Paris Olympics 2024: What you need to know right now

PARIS: Japan topped the medal table on Monday after edging out China to win a thrilling final in the men's gymnastics.

Meanwhile Games organisers Paris 2024 face a nerve-wracking wait to learn if the River Seine is clean enough on Tuesday to hold the men's triathlon. Swimming training was cancelled for a second straight day due to pollution levels.

Here's what you need to know about the Olympics so far:

JAPAN'S EPIC COMEBACK

Daiki Hashimoto turned heartache into unimaginable joy as he overcame a fall from the pommel horse to power Japan to the gold medal and edge out China in a pulsating gymnastics men's team final on Monday. That put Japan top of the medal table with six golds ahead of hosts France and China who have five.

CLUBMATES' DUEL IN THE POOL

Red-headed rocket Mollie O'Callaghan toppled fellow Australian and defending champion Ariarne Titmus to claim gold in the women's 200 metres freestyle in an Olympic record in a duel of club-mates.

Both are coached by Dean Boxall and train at the same Brisbane pool but O'Callaghan came from third going into the final lap to finish 0.54 seconds ahead of Titmus in second.

UKRAINE'S FIRST MEDAL

Olga Kharlan won bronze for Ukraine as she rallied from a six-point deficit to beat Choi Sebin of South Korea and hand her country their first Paris Games medal, in the women's sabre.

Kharlan, now a five-times Olympic medallist, triumphed 15-14 to the cheers of an ecstatic crowd at the Grand Palais.

The 33-year-old is at the Olympics through an IOC invitation after being disqualified for refusing to shake hands with a Russian opponent at last year's World Championships in Milan.

MUDDY WATERS

Olympics organisers cancelled the triathlon swimming training session in the Seine river for a second day on Monday, 24 hours before the men's race, after heavy rain late last week increased pollution levels and the speed of the current.

A final call on whether Tuesday's race goes ahead will be made at 4 a.m., based on river samples taken 24 hours before.

SABOTEURS STRIKE AGAIN

Vandals targeted France's telecoms networks overnight, piling pressure on French security services trying to secure the Olympics after authorities said they suspected left-wing groups of attacking rail lines ahead of the opening ceremony in Paris.

MOUNTAIN BIKE KING

Britain's Tom Pidcock fought his way wheel-to-wheel down a narrow descent in a thrilling battle with France's Victor Koretzky to retain his Olympic men's mountain bike title.

PEATY POSITIVE

British swimmer Adam Peaty tested positive for COVID a day after Italy's Nicolo Martinenghi beat him to gold in the men's 100 metres breaststroke and ended his "three-peat" bid to win the same event at three successive Games.

Peaty said he was hopeful to be back in competition for the relay events later in the swimming programme.

ICE COOL COUTURE

Sailors donned ice vests to beat the searing Mediterranean heat in Marseille.

Daytime temperatures in the south of France of around 30 Celsius, combined with light breezes, mean some teams are employing "heat protocols".

JUDO PROBES FAILED WEIGH-IN

Judo's governing body is to investigate why Algeria's Messaoud Redouane Dris failed the weigh-in for his under-73kg bout with Israel's Tohar Butbul, saying athletes can become "victims of broader political disputes".

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