Tom Davies (now), Michael Butler and Luke McLaughlin (earlier)
Tue 23 Jul 2024 13.09 EDT
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Key events
13.09 EDT
One of Team GB’s biggest stars at the Paris Olympics, Charlotte Dujardin, has withdrawn from the Paris Olympics for allegedly mistreating a horse.
The 39-year-old dressage star is said to be devastated after the footage, which happened four years ago, was reported to the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI).
Senior figures at British Equestrian are also said to be in shock at the news. Multiple sources have confirmed it is an animal welfare issue, with a Dutch website said to have gone to the sport’s governing body in recent days.
Dujardin, who is a three-time Olympic gold dressage medallist, has admitted to making “an error of judgment” during a coaching session. She has decided to pull out of all competition while the FEI investigates the incident.
Full story:
GB dressage star Charlotte Dujardin pulls out of Olympics over alleged horse mistreatmentCharlotte Dujardin rides into storm after decorated Olympic career
Updated at 13.09 EDT
12.57 EDT
And that’s just about us done for the day. Do join us again bright and early tomorrow as the Olympic action gets under way in men’s football and rugby sevens, and stay on site for more news and reaction from today’s events.
Updated at 12.58 EDT
12.50 EDT
It’s not all carefree festivities. The security strategy is such that central Paris is experiencing a militarisation not seen since the second world war, as Angelique Chrisafis and Daniel Boffey report:
There are 44,000 metal barriers on the streets of the French capital, channelling people in exasperating cul-de-sacs. Access to the banks of the Seine, where about 326,000 spectators will witness athletes being carried down the river on about 80 boats on Friday evening, has been closed off to those without a QR code proving residence or some other right to be there.
The activist group, Saccage 2024, which is opposed to the games on environmental grounds, described Paris 2024 as the first ever “QR code Olympic Games” and one which could set a worrying precedent for future major events. “As many parts of the city are blocked for the Games and especially for their opening ceremony, many people and local businesses lose their most basic rights, like walking on public roads,” they said.
Paris transformed into city of metal and QR codes as security ramps up for Olympics
Updated at 12.50 EDT
12.44 EDT
Let’s look ahead to tomorrow because, having feasted on explainers and day by day guides for the past few days, actual Olympic sport is happening. Highlights include the start of the men’s football tournament with a tasty looking encounter between Argentina and Morocco, and Spain taking on Uzbekistan.
France, Antoine Dupont and all, open their men’s rugby sevens campaign against the USA before facing Uruguay in the evening while Australia are in action against Samoa then Kenya.
Updated at 12.44 EDT
12.37 EDT
Thanks Luke. Evening/afternoon everyone. I think it’s fair to say few people would have had Charlotte Dujardin down on their Olympic controversy bingo card, but here we are. And here’s a precis of her decorated career:
Charlotte Dujardin was the golden girl of British equestrian who went from sporting unknown to Olympic champion in barely a year. But six medals and three Olympics into her remarkable journey, Dujardin’s world has fallen apart.
The 39-year-old’s withdrawal from the Paris Olympics has come barely a week before she was due to compete after a video emerged from four years ago showing her making what she described as “an error of judgment” during a coaching session.
Charlotte Dujardin rides into storm after decorated Olympic career
Updated at 12.37 EDT
12.31 EDT
That’s all from me: Tom Davies is now stepping into the breach.
Updated at 12.31 EDT
12.27 EDT
GB dressage star Dujardin pulls out of Olympics over coaching video
One of Team GB’s biggest stars at the Paris Olympics, Charlotte Dujardin, has withdrawn from the Paris Olympics over a video from four years ago showing her making “an error of judgment” during a coaching session.
The 39-year-old, who is a three-time Olympic gold medallist, has decided to pull out of all competition while the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) investigates the incident.
“What happened was completely out of character and does not reflect how I train my horses or coach my pupils, however there is no excuse,” she said in a statement. “I am deeply ashamed and should have set a better example in that moment.
‘Deeply ashamed’: GB dressage star Charlotte Dujardin pulls out of Olympics over coaching video
Updated at 12.27 EDT
12.25 EDT
A human rights law firm has accused the International Olympic Committee of negligence after releasing a dossier of 17 Russian and Belarusian athletes due to compete at Paris, who it said had shown support for the war in Ukraine in breach of Olympic rules.
Global Rights Compliance, based in London and Kyiv, said the athletes had either liked social media posts supporting the invasion of Ukraine, competed in pro-war competitions or were members of military-linked sports clubs.
Russian and Belarusian Olympic athletes accused of supporting war in Ukraine
Updated at 12.25 EDT
12.18 EDT
Those clever photographers are out in force across France, as pre-Games excitement continues to build:
Jack Laugher of Team GB during a diving training session. Photograph: Clive Rose/Getty Images
Adam Yuki Baig (right) of Japan shoots at goal during the handball training match against Egypt. Photograph: Buda Mendes/Getty Images
Japan’s Katsuyuki Tanamura during a men’s water polo team training session at the Olympic Aquatics Centre. Photograph: Luca Bruno/AP
Spain, Team USA and Team GB 49er skiff class competitors in Marseille. Photograph: Clive Mason/Getty Images
Jhancarlos González of Colombia at a training session of the skateboard training session. Photograph: Christophe Petit-Tesson/EPA
Updated at 12.19 EDT
12.02 EDT
Among today’s must-read pieces is Alexandra Topping’s excellent Olympics explainer: all you need to know about Paris 2024, but were afraid to ask …
Paris 2024 explained: all you need to know about the Olympics but were afraid to ask
Updated at 12.02 EDT
11.45 EDT
Via Charlotte Dujardin’s official website, here is some background information on the rider who has won six Olympic medals: three Golds, one Silver, one Bronze.
“Born in Enfield, Charlotte was brought up in Hertfordshire and started riding as a two-year old. By 16 years old, Charlotte, with the devoted backing and support of her family, had won the Horse of the Year Show competition four times and was a winner at Hickstead on three occasions. After further encouragement from her trainer, Debbie Thomas, Charlotte took up dressage with a horse bought from her grandmother’s inheritance.
“In February 2007, she had some lessons with Carl Hester, and after 10 days at his yard covering for a staff member who was on holiday, he offered her a job as a groom at his yard in Newent, Gloucestershire, where she has since remained.
“From the start, Charlotte was asked to bring on the novice Dutch Warmblood gelding Valegro, owned by Carl and Roly Luard, with the intention of that horse being ridden by Carl. However, after competing in their first dressage Grand Prix event in 2011, the combination became part of the successful team, who won gold in a European Dressage Championships competition at Rotterdam and thus began their meteoric rise.”
Charlotte Dujardin on Valegro in 2012. They won the individual dressage and team dressage at the London Games. Photograph: Antonio Olmos
“Charlotte has also never been far away from the Honours list and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours both for services to equestrianism. She was also voted the Sunday Times and Sky Sports Sportswoman of the Year in 2014 and BT Sport’s Action Woman of the Year 2014; the first dressage rider to win these titles.”
Updated at 11.55 EDT
11.36 EDT
Via PA Media, extra information here on the breaking Dujardin news:
Speaking recently, Dujardin said she was “not even thinking” about eclipsing Laura Kenny’s medals record, saying: “For me, it’s all about going there and having fun and enjoying it, because otherwise I think it can very easily be taken away, all of the fun, with the pressure and expectations that everyone tells you should be feeling.”
Olympic and equestrian authorities have taken an increasingly strict line against alleged improprieties relating to the treatment of animals in recent years.
During the delayed Tokyo Games in 2021 – at which Dujardin won a bronze medal – a German modern pentathlon coach was thrown out for punching a horse.
The incident initiated a major overhaul of the sport, resulting in the equestrian element being removed completely, and replaced by an obstacle course for the first time in Paris.
German modern pentathlon coach thrown out of Olympics for punching horse
Updated at 11.36 EDT
11.31 EDT
It sounds like something from the pen of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: the curious case of the royal family, the Italian confectioner and one of the most dramatic moments in Olympic history. A mystery that has finally been solved, thanks to a retired civil servant and King Charles.
How King Charles helped prove a marathon really is 26 miles and 385 yards
The Italian runner Dorando Pietri runs towards the tape in the marathon of the 1908 Olympic Games. Photograph: Popperfoto/Getty Images
Updated at 11.31 EDT
11.28 EDT
The video Dujardin refers to has not, as far as I can see, appeared on social media. Presumably it has been supplied to the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, as mentioned in Dujardin’s statement, but has not been leaked or shared beyond that. The forthcoming investigation will no doubt shed light on what Dujardin is alleged to have done.
Updated at 11.33 EDT
11.14 EDT
In 2021 in Tokyo, Dujardin became Great Britain’s most decorated female Olympian by clinching bronze in the individual dressage. She was soon overtaken by the cyclist Laura Kenny later in the Games, however:
Charlotte Dujardin becomes Britain’s most decorated female Olympian of all time
The Guardian’s Sean Ingle, meanwhile, spoke to Dujardian back in 2014:
“‘I have to tell you two that there is no other girl that rides like this young lady.’ I was like: ‘Oh my god the Queen has just said that!’”
Charlotte Dujardin: ‘The Queen told them no other girl rides like me’
Dujardin also spoke to the Guardian in 2018:
Dressage champion Charlotte Dujardin: ‘I go away once a year – no horses for 10 days’
Updated at 11.20 EDT
11.09 EDT
Three years ago in Tokyo, the Australian swim team had their most successful Olympics. Nine gold, three silver and eight bronze medals in the pool, plus a bronze in the open water swimming, delivered the Dolphins a haul that surpassed the prior record that had stood since the 1956 Games in Melbourne.
The triumph in Tokyo left Australia second in the swimming medal tally, behind only perennial rivals the United States. At last year’s world championships, the team went one better, topping the table with a remarkable 13 golds.
All of which means the Australian squad arrive in Paris this week with the weight of expectations on their shoulders. If the Australian Olympic team are going to better their best overall Games record (17 gold medals, in Athens and Tokyo), it will be built off the back of strong performances in the pool.
Australian swimmers aiming high in Paris with sights set on knocking US off perch
Updated at 11.09 EDT
10.49 EDT
Seriously big breaking news about Charlotte Dujardin. She had a chance to surpass Laura Kenny as Great Britain’s most decorated female Olympian at what would have been her fourth Games.
Updated at 11.10 EDT
10.44 EDT
Dujardin withdraws from Olympics over ‘error of judgment’
Charlotte Dujardin has withdrawn from the Olympics over a video from four years ago showing her making “an error of judgment” during a coaching session.
Dujardin, a six-time Olympic medallist, has decided to pull out of all competition while the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) investigates the incident.
“A video has emerged from four years ago which shows me making an error of judgment during a coaching session,” says Dujardin’s statement.
“Understandably, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) is investigating and I have made the decision to withdraw from all competition – including the Paris Olympics – while this process takes place.
“What happened was completely out of character and does not reflect how I train my horses or coach my pupils, however there is no excuse,” she said in a statement. I am deeply ashamed and should have set a better example in that moment.
“I am sincerely sorry for my actions and devastated that I have let everyone down, including Team GB, fans and sponsors,” Dujardin’s statement continues.
“I will cooperate fully with the FEI, British Equestrian Federation and British Dressage during their investigations, and will not be commenting further until the process is complete.” (PA Media)
‘Deeply ashamed’: GB dressage star Charlotte Dujardin pulls out of Olympics over coaching video
Charlotte Dujardin pictured before her withdrawal from the 2024 Olympics due to an ‘error of judgement’. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA
Updated at 11.10 EDT
10.40 EDT
The snappers have been busy at Roland Garros. Here’s Heather Watson, Jack Draper, Katie Boulter and Andy Murray in training for the tennis competition.
Heather Watson. Photograph: Claudia Greco/Reuters
Jack Draper. Photograph: Edgar Su/Reuters
Katie Boulter. Photograph: Claudia Greco/Reuters
Andy Murray (centre) Photograph: Edgar Su/AFP/Getty Images
Last but not least, here is IOC member Princess Anne, looking suitably thrilled to be attending the 142nd IOC session before the Paris Games.
Princess Anne. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images
Updated at 10.40 EDT
10.29 EDT
Carlos Alcaraz, who hopefully had a well-earned rest after thrashing Novak Djokovic in the men’s final at Wimbledon nine days ago, has been having a hit at Roland Garros … where he won the French Open men’s singles title a last month, too.
The reigning Wimbledon and Roland Garros champion is on court! @carlosalcaraz, is gearing up for #Paris2024 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/YftcrLuh8w
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) July 23, 2024
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain at Roland Garros. Photograph: Héctor Vivas/Getty Images
Carlos Alcaraz. Photograph: Héctor Vivas/Getty Images
Carlos Alcaraz from afar. Photograph: Héctor Vivas/Getty Images
Updated at 10.31 EDT
10.18 EDT
In the late hours of the final Friday before the Olympic Games begin in Paris, a young waiter named Anatole closed up his brasserie for the night in the shadow of the Sainte‑Chapelle by the Seine. Under regular circumstances, the area would be flooded with tourists and potential customers crossing over the river to catch a glimpse of the famed Cathédrale Notre-Dame, but this time the brasserie and the surrounding area were completely empty. In the rare absence of humans, dozens of rats roamed the streets all night.
Excitement and cynicism go hand in hand as the Olympics finally arrives in Paris | Tumaini Carayol
Updated at 10.18 EDT
10.08 EDT
All eyes are on Paris this week for the start of the 2024 Olympics, and the 460 Australians selected to represent their country on sport’s greatest stage. The athletes’ excitement, radiating from behind a microphone on the evening news or on playful social media reels, is intoxicating.
But many will find it hard to watch. There may be hundreds going, but there are hundreds more who feel they could – or should – be there. Instead, this group of “almost Olympians” are left waiting in the queue outside Australian sport’s most exclusive club, whose doors have long since closed.
Almost Olympians: reality bites for Australian athletes with broken dreams | Jack Snape
Updated at 10.08 EDT
09.55 EDT
At Tokyo 2020 there was dismay among UK Olympics lovers when the BBC provided a much more restricted offering than in London 2012 and Rio 2016 after the rights to the Olympics were sold to a US pay-TV company. These days, Warner Bros Discovery holds the main Olympics rights in the UK, with the BBC sub-licencing from the broadcaster.
At Paris 2024 the howls may be even louder because of the friendlier timezone, and people’s desire to watch their preferred events as they unfold throughout the day. So how can you get your Olympics fix, and why can’t you watch all of the action?
How to watch Paris Olympics in UK and why BBC only has two channels
Updated at 09.55 EDT
09.51 EDT
Argentina v Morocco, at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne, will be one of the curtain-raisers in the men’s football at 14.00 tomorrow. The two nations have never previously met at an Olympic Games, according to our preview.
Julian Álvarez of Manchester City is the only Premier League-based player in Argentina’s squad. The reigning Fifa world champions also have the former City defender Nicolas Otamendi (now of Benfica) in their ranks.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi, meanwhile, captains Morocco.
Achraf Hakimi endured Fifa ban to emerge as Morocco’s World Cup ace
Oh, Spain v Uzbekistan also kicks off at 14.00 tomorrow, to see who wins that. The Spanish squad is a bit light on genuine star quality but that is only to be expected. Alex Baena, of Villarreal, will perhaps be the most notable name on show at Parc des Princes.
Updated at 10.22 EDT
09.31 EDT
“Dearest Andy,” emails Jane of the soon-to-retire Murray.
“You are the epitome of hope, pride, loyalty, guts, bravery, resilience, love – the list goes on. From thousands of miles away, there is a voice that sings praise and admiration for you. You are a legend, always and forever.”
Andy Murray confirms he will retire from tennis after Olympics in Paris
Updated at 09.37 EDT
09.26 EDT
A few things you may wish to bookmark in preparation: the full schedule of Olympic events, starting with football and rugby sevens tomorrow afternoon. Plus our very own results page and medal table.
Updated at 09.26 EDT
09.16 EDT
Meanwhile, in shameless self-promotion, last week’s The Spin was about Great Britain winning Olympic Gold in Paris in 1900. Cricket will be back at the Olympics in LA in 2028:
The Spin | How Great Britain claimed Olympic cricket glory in Paris 124 years ago
It was all pretty village, in truth: the British team was a cobbled-together touring side otherwise known as the Devon & Somerset Wanderers … and many of those participating in sporting events at the 1900 Paris Exposition were unaware they had taken part in Olympic events. It wasn’t until 1912 that the event was upgraded to Olympic status. It’s a good tale.
Updated at 09.20 EDT
09.11 EDT
Would anyone like to email me with an ode to Andy Murray? Please crack on.
Formula One’s Oscar Piastri went for one word:
Inspirational
— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) July 23, 2024
Updated at 09.11 EDT
09.04 EDT
We mentioned the incredibly talented France scrum-half, Antoine Dupont, earlier today. Dupont hopes to lead the hosts to glory in the rugby sevens in the coming days. Here is a story from Reuters on what Alan Gilpin, World Rugby CEO, says is sevens’ “coming of age moment”:
Rugby sevens is hoping to seize the spotlight in Paris after making its Olympic debut in Rio in 2016 and having its sophomore s
