Sunisa Lee stepped up in the absence of Simone Biles to claim gold and maintain Team USA’s dominance in the women's gymnastics all-around event.
The 18-year-old became the sixth American woman to take the title – and fifth in a row – after beating Brazil's Rebeca Andrade and Angelina Melnikova to gold.
Despite withdrawing from the final to focus on her mental health, Biles was cheering on from the stands as her team-mate aimed to capitalise.
Lee was looking to continue her nation's impressive record in this event, which has seen triumph concurrently at both the Olympic Games and World Championships since 2010.
The teenager admitted she came close to quitting gymnastics following a difficult two years – both in and out of the gym.
Nevertheless, she duly delivered the goods by totalling 57.433 to take gold and edge out Andrade, who became the first Brazilian woman to claim an Olympic medal in artistic gymnastics.
"It feels crazy, it is so surreal. It's a dream come true," Lee said. "I don't even know what to say. It hasn't even sunk in. The past two years with COVID have been crazy. There was one point I wanted to quit.
"To be here and to be an Olympic gold medallist is just crazy."
PATIENT FOX COMES GOOD
Australia's Jess Fox became the first women's canoe slalom (C1) Olympic gold medallist.
A multiple World champion, Olympic gold has eluded Fox over the years. She was a silver medallist at London in 2012, while she took home a bronze from Rio four years later.
However, her persistence finally paid off after posting a time of 105.04 seconds in the final, while Great Britain's Mallory Franklin and Andrea Herzog of Germany completed the podium.
"I can't believe it," said Fox, who also won bronze in the women's kayak earlier this week.
"I was dreaming of [a gold medal] and I really believed it was within me, but you never know what is going to happen at the Olympics.
"It is about holding your nerve and I probably didn't do that very well in the kayak a couple of days before, so it was hard to get to this point. But it has been incredible to do what I did today."
'I hoped this day would never come' – Federer hails 'incredible' Nadal after retirement call
Roger Federer led the rush of tributes to his fellow tennis great Rafael Nadal after the Spanish superstar confirmed his upcoming retirement from tennis.
Nadal will end his remarkable playing career after the Davis Cup Finals, which take place in Malaga in November.
Only Margaret Court, Novak Djokovic (24 each) and Serena Williams (23) have won more singles grand slam titles than Nadal (22), but the 38-year-old has been plagued by injury in recent seasons.
Federer retired in 2022 and Nadal’s decision on Thursday comes on the back of Andy Murray calling it a day earlier this year.
It means that, of the ‘big four’ that dominated men's tennis for over a decade, only Djokovic now remains.
"What a career, Rafa!” Swiss great Federer wrote on Instagram. "I always hoped this day would never come.
"Thank you for the unforgettable memories and all your incredible achievements in the game we love. It's been an absolute honour!"
Federer and Nadal contested 40 matches on the ATP Tour, with Nadal edging the rivalry 24-16. In majors, they met on 14 occasions, with 10 of those seeing the Spaniard emerge triumphant.
Along with Djokovic and Federer, Nadal is one of only three players in the Open Era to have played and won over 300 men's singles grand slam matches. He bows out with a major record of 314 wins from 358 matches.
Nadal has won a record 14 titles at Roland-Garros, with the last of those coming in 2022. He will retire as a four-time US Open champion and a two-time winner at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
The veteran has not featured in a singles match since he lost to old foe Djokovic at the Paris Olympics in August.
He confirmed previously that 2024 would likely be his final year on ATP Tour circuit and he has featured in just seven tournaments this season.
Nadal remarkably reached the Swedish Open final in Bastad, only to lose to Nuno Borges, after competing at the French Open for the final time.
Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur wrote on X: “Thank you Rafael Nadal for inspiring me and all of us. You will be missed.”
Nadal’s compatriot Paula Badosa wrote "Gracias Rafa" accompanied by a series of images of the pair representing Spain, while Nick Kyrgios urged Nadal not to retire, saying he wanted to play him one last time.
There were also warm words from Andy Roddick, while the ATP and each of the four grand slam tournaments posted tributes.
In one of those, the Australian Open account wrote: "Legendary memories. You are so loved around the world and here with us in Australia. Grateful for all the unforgettable moments. Gracias, Rafa. For everything!"
Tennis great Nadal confirms retirement
Rafael Nadal has confirmed his impending retirement from tennis.
The Spanish superstar will end his remarkable playing career after the Davis Cup Finals, which take place in Malaga in November.
Only Margaret Court, Novak Djokovic (24 each) and Serena Williams (23) have won more Singles Grand Slam titles than Nadal (22), but he has been plagued by injury in recent seasons.
In a message released on his official social media channels on Thursday, Nadal said: "I am here to let you know I am retiring from professional tennis.
"The reality is that it has been some difficult years, the last two especially.
"I don't think I have been able to play without limitations."
Nadal confirmed previously that 2024 would likely be his final year on ATP Tour circuit and he has featured in just seven tournaments this season.
He remarkably reached the Swedish Open final in Bastad, only to lose to Nuno Borges, after competing at the French Open for the final time.
Nadal has won a record 14 titles at Roland-Garros, with the last of those coming in 2022.
He will retire as a four-time US Open champion and a two-time winner at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Nadal has not featured in a singles match since he lost to old foe Djokovic at the Paris Olympics in August.
Along with Djokovic and Roger Federer, Nadal is one of only three players in the Open Era to have played and won over 300 men's singles Grand Slam matches. Nadal bows out with a major record of 314 wins from 358 matches.
His retirement, which comes on the back of Andy Murray calling it a day earlier this year, means that, of the "big four" that dominated men's tennis for over a decade, only Djokovic now remains.
Sinner downs Medvedev to reach Shanghai semi-final
Jannik Sinner marched into the last four of the Shanghai Masters by defeating Daniil Medvedev on Thursday.
Sinner beat the Russian 6-1 6-4 and could now face a reunion with Carlos Alcaraz, who he lost to in the final of the China Open last week, in the semi-final.
The world number one has now won six of his last seven encounters with Medvedev.
"Obviously, I'm very happy how I handled today and this match," said Sinner.
"It felt like he had a bit of shoulder pain and couldn’t hit his forehand as well as he wished to.
"Hopefully he can recover as fast as possible, but from my side it was a great match, a great battle, and let’s see what I can do now in the semi-final."
Sinner has clocked up 63 wins on the ATP Tour this season.
Data Debrief: Master Sinner
Sinner has now made five ATP 1000 semi-finals in 2024, which is the most of any player this year.
The Italian has also become only the second player since 2020 to reach as many semi-finals in the format since Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2022.
Since the format's inception in 1990, Sinner (77.3%, 51-15) only trails three players for win percentage on hard court at ATP 1000 events: Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andre Agassi.
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