NO SILVER LINING
Team GB cruelly LOSE silver medal after Paris Olympics ‘balls up’ following incredible photo finish
One athlete was forced to pull out of the event after falling ill with E.coli
TEAM GB were cruelly demoted from silver to bronze after a 'balls up' in the triathlon mixed relay.
Alex Yee, Georgia Taylor-Brown, Sam Dickinson and Beth Potter took it down to the wire but were pipped to the finish line by Germany.
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The remaining two medals were then determined by an incredibly tight photo finish.
Following a nervy wait, Team GB were handed the silver - only to then be downgraded following a post-race review.
Everyone involved was under the assumption that Yee, Taylor-Brown, Dickinson and Potter took silver, with Team GB's social media account even congratulating the quartet on coming second.
But the change was confirmed just over 15 minutes after the race conclusion.
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Rowing legend and BBC pundit Matthew Pinsent branded the situation a "total balls up".
He took to X to write: "Total balls up by Tri officials to not get the photo finish absolutely right in the first instance. GB bronze correct but there are procedures in loads of sports to learn from that are better than this."
British Triathlon performance director Mike Cavendish said: "We thought it was silver, the display showed it was silver. The judges will look at a video still, that isn't great to go off. When it's come to the official photo finish, America were just ahead of us.
"It's very rare that it goes to a photo finish. I'm still so proud they got a bronze, it's just a brilliant advert for our sport."
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Men's gold medallist Yee had kicked off the race for Team GB, building up a strong 16-second lead by the end of the first leg.
Taylor-Brown then took over and maintained the lead until the last stretch of the 1.8km run, when Germany's Lisa Tertsch edged in front.
Team GB star Alex Yee wins triathlon medal in Paris Olympics
With just one second separating GB and Germany, Dickinson and Lasse Luehrs were neck and neck throughout the third leg.
But the Brit dug deep to pick up a five-second advantage by the final changeover.
Potter, who won a bronze medal in the women's individual triathlon last week, then took the reigns for the last section.
She couldn't quite keep the pace in the cycle, dropping to third behind Taylor Knibb and Laura Lindemann.
But a speedy transition put her back in front to set up a thrilling finale.
Lindemann crossed the finish line first, but it went down to a photo finish between Potter and Knibb.
Triathlon controversy
The conclusion of the mixed relay sees the triathlon events come to an end after much controversy.
The mixed relay training session was cancelled at the last minute on Sunday due to concerns surrounding the safety of the River Seine.
Organisers admitted heavy rain affected the river's water quality, making it far too unsafe to swim in.
Belgium were forced to pull out of the main event after one athlete was hospitalised with an E. coli infection.
Claire Michel took part in the women's triathlon last Wednesday and fell ill the following day.
Reports claim Adrien Briffod of Switzerland also fell seriously ill following the men's event.
Unlucky GB
This wasn't the first time Team GB have been unlucky at the Paris Olympics.
Sprinter Jeremiah Azu was disqualified from the men's 100m for a false start in his heat having left his block 0.073 seconds before the gun.
Luke Greenbank was disqualified from the 200 metre backstroke for being underwater beyond the 15-metre mark at the start.
Emma Reid was dismissed from the women's -78kg judo event following three penalties.
And Amber Jo Rutter missed out on women's skeet shooting gold in controversial circumstances.
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She was judged to have missed one of two shots but insisted that she had not missed the mark.
Replays showed she had clipped the skeet but Olympic rules do not allow decisions to be overturned.
What's happening today at The Games?
WHAT TO WATCH TODAY
TODAY'S BRIT MEDAL HOPES
Keely Hodgkinson is among the favourites to win gold in the women’s 800m final (8.45pm), three years on from silver in Tokyo.
Kimberley Woods, Mallory Franklin and Joe Clarke could secure a triple-header in the maiden Olympic kayak cross finals (3.55pm).
GB will hope to retain their triathlon mixed relay (7am) and the women’s cycling team sprint (6.55pm) offers a real medal chance on the opening day in the velodrome.
BRITS TO WATCH
The sport climbing gets underway with four Brits - Hamish McArthur and 19-year-old sensation Toby Roberts starting with their bouldering in the boulder and lead event (9am).
And the women’s hockey team face a nightmare quarter-final against the all-conquering Dutch (4.30pm).
GLOBAL STARS TODAY
Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis will try and break his own latest world record once again in the men’s paul vault final (6pm).
The men’s football reaches the semi-finals with hosts France facing Egypt (8pm) after Spain vs Morocco (5pm).
And this will be the last we see of Simone Biles in Paris. She is set to go in the women’s balance beam (11.30am) and floor finals (1.20pm).
FANCY SOMETHING DIFFERENT?
It is the final day for both the 3x3 basketball and the surfing.
The 3x3 basketball finishes with the gold medal matches from 9pm at La Concorde.
Over in Tahiti, Gabriel Medina appeared to defy gravity with THAT incredible levitating photo and has a shot at gold today.
STATS MAD
0 - A rule change to the artistic swimming (formerly synchronised swimming) means men are now able to compete in the team event for the first time in Olympics history… but the new legislation only came in 18 months and precisely ZERO males were selected.
Follow all the action as it unfolds with our Paris 2024 Olympics LIVE blog.
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