Biles at brilliant best as curtain comes down on Murray’s career on day six

Simone Biles was at her brilliant best to recapture her all-around gymnastics crown as Andy Murray’s glittering tennis career came to an end on day six of the Paris Olympics.

American Biles, 27, the became the oldest winner of her sport’s blue-riband event for 72 years and just the third woman to win two all-around Olympic titles after Vera Caslavska and Larisa Latynina.

Murray, 37, one of Britain’s greatest-ever sportsmen, was unable to deliver a medal-winning swansong as he and Dan Evans lost 6-2 6-4 to United States duo Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz in the men’s doubles quarter-finals.

Earlier on Thursday, Team GB missed out on the rowing gold they craved but added three more medals at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

It keeps GB on track to better the haul of Tokyo three years ago, where they had 18 by the same stage on day six.

Helen Glover, Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten took silver in a thrilling women’s four race after being edged out by just 0.18 seconds by the Netherlands.

Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne and Becky Wilde earlier clinched bronze in the women’s doubles sculls, while Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson also claimed bronze in the men’s four.

But there was disappointment for British 800m medal hope Jake Wightman, who has withdrawn from the Games because of a hamstring injury.

Glover’s bid to become the first woman to win three Olympic rowing gold medals for GB came up agonisingly short as the women’s four were pipped to the title by the Netherlands.

At 38, and having twice previously retired from the sport, mother-of-three Glover’s legacy as a GB Olympic great was already cemented following gold-medal success at London 2012 and in Rio four years later.

But there was a sense that the quartet of Glover, Booth, Redgrave and Shorten were the favourites for this event in Paris.

Instead, it proved almost a reverse of Wednesday’s dramatic finish in the water, when GB women’s quadruple scullers edged the Dutch to gold right at the finish.

“We put it all out there,” said Glover. “We raced the plan we wanted to race, we raced together. We raced with so much heart and I think there can’t be regret at looking back and not thinking you did all you can.”

Glover was the first mother to row for Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.

She has paved the way for others, including Hodgkins-Byrne, who produced a stirring performance alongside Wilde to take bronze in the women’s doubles sculls.

Hodgkins-Byrne took time away after Tokyo 2020 to give birth to son Freddie, while Wilde has an inspiring story of her own having started out as a swimmer who only switched sports in 2017.

The Olympics is just her third international event after needing surgery on her forearms last September, but just 10 months on, and having only recently teamed up with Hodgkins-Byrne, the pair earned a surprise spot on the podium behind champions New Zealand and silver medallists Romania.

The men’s four of Wilkes, Ambler, Aldridge and Davidson followed up with another bronze to bring GB’s total to four rowing medals in Paris, already one more than they managed at Tokyo 2020.

Team Ireland’s Daire Lynch and Philip Doyle also won bronze in the men’s double sculls.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif reached the quarter-finals of the women’s 66kg as opponent Angela Carini abandoned their bout after 46 seconds.

Taking a punch to the face inside 30 seconds, Italy’s Carini went to the corner for her coach to fix her headgear but after briefly resuming, returned to her corner once more and stopped the fight.

It comes a day after Algeria’s Olympic Committee condemned “baseless” attacks on Khelif.

The 25-year-old – who received a bye in the first round – is one of two athletes who have been cleared to compete in the women’s boxing in Paris, having been disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Championships.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said welterweight Khelif was disqualified in India because of elevated levels of testosterone.

It added that all boxers in Paris “comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations”.

“It could have been the match of a lifetime, but I had to preserve my life as well in that moment,” said Carini, who was in tears as she faced the media after the bout.

Khelif, who has lost nine times during her 50-fight career, told BBC Sport: “I’m here for the gold – I fight everybody.”

Tommy Fleetwood carded a four-under-par 67 to sit four shots off the lead as his Olympic campaign got under way at Le Golf National, where the British golfer helped Europe to Ryder Cup success in 2018.

Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama is the clubhouse leader at eight under par.

Given the tragic events in his hometown of Southport, where three young girls died after a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed event on Monday, Fleetwood’s thoughts this week have been with the families and those affected.

“When one of you gets hurt, you feel like all of you do. That’s just what home is,” said the 33-year-old.

“Everybody is feeling it, for sure, but nobody as much as the families that are involved and that’s what comes first.

“We all follow our dreams, whatever it is, and that’s obviously a huge part of life but for those kids that won’t have the chance and those families that have got to deal with it, it massively puts things into perspective.”

Fleetwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick are representing GB in Paris, while Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are competing for Ireland.

It was revealed today that Tokyo bronze medallist skateboarder Sky Brown dislocated her shoulder on Monday.

The 16-year-old is being looked after by Team GB doctors and physios and still has every intention to compete next week in the Women’s Park Skateboarding.

This latest injury comes off the back of her tearing the MCL in her knee in May.

In the pool, GB’s Duncan Scott beat French swimming sensation Leon Marchand in heat three of the men’s 200m individual medley – home favourite Marchand already has three gold medals at the Games.

“It’s really special walking out, they see his name and go nuts,” said Scott about Marchand. “It’s really cool, you can hear them coming out for him. It’s special.”

Meanwhile, Emma Reid became the fifth and final Team GB judoka to be knocked out in Paris after losing in the women’s 78kg category to South Korea’s Yoon Hyunji.

The Briton, a World Championship bronze medallist, received three penalties and was eventually beaten by ippon.

“It’s a frustrating way to lose, especially when I know I could give much more,” she told BBC Sport.

And there was defeat for Bryony Pitman in the women’s individual archery, losing 6-0 to China’s Li Jiaman.