Epic 100m final decided in photo finish, Novak's tears, Aussie high jumpers in the medals: What you missed while you were sleeping
PARIS: The marquee event of the OIympics has been won by a new champion in an all-time finish, the battle for the pool has been decided and Australia landed on the high jump podium - twice.
Meanwhile, the tennis gold medal was decided with a great winning the last remaining crown that had eluded him.
Here's what you missed from Paris overnight.
Men's 100m final decided in photo finish
US sprinting megastar Noah Lyles clinched Olympic gold in the men's 100m dash by just .005 of a second in an extraordinary photo finish.
The reigning 100m world champion got his hands on Olympic gold with a blistering run on the purple track at the Stade de France.
Both Lyles and Jamaican Kishane Thompson were clocked at 9.79 seconds, with the photo finish giving Lyles the edge at 9.784 and Thompson at 9.789.
The USA's Fred Kerley claimed bronze in 9.81.
Aussies leap to high jump medals
Two Australians have jumped their way into the high jump medals at the Stade de France.
Nicola Olyslagers matched her silver medal from Tokyo after a tense battle with Ukraine world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh.
Bronze was split between Australian Eleanor Patterson and Ukrainian Iryna Gerashchenko.
USA takes pool bragging rights
The final night in the pool saw three medal races but the real subplot was who would win the meet: the USA or Australia.
The Americans had won all but two Olympic meets since 1956, one of which they didn't compete in.
Here's how the night played out.
Neither country could win gold in the 50m freestyle, where speed Swede Sarah Sjöström completed the 50m-100m double.
Australia's Meg Harris snuck into silver, while Shayna Jack shed tears on the pool deck after finishing eighth.
American Bobby Finke then broke the 1500m freestyle world record that had stood since 2012 to win gold and tie things up on the tally at seven golds apiece.
Next, China took the men's 4x100m medley relay from the USA and France.
It meant the overall swimming medal tally would come down to the last race, the women's 4x100m medley relay.
And the USA proved far too strong, smashing another world record to win from Australia by an astounding 3.48 seconds.
The USA finished Paris 2024 with eight gold, 13 silver and seven bronze (28 total medals) in the pool, ahead of Australia with seven gold, eight silver and three bronze (18 medals).
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Novak's tears after first Olympic gold
Novak Djokovic has finally claimed the one tennis title that had long avoided his grasp, winning gold in the men's singles in Paris to complete a career golden slam.
The Serb defeated second seed Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets in a rematch of the Wimbledon final, collapsing to the court in tears in the 37-year-old's likely final Olympics.
Famous Fox upstaged by sis
Jess Fox's quest to win three gold medals in Paris is all over after she was eliminated in the kayak cross heats, but the Olympic dream for younger sister Noemie is alive after winning the same heat.
Noemie crossed the line the first and turned to see what was happening behind her but realised her sister was out of the competition, waiting until Jess crossed the line in fourth place.
The sisters then embraced in a touching moment at the bottom of the course.
Boxer makes history - and she's not done yet
Australia's boxers came to Paris with two firsts in their sights: the country's maiden gold medal and the first female medal.
One of those was ticked off today when Caitlin Parker guaranteed herself a medal in the women's 75kg boxing after a shock win over world championship winner Khadija Mardi.
She joins countryman Charlie Senior in the semi-finals, with the chase for that elusive gold well and truly on.
Speaking with Nine after the fight, Parker hailed her win as "friggin' amazing".
Elsewhere...
Australia's women's water polo team, the Stingers, booked a quarter-final spot by toppling Hungary in yet another penalty shootout:
It's all over for the Kookaburras in Paris – they went down to the Netherlands 2-0 to exit in the quarter-finals.
Australian beach volleyballers Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar won their knockout match against Brazil to reach the quarter-finals.
And in golf, a late collapse by Spain's Jon Rahm saw Scottie Scheffler (USA) win gold from Great Britain's Tommy Fleetwood and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama.
Rahm had led by four shots with eight holes to go but fell away to finish tied for fifth.
Australians Jason Day and Min Woo Lee finished for tied for ninth and 22nd.
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.
