GB win six medals on day three of Paris Olympics

Great Britain won their first two golds of the Paris Olympics as part of a medal rush on day three of the 2024 Games.

Team GB picked up six medals on Monday across swimming, equestrian, mountain biking, canoe slalom and diving.

The first gold came as GB defended the team eventing title they won at the delayed Tokyo Games in 2021.

That was followed by Tom Pidcock overcoming a puncture and a partisan Parisian crowd to pull off a miraculous comeback and top the podium in the men’s mountain biking.

There was also joy for Adam Burgess, who took silver in men’s canoe slalom singles, and for Tom Daley as the British diver claimed his fifth Olympic medal.

Competing in his fifth and possibly last Games, Daley and Noah Williams won silver in the synchronised 10m platform.

In the evening there was more silver in the pool as Matt Richards came agonisingly close to winning in a magnificent swim in the men’s 200m freestyle.

But there was disappointment in the men’s team gymnastics final, as the British team finished fourth having been pipped to a medal by the USA, and in the women’s rugby sevens where GB lost 17-7 to the American team.

GB’s dreadful run in the boxing ring continued too, as men’s +92kg medal hope Delicious Orie lost his opening-round bout – all four fights involving British athletes so far have been defeats.

Elsewhere on Monday, Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in their 60th and potentially final meeting in men’s tennis singles – as GB’s Dan Evans was also eliminated – while triathlon swimming training was again cancelled because of pollution in the River Seine.

Few gold medals at these Games will be won in such dramatic fashion as the men’s mountain biking by Pidcock.

The British rider, wearing the number one on his jersey, started the race as favourite for gold and was leading the way – until a puncture disrupted his plans.

It sent Pidcock down to ninth place and 40 seconds behind the leaders – but he would not be denied.

He battled his way back through the field and retook the lead, before a sensational to-and-fro battle with France’s Victor Koretzky.

In the final stages through the woods on Elancourt Hill, Pidcock surged back in front – narrowly avoiding a collision with Koretzky – and raced away to win a historic gold medal.

Team GB medalled in five of the six equestrian events at Tokyo 2020, including team eventing gold and an individual silver for Tom McEwen.

McEwen and Laura Collett were both part of the triumphant team in Tokyo and were joined in Paris by Ros Canter, with the trio well placed after the dressage and cross country phases.

Coming into the jumping phase on Monday GB were top of the team standings, although a jumping penalty against Canter in Sunday’s cross country cut their lead over hosts France to just 4.7 penalty points.

It also dropped Canter from sixth to 24th in the individual standings, meaning McEwen replaced Canter in sixth, while Collett was second.

There was no repeat of Sunday’s drama though as McEwen, Canter and Collett held their nerve to secure gold.

The top 25 in the individual standings qualified for the jumping final on Monday afternoon, where Collett collected her second medal of the day with a bronze.

Germany’s Michael Jung took gold, while McEwen suffered heartbreak as he finished fourth.

It was an unfortunate case of deja vu for the British swimming team, as Richards took silver in the men’s 200m freestyle.

In a sensational swim from the outside lane, Richards finished just 0.02 seconds behind winner David Popovici of Romania – the same margin by which Adam Peaty missed out on 100m breaststroke gold on Sunday.

Earlier on Monday, British swimming great Peaty was confirmed by Team GB to have tested positive for Covid-19.

The team said the 29-year-old six-time Olympic medallist was “feeling unwell” before that final.

Peaty is scheduled to compete in relay events later in the programme but his involvement is now uncertain.

“Adam Peaty began feeling unwell on Sunday, ahead of his men’s 100m breaststroke final,” Team GB said in a statement.

“In the hours after the final, his symptoms became worse and he was tested for Covid early on Monday morning. He tested positive at that point.

“He is hopeful to be back in competition for the relay events later in the swimming programme. As in any case of illness, the situation is being managed appropriately, with all usual precautions being taken to keep the wider delegation healthy.”

There was further heartbreak as Duncan Scott came fourth in the men’s 200m freestyle, after Freya Colbert finished in the same position in the women’s 400m individual medley.

Angharad Evans was sixth in the women’s 100m breaststroke final, while Oliver Morgan came eighth in the men’s 100m backstroke medal event.

Great Britain are having a terrific Games in the canoe slalom so far. After Kimberley Woods claimed bronze in the women’s singles yesterday, Burgess went one better in the men’s event.

Burgess is ranked 11th in the world, but was on form throughout this competition as he qualified fourth fastest for the final.

When it counted, he produced an excellent run of 96.84 seconds and was leading the standings when the final racer, France’s Nicolas Gestin, took to the water.

To the delight of the home crowd, Gestin produced a flawless run and won gold in a time more than five seconds quicker than Burgess.

Nevertheless it was a terrific effort from the Brit, and another medal on a fine day for his team.

After taking a two-year break from diving following his gold medal at the Tokyo Games, Tom Daley decided to return to action when his eldest son Robbie, six, asked to see him compete at an Olympics.

Daley was chosen to be one of Team GB’s flagbearers, alongside rower Helen Glover, and the 10m synchro was his one chance to win a medal in Paris as he is not competing in the individual events.

He and Noah Williams were impressive across all six of their dives but world champions Lian Junjie and Yang Hao of China proved a class above to claim gold.

A silver medal means Daley has completed the Olympic set, having won three bronze and one gold medal since making his debut as a 14-year-old at Beijing 2008.

And as the British pair stood on the podium, Daley blew kisses towards his family.