Paris 2024 Olympics day 14: GB’s Toby Roberts wins bouldering gold; heptathlon heating up and more – live
Key events
Athletics: There’s still hope that Katerina Johnson-Thompson can sneak gold in the Heptathlon. It’ll take an incredible run in the 800 metres later this evening to topple Belgian’s Nafi Thiam. Alexandra Topping has been crunching the numbers:
Katarina Johnson-Thompson has a mountain to climb to take the gold medal in the heptathlon after falling behind her rival Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium on day two with only one discipline still to come.
With just the 800m to go on Friday evening in the seven-discipline event, Johnson-Thompson found herself 121 points behind the Belgian, who pulled off a season best in the javelin to propel herself into the lead after six disciplines. The Swiss athlete Annik Kaelin showed grit to go third after a strong long jump and decent javelin in the morning session.
To take the gold Johnson-Thompson – who regained her world title in Budapest last year – would have to take a sizeable lead in the final race and finish eight seconds ahead of Thiam.”
Kayaking: New Zealand’s most decorated Olympian Lisa Carrington has added to her career haul by winning a seventh canoe sprint gold medal alongside Alicia Hoskin.
The men’s 500 metre double sprint gold was scooped by Germany’s Jacob Schopf and Max Lemke with Hungary’s Bence Nadas and Sandor Totka in silver and Australian duo Jean van der Westhuyzen and Tom Green in bronze.
Beau Dure
And here’s Beau Dure with some updates from a US perspective:
Kyle Dake is the only one of the three US wrestlers in action to advance to the semifinals, while others await possible berths in the repechage. Dake, a four-time world champion, showed his intent on improving from his Olympic bronze in Tokyo with two emphatic wins, one stopped early due to technical superiority when the score was 10-0, followed by a pin when he was already far ahead in the score.
In taekwondo, 18-year-old Kristina Teachout came out aggressively against world champion Magda Wiet-Henin of France. While many taekwondo bouts resemble Riverdance, with fighters constantly bouncing on their feet and waiting patiently — too patiently, too often — to attack, Teachout took the fight to the French favorite, winning the first round 11-8 and taking the second round 8-0. She’ll face Viviana Marton of Hungary in the quarter finals.”
Michael Hogan is always good for a chuckle – here’s his take on some Olympic coverage lolz:
Some interesting lunchtime reading about the healthcare available in the Olympic Village:
The US rugby sevens player Ariana Ramsey will leave Paris with more than just a bronze medal. After discovering the Olympic Village provides not only free food to athletes but a suite of free healthcare options, she will be heading home having completed a pap smear and a free eye and dental exam. She even snagged a free pair of prescription glasses. To quote her now-viral TikTok video, “Like, what?”
The Olympic Village – where athletes reside during the Games – began offering free medical care in 1932, according to Sports Illustrated. SI also reported the village offers, cardiology, orthopedics, physiotherapy, psychology, and podiatry, with dermatology also being offered to Paralympic athletes, who arrive next week.”
Cycling: The Women’s sprint qualifying is just getting underway over at the velodrome.
After trying and largely failing to get my head around the Keirin yesterday it seems things are a bit more straightforward with the sprint. Well, durr. Team GB’s Emma Finucane has a strong chance of a medal, the 21 year old from Camarthen is indeed the current World Champion in this event.
It’s all about speed speed speed. The 30 riders are timed over one lap and the fastest 24 will go through to the next round.
Team GB’s Sophie Capewell also has an outside chance of making the podium. The Lichfield rider won bronze at the European Champs last year.
Phew. What a day it has been so far. Frenetic Friday indeed.
This afternoon will see Breakdancing contested in the Olympics for the first time. Here’s a handy crib sheet courtesy of Alexandra Topping – not that you need it, right?
Climbing: Toby Roberts takes to the medal podium and looks completely bewildered as the national anthem begins to parp. He gets a rapturous reception at a packed Le Bourget and rightly so.
A shout out to Team GB’s Hamish McArthur who was in bronze medal position for a long time and finished in fifth place.
Climbing: Great Britain’s Toby Roberts wins GOLD!
Amazing scenes as the 19 year old from Surrey doesn’t realise he has the Gold medal in the chalk bag… the news finally sinks in and he’s truly flabbergasted. Roberts has bouldered his way to GOLD in the Men’s boulder and lead final!
Japan’s Sorato Anraku – a 17 year old nicknamed ‘The Octopus’ – was the competitor many thought was nailed on for the top spot but he fell off just behind Robert’s marker at the tip of the wall to a huge 6,000 person gasp at Le Bourget!
What a story – Robert’s dad built him a climbing wall in the garden during lockdown and he only made his debut season in 2022.
Find out more about Toby ‘The Terminator’ in this lovely interview we did before the games began.
Roberts is now 19 and his love for his sport is stronger than ever. He says more than 20 times during this interview that “I love climbing/training/competing/trying hard”. His parents, Tristian and Marina, couldn’t be prouder. “It’s been a privilege – it’s inspiring to see how hard he works,” his dad Tristian says.”
Canoeing: Women’s double 500m Sprint Final – Double screening like a dopamine searching teenager to keep an eye on another thrilling event – the double canoe sprint final.
An amazing race sees the Chinese pair of Xu Shixiao and Sun Mengya successfully defend their title from Tokyo 2020 – they do it in some style too with an Olympic-best time!
A real scrap for silver and bronze with a photo finish required between Ukraine and Canada! After an age the silver medal is awarded to Liudmyla Luzan and Anastasiia Rybachok of Ukraine and bronze goes to the Canadian pair of Sloan Mackenzie and Katie Vincent.
Climbing: Men’s boulder and lead final: Toby Roberts moves into silver medal position at the top of the wall, can he get the Gold? Every grip hold being accompanied by a sharp intake of breath both in the crowd and on my sofa.
“He’s going up the wall like a Gecko!” says the BBC’s Tim Warwood.
The 19 year old Brit falls off right at the top but is guaranteed a medal. What colour will it be? There is just one climber left…
Climbing: Men’s boulder and lead final: Team GB’s Toby Roberts is now on the wall and he’s got a real chance of a medal here. Team-mate Hamish McArthur is currently in the bronze medal position. “One tiny slip or mistake and that’s it” says the commentator as the tension escalates with each successful swing and grip.
Climbing: Men’s boulder and lead final – Frenchman Paul Jenft makes a bad error and runs out of clips on the wall, meaning he has to attempt to re-trace his steps which looks impossible and ultimately proves so as he tumbles off after a couple of minutes. A rueful smile and a gallic shrug. Bad news for the crowd favourite but good news for Hamish McArthur who remains in Silver medal position for the moment.
Austria’s Jakob Schubert is next up and he puts up a magnificent display of strength and agility, he looked like he was about to complete all 15 metres of wall but just missed his grip at the last! 96 points from the judges and Schubert goes into first place with four climbers left to go.
Diving: Just peeking away from the bouldering final to bring you news that Team GB’s Kyle Kothari and Noah Williams have made it through to the men’s 10m platform semi-finals. Qualifying in 9th and 8th place respectively in a field (board?) of 18 competitors. The final is tomorrow at 2pm BST.
Athletics: Alexandra Topping sends an update from the stadium as she keeps an eye on KJT’s main rival for the Gold medal in the women’s Heptathlon:
Well, Thiam may just have taken gold with her very first throw in the javelin – a massive 54.04, a season best for the Belgian, which gives her a massive 939. A champion there, telling this crowd that she wants to hold on to her title. Incredible stuff.If she doesn’t throw further than that, and she totally could do, she will be 121 ahead of Katarina Johnson-Thompson going into the 800m.
KJT is faster than her rival in that discipline, but that will make Thiam very difficult to beat.”
Climbing: Men’s boulder and lead final – I can barely watch this actually, some inner vertigo rising to the surface from deep within. Team GB’s Hamish McArthur is giving off some serious Spiderman energy as he contorts and stretches each sinew to climb up this brutal wall. He does really well to get into the impossible looking fourth section and hangs from one hand at one point, muscles bulging, before finally slipping off with nothing left to give in the arms.
He scores a 72 from the judges (out of 100) that’s a brilliant marker laid down by McArthur. The USA’s Colin Duffy is up next and he can’t quite make it as far, scoring a 68. Huge cheer from the crowd as Frenchman Paul Jenft chalks up for his attempt.
Climbing: Bouldering! As a son of the Peak District where people flock to do this ‘au naturel’ I am very interested to see how this event goes. There’s a 15 metre wall with a steep overhang that the competitors have six minutes to study before they then get another six minutes to climb – basically the higher you get the better your score.
Toby Roberts and Hamish McArthur sit in third and fourth place for Team GB. McArthur is going to be the first to attempt the wall, there’s a full and loud crowd in. Chalk those hands, let’s grip.
Athletics: Team GB’s Cindy Sember falls in the final heat of the women’s 100m hurdles semi-finals. Sember clipped the fifth hurdle and then fell straight into the sixth, that looked extremely painful and is a real shame for her. She might not have been necessarily challenging the qualification places but now she’ll never really know. She had a decent start and was there and thereabouts when she fell.
She then shows some real class by stopping for a few words with the BBC just seconds after picking herself up off the track. “I’m really sad. I felt ready. Really sad right now.”
Sport is brutal sometimes.
‘“Scenes” emails Nick Parish who is enjoying the Table Tennis:
“At the South Paris Arena where France are taking on Japan for the bronze medal in the men’s team table tennis. The atmosphere is electric and the crowd went ballistic when French wunderkind (is there a French equivalent for that?) Felix LeBrun saved three match points on his way to taking the second match and putting France 2-0 up in this best of 5. Since then Japan have pulled one back, much to the disappointment of the home crowd.”
The French crowds have been amazing throughout, from archery to diving to Greco-Roman wrestling the passionate support has been notable and the atmosphere in the main stadium wonderfully raucous.
Thanks Taha and hello all. What a fantastic games this has been and today (day 14!) promises to be a belter. Plenty going on all over the city. From a Team GB point of view – KJT has looked in fine fettle this morning and very relaxed. Fingers, toes and Javelin poles crossed she can bring home a medal from her fourth Olympic games. It’ll all come down to the 800 metres on the track at 19.15pm BST this evening.
Right then, I’m hopping off for a bit. In comes my good pal James Wallace.
Sport climbing: At the end of first half of the men’s boulder and lead final, Japan’s 17-year-old star Sorato Anraku is leading with 69.3 points, with USA’s Colin Duffy close behind on 68.3 points. Team GB’s Toby Roberts is in third place on 63.1 points. All three climbers topped two out of the four boulders, while GB’s Hamish McArthur in fourth place topped one and has 53.9 points. Two older legends of the sport, Austria’s Jakob Schubert and Czechia’s Adam Ondra, are further out of touch in fifth and seventh place.
Athletics: That’s another season-best throw from KJT for her final attempt at the javelin, and she has managed up her final score to 45.49 – that gives her an extra 16 points. Every centimetre counts in this competition, she is digging deep here when it matters and it looks like the 31-year-old is determined to take this fight to Thiam.
Don’t forget though, Thiam can throw 50 on a normal day, her season best is 53.
Athletics: GB will have a man in the 800m final, with Max Burgin putting up a personal best of 1:43.50 to qualify with the best time of a third-place finisher in the semis.
Athletics: Katarina Johnson-Thompson puts up a season best of 45.49 with her third effort at the javelin, throwing down a challenge to Thiam. Noor Vidts, also in medal contention, has delivered a personal best of 43.83.
Athletics: In the second 800m men’s semi-final, Team GB have Elliot Giles as their representative and he starts well before dropping to fourth at the 400m mark. Edmund du Plessis leads as we enter the home straight but loses his drive as Marco Arop bursts through for victory, with Gabriel Tual of France second. Giles ends up fifth, du Plessis fourth.
Athletics: The 800m men’s semi-finals begin, with Team GB represented by Ben Pattison, who has to settle for fourth place as Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati bursts through on the last straight to win the heat and qualify for the final.
Athletics: The javelin section of the heptathlon kicks off, and KJT starts with a decent 44.64m throw. Thiam, hot on her heels, will be up later and has a season-best of 53.00.
Athletics: In the second heat of the 4×400 men’s relay there’s home joy, with France victorious and followed by Nigeria and Belgium.
A question: what would you do just before the start of an Olympic race when the camera pans to you for an intro? I’m going for this:
Athletics: In the men’s 4x400m relays, Team GB finish second in their heat, with Matthew Hudson-Smith running his leg, the second, in 43.90. Botswana win it, with USA third.
CAS to hear wrestler Phogat’s appeal after disqualification
The incredible case of Vinesh Phogat will enter another chapter today. The Court of Arbitration for Sport has agreed to hear the Indian wrestler’s appeal against disqualification before the gold medal match, after Phogat weighed 100 grams over the allotted 50kg. Phogat, who cut off her hair in a bid to make the weight, received sympathy from the prime minister of India. Phogat subsequently announced her retirement from the sport.
Phogat and the Indian Olympic Association believe she should be awarded a joint silver medal. CAS will sit for the case in Paris at 2pm.
Athletics: After the women’s 4x400m relay heats, we have our finalists. USA and Jamaica were victorious in their respective races, with GB, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Ireland and Canada also through. USA’s quartet of Hayes-Little-Butler-Brown racked up the strongest time of 3:21.44.
Johnson-Thompson stays top in heptathlon … for now
It has been a tense morning at the Stade de France, where Katarina Johnson-Thompson was hoping to keep her overnight lead going into the last three events of the heptathlon. After four events yesterday she had finished the day with a lead of 48 points, with her long-time rival Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium in second with 4,007 and the younger American challenger Anna Hall in third with 3,956.
KJT has kept her hopes alive, after a shaky start in the long jump. With her third of three jumps she registered 6.40, while Thiam made 6.41 – slightly narrowing the 48-point difference between them to 45.
It was nervy stuff here though. Johnson-Thompson – who has a 6.93 personal best in this discipline – missed her first jump, registering only 4.65. She managed 6.04 on her second, registering the score with a frown. Better for the third though, making her best jump of the morning with 6.40.
So for now it’s still Johnson-Thompson in first, Thiam in second, and the Belgian Noor Vidts has gone into third 104 points behind the leader, after Hall only registered 5.93 in the long jump.
Next up it’s the javelin, one of Thiam’s strongest disciplines and one of KJT’s weakest. Could this all come down to the 800m final tonight? Exciting!
Heptathlon: Into the final round of the long jump and Martha Araujo of Colombia scores a spectacular 6.61m, her personal best and the best of this event so far. Johnson-Thompson bounds in … and scores 6.40m. She doesn’t look thrilled with herself but that’s a solid jump, taking her back to the top of the overall standings … for now.
Heptathlon: After the first round, the Belgian Noor Vidts has the best effort, with a 6.40m jump. GB’s Jade O’Dowda is second-best with 6.33. Here comes KJT for her second go … she gets past the six-metre line but doesn’t look best pleased, scoring 6.04m. The eyes then move to her rival, Nafi Thiam, who improves on her previous effort with 6.41. KJT’s in a bit of bother.
Heptathlon: Johnson-Thompson sprints in for her first attempt at the long jump … and she doesn’t fly. Something goes wrong in her run-up and she ends up just hopping rather than leaping, scoring a 4.65m jump.
Heptathlon: As we get ready to start the long jump, it’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson who leads the overall board with 4055 points, building a 48-point lead over Nafissatou Thiam. Anna Hall is third on 3956 points. Johnson-Thompson’s personal best in the long jump is 6.93 metres, higher than all of her fellow competitors.
What’s there to look forward to you ask? The next medal on offer is in the men’s team table tennis, with France competing against Japan for a bronze medal (9am BST). From a Team GB perspective, Katarina Johnson-Thompson will take to the field in the women’s heptathlon, with the long jump event starting at five past nine.
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