Luc Chevrier still the best placed Caribbean athlete.
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St Lucia’s Luc Chevrier, Aruba’s Just Aanholt, and Thad Lettsome of the British Virgin Islands all redeemed themselves in races three and four of the men's dinghy event at the Marseille Marina – Frioul on Friday.
The standout performance came from Lettsome, who secured an impressive second place in race four. He started strong and led at mark 1, but slipped to third at mark three before inching up to second at mark 4, where he stayed until the end.
Lettsome finished just behind Croatia's Filip Jurisic. Aanholt and Chevrier placed 24th and 25th, respectively.
Race three saw Chevrier deliver the best performance among the trio, as he placed 19th, while Aanholt and Lettsome were 25th and 36th, respectively.
The overall standings reflect improvements for the Caribbean trio, with Chevrier now ranked 31st, Aanholt 33rd, and Lettsome 34th. All three sailors have advanced from their former positions after the first two races, demonstrating their determination and competence.
Bermuda’s Penruddocke, Cayman Islands’ Webster represent the Caribbean in women’s dinghy
Bermuda’s Adriana Penruddocke had a great start in the women’s dinghy event, finishing 14th in race one at the Marseille Marina – Frioul.
Meanwhile, Cayman Islands’ Charlotte Webster finished 41st in the same race.
Both sailors struggled in Race 2, with Penruddocke finishing 35th and Webster 40th. Penruddocke, on the other hand, redeemed herself in race three, finishing 26th, while Webster was 39th.
After three races, Penruddocke is 26th overall with 40 points, and Webster is 41st with 79 points.
Penruddocke, 24, secured her spot in Paris 2024 with a sixth-place result at the 2023 Pan American Games.
Webster, 20, qualified by finishing 12th in the ILCA 6 at the same games, becoming the third woman sailor from Cayman Islands to represent the country at an Olympic Games.
As the competition progresses and the upcoming races begin, the spotlight will be on these Caribbean competitors as they work to improve their place in the sport.
Kerr targets top seed as Team USA gun for gold in Paris
Steve Kerr laid down the marker for his United States team ahead of their final group game at the Paris Olympics.
Team USA won their first two Group C encounters, overcoming Serbia and South Sudan.
They face already-eliminated Puerto Rico on Saturday, and though they are assured of progression to the last eight, there is still plenty on the line for the USA.
Kerr's team must win by more than four points to be sure of clinching the top seed for the knockout stage, which would mean they would be drawn against the lowest-ranked team in the quarter-finals.
"We want the No. 1 seed," Kerr said.
"It gives you the best matchup in the quarter-finals. So if we drop down to two or three – which I think is unlikely, but we've got to take care of our business – we possibly have a much tougher opponent."
Points differential is the primary tie-breaker to settle the seeds in the knockout stage. Canada and Germany both stayed perfect through their group campaigns, with the latter occupying the top seed as it stands with a differential of +43.
"The point differential is a big thing, and so even the first two games we were focusing on not taking our foot off like you do in the NBA sometimes," guard Derrick White added.
"So it's a little different than what we're used to, but that's all part of the tournament."
While Jrue Holiday nurses an injury, Anthony Davis is expected to feature for Team USA, while Kevin Durant is embracing his role as a super-sub.
"It's basketball," said veteran Durant.
"It really doesn't matter who starts. It's about really who finished the game, who put their impact on the game while they're in the game.
"So I just try to do my best to impact it any way I can."
Should the USA claim the top seed, they could go up against Giannis Antetokounmpo's Greece, who beat Australia to finish ahead of Spain in Group C.
Greece have to wait on the result of Serbia v South Sudan in order to see if they will qualify.
Home hero Marchand celebrates 'unbelievable' week after clinching fourth Paris gold
Leon Marchand capped off an "unbelievable" week in the pool as he claimed his fourth gold medal of the Paris Games.
Home hope Marchand has dominated at La Defense Arena, and won the 200-metre medley to complete a remarkable set of golds.
His win on Friday came on the back of success in the 400m medley, 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke.
The 22-year-old, who was cheered on by French president Emmanuel Macron, told BBC Sport: "It has been unbelievable for me this week.
"I am enjoying every moment of it and this crowd was crazy. I was enjoying everything, it was so cool."
Marchand, who was just 0.06 seconds shy of the world record, finished ahead of Duncan Scott of Great Britain.
"He showed his class there, that is very quick," Scott told BBC Sport.
"What he just went after what has been a busy schedule for the guy – it was special to race him.
"It is a great way to finish it [his individual events] off."
There were two medals for France, with Florent Manaudou clinching bronze.
Ja's Goule-Toppin, Cuba's Gaspar, St Vincent and the Grenadines' Maloney through to women's 800m semis; other Caribbean athletes to contest Repechage round
Jamaica’s Natoya Goule-Toppin and Shafiqua Maloney of St. Vincent and the Grenadines secured their spots in the women’s 800m semi-finals at the Paris Olympic Games after both ran well-paced races to advance from their respective heats at the Stade de France on Friday.
Goule-Toppin comfortably won the sixth and final heat in 1:58.66 in a gate-to-wire performance. She was followed by Australia’s Claudia Hollingsworth (1:58.77) and Kenya’s Lilian Odira (1:58.83).
Prior to that, Maloney clocked a new national record of 1:58.23 for third place in heat five, behind Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma (1:57.90) and Kenya’s Mary Moraa (1:57.95).
Earlier, Great Britain’s Jemma Reekie comfortably topped heat one in a flat 2:00.00, ahead of fast-finishing Slovakian Gabriela Gajanova (2:00.29) and American Juliette Whittaker (2:00.45).
Cuba’s Daily Cooper Gaspar proved better than the rest in heat two, as she won in 1:58.88. South Africa’s Prudence Sekgodiso (1:59.84) and Switzerland’s Rachel Pellaud (2:00.07) took the other qualifying spots.
In heat three, Ethiopia’s Worknesh Mesele finished tops in a personal best of 1:58.07, ahead of Frenchwoman Renelle Lamote (1:58.59) and Great Britain’s 17-year-old prodigy Phoebe Gill (1:58.83). Cuba’s Rose Mary Almanza placed sixth in 2:00.36 and will contest the Repechage round.
Another Great Britain stalwart, Keely Hodkinson (1:59.31), outclassed rivals in heat four, with American Nia Akins (1:59.67) and Benin’s Noelie Yarigo (1:59.68) also progressing. Jamaica’s Adelle Tracey was eighth in that heat in a season’s best 2:03.47 and will have to contest the Repechage round for another shot at the semi-final.
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