Key events
The men’s basketball tournament at the Olympics is less a competition for gold than a five-ringed banana skin for the USA and it’s NBA superstars to slip on. They looked set for a pratfall more than once in Paris but rallied superbly against Serbia and kept France at arm’s length despite the brilliance of rising star Victor Wembanyama.
It is the USA’s fifth gold in a row in the sport and 17th out of a possible 21 since 1936.
In the end the USA just had too many weapons, too many sharp edges to call on. As Cuba’s coach famously said in 1992, after trying and failing to stifle the first Dream Team: “You can try, but you can’t cover the sun with your finger.”
Let’s begin our look back at yesterday’s action by saluting Faith Kipyegon. The 30-year-old Kenyan won the women’s 1500m gold medal for the third consecutive Olympics. It was her second podium finish of the Paris Games after running to silver in the 5,000m.
She is the world record holder over 1500m and the mile, and broke the 5,000m record last year but that has since been eclipsed. On top of all that she is mother to a six-year old.
She is now one of only 14 track and field athletes to win the same individual event at least three times in a row – and one of two (the other being Usain Bolt) – to do so in a pure track event.
Phenomenal.
This final day of action of the Games of the 33rd olympiad is much shorter than the rest to allow time for all activity to be wrapped up in advance of the closing ceremony (9pm local time). It’s all killer no filler though, with every event offering medals of some description.
It all kicks-off at 08:00 with the women’s marathon. An hour later Spain take on Slovenia for a bronze medal in the men’s handball, while Spain and Greece meet to determine fifth place in the men’s water polo. At 10:35 the USA and Hungary will battle for men’s water polo bronze.
The bulk of the day’s activity comes online from 11:00 with the final activity before the closing ceremony featuring France v USA in the women’s basketball gold medal match. That tips off at 15:30.
My pick of yesterday’s snaps: the perfectly framed table tennis action shot.
More on medal tables and assessing who’s done well and why in this detailed explainer. I confess to not being mathematically literate enough to fully get all of this, but it does seem to stand to reason that Australia have massively punched above their weight at these Games.
China have once again snuck ahead of the USA in the ding-dong battle at the top of the medal table. The US’s final day looks promising though, so they could well end up in pole position for the fourth Games in a row.
Australia and Japan are locked in a tight battle for third, while France are set for their best result since 1948.
63 NOCs have heard their respective anthems over the past fortnight, with athletes from 91 NOCs receiving medals.
Preamble – Day 16 Schedule
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of the 16th and final official day of competition of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
So much happened on day 15 with medals being awarded left right and centre. And after the dust settled, it was a day to remember for New Zealand with high jumper Hamish Kerr securing a dramatic gold medal, golfer Lydia Ko completing a full set with a two-stroke victory, and canoe sprinter Lisa Carrington winning her third final of the Games to extend her national record of gold medals to a staggering eight.
Elsewhere, the marathon was fast, the sport climbing was gripping, and the boxing was controversial. Faith Kipyegon and the US men’s basketballers remained invincible; unlike Karsten Warholm.
So what do we have in store today?
🥇 Marathon – women’s (from 08:00)
🥇 Modern Pentathlon – women’s (from 11:00)
🥇 Wrestling – men’s freestyle 65kg & 97kg / women’s freestyle 76kg (from 11:00)
🥇 Weightlifting – women’s 81kg (from 11:30)
🥇 Volleyball – women’s (from 13:00)
🥇 Cycling – women’s sprint & omnium / men’s keirin (from 12:45)
🥇 Handball – men’s (from 13:30)
🥇 Water Polo – men’s (from 14:00)
🥇 Basketball – women’s (from 15:30)
🔥 Closing Ceremony (from 21:00)
*(All times listed are Paris local)
Simon Burnton’s day-by-day guide
Women’s marathon
Tradition has it that the men’s marathon should close the Olympic athletics programme, but not this year. At the end of a route that partly follows the women’s march on Versailles, one of the most significant events of the French Revolution, this will be the final medal decided in the Stade de France. Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa, who shattered the world record last year, will be hoping to improve on her previous Olympic experience: coming fifth in an 800m heat in 2016.
Men’s water polo
Though Serbia have won gold at the last two Olympics a three-peat would be a massive achievement given the pure competitiveness of this event – the last four world championships have had four different winners and seven different medallists, with Croatia coming out on top in the latest, in Doha in February. “I have no favourites,” their coach, Ivica Tucak, said. “There is a circle of nine teams from which any can beat any, where every match can be won or lost. Any medal is a magnificent result.”
Closing ceremony
There will be no parade of departing athletes here, just – in the words of Thomas Jolly, director of ceremonies – “a great show where only music will resonate”, and of course a handover to Los Angeles, hosts in 2028. The official website predicts that “like an indelible memory, this closing ceremony will be marked by audacity, fraternity and emotion”, and that it will be “an incredible moment of celebration and sharing” in which “the emotion will be immense”. So quite good, then.
I’m sure I’ve failed to include something notable to you in this short rundown, so feel free to let me know what’s on your agenda by emailing: jonathan.howcroft.casual@theguardian.com.
I’ll be around for the first few hours of the blog here in Australia, after which I’m handing over to the the UK.