Tears as Stingers win classic, Lyles drama, canoe sprint silver by millimetres: What you missed in Paris while you were sleeping
PARIS: After the highs of an all-time gold rush for Australia on day 12 at the Olympics, it was perhaps inevitable things would take a beat in Paris.
But two more silvers in and on the water added to the medal tally before a water polo thriller put the Aussies within touching distance of another gold.
There was drama at the track with sprint king Noah Lyles unable to repeat his 100m win in the 200m before news of an illness emerged.
FULL MEDAL TALLY: Aussies remain in third
And Team USA's basketball Dream Team survived a massive scare to reach the final.
Here's what you missed in Paris overnight.
Stingers into gold medal match after massive upset
Australia is into the women's water polo final after stunning the three-time reigning Olympic champions USA on penalties.
Goalkeeper Gabi Palm tipped the decisive penalty past the post to trigger wild celebrations - and tears - from the Australians.
Lyles stunned, led from track in wheelchair
Noah Lyles could not repeat the sprint double, running third in the 200m final.
Lyles entered the Stade de France with a wild energy, leaping around the track and gesticulating to the crowd.
But it was Letsile Tebogo who won Botswana's first-ever gold medal from US sprinter Kenneth Bednarek, with Lyles collapsing to the track after running third.
Lyles was carted from the track in a wheelchair and it later emerged he had been diagnosed with COVID-19 in between his 100m win on Monday and Friday's final.
A drama-packed few minutes on the track was capped when the USA's Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won the 400m hurdles gold in world record time, blitzing the field.
Earlier, Australia's Jess Hull ran a brilliant second to cruise into the 1500m final.
Hull looked to have another gear to go to as she booked a spot in the medal race, where she looks a strong chance to make the podium.
The news wasn't so good for 800m runners Peter Bol and Joseph Deng, who were both knocked out in the repechage round.
Earlier, 100m hurdler Michelle Jenneke revealed she ran her repechage with a ruptured hamstring tendon after her heat fall.
"I knew that making that semi-final and running under 13 seconds missing one of your hamstrings is probably pretty impossible, but I wanted to prove to myself and the rest of Australia that I've got grit in me and I'm not going to give up easily," she said.
Gold denied by millimetres
Australia came within millimetres of snaring gold medal number 19, missing out on first place in the men's kayak in a photo finish to win silver.
In the race before, the women's kayak four finished eighth in the 500m final.
Silver in the Seine
Moesha Johnson battled a torrid current and concerns about the River Seine water quality to win silver in the women's 10km marathon swim.
Johnson led for almost half the race and had looked set to claim gold, but Dutchwoman Sharon van Rouwendaal, the winner of the event in Rio and Tokyo silver medallist, made a move with the finish line in sight to claim top spot on the podium.
No gold, but history made by Aussie boxers
Australia will take home two Olympic boxing bronze medals for the first time since 1960, but won't have a fighter in a gold medal match.
Caitlin Parker won the first round 5-0 against China's Li Qian but then lost rounds two and three in the 75kg semi-final.
She finishes with Australia's first-ever women's boxing medal.
Earlier, Australia's Charlie Senior was outclassed by Abdumalik Khalokov of Uzbekistan in the 57kg semi-final to take home a bronze medal.
The bout was fought in good sprit, with the fighters joining together for a double backflip in the ring.
Beach volleyballers
Australia's Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy's hopes of winning gold in Paris are over after going down in their semi-final to Brazil's Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda Santos Lisboa.
The Tokyo silver medallists won the first set in front of a sparkling Eiffel Tower but the Brazilians clawed their way back, stealing the "rally of the Olympics" on their way to a 2-1 (20-22, 21-15, 15-12) win.
Brutal velodrome crash, rapid Aussie into semi
Matthew Richardson's hot form at the velodrome continued after he locked in a semi-final spot with two rapid heat rides in the cat-and-mouse men's sprint over Japan's Yuta Obara.
Earlier, a nasty crashed marred the women's keirin event.
A wheel exploded and China's Liying Yuan, Belgium's Nicky Degrendele and Dutch rider Steffie van der Peet were sent sprawling.
Australia's Kristina Clonan managed to avoid the crash but was unable to progress.
Wemby v USA in mouth-watering basketball final
The French fans have been electric in Paris and they were given another reason to roar as the men's basketball team reached the gold medal match at Bercy Arena with a tense 73-69 win over Germany.
Evan Fournier repeated his quarter-final heroics with another dagger three-pointer to send the locals into raptures.
Later, the USA survived a major scare against Serbia to scrape into the final.
Down by 15 points late in the third quarter, LeBron James, Steph Curry and Joel Embiid took over late to steal the contest 95-91 and avoid one of the all-time upsets.
Watch every moment, every medal of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now. Plus, every event streaming ad free, live and on demand with 4K on Stan Sport.
