Top five stories of the day from Paris

Britain’s George Mills was involved in a dramatic collision and fiery confrontation as the men’s 5,000 heats boiled over on day 12 at the Olympics.

But Mills – son of former England footballer Danny – is through to Saturday’s final despite fearing he was out after falling near the finish line.

Team GB made smoother progress in the men’s 800m and women’s 100m hurdles though, while there was also British cheer in the diving and climbing.

Elsewhere, there was respite for the organisers of the marathon swimming.

Wednesday’s familiarisation session in the River Seine went ahead despite ongoing concerns over water quality.

The women’s 10km marathon swimming race is set to take place on Thursday with the men’s race on Friday.

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Few would have forecast the men’s heats to be the most chaotic event of Paris 2024 so far – but it is a strong contender after Wednesday’s drama.

As the runners in heat one battled for a top-eight qualifying spot, European silver medallist Mills attempted to force his way through the field from near the back on the final straight.

In doing so he bumped shoulders with French runner Hugo Hay, then collided with Eritrea’s Aron Kifle, causing both to fall into Mohammed Ahmed of Canada while also collecting Dutch runner Mike Foppen.

Mills then angrily confronted Hay after crossing the finish line, before asserting to the BBC that he had been stepped on.

He finished 18th, but tournament organisers ruled that Mills had been impeded and sent him through along with Hay and the other fallers – meaning 20 men will compete in the 5,000m final on Saturday.

There was also drama in the second heat, which featured Jakob Ingebrigtsen the day after losing his 1500m Olympic title.

The runners had to skirt around a camera operator, who was covering a field event and wandered onto the inside lanes of the track just as the athletes rounded the bend.

All the runners avoided a collision, and Norway’s two-time world champion Ingebrigtsen made the final.

If all had gone to plan for Team GB, Elliot Giles would not have been running at these Olympics.

The 30-year-old is a late replacement in the men’s 800m for the injured Jake Wightman, and took his chance by finishing second in his heat to make the semi-finals.

All three British men in the event qualified, with Ben Pattison winning his heat and Max Burgin third in his.

Earlier, in the women’s 100m hurdles, Cindy Sember finished second in her heat, behind reigning Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico, to progress to the semi-finals.

Those semis take place from 11:05 BST on Friday, with the final at 18:35 on Saturday.

GB’s Revee Walcott-Nolan finished second in her women’s 1500m repechage to qualify for the semi-final at the second attempt.

Italian high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi gained worldwide attention when he shared the men’s Olympic high jump gold medal with Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim in 2021.

An eccentric character who always competes in odd socks and sported half a beard at the European Championships earlier this year to illustrate his “half” Olympic medal, Tamberi has had an unconventional build-up to competition in Paris.

Tamberi lost his wedding ring in the Seine during the opening ceremony, then things got even worse – four days ago, he was taken to hospital with kidney stones.

The Italian, not at his best in qualifying, still finished in the top 12 who will go to the final, with none of the athletes reaching the automatic qualification mark of 2.29 metres.

There was also concern for his great rival Barshim, who looked to pull his left calf during a run up.

Tamberi went to his aid, along with Qatari coaches, and Barshim was able to continue and cleared his next jump – although he still looked in some discomfort.

The final takes place on Saturday from 18.00 BST.

There was good news for Team GB in the diving and climbing.

In the men’s 3m springboard semis, Jack Laugher and Jordan Houlden comfortably secured their places in Thursday’s final at 14.00 BST.

Laugher, bronze medallist in Tokyo three years ago who also finished third in the 2024 synchro event alongside Anthony Harding, was third in the semi-final standings with 467.05 points.

Houlden, at his first Olympics, came fifth with 445.55.

In the climbing, Great Britain’s Toby Roberts and Hamish McArthur reached the men’s boulder and lead final on Friday.

Roberts produced a brilliant climb to finish second while McArthur also qualified in eighth.

Charley Hull’s hopes in the women’s golf might be over on day one after a tough start at Le Golf National.

The Briton went eight over par across the opening 15 holes.

American Nelly Korda, the defending champion, has started the four-day competition as favourite, after a remarkable year in which she became only the third player in LPGA history to win five successive tournaments.