Paris 2024 Olympics day six: rowing finals, golf, race walks, tennis and more

Yang wins gold in women’s 20km race walk

The world record holder is an Olympic champion for the first time! It was an enthralling last 10km but Jiayu Yang’s quick start and steady pace throughout was what won her this race. She really dug deep with her fastest lap being her last despite looking like she was in a lot of pain.

Spain’s María Pérez takes silver and Jemima Montag comfortably takes third, becoming the first Australian to medal in this event since 2004.

Women’s 20km race walk: Women’s 20km race walk: The defending champion, Antonella Palmisano, drops out and is being consoled by her coach. We are approaching the 14km mark and the stakes are getting higher and more red cards are being dished out as the stakes are getting higher.

If this is a new sport to you, you may be confused as to how these red cards work. Race walking’s strictest rule is that athletes must keep one foot in contact with the ground at all times, without any running.

If a judge deems an athlete is running, they serve a two-minute time penalty after three rule violations, known as red cards.

So while Yang is currently not physically the first athlete on the track, she is still in the lead because of her opponent’s time violations.

A timely email from Peter comes in:

Why at this level they couldn’t have a chip in each shoe to ensure that one foot is always in contact with the ground, which is supposed to distinguish race-walking from running?

There has always been controversy surrounding the use of foot sensors despite the fact there has been some investment in the tech. But some believe it could change the way athletes race walk. There will always pushback to change, but I do believe we will see it sooner rather than later.

The gap has gone from 40sec to 20sec to 13sec at the top. Pérez is chasing Yang but she only has two laps to make it up completely.

But Australia’s Jemima Montag in third has made up quite a bit of distance and is around 11sec behind Pérez. So, the Spaniard has to chase down the leader and now constantly look over shoulder.

We are coming up on the last lap.

The Covid cluster in the Australian swim team may be worse than first feared, after the Tokyo champion Zac Stubblety-Cook revealed he swam through an infection to win silver in the 200m breaststroke on Wednesday night.

In a statement, the Australian Olympic Committee confirmed that Stubblety-Cook had completed a five-day course of antivirals for the illness.

Adam Peaty has raised hopes he could compete in his relay events later this week as he returned to the pool following two days of “bed rest”.

Hours after winning silver in the men’s 100m breaststroke, Peaty tested positive for Covid-19, having struggled with a sore throat ahead of Sunday’s final before his symptoms worsened.

Unlike the last Olympics in Tokyo, there are no specific coronavirus restrictions on athletes but Team GB said in a statement “all usual precautions (were) being taken to keep the wider delegation healthy”.

Peaty’s diagnosis led to doubts about whether he would be fit enough to take to the pool in the men’s and mixed 4x100m medley relays, with the 29-year-old crucial to to their hopes on the breaststroke leg.

But he posted a picture of himself on his Instagram story on Wednesday evening in a swimming pool along with the caption: “Back in the water with the French public today (2 days of bed rest).”

The mixed medley heats is first up with heats on Friday and the final on Saturday – the men’s preliminaries are on Saturday with the showpiece on the last day of the swimming meet on Sunday