
There were no medals to be won for Great Britain in the athletics event on day 13, but Katarina Johnson-Thompson leads the heptathlon after four events in the seven-event discipline and there was a trickle of gold for Team GB in the form of Ellie Aldridge became the first Olympic gold medalist in kitesurfing. Similarly, Australia’s river of gold dried up on a day that yielded “only” two silver and two bronze medals, while the Stingers earned a shot at gold with a dramatic comeback victory over Team USA in women’s water polo.
We have a long Good Friday for the final weekend of this XXXIII Olympiad. Will day 14 herald a golden era for your team?