By Paul Martin
One of Britain’s London 2012 heroes will look to crown a remarkable Olympic career on August 8 as Jade Jones takes to the mat seeking a third gold.
The 31-year-old known as ‘the headhunter’ defended her London crown in Rio before crashing out at the first stage in Tokyo last time out.
She has retained her place as Britain’s -57kg representative for Paris, equalling Sarah Stevenson’s record in competing at four Olympics for Team GB in taekwondo.
There are also medal hopes for Doncaster’s Bradly Sinden, who is bidding to upgrade the men’s 68kg silver he took home from Tokyo.
On the track, the men’s 200m will attract plenty of attention. Noah Lyles broke Michael Johnson’s 28-year US Olympic Trials record with a blistering 19.53s in June and will hope to go two better than the bronze he won in Tokyo, when Canada’s Andre De Grasse took the spoils.
The same US Trials saw Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone set a new 400m hurdles world record and she will do battle with Dutch dynamo Femke Bol for the Olympic crown in Paris.
Grant Holloway and Hansle Parchment face a similarly intriguing head-to-head in the men’s 110m hurdles, with women’s long jump and men’s javelin medals also being fought for on day 13.
In the velodrome, Britain’s male sprinters go for gold with Jack Carlin looking to build on the bronze he won in Tokyo, while Emma Finucane takes on the women’s keirin – in which she claimed European silver earlier this year.
There are strong British hopes both in and on the water on August 8. Jack Laugher has claimed 3m springboard silver and bronze at the last two Games and bids to complete the set here, while sailors Ellie Aldridge and Connor Bainbridge face their formula kite medal races in Marseille.
Both finished second at last summer’s Olympic Test Event, while Aldridge also claimed World Championship silver in 2023.
A British drought stretching back to 1988 could be ended at Stade Yves du Manoir, meanwhile.
Seoul was the last time Team GB’s men won hockey gold – memorably soundtracked by Barry Davies’ immortal line, ‘Where were the Germans, and frankly who cares?’.
But Paul Revington’s Bazball-inspired attacking approach has been paying off in recent years. Like England’s cricketers, they don’t believe in draws and how that freewheeling mindset copes if medals are on the line will be fascinating.
The bronze medal match is at 1pm (BST), with the final five hours later.
In the ring, mum-of-three Charley Davison will hope to still be involved as the women’s bantamweight competition reaches its conclusion. She was knocked out in the last 16 in Tokyo but is back for more and plans to turn professional after the Games.
The evening’s boxing also includes the women’s middleweight semi-finals. That competition could see sparring partners Chantelle Reid, from Derby, and Cindy Ngamba face off, with Ngamba – Cameroon-born and living in Bolton – part of the IOC’s Refugee Olympic Team.
Do not miss: It is hard to look past the men’s 200m, particularly if Noah Lyles is on form. The confident American will hope this is his second shot at gold, with this race coming four days after the men’s 100m final, but Andre De Grasse is out to defend his crown.
Star of the day: Lyles is an obvious contender here but his compatriots Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Grant Holloway could join him in making it a night to remember for US athletes at the Stade de France. McLaughlin-Levrone broke her own world record in June and arrives in fine form.
Best Brit: Jack Carlin broke his ankle in April but a rapid recovery means he will be on the start line in the men’s individual sprint. Bronze in Tokyo was one of 16 major championship medals but so far none of them are gold – there would be no better time to put that right.
Watch every moment of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 live only on discovery+, the streaming home of the Olympics.
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