Tag Archives: 2024 Paris Games

Carlos Alcaraz Takes Home Silver in Men’s Singles Tennis at 2024 Paris Games

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2024 Paris GamesIt’s a silver lining for Carlos Alcaraz…

Despite his loss in the men’s singles final to Novak Djokovic in the men’s singles tennis final on Sunday, the 21-year-old Spanish tennis star claimed the silver medal at the 2024 Paris Games.

Carlos Alcaraz, OlympicsAlcaraz, who was gunning to become the youngest men’s tennis Olympic champion in his Olympic debut, lost a close match in straight sets, with both decided by a tiebreaker.

In the end, Alcaraz lost 6-7 (3), 6-7 (2).

Despite his disappointment at his defeat on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the Olympic flame inside the Spaniard remains well and truly alight.

“I always want to win, that’s for sure, but taking the silver medal, I have to be really proud,” said Alcaraz in post-match comments made to NBC. “I’m building a really great career and I hope it’s going to keep going.

“Honestly, I’m pretty proud to be in this position, I’m pretty proud to bring a medal to Spain. I’m pretty sure that my moment will come, and I will bring the gold medal to Spain one day. So I’m going to wait for that moment and I’m going to work for that moment, but right now I have to enjoy lifting the silver medal, it’s pretty amazing as well.”

Alcaraz has good reason to feel confident about the future. Sunday’s loss was a rare low moment in what has otherwise been a largely stellar year for the Spaniard.

He lifted his third and fourth major titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, respectively, while he also lifted his fifth ATP Masters 1000 crown in Indian Wells in March.

The No. 3 in the ATP Rankings also knows how close he was to Djokovic in Sunday’s high-level encounter.

Alcaraz forced the Serbian to fend off eight break points en route to victory, and he’ll leave Paris satisfied he gave his all in pursuit of Olympic glory.

‘It is painful to lose the way that I lost this match. I had my opportunities… I couldn’t take them,” said Alcaraz. “Novak is playing great, he really settled in his position, in the difficult moments he increased his level, he played unbelievable. I’m really disappointed but honestly, I’m going to leave the court with my head really high. I gave everything that I had fighting for Spain, it was everything to me so I’m proud the way that I played today.”

The next few months also promise plenty for Alcaraz, who is currently 38-7 for the season and second in the ATP Live Race To Turin. He’s next set to compete at the Cincinnati Open later this month, when he’ll resume his pursuit of rival and current Live Race leader Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz is bidding to finish the season as ATP Year-End No. 1 for the second time.

Francisca Crovetto Chadid Wins Women’s Skeet Final to Give Chile Its First Gold of the 2024 Paris Games

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2024 Paris GamesIt’s the golden hour for Francisca Crovetto Chadid.

The 34-year-old Chilean sport shooter won the Women’s Skeet Final on Sunday to give Chile its first medal of the 2024 Paris Games and become the nation’s first-ever female Olympic champion in any sport.

Francisca Crovetto ChadidIt’s only the third gold medal in Chilean Olympic history and the first gold for the country in 20 years. Additionally, it is Chile’s first medal of any kind in any sport since 2008 Beijing Games.

Crovetto won the gold in a shoot-off, hitting her last two targets for the win after a disputed call to give Great Britain’s Amber Rutter a miss for a shot that television replays showed had seemed to clip the target.

Crovetto and Rutter had finished equal on 55 out of 60 to force the shoot-off.

Crovetto prevailed 7-6 in the tiebreaker.

“This is way sport goes, unfortunately. l truly believe I did hit that last target. I just don’t want it to take away from any of the other girls’ performances,” Rutter said, calling for video reviews at future competitions to ensure “a level playing field.”

USA’s Austen Jewell Smith clinched the bronze.

Crovetto represented Chile at the 2012 London Games, where she competed as the nation’s lone shooter in the women’s skeet. She placed eighth in the qualifying rounds of her event by one point behind Sweden’s Therese Lundqvist, with a total score of 66 targets.[6]

At the 2016 Rio Games, she was again Chile’s lone representative in the sport shooting, finishing in 19th.

She represented Chile at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Cristina Bucsa & Sara Sorribes Tormo Claim Bronze in Women’s Doubles at 2024 Paris Games

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2024 Paris GamesCristina Bucsa and Sara Sorribes Tormo have bounced back to earn some special Olympic hardware…

The 26-year-old Spanish professional tennis player and her 27-year-old compatriot defeated the Czech Republic’s Linda Nosková and Karolína Muchová in the women’s doubles bronze medal match 6-2, 6-2 to claim the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Games.

Cristina Bucsa & Sara Sorribes TormoPlaying in just their second tournament as a team, the Spaniards bounced back to claim the bronze for their country.

The eighth-seeded Spaniards – who won the Madrid Open together in May – were rock solid throughout and seemed to have all the answers as they sealed a brilliant victory, Sorribes Tormo finishing it off with a brilliant forehand volley.

Bucsa and Sorribes had lost in the semifinals to Diana Schnaider and Mirra Andreeva 1-6, 2-6 on Friday to miss out on the gold medal round.

Rebeca Andrade Wins Vault Silver at 2024 Paris Games to Enter Brazil’s Olympic History Books

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2024 Paris GamesRebeca Andrade has earned her place in Brazil Olympics history.

The 25-year-old Brazilian artistic gymnast earned a silver in the women’s gymnastics vault final at the 2024 Paris Games on Saturday to tie the record for the most Olympic medals of any athlete in Brazil history.

Rebeca AndradeTeam USA’s Simone Biles claimed the gold while her compatriot Jade Carey took home the bronze.

Days after facing off against Biles in the women’s gymnastics individual all-around competition, where he won silver, Andrade ended up with an average score of 14.966 after her two vaults,

Biles completed her two vaults with a commanding combined score of 15.300.

Jade ended with 14.466.

Rebeca AndradeWhile Simone reigned as champion in her categories, Andrade has proven she has what it takes to keep up. In fact, Rebeca—who won silver in the vault at the 2020 Tokyo Games, where she became the first South American woman to make it to the podium in the event—is a force to be reckoned with.

“I don’t wanna compete with Rebeca no more—I’m tired,” Simone quipped to reporters after the competition August 1. “She’s way too close.”

Laughing at the friendly competition, she added, “I’ve never had an athlete that close, so it definitely put me on my toes and it brought out the best athlete in myself.”

Brazil Defeats France to Advance to Women’s Soccer Semifinals at 2024 Paris Games

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2024 Paris GamesThe Olympic run of Marta and her Brazilian teammates continues…

Brazil beat hosts France 1-0 in Nantes to reach the women’s Olympic soccer semifinals at the 2024 Paris Games and extend the top-level international career of the 38-year-old Brazilian professional footballer and legendary forward.

Brazil Women's Soccer TeamMarta, a six-time women’s world player of the year, was suspended for the quarterfinal after receiving a red card in Brazil’s loss to Spain in its final group-stage game.

At the time, with Brazil struggling to even make it through the group stage, that looked like being a sad end to the Olympic career of Marta, who has announced she will retire from international soccer this year.

But after limping through in third place in its group with two losses from three games, Brazil won without the player widely regarded as the best of all time in women’s soccer.

Gabi Portilho got the decisive goal, bursting through two defenders to finish past keeper Constance Picaud in the 82nd minute to the delight of Marta watching on in the stands.

Brazil, with Marta back from suspension, will face a rematch with Spain in the last four on Tuesday and is guaranteed the chance to play for a medal.

Despite all her accolades, Marta has never won an Olympic or Women’s World Cup title with Brazil. The team went close twice, winning silver medals in 2004 and 2008.

France paid the price for failing to capitalize on its chances in the first half, with Sakina Karchaoui seeing a 16th-minute penalty saved by Brazil goalkeeper Lorena.

Griedge Mbock Bathy then headed against the bar from a corner in the 39th.

Portilho’s goal was Brazil’s first shot on target and she then hit the post late on.

Beatriz Iasmin Soares Ferreira Claims Women’s Lightweight Bronze at 2024 Paris Games

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2024 Paris GamesBeatriz Iasmin Soares Ferreira has become a two-time Olympic medalist…

The 31-year-old Brazilian professional boxer, who has held IBF lightweight title since April 2024, lost in the semifinals of the women’s lightweight boxing category at the 2024 Paris Games to Ireland’s Kellie Harrington, but didn’t leave empty-handed.

Beatriz Iasmin Soares FerreiraIn a rematch of the 2020 Tokyo Games final, Soares took home the bronze medal in the loss.

When the two fought in Tokyo three years ago, Harrington trailed after the first round, but frustrated Ferreira with her neat footwork and technical boxing to ultimately win on points and claim the gold.

This time around, the Irishwoman controlled the bout and prevented Ferreira from turning the fight into a slugfest as she ducked and weaved while landing some crunching blows of her own.

“It just feels fantastic to get that fight out of the way, because Bea is a fantastic opponent and since Tokyo she’s gone on to do great things in the professional ranks,” Harrington said.

Beatriz Iasmin Soares Ferreira When the two fought in Tokyo three years ago, Harrington trailed after the first round, but frustrated Ferreira with her neat footwork and technical boxing to ultimately win on points and claim the gold.

This time around, the Irishwoman controlled the bout and prevented Ferreira from turning the fight into a slugfest as she ducked and weaved while landing some crunching blows of her own.

“It just feels fantastic to get that fight out of the way, because Bea is a fantastic opponent and since Tokyo she’s gone on to do great things in the professional ranks,” Harrington said.

She previously represented Brazil at the 2020 Tokyo Games, winning the silver medal in the women’s lightweight event, the best performance by a Brazilian female boxer.

Soares is a two-time world champion, taking the gold in 2019 and 2023.

She’s the eldest of three daughters by a fellow boxer, Raimundo Ferreira, known as “Sergipe” and twice Brazilian champion and three times champion of their home state of Bahia.

Rafaela Silva Wins Twice to Help Lead Brazil to Mixed Team Judo Bronze at 2024 Paris Games

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2024 Paris GamesRafaela Silva wins twice to put Brazil on the Olympics podium at the 2024 Paris Games…

The 32-year-old Brazilian judoka, the first Brazilian woman to become a world champion in judo, won the decisive match to lead Brazil to victory against Italy (4-3) on Saturday to secure the bronze medal in the mixed team judo competition.

Rafaela SilvaIt’s the eighth medal that the South American country has won at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Silva defeated Veronica Toniolo in the 57KG category, giving the victory to the ‘verde-amarela’ team by.

In the process, Silva became the oldest Olympic judoka to win a medal. She also has two bronze medals from the 2012 London Games and 2016 Rio Games.

Brazil quickly took a 2-0 lead, with matches won by Rafael Macedo against Christian Parlati in the -90 and Beatriz Souza against Asya Tavano.

Italy cut the lead with a waza-ari by Gennaro Pirelli against Leonardo Goncalves in the +90. Silva, in the -57, increased the lead to 3-1 by defeating Veronica Toniolo.

Brazil Mixed Judo TeamOn the brink of elimination, the Europeans tied the duel at three, thanks to the victory of Manuel Lombardo against Willian Lima (-73) and Savita Russo against Ketleyn Quadros.

With a 3-3 tie, the draw to decide which category would dispute the last match established that it would be in the -57 category, Silva against Toniolo.

The Italian, who was injured from her previous match, conceded in just 14 seconds by a waza-ari.

Aitana Bonmatí Helps Lead Spain to Women’s Soccer Semifinals at 2024 Paris Games

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2024 Paris GamesAitana Bonmatí has helped reigning world champions Spain advance at the 2024 Paris Games.

The 26-year-old Spanish professional footballer and Ballon d’Or winner scored the decisive spot kick in a penalty shootout against Colombia to advance to the women’s Olympic soccer semifinals.

Spain Women's Olympic Soccer TeamSpain had to fight back from 2-0 down on Saturday to get to the penalty shootout.

Spain won 4-2 in the shootout at Stade de Lyon.

Catalina Usme and Liana Salazar failed to score from the spot for Colombia, which had looked set to advance to the last four after taking a 2-0 lead through Mayra Ramírez and Leicy Santos.

Jenni Hermoso had sparked Spain’s second-half fightback and Irene Paredes forced the game to extra time with an equalizer in the seventh minute minute stoppage time.

Juan Celaya & Osmar Olvera Win Silver to Give Mexico Its First-Ever Men’s Synchronized 3M Springboard Medal

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2024 Paris GamesJuan Celaya and Osmar Olvera have made a splash at the 2024 Paris Games.

The 25-year-old Mexican diver and his 20-year-old compatriot have claimed the silver medal in the men’s synchronized 3M springboard to give Mexico their first-ever medal in the event and third medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Juan Celaya & Osmar Olvera In a close and frenetic competition for Olympic glory, Mexico, China and Great Britain took their spirits and emotions to the limit.

After five dives, China’s Long Daoyi and Wang Zongyuan took the gold with a score of 446.10.

 

But Olvera and Celaya, who finished with a score of 444.03 points, didn’t make it easy for them and with a “heart-stopping” finish and dives that bordered on perfection, they were 2.07 points away from first place.

Juan Celaya & Osmar OlveraIn the process, the Mexican diving duo gave Mexico its 16th medal in Olympic diving history (eighth silver). While it’s the first in the synchronized springboard event, it’s the 12th in men’s diving.

Although diving is a very fruitful discipline for the Mexican delegation, they hadn’t won a medal in men’s synchronized diving since the silver won by Germán Sánchez and Iván García at the  2012 London Games.

Celaya and Olvera will now compete individually in the 3-meter springboard diving event.

Beatriz Souza Wins Women’s Judo +78kg Event to Give Brazil Its First Gold of 2024 Paris Games

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2024 Paris GamesEverything’s coming up golden for Beatriz Souza.

The 26-year-old Brazilian judoka captured gold in women’s judo +78kg at the 2024 Paris Games by a final score of 1-0, defeating Israel’s Raz Hershko, who took home silver.

Beatriz Souza Souza gave a technical, intelligent, professional performance, one worthy of a position on top of the world.

In the final, Souza was faster to the attack than Hershko and she registered a waza-ari from a well-timed o-soto-gari. Hershko came back with a seoi-otoshi, which was close to scoring but didn’t have enough drive to meet the criteria.

Beatriz Souza Both continued to look for scores but that first o-soto was enough to carry Souza to the Olympic gold.

She was overcome with emotion, as was her coach, an Olympic champion herself, Sarah Menezes.

Souza’s victory secured the first gold medal of the 2024 Summer Olympics for the Brazil delegation.

Prior to the Paris Olympics, Souza won bronze in this weight class at the 2023 World Championships and the 2023 Pan American Games.