BBC Wales at the Olympics

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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.

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The track and field has started and there will be only one Welsh athlete in action over the next few days.

That is Cardiff sprinter Jeremiah Azu, who will compete in the men's 100m competition which starts with the heats on Saturday morning.

Azu, 23, is the only Welsh athlete to have dipped under 10 seconds for the event, running 9.97secs in Germany in May.

He secured his spot at his first Olympics by coming second at the GB trials in Manchester in June.

Azu is now targeting the Olympic 100m final on Sunday night and a medal in the 4x100m relay next week.

Lynn Davies, Wales' only track and field gold medallist who achieved his historic success in the long jump in Tokyo in 1964, hopes Azu can achieve his dream.

"He’s a lovely lad Jeremiah, and he’s the first Welshman to go under 10 seconds in the 100 metres, which is truly world class," said Davies.

"I hope he makes the final, because it’s going to be very tough to do that. He’s got two other very good British sprinters alongside him.

"You have Louie Hinchcliffe, who’s coached by Carl Lewis, and Zharnel Hughes, and they’re very good as well."

Listen to the full interview with Lynn Davies on BBC Radio Wales Sounds.

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Welsh sailor Chris Grube and helm Vita Heathcote are in sixth place after race 2 of the mixed dinghy event in Marseille.

The Team GB pair finished in 16th place in race 2 to drop them down the standings, after claiming second in race one on Friday morning.

Race 3 and 4 take place on Saturday from 16:05 BST, with the event contested during 10 races over five days before the medal event on 7 August.

Grube, 39, has come out of retirement to compete at a third Olympic games.

Meanwhile, Micky Beckett, who is from Solva, has finished the day in 12th place overall in the men's dinghy event after claiming 15th and eighth in the two races on Friday.

His campaign will continue tomorrow.

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Welsh rower Ollie Wynne-Griffith has been reflecting on being pipped to the gold medal in the men's pair in a dramatic finale.

Wynne-Griffith and Tom George led for the majority of the race and looked set to win, but Croatia's defending champions Martin and Valent Sinkovic charged past them in the closing 20m to win by 0.45 seconds.

Having put in such a huge effort, the British duo's disappointment was clear to see, with Wynne-Griffith blaming himself for getting the finish wrong.

"I made a mistake on the line and that's racing for you," he said.

"Olympic silver medallists, I'm so proud of what we did.

"We had a great start and a great first 1500m, just on the last four strokes it was a case of winning or losing unfortunately.

"I feel having an Olympic medal around your neck is a special thing, especially in a pair.

"It's incredibly competitive, we know Croatia are three-time Olympic champions, so if we knocked them over today... you've got to produce a seriously good race.

"I'm proud of all the work we put in, just gutted the colour [of the medal] is not different.

"But I'm sure if I polish it up over the years it might change colour!"

If you can stand it, here is Welsh rower Ollie Wynne-Griffith just missing out on gold.

Heartbreaking.

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Welsh rower Ollie Wynne-Griffith has claimed silver with Tom George in the men's pairs at the Paris Olympics.

The duo agonisingly missed out on gold as Croatia produce a brilliant late sprint to snatch the victory.

So Wynne-Griffith and George had to settle for silver after leading for most of the race.

Wynne-Griffith hails from Guildford but has a Welsh dad, but grew up dreaming of playing rugby for Wales.

Instead he has gone on to become one of Britain's top rowers instead.

He won Olympic bronze in the men's eight at the last Games before switching to the pair with childhood friend George for this Olympic cycle.

They have been on the podium at every major championships since Tokyo and won their first major title at the 2024 European Rowing Championships.

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At 39 years of age, sailor Chris Grube is the elder statesman of Team GB's Welsh contingent.

However, the father of two has a chance to make a slice of history in his third Games - and not just by reaching the podium after finishing fifth in the last two Olympics.

He is in a new sailing class, a mixed dinghy in which a man and a woman team up in the boat.

Grube is crew to 23-year-old helm Vita Heathcote, whose hopes are high after winning silver at this year's World Championships.

Sailing events are taking place in Marseille, well away from the main Games focus in Paris. Grube and Heathcote's campaign is scheduled to start at 11:05 BST, but there have already been start delays due to unfavourable conditions in previous races this week.

There are two races a day until the top 10 boats move into the medal races on Wednesday, 7 August, when double points are again up for grabs.

It's the same pattern for Grube's compatriot Michael ‘Micky’ Beckett, who ended his opening day - Thursday - in 11th in the men’s dinghy. Beckett's Friday races are due to take place this afternoon.

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The athletics track and field programme starts today and what a lovely time to take a trip down memory lane with Welsh sporting royalty.

Lynn 'The Leap' Davies remains the only Welsh athlete to win an individual athletics gold medal after claiming gold in 1964 in Tokyo.

Davies told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast about an incident which helped him finish first on that historic day in Japan 60 years ago.

"You work hard and have this dream of going to the Olympic Games, which is every four years, and maybe reaching the final," said Davies.

"So it needs a lot of dedication and ambition, and on the day itself, you need that little bit of luck.

"My coach Ron Pickering said ‘Lynn, when you’re on the runway watch the flag at the top of the stadium because that’s a good indication of the wind.’

"So just before my fifth-round jump, I stood there for about half a minute and it did drop. I ran down and went into the lead.

"You need a bit of luck on the day and that’s what can make the difference."

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As we wait to see how Ollie Wynne-Griffith fares in his bid for gold in the men's pair with Tom George at 10:30 BST, BBC Radio Wales have been catching up with yesterday's medallists Becky Wilde and Matt Aldridge.

Wilde won an emotional bronze medal in the women's doubles sculls with Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne.

"It has been an emotional whirlwind since we crossed that line yesterday but I am loving every minute of it," said Wilde, who is from Taunton but has a Welsh mum and represented Wales at swimming for a decade.

"Standing on the podium was the stuff of dreams, looking up into the crowd to see my family and friends is a memory I will have forever."

The pair qualified late for the Games after Wilde had surgery on both arms last September.

"I only started rowing six years ago, I used to swim before switching," said Wilde.

"I have had a bit of a tricky journey with lots of injuries, hip and forearm surgeries and many broken ribs.

"It has been a crazy season, but to end up here with a bronze medal is special."

Aldridge was part of the men's fours that won another bronze in the final race of the day, alongside Oli Wilkes, David Ambler and Freddie Davidson.

"It's been an absolute privilege," said Aldridge.

"It was an incredible race. We knew in order to get a medal we would have to have our best race and on the day we found that."

Aldridge believes Wynne-Griffith can add to the Welsh rowing medal tally when he goes for gold on Friday morning.

"Ollie is an incredible athlete and he and Tom are looking strong," said Aldridge.

"They have had a slightly tougher progression into the final than they would have liked but that will help them.

"They are two immensely talented athletes and Ollie can come home with a gold."

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Rower Ollie Wynne-Griffith is the main focus of Welsh attention at the Paris Games on day seven.

The 30-year-old and his men's pair partner Tom George have gold on their minds in the final at 10:30 BST at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Centre.

Attention switches to Marseille where Chris Grube enters the sailing fray with partner Vita Heathcote in the mixed dinghy, scheduled for 11:05 BST, while Mickey Beckett starts the second day of men's dinghy racing at 14:35 BST.

In the evening Rupert Shipperley, Jacob Draper and Gareth Furlong 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 secured a quarter-final spot by beating hosts France 2-1 on Thursday.