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Paris Olympics roundup: Biles inspires USA gold as Murray delays retirement

AFP, Ste Carson
Biles inspires USA to Olympic gold
Biles inspires USA to Olympic goldAFP
Simone Biles (27) won the fifth Olympic gold of her legendary career as she led the USA to an emphatic victory in the women's gymnastics team final on Tuesday as Andy Murray (37) held off his retirement.

On a sweltering day in Paris where temperatures reached 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit), the hottest ticket in town was at the Bercy Arena where Biles was attempting to lay the ghosts of Tokyo 2021 to rest.

The American, considered the greatest gymnast of all time, and her team did just that to add to her four gold medals at the 2016 Rio Games.

Three years Biles battled a disorientating mental block that gymnasts call the 'twisties' at the Tokyo Games, and without her, USA had to settle for silver.

But with Biles back to her best, she and teammates Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Sunisa Lee led wire-to-wire to reclaim gold ahead of Italy, with Brazil taking bronze and an impressive Great Britain finishing fourth.

For Biles, it marks a return to the Olympic summit after a two-year break as she focused on her mental health. Lee, the all-around champion in Tokyo, has since dealt with two career-threatening kidney ailments.

Biles said her second team gold - eight years after her first - felt different.

"It was just like we were a little young and naive," she said of 2016. "So it didn't hit the way that it does now.

"Now that I'm much older, we have so much more experience and we're out here really having fun and enjoying what we're doing."

Once again the stars were out for Biles.

Serena Williams, Nicole Kidman and Bill Gates were in attendance, as was Biles's husband, NFL player Jonathan Owens, in a T-shirt emblazoned with his wife's name and picture.

Irish history

Daniel Wiffen was in tears on the podium at La Defense Arena after becoming the first Irishman ever to win an Olympic swimming gold.

The 23-year-old powered home in the 800m freestyle in 7min 38.19sec, the fifth-fastest time ever, ahead of American defending champion Bobby Finke and Tokyo silver medallist Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy.

Wiffen, who is the world champion, will also contest the 1,500m freestyle and 10km open water swim in Paris.

Wiffen wins
Wiffen winsAFP

Kaylee McKeown retained her crown in the women's 100m backstroke, producing a blistering second lap to beat world record-holder Regan Smith of the USA.

It was Australia's fourth gold in the pool in Paris.

Britain triumphed in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay.

In punishing heat at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal kept alive his dream of a third Olympic gold as he powered into the men's doubles quarter-finals alongside Carlos Alcaraz.

But women's world number two Coco Gauff crashed out of the singles in a stormy defeat to Croatian Donna Vekic.

Vekic won 7-6 (9/7), 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals after Gauff claimed she was "getting cheated" in an argument with the chair umpire over a line call.

New Zealand's women defended their Olympic rugby sevens title after roaring back to beat Canada 19-12 in front of a near-capacity 69,000 crowd at the Stade de France.

In men's football, Thierry Henry's France set up a potentially explosive quarter-final showdown with Argentina.

And NBA star Victor Wembanyama scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help France scrape past Japan 94-90 to close in on a quarter-final spot in the men's basketball.

Murray's career stays alive

Andy Murray delayed his retirement from tennis with another thrilling Olympic doubles win with Dan Evans, where they saved match points for the second successive round.

Murray and Evans defeated Belgium's Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 6-3, 6-7 (8/10), 11-9 to qualify for the quarter-finals at Roland Garros.

They saved two match points in the final-set tie-break, two days after they had saved five match points in their opening-round victory.

Murray celebrates
Murray celebratesAFP

In a rollercoaster evening clash on Court Suzanne Lenglen, the British pair wasted two match points of their own in a gripping second-set tie-break.

The 37-year-old Murray, who has claimed three Grand Slam titles, reached the world number one spot and pocketed two Olympic singles gold medals, will retire once his Paris campaign is over.

Medal table after day four
Medal table after day fourFlashscore

More Seine doubts

Earlier, in a massive blow to Olympic organisers who have repeatedly vowed that the River Seine would be safe to swim in, Tuesday's men's triathlon race was called off hours before the start after last-minute water-quality tests.

A joint statement from Paris 2024 and World Triathlon blamed the spike in pollution levels on the heavy rain that drenched Paris on Friday and Saturday.

The men's triathlon has been rescheduled to Wednesday, immediately after the women's event, leaving Games chiefs keeping their fingers crossed.

After the intense heat of the day, a major storm was forecast late on, raising fresh doubts over whether Wednesday's rescheduled events could go ahead.

Heavy downpours still overwhelm the city's underground drains and sewage system, leading to untreated effluent being released into the waterway.