BBC Wales at the Olympics

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There were mixed fortunes in Marseille for Welsh sailors Micky Beckett and Chris Grube on Sunday.

Beckett ended day four of his men’s dinghy campaign fourth overall after being disqualified in race seven and finishing eighth in the next.

On Monday Beckett will aim to secure his place in the top 10 who progress to the medal races.

However, it was a tougher Sunday for Chris Grube and partner Vita Heathcote in the mixed dinghy.

They were 12th in race five and disqualified in race six for starting early, sending them to 11th place after going into the day in sixth.

Grube and Heathcote will aim to redeem themselves on Monday in their races seven and eight.

Tom Brown
BBC Sport Wales

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So with Clara Evans on her way to Paris after her late call-up to join Team GB's marathon runners, that's now 33 Welsh athletes who'll compete at the Games.

A record number at an Olympics.

The previous record was 32 way back at London 1908 - but back then Wales had the advantage of sending their whole hockey team (they won bronze by the way).

19 of the 33 in Paris are making their Olympic debuts too. A summer to remember, for sure.

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Clara Evans has become Wales' 33rd Team GB competitor at the Paris Games.

The 30-year-old has replaced injured Charlotte Purdue for the women's Olympic marathon on Sunday, 11 August.

Purdue has been ruled out by an ankle injury, giving Pontypridd Roadent runner Evans her chance to make an Olympic debut.

Evans will join Calli Hauger-Thackery and Rose Harvey in the final athletics event at Paris 2024.

She has a best time of 2:25:01 and finished ninth at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games for Wales.

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The Paris 2024 Olympic medal dreams of Welshmen Rupert Shipperley, Jacob Draper and Gareth Furlong are over.

The Team GB men's quarter-final against 10-man India went to a shootout after the game ended level at 1-1 in normal time.

It was India who held their nerve in the shootout to win 4-2 and reach the semi-finals as Conor Williamson missed and Phillip Roper's effort was saved.

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With gold and silver to his name already in Paris, Welsh swimmer Matt Richards has eyes on the podium again on Sunday.

Richards is the main focus of Welsh attention for the day, this time as GB's men seek more glory in the 4x100m medley relay final, scheduled for 18:10 BST.

Richards already has men's 200m freestyle silver and a 4x200m freestyle gold medal to pack when the Games end.

Rupert Shipperley, Jacob Draper and Gareth Furlong are already in action with GB men level 1-1 against India in the hockey quarter-finals.

There is also more sailing action with Micky Beckett in the men's dinghy and Chris Grube in the mixed dinghy alongside Vita Heathcote.

Beckett is due on the water for a 11:05 race start while Grube and Heathcote's scheduled start is 16:05 BST.

What a mixed day it has been at the Paris Olympics for Welsh athletes.

We started the day with two rowing gold medals as cox Harry Brightmore claimed gold in the men's eight, while Eve Stewart was part of the women's boat that won bronze.

We then had the heartbreaking drama of sprinter Jeremiah Azu being disqualified in the heats of the men's 100m following his clear false start.

Sailors Micky Beckett and Chris Grube remain in medal contention, while cycling duo Josh Tarling and Stevie Williams completed a gruelling men's road race that lasted more than six hours.

On Sunday, all eyes will be on swimmer Matt Richards as he bids to add a third medal of the 2024 Games in the 4x100m men's medley relay and his fourth Olympic podium position in all.

The family of Jeremiah Azu have paid tribute to the sprinter who was disqualified from the Olympic men's 100m heats following a false start.

His brother Sam was very emotional as he said he was proud of Jeremiah putting the family’s name on the world stage.

Azu's father Alex says his son will come back stronger in the 4x100m relay next week.

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At the sailing in Marseille, Solva’s Micky Beckett has lifted himself to second in the overall standings of the men's dinghy after two races on Saturday.

Beckett finished in fourth place in both races to climb into a medal position. There are four more regular races before the medal race early next week.

Elsewhere on the water, Chris Grube finished day two of the mixed dinghy competition in fifth place with helm Vita Heathcote.

The pair came eighth in race 3 and fifth in race 4.

They are back in action in Marseille tomorrow for races 5 and 6 from 16:05 BST.

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Welsh cyclists Stevie Williams and Josh Tarling finished 31st and 47th respectively in the men's road race in Paris.

Belgium's Remco Evenepoel survived a late puncture to secure a dominant victory and add to the gold medal he won in the time trial seven days ago.

The 2022 world champion becomes the first man to win both road cycling events at the same Games.

Cox Harry Brightmore dedicates his medal to his Welsh grandmother after guiding the Team GB men's eight to gold at the Olympics in Paris.

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Away from the track, it has been a busy morning for Welsh swimmers in the pool.

Matt Richards was part of Great Britain’s men’s 4x100m medley relay that qualified for the final, finishing fifth overall.

Adam Peaty, who took silver in the 100m breaststroke in Paris, competed in this heat alongside Richards for the first time since contracting covid last week.

The final is on Sunday evening at 18:20 BST.

But Dan Jervis, from Neath, failed to qualify for the men’s 1500m freestyle final as he finished eighth in his heat and 15th overall.

GB sprinter Jeremiah Azu is disqualified after a false start in the men's 100m heats at Paris 2024.

Tom Brown
BBC Sport Wales

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Jeremiah Azu had been training for years. Wales had been waiting for years.

Finally there was a Welsh athlete lining up in the men’s 100m at an Olympic Games.

The first Welshman to do so since Ron Jones in 1968.

But then it was all over - a false start by Azu in lane four meant he was disqualified.

He tried to argue his case, saying he had mistakenly reacted to another noise in the stadium. The men’s pole vault is going on too.

But the decision stood and he was forced to leave the track. What a heartbreaking way for the biggest day of his life to end.

Watch Team GB hold off the Netherlands and a late surge from the USA to win gold in the men's eight rowing final at Paris 2024.

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Welsh hockey player Sarah Jones was part of the Great Britain women’s hockey side that lost 3-0 in their final pool game against Argentina.

Team GB will finish fourth in Pool B and have done enough to secure a place in the quarter-finals on Monday, 5 August.

They will face defending champions the Netherlands in that last-eight encounter.

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Cox Harry Brightmore has guided the Team GB men's eight to gold at the Olympics in Paris.

Brightmore, who hails from Chester and has Welsh grandparents, started with oar in hand as he represented Wales a decade ago.

These days he is the man at the back of the boat, coxing Great Britain's men's eight to the world title in both 2022 and 2023.

He was inspired by watching the men's eight win gold at Sydney 2000 and, after their bronze in Tokyo, he guided then to the top step of the Olympic podium once again.

"It was a hell of a ride at the back end of the boat," said Brightmore.

"We knew the start would be close. The American guys were giving it a lot of shouting at the start which we were ready for, we knew exactly what they were going to do.

"We executed the race perfectly and you can't ask for much more.

"I am really proud and trying not to cry. That was epic."

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Welsh rower Eve Stewart has won a bronze medal in the women's eights at the Olympics in Paris.

Romania claimed the gold, while Canada won silver.

Stewart was born in the Netherlands to a proud Welsh mum who played netball for her country but it was the boats and blades which drew Eve's interest.

She rowed for the Netherlands at first, but after going to university in Iowa, the well-travelled Stewart eventually came to the UK and began rowing for Britain.

Stewart's grandmother was Pat Stewart - one of the 'Blackpool Belles' photographed in a spotty dress on Blackpool beachfront in 1951 that became an iconic photo of the time.

Tom Brown
BBC Sport Wales

Ahead of the Commonwealth Games in 2022, Jeremiah Azu's family kindly invited me to the church service they lead in Rumney every Sunday.

It was clear straightaway Azu was a young man driven by his family and his faith. And you could see the love and support his family had for him.

Two years on and nothing's changed. The day after he secured his place at his first Olympics in Manchester on that Saturday night in June, his family were all there to cheer him on.

Then they were back at church in Cardiff the very next morning.

Tom Brown
BBC Sport Wales

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'The fastest runner doesn't always win the race.' Ecclesiastes 9:11.

It is a quote from the Bible that Jeremiah Azu holds especially close to his heart at the moment.

Not that he is a slow runner. In fact, he is the only Welshman in history to have run 100 metres in less than 10 seconds.

The 23-year-old from Cardiff ran 9.97 in May to take him inside the top 10 in the all-time British rankings.

His reward - after finishing second at the UK Athletics Championships - is a first Olympic Games in Paris, and he is relishing the opportunity.

You can read more here.

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It will be a busy Olympic weekend for Welsh athletes who will hope there will be a "Super Saturday" in Paris.

Wales' lone athletics competitor Jeremiah Azu will begin his 100 men's sprint campaign in the heats starting at 10:55 BST, with the final being held on Sunday evening.

Medal hopes will be on the rowing lake with Eve Stewart taking her place in the women's eights at 09:50 BST, while Harry Brightmore is the cox for the men's event 20 minutes later.

Cyclists Stevie Williams and Josh Tarling, who finished fourth in the time trial, will compete in the men's road race.

Swimmer Dan Jervis starts his campaign in the 1,500 men's freestyle heats, while Medi Harris and Matt Richards could be involved in relay events.

Sailors Micky Beckett and Chris Grube will continue their participation in the respective dinghy events.

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Great Britain men’s hockey team have been beaten 2-1 by Germany, who finish top of Pool A.

Two goals in the second quarter were enough for Germany to take the win after GB had two goals disallowed.

Wales' Gareth Furlong scored the only goal for GB in their final pool game.

They still finish in the top four, meaning they qualify for the quarter-finals and next play India on Sunday.

GB women’s hockey team play their final pool game on Saturday, when they take on Argentina at 09:00 BST.

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Former European 400m hurdles champion Rhys Williams hopes that Cardiff sprinter Jeremiah Azu's journey to the Olympics can "inspire" the next generation of Welsh track athletes.

Williams, Welsh Athletics' head of sprints, told BBC Radio Wales Sport: "Athletes like Jeremiah who have trained in Cardiff have shown it can be done, he's on the big stage.

"I'm hoping the youngsters will look at that and think it's attainable, because it is.

"It will inspire the younger athletes to want to commit that bit more, continue with athletics that bit longer and want to progress, which can only be good for Wales.

"We've got plenty of talent coming through in Wales, they want to make it happen and Jeremiah is the perfect example of doing just that."

Azu, 23, competes in the men's 100m, with the heats starting on Saturday morning.

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The last Welsh involvement of today is scheduled to involve hockey trio Rupert Shipperley, Jacob Draper and Gareth Furlong.

They are part of the GB hockey team facing one of the top tips for Paris gold, Germany, in their pool game (19:15 BST).

GB have already secured a quarter-final spot by beating hosts France 2-1 on Thursday.