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Ira Gorawara

An Olympic gold holds the weight of, well an Olympic gold, but adding a touch of flair and suspense to them does no harm.
In a city revered for its arts and theatre, plenty of athletes created masterpieces of their own on the canvas of an Olympic arena.
Whether they caused you to squint or shout at your screens, here are five of those edge-of-your-seat finishes that turned Olympic dreams to reality in the most dramatic fashion.

Pandemonium on the piste
How do you top a fencing final decided by video review, followed by outbursts of fury and protests from the losing side?
The answer is you cannot, but the architects of the question were Hong Kong’s reigning champion Cheung Ka-long and Italy’s Filippo Macchi.
Cheung seemed to have the upper hand, leading 10-8 and five points from back-to-back golds.
But Macchi levelled the score at 11, tension became palpable as both fencers traded blows in a close-range duel that pushed the tally to 14 apiece.
Both fencers thought they had landed a winning touch, only for video judges to nullify both claims.
Then, in a split second that felt like an eternity, Cheung delivered the decisive point as the scoreboard flashed 15-14 in his favour.
Macchi’s coach could only watch in disbelief, and Italy later lodged a formal complaint.

China’s maths fail
It was one of those days when you have to blink twice, and ask yourself: “What just happened?”
In the dying seconds of their group stage clash with Spain, China’s women’s basketball team descended into total disarray.
Though maybe embarrassment might be more fitting, as China appeared to have forgotten their maths.
Instead of taking a wide-open three-pointer, Wang Siyu inexplicably fed Li Yueru, who sank a meaningless lay-up to nudge the score to 89-90.
A comedy of errors continued for China, who failed to foul Spain with three seconds left, and the Spanish dribbled out the clock having trailed for most of the match.
A needlessly tense and head-scratching finale to what had been a cruise-control game.

Pan for gold, again
It was the final night of Olympic swimming, and it had the makings of a blockbuster.
The US had a chance to uphold its unblemished record in the men’s 4x100 medley relay, a title they had claimed at every Games since the boycotted Moscow Games in 1980.
But the Chinese men wrote their own script, delivering in full under the bright lights and watchful cameras.
Pan Zhanle, just four days after a historic 100 metre freestyle victory, pinched gold for China after powering away from American Hunter Armstrong on a sensational anchor leg.

Five thousandths of a second
As it does every four years, the world turns up to find out the identity of the fastest man on the planet.
True to form, the win was by a razor-thin margin, but this time probably the tightest 100m result in recent history – gold medallist Noah Lyles and silver medallist Kishane Thompson were separated by five thousandths of a second at 9.784 seconds and 9.789, respectively.
The athletes themselves were left guessing who had eked out the narrowest of victories.
But it was ultimately USA’s Lyles who walked away with gold to bury the demons of Tokyo three years ago. A photo finish if there ever was one.


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Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Cheung Ka-long’s gold, Pan’s record, China’s bad maths – the most dramatic Olympic moments

Hong Kong’s Cheung Ka-long was involved in one of the most dramatic climaxes in Paris as he won his second Olympic gold medal. Photo: AP

Italy’s Filippo Macchi was left devastated by his last-gasp defeat to Hong Kong’s Cheung Ka-long. Photo: AP

China get it all wrong as they lose by a single point against Spain in the women’s basketball group phase. Photo: AFP

Pan Zhanle was China’s hero as he roared the team to gold in the men’s 4x100m medley. Photo: AP

As close as it gets, with Noah Lyles (in lane seven) winning the men’s 100m by the tiniest of margins. Photo: AFP

Who is Rachael Gunn? Paris Olympics’ Australian breakdancer who became internet meme

Australia’s Rachael Gunn, known as B-Girl Raygun, was the talk of social media after her unique breakdancing at the Paris Olympics. Photo: AP

Rachael Gunn, known as B-Girl Raygun, also has a PHD which focused on breaking in her native Australia. Photo: AFP

Paris Olympics: Wang twins win China’s first artistic swimming gold in duet event

Chinese gold medallists Wang Liuyi and Wang Qianyi began their free routine in dramatic fashion, crawling like panthers to the edge of the water before diving in. Photo: Reuters

Wang Qianyi (right, with sister Liuyi) says being twins helps with the execution and artistic elements of their performance. Photo: Reuters

The Netherlands’ Bregje and Noortje De Brouwer perform in the duet free routine of the artistic swimming event. Photo: AFP

Sport

Basketball

Paris Olympics 2024

Aquatics

Athletics

China

Fencing

Hong Kong

Gymnastics

Whatever happens throughout an event, it’s usually the end that counts and we look at moments where that ending was a little unexpected


Whatever happens throughout at an event, it’s usually the end that counts and we look at moments where that was ending a little unexpected.


Cheung Ka-long (張家朗)