As it happened: Zhanle world record turns heads as Chalmers charges to silver, heartbreak for Matildas and O’Callaghan

And that’s a wrap on a dramatic day five from Paris.

But the action doesn’t stop for long. Our day six blog is already live, and here’s what to look out for later on.

3.30pm: The athletics action gets under way with the men’s 20km race walk, followed by the women at 5.20pm. Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jemima Montag is a genuine medal hope in the latter.

Jason Day.Credit: Getty Images

5pm: Jason Day will make his Olympic debut when the golf program kicks off. He’s playing with Min Woo Lee, whose sister Minjee will be in action next week alongside Hannah Green.

6.30pm: It’s a trans-Tasman clash in the hockey when the Kookaburras face New Zealand. The Australian men, who won silver in Tokyo, lost 6-2 to reigning gold medallists Belgium on Wednesday morning.

Enjoy your afternoon.

Follow the Day 6 action here.

Former Olympian and leading swim coach Brett Hawke has expressed sheer disbelief after Pan Zhanle’s commanding victory in the 100-metre freestyle, saying it was “not humanly possible” for him to prevail over the rest of the field by a body length.

Pan’s time of 46.40 seconds was a staggering 0.4 second improvement on his own world record, which he set at the world championships in February, and ensured that not even a ferocious final lap by Kyle Chalmers would deny him the gold medal.

But Hawke, who swam for Australia at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics and has spent most of his coaching career at Auburn University in the United States, said he was angered by the race.

“I’m angry for a number of reasons,” he said in an Instagram post.

“My friends are the fastest swimmers in history, from Rowdy Gaines to Aleks Popov to Gary Hall jnr, Anthony Ervin, all the way up to King Kyle Chalmers. I know these people intimately, I’ve studied them for 30 years, I’ve studied this sport. I’ve studied speed, I understand it. I’m an expert in it. That’s what I do. And I’m upset right now, because you don’t win 100 freestyle by a body length on that field - you just don’t do it. It’s not humanly possible to beat that field by a body length. It’s not.

“I don’t care what you say. This is not a race thing, it’s not against any one particular person or any nation, this is just what I see and what I know. That’s not real. You don’t beat that field: Kyle Chalmers, David Popovici, Jack Alexy, you don’t beat those guys by one full body length in 100 freestyle.

“That’s not humanly possible. So don’t sell it to me. Don’t shove it down my throat. It’s not real.”

There is no suggestion that Pan has taken performance-enhancing drugs.

Well, somewhat.

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jemima Montag is Australia’s first big hope in the athletics events. She’ll compete in the 20km race walk on Thursday afternoon (AEST). The women’s event begins at 5.20pm, following the men’s at 3.30pm.

Jemima Montag celebrates after winning gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.Credit: Getty

Besides Montag, local eyes will be on Nina Kennedy in the pole vault, emerging star Jessica Hull in the 1500m and Peter Bol in the 800m.

Read Michael Gleeson’s guide to the events to watch here.

When you think of athletic sponsors it’s typically the big names that come to mind – Nike, Adidas, New Balance.

But (in my opinion) Italian gymnast and Olympic silver medallist Giorgia Villa has the greatest sponsor of all ... Parmigiano Reggiano.

Now, I needed to check I wasn’t just being duped by X (formerly Twitter), but on closer inspection, she really is sponsored by cheese.

It wouldn’t be the first time an athlete was sponsored by a food brand – grand slam champion Coco Gauff is sponsored by pasta maker Barilla – but this definitely takes the (cheese) cake.

Chinese swimmer and new Olympic champion Pan Zhanle has accused Australian Kyle Chalmers of a poolside snub and an American rival of splashing water on one of his coaches after breaking the men’s 100m freestyle world record in Paris.

Chalmers was excellent but no match for Pan, whose time of 46.4 seconds was a remarkable 0.4 second improvement on the world record he set at the world championships in February.

It took five days, but Pan Zhanle has the first swimming world record of Paris 2024.Credit: AP

Minutes after his victory, Pan took part in an interview on Chinese television, which this masthead has obtained, and said he was motivated to beat Chalmers after what happened following the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay on the opening night of competition last week.

“On the first day, at the 4x100 relay, after we finished swimming I greeted Chalmers. He didn’t pay me any attention at all,” Pan told China Central Television.

“Including [Jack] Alexy from the American team – when we were training and our coaches were on the sides, the movements he made seemed like he was deliberately splashing water on the coaches. It just felt like he looked down on us. Can I say this?”

Read the full story from Tom Decent here.

With Paris heading off to sleep, now’s a good time to catch you up on some more non-Aussie news.

In the tennis, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic reached the Olympic singles quarter-finals for a record fourth time by beating Germany’s Dominic Koepfer 7-5, 6-3.

For all his 24 grand slam titles and countless other accolades, Djokovic has never managed to win an Olympic gold medal, with a bronze from the 2008 Games in Beijing the only Olympic souvenir he has.

Novak Djokovic in his quarter-final against Dominik Koepfer.Credit: Getty Images

Paris is most likely the last opportunity for the 37-year-old to fill the only unoccupied space in his bulging trophy cabinet and so far, everything is going to plan – he’s yet to drop a set in three matches.

Djokovic is due to face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the next round. The Greek star beat Argentina’s Sebastian Baez on Wednesday.

Reuters

Marta was sent off after being red carded in Brazil’s Olympic group finale against Spain on Wednesday.

The legendary Brazilian captain walked off the field in Bordeaux in tears after she was shown the straight red for a tackle on Spain’s Olga Carmona in first-half stoppage time.

Marta becomes emotional after being sent off in Brazil’s game against Spain.Credit: Getty Images

Marta, a six-time women’s world player of the year, is playing in her sixth Olympics. The 38-year-old star has said this will be her last major tournament with the national women’s soccer team.

Brazil advanced to the quarter-finals despite the 2-0 loss to Spain, and will play France in Nantes on Saturday.

Marta will be suspended for the match because of the red card, but if Brazil can beat the hosts, there’s a chance she’ll appear in the semi-finals.

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.

Referee Espen Eskas shows Marta a red card.Credit: Getty Images

Better known just by her first name, Marta Vieira da Silva has scored a record 119 goals in 200 international appearances with Brazil. In addition to her six Olympics, she has also played in six women’s World Cups.

She has the record for most World Cup goals with 17. She has 13 Olympic goals, one away from matching fellow Brazilian Cristiane’s record.

AP

What’s a gold medal worth in Paris? Beyond eternal glory, of course.

Our good mates at Forbes have run the numbers, and it’s Hong Kong in front by the length of the Sha Tin straight, offering an eye-watering US $768,000 ($1.17m) per gold medal.

Cheung Ka Long pocketed more than $1 million by winning fencing gold for Hong Kong.Credit: AP

Fencers Cheung Ka Long and Vivian Kong have cashed in on that to date. Jess Fox and Mollie O’Callaghan’s double gold hauls are worth $26,000 apiece; the AOC’s $13,000 cheque at the bottom of the 33 federations confirmed to be handing out cash bonuses in Paris.

The US offers $37,500, while rounding out the podium with Hong Kong are Israel ($275,000) and Serbia ($218,000) ... that would be the smallest payday Novak Djokovic has had in a while (if he wins).