Paris Olympics 2024 LIVE: Mollie O’Callaghan defeats Ariarne Titmus in women’s 200m freestyle final; equestrian Chris Burton wins silver on Day 3

Here’s a question for you all: how do we make the Olympics run 24/7? For 365 days of the year? Who must I speak with to make this happen?

If you sense an excitement bordering on delirium, that’s because we’ve just had another cracking day of Olympics action in Paris. It’s almost too much fun.

And it rolls on tomorrow.

Of course, you’ll spend the morning watching that epic women’s 200m freestyle final on repeat (tip for young players: use ALT-TAB to quickly hide your screen from the boss), but there was so much more to enjoy from Day 3.

In case you missed it overnight (or you didn’t, because you’re a damn legend and you pulled an all-nighter), here’s a summary (times in AEST).

• Mollie O’Callaghan touched out Ariarne Titmus with the fastest 200m swim in Olympic history. Titmus takes silver, our first 1-2 in the pool for 20 years.
• Equestrian Christopher Burton is a silver medallist. The man from Toowoomba rode Shadow Man to second in the individual eventing. You absolutely must read about their special bond in Rob Harris’s excellent piece.
• Kaylee McKeown cruised into the 100m backstroke semis. That final is at 4.57am tomorrow. She’s defending her gold from Tokyo.

• The women’s rugby sevens team is on fire. They romped into the semis – against Canada at midnight – after torching Ireland 40-7. If they win that, the gold medal match is 3.45am Wednesday.
• There were no medals but plenty to be proud about from our men’s 10m synchronised platform divers and canoeist Tristan Carter.
• In a shock during the heats, Sam Short didn’t qualify for the men’s 800m freestyle final. Fellow Australian Elijah Winnington did. That’s on at 5.03am in the morning.

Australia’s Christopher Burton, riding Shadow Man, celebrates his silver medal.Credit: AP

• We’re still in the dark about the triathlon. The pollution in the Seine is a real concern. The men’s triathlon is due to happen at 4pm. We’ll find out what’s happening and bring it to you.
• Australia is a real medal chance in the men’s shooting. The final of the trap shooting is on at 11.30pm, and James Willett qualified in first place.
• Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin are out in the men’s tennis doubles. In the singles, Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in straight sets.

It all continues tomorrow. Besides what we’ve already mentioned, the Boomers are back on at 9.30pm and the Kookaburras at 3.45am the following morning. Plus golden girl Jess Fox’s first run in the canoe slalom (C1) comes at 11pm. She’s the defending Olympic champion (plus just a champion in general, obviously).

We’ll see you back here this evening for more. Until then, I’ll leave you with this observation: the beer’s better than the coffee in Paris. Right now, we may just trust that instinct.

Harry Garside has appeared on the Today show to reflect on his heartbreaking loss in the men’s lightweight boxing.

Garside broke down ringside after the bout, telling Nine in a raw and confronting interview that he felt like he’d let Australia down.

Hours later, Garside said it “doesn’t feel real”.

It feels like a nightmare. I feel like I’m just waiting to wake up. It doesn’t feel real yet.

As athletes we visualise. I could visualise 10, 15 times every day and I could see and feel the gold medal on my skin. It’s over. It feels fake. It doesn’t feel real right now.”

Watch the original interview here.

In chart form. It’s very, very cool.

Australia gold. Australia silver.

Not too bad at all.

Mollie O’Callaghan’s hands were shaking as she adjusted her goggles for the race of her life, but the young woman from Brisbane controlled her nerves and showed off her world-famous turn of speed to upset Ariarne Titmus.

In a contest that was every bit as engrossing as it was hyped up to be, the training partners became the first Australian swimmers to go one-two at the Olympics since Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett won gold and silver in the 400m freestyle in Athens 20 years ago.

Their intense coach Dean Boxall – he mentors both Australian women – applauded the younger swimmer in a more restrained way than the gyrating celebrations for which he is famous, respectful of the fact that one of his charges had been beaten.

Read the full report here.

Australia is into a semi-final of the women’s rugby sevens!

That’s because they just finished giving Ireland an absolute bath at Stade de France. The final score was 40-7, which was only surprising given the two sides had actually played earlier on Day 3 in their final Pool B match – which the Aussies won by a more modest 19-14.

The Aussies have been on fire in this tournament and are a special for the gold medal. Their matches so far:

• Australia 34, South Africa 5
• Australia 36, Great Britain 5,
• Australia 19, Ireland 14
• Australia 40, Ireland 7.

That’s a collective score of 129-31. That’s outrageous.

Oh and Maddison Levi? That’s now 11 – count them, ELEVEN – tries so far at the Games.

Maddison Levi scores against Ireland.Credit: Getty

Australia plays Canada in the semi-final at midnight tonight (AEST).

And over at the beach volleyball, the Australian women’s duo of Mariafe Artacho del Sola and Taliqua Clancy lost in straight seats to Team USA.

That’s Mollie O’Callaghan responding to the titanic challenge put in her way by Ariarne Titmus at the Olympic swimming trials in June.

In the 200m there, Titmus and O’Callaghan both swam under world record time, a mark previously held by O’Callaghan. And prior to that, Titmus held it. It’s a little confusing. So to clarify, the world record has gone Titmus-O’Callaghan-Titmus.

Alas, O’Callaghan is known as an intense and nervous character whose hands could be seen shaking on the pool deck before the race. She told Nine after winning the gold medal she used what could have destroyed her confidence last month as motivation. It paid off.

You’ve got to accept the challenge at the end of the day. You can either run from it or fight. I chose to fight.

I’m always striving for more and I always put a lot of pressure on myself. My expectations are very high.

That was an amazing race. I’m always wanting that little bit more. To be honest, I did it for the country, I didn’t do it for myself. I’m racing for all these people.

I just had to put it behind me. Less pressure now, I get to swim freely.

There’s plenty of focus on Mollie O’Callaghan right now, and rightly so! But let’s not forget that Australia has won gold and silver here - and Ariarne Titmus has her second medal of Paris 2024.

In fact, it’s the first time Australia has gone 1-2 in the pool at an Olympic Games since Athens 2004.

That was, for those playing at home, when Ian Thorpe beat Grant Hackett to the wall in the men’s 400m freestyle.

That’s a long time between drinks and a reminder that these medals are so hard to come by, and so hard-earned.

Well done, Mollie O’Callaghan and Ariarne Titmus.

Hooooow good.

Winners are grinners: Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O’Callaghan.Credit: Getty Images

They’re the two fastest women in human history, they’re arch rivals and they share the same coach.

But this incredible embrace between Mollie O’Callaghan and Ariarne Titmus is everything you like to see from Australian swimmers. And didn’t they just have something to celebrate – they went one-two.

ONE-TWO!

Mollie O’Callaghan, right, of Australia, is congratulated by teammate Ariarne Titmus.Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Credit: AP