A two-set victory would see US duo Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram advance to the final round as they beat Czech duo Tomáš Machač and Adam Pavlásek 6-2, 6-2. The American pair were considered a threat in the tournament, being the fourth seed and ranked 19th and 5th respectively in the ATP doubles rankings. Ram, who turns 41 next March, will be hoping for gold in what might be his last Olympics, especially after a run that saw him and Krajicek defeat legendary Spaniards Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.
There's potential for an iconic all-American matchup as well, with Cali boy Taylor Fritz and New Jersey-born Tommy Paul defeated the British partnership of Dan Evans and Andy Murray. Murray, 37, would play his final game of tennis as a professional as he retires from the sport, having won three majors including Wimbledon twice and the US Open once. But the Brit's farewell party would end in a disappointing two-setter as Fritz/Paul won 6-4, 6-2. The twosome will play Aussies Matthew Ebden and John Peers in the semi-finals.
Gold, withdrawal, gold: Simone Biles reclaims her throne as she takes top spot in the women's all-around gymnastics final
The last Olympics at Tokyo were bittersweet for Biles. Then at the time 24 years old, she had won five medals in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and was on top of the world. But the 'twisties', gymnastics' version of the 'yips', would see her lose all control at the 2020 Olympics and she withdrew from most events, citing her mental health. She would only bring back a silver in the team all-around and a bronze in the beam, the latter being a medal she described as "meaning more than all the golds" in an interview with NBC.
In 2024, things are different, and today proved it. Biles' would bring her A-game to the event and complete a stellar floor exercise routine to cap her performance off. The routine would see Biles score a 15.066 and an overall score of 59.131, winning her second gold so far this Olympics. Her rival and fellow favorite Rebecca Andrade of Brazil finished second, 1.199 behind Biles'. Defeding champion at Tokyo in Biles' absence and fellow Team USA gymnast Sunisa Lee would take bronze.
Biles now has nine gold medals in gymnastics to her name, and as she celebrated, she placed a goat (common symbol/abbreviation to indicate Greatest Of All Time) necklace around her neck to remind the audience just how once-in-a-lifetime she was.
"They always call me the GOAT, so I thought it would be really special if I got one made."
Biles, on the goat chain in her post-performance interview
Canadian Summer McIntosh stars in the La Defense Arena's premier event of Day 6 as Team USA pick up three gold medals in another intriguing afternoon in swimming
17-year-old Summer McIntosh would be the first to touch home in the women's 200m butterfly as she emerged ahead in a tight fought battle with American Regan Smith, bringing home Canada's third and her second gold in Paris, setting an Olympic record in the process.
McIntosh's final time of 2:03.03 would beat the American Smith, but the Minnesota native picked up another silver to cap off an impressive few days at her sophomore Olympics.
A gold would come for Team USA in the form of Kate Douglass and her victory in the 200 metres breaststroke ahead of South African Tatjana Smith. Smith, 27, set the Olympic Record of 2:18.95 in Tokyo 2020 but this time was 0.36 seconds behind Douglass' finishing time of 2:19.24. Another American, Lilly King, tired in the final leg of the event to sadly finish dead last.
Hungarian Hubert Kos would take home the men's 200m breaststroke with a final time of 1:54.26 as a disappointing event for the US saw sole representative Keaton Jones finish fifth.
Another silver would be on the cards for America in the 4x200m freestyle relay as Team USA, headed by iconic Katie Ledecky, finished only 2.78 seconds behind Australia and their star lineup including Olympic gold holders Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O'Callaghan.
In a somewhat quiet day at the Olympics apart from a few priority matches, USA women's basketball team would continue on from their impressive form that was shown against Japan and beat Belgium 87-74, again with star performances from A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart. The men's 3x3 basketball team headed by ex-NBA player Jimmer Fredette would fall to 0-3 in the group stage, with a 19-17 loss to Latvia. But it wasn't all doom and gloom, as the USA fencing team would take gold thanks to big performances from Lee Kiefer and Maia Mei Weitraub.
The past 24 hours has also seen a new nation enter the medals table, as Ecuadorian Brian Daniel Pintado scored only his country's fourth gold ever in the history of the Olympics.
