Whats happening today at the Olympics - Weds 31st

[CharlieH]

Day 5: Wednesday 31 July

Eighteen gold medals:

Artistic gymnastics (men's individual all-around), BMX freestyle (men's and women's), canoe slalom (women's C1), diving (women's synchro 10m platform), fencing (men's sabre team), judo (women's-70kg, men's -90kg), rowing (men's quadruple sculls, women's quadruple sculls), shooting (women's trap), swimming (women's 100m free, men's 200m fly, women's 1500m free, men's 200m breast, men's 100m free), triathlon (women's and men's individual).

Highlights

On Wednesday, the women’s triathlon is due to start at 07:00, before the postponed men's event begins at 09:45. Tests are being carried out daily on the water quality in the River Seine, with a final test due at 02:30 BST on Wednesday. Team GB have a very strong women's team in world champion Beth Potter, Tokyo individual silver medallist Georgia Taylor-Brown and world top 10-ranked Kate Waugh. France’s Cassandre Beaugrand and Emma Lombardi are also contenders for gold at their home Games. Competitors start from the Pont Alexandre III bridge in view of the Eiffel Tower, swim 1500m in the Seine then run up a set of steps to start the 40km bike course, which includes some cobbled stretches. Lastly, there is a 10km run.

In the men's race, GB's Alex Yee will hope to be at the front of the action. Yee won Olympic silver in a pulsating Tokyo contest three years ago. Norwegian Kristian Blummenfelt, who pulled past Yee to win gold that day, is back but has since moved up to Ironman distance then back down again, and it remains to be seen if he will master that transition.

The men's all-around gymnastics final begins at 16:30, an event where athletes compete on all six apparatus to decide the best overall gymnast at the Olympics. Britons Jake Jarman and Joe Fraser have qualified, but defending champion and multiple world title-winner Daiki Hashimoto is the favourite.

We reach the freestyle BMX finals from 12:10, where GB's Kieran Reilly is a proven champion on the world stage, though Charlotte Worthington failed to reach the women's final. This is freestyle’s second Olympic appearance. To win gold, perform as many tricks as you can in 60 seconds and make sure they are better than anyone else’s.

Wednesday could bring a medal opportunity for GB’s Mallory Franklin in the C1 women’s canoe slalom (final from 16:25). Australia’s Jessica Fox, one of the greatest canoeists of all time and the Tokyo champion, will be one of Franklin’s biggest rivals. Watch out for Elena Lilik, who beat Andrea Herzog – Tokyo’s bronze medallist – to claim Germany’s sole entry in this event.

 

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