We didn’t do that, though, so here’s a little addendum. If you want to see how it unfolded in real time, you can always go back and read our live blog.
The Ferrero Rocher of the Olympic Games
Where to start at the Stade de France?
The track, the field, the wheelchair in which 100-meter gold medalist Noah Lyles left the venue? Ah, sir, you really spoil us with these stories.
So, in no particular order: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone surpassed her own world record to win the gold medal in the women’s 400 meters in 50.37 seconds, beating her previous best of 50.65. Fellow American Anna Cockrell finished second with a personal best of 51.87 seconds, while Femke Bol of the Netherlands took bronze in 52.15 seconds.
Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan won gold in the javelin with a stunning throw of 92.97m, a Games record. It was Pakistan’s first Olympic gold in a sport other than ice hockey. Tokyo champion Neeraj Chopra of India took silver after his only throw was a legal 89.45m, while two-time world champion Anderson Peters from Grenada took bronze with 88.54m.
Grant Holloway of the USA won gold in the men’s 110m hurdles in a time of 12.99. Compatriot Daniel Roberts was second with 13.09, while Rasheed Broadbell of Jamaica matched Roberts’ performance but fell to bronze after a photo finish.
And last but not least: the men’s 200 m.
Letsile Tebogo from Botswana surprised everyone by winning in a breathtaking time of 19.46 seconds to become the first African gold medalist in the 200 m. Kenneth Bednarek from the USA repeated his silver medal from Tokyo with 19.62 and Noah Lyles took bronze with 19.70.
Erriyon Knightonwho is surrounded by many questions about doping, finished fourth with a time of 19.99 seconds and then accelerated even more to avoid the waiting press crowd that wanted answers to these questions.
As a distraction Noah Lyles He left the course in a wheelchair and later confirmed that he had run the semi-final and final despite Covid. Remarkable.
The, erm, brave favorites?
Against all odds, the NBA All-Stars battled against a country with a population smaller than that of Indiana and valiantly defeated Serbia to continue their improbable run to gold.
Or at least that’s how Hallmark would portray it for a TV movie. I made the mistake of watching The Hill, a Dennis Quaid biopic about baseball player Ricky Hill, so I know how bad these sports movies can be when the directors really set their sights on something.
Regardless, with the mediocre talents of LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant at their disposal, the USA overcame a 17-point deficit, beat Serbia 95-91 and advanced to the final, where they will face hosts France.
Led by two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, Serbia outscored the United States in the first three quarters, but in the final quarter the United States scored 32 points and limited the Serbs to just 15, turning the game around.
Olympic debutant Curry was the best scorer with 36 points, Joel Embiid contributed 19, while James had 16 points and 12 rebounds. Bogdan Bogdanovic was the best Serbian with 20 points, Jokic contributed 17 but converted only seven of his 17 shots.
More gold for China
Chinese boxer Chang Yuan won the gold medal in the women’s 54 kg class after defeating Hatice Akbas of Turkey.
The 27-year-old from Shijiazhuang dominated the fight from start to finish and won a unanimous decision in convincing fashion.
It was only the second 5-0 victory for the eighth-seeded former Youth Olympic Games gold medalist, who had to endure difficult fights, including against the reigning Asian Games bantamweight world champion, Pang Choi-mi of North Korea.
Let’s fly a kite
Singapore will have to wait a little longer to see if Max Maeder can become the city-state’s second ever gold medalist.
Due to wind or the clear lack of wind, the men’s final had to be postponed to Friday.
However, women were able to take part in the race and Britain’s Ellie Aldridge became the first Olympic gold medalist in kitesurfing with a brilliant performance in Marseille.
An unforgettable debut
He was outside, then he was inside, then he was outside again.
Hong Kong’s Lo Wai-fung was given a second chance in the men’s taekwondo up to 68 kg, but lost his repechage at the Grand Palais 0-2 against China’s Liang Yushuai.
After waiting until late in the evening to see if he would fight again in his Olympic debut, the Hong Kong native lost the first round 5-4 and the second 13-0.
Meanwhile, Liang reached a play-off for the bronze medal against Bradly Sinden of Great Britain, who withdrew due to injury, allowing Liang to win the bronze medal.
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