Great Britain Hits New Record with Nine Golds

Great Britain celebrated their most successful start to a summer Olympics with three gold medals on day seven in Paris, marking the first time the team secured nine golds in the first seven days of the Games. The impressive performance on Friday included seven medals overall, pushing Britain’s total to 27 and briefly elevating them to third place in the medal standings. Friday also saw France revel in their success, with notable victories at the Champ de Mars Arena, the swimming pool and the BMX track.

Teddy Riner, the judoka from France became the most decorated judoka in Olympic history with his win in the men’s +100kg category. Leon Marchand made history as the first French athlete to win four individual gold medals in a single summer Olympics and the third male swimmer to achieve this, joining Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz. The French BMX team including Joris Daudet, Sylvain Andre and Romain Mahieu, completed a clean sweep in the men’s final, although tensions flared in their football match against Argentina.

For Great Britain, the day started well with medals in rowing and diving. Emily Craig and Imogen Grant won gold in the women’s lightweight double sculls while Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George secured silver in the men’s pair. Divers Anthony Harding and Jack Laugher earned bronze in the men’s 3m synchro springboard and Bryony Page clinched gold in the trampoline. Team GB also triumphed in the equestrian team jumping final.

In the athletics events, Britain’s Josh Kerr advanced to the 1500m semi-finals while Dina Asher-Smith, Daryll Neita and Imani-Lara Lansiquot qualified for the women’s 100m semi-finals. Keely Hodgkinson, Jemma Reekie and Phoebe Gill progressed in the 800m heats, although Morgan Lake did not make it to the women’s high jump final.