1. Willing to succeed

Western Australian diver Maddison Keeney had to wait two weeks after suffering heartbreak on the first night of the 3m synchronised springboard competition. It was worth it.

On Friday morning (AWST), she became the first Australian woman to win a medal in an individual event, sharing the podium with her two close friends after a final jump of 78.20 to earn a total score of 343.10 to secure second place.

“The event is very competitive and anything can happen… For me, it’s more of a relief than anything that nothing went wrong,” Keeney said.

2. Rich reward

It wasn’t that long ago that Matthew Richardson was a gymnast and three years ago he finished 26th in the men’s sprint at the Tokyo Olympics.

He came very close to winning the title on Saturday morning, but lost to Harrie Lavreysen, who is called the king of cycling.

Richardson advanced to the final by winning the semi-finals on Friday night, but the defending champion from the Netherlands made almost no mistakes in both duels to win his second consecutive gold medal.

3. Golden shine

A female boxer who has been at the centre of the Olympic gender eligibility debate has won a gold medal in the cruiserweight division despite all the controversy.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif achieved one of the best series of her career by defeating Chinese Yang Liu 5-0.

Khelif was ousted from a tournament last season for not meeting gender eligibility requirements, sparking controversy last week, but the International Olympic Committee has said its position is to strip fighters of their passports.

4. Juggernaut continues

The Opals’ run at the Paris Olympics ended with humiliation at the hands of the all-conquering USA.

Their last attempt to topple the women’s basketball giants ended in an 85-64 semifinal defeat, advancing to a bronze medal play-off with Belgium.

Captain Tess Madgen led her team in scoring with 10 points, while 19-year-old Isobel Borlase scored 11 points when given the chance in the final quarter.

5. Volleyball heartbreak

This time, popular Australian couple Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar will not be awarded medals in the women’s beach volleyball tournament.

The pair lost to Swiss duo Tanja Huerberli and Nina Brunner in three sets, but said after the match that the pain of not winning a medal after winning silver in Tokyo might lead them to compete together in Los Angeles.

Clancy said he “wanted to cry” after the defeat.

6. Bronze shovel

They failed to defend their K2 Olympic title in Tokyo but Tom Green and Jean van der Westhuyzen returned to the podium in Paris.

The sprint ski duo won bronze in the 500-meter race, half as many as their victory three years ago.

7. Baton error

Even without Noah Lyles, the USA won the gold medal in the men’s 4x100m relay final, which they lost in the first relay change.

Mistakes by Christian Coleman and Kenny Bednarek at the handoff and no time to recover paved the way for Canada and veteran sprinter Andre de Grasse to win an unlikely gold medal.

8. Very fast

In contrast to the woes of the U.S. men’s relay team, the women’s athletes showed off their muscle at the Stade de France, with Sha’Carri Richardson comfortably cruising home in the rain.

Richardson took over the baton in third place but made a strong run to the finish line, making a big effort to make up for the silver medal he won in the 100m individual race in Paris.

9. Spain is making us suffer

This was supposed to be a crowning moment for French football legend Thierry Henry, who led his country to a capacity and impassioned home crowd. Instead, it was a Spanish extravaganza.

Spain won the gold medal in men’s football and the European Championship with two goals in extra time after a 3-3 draw in the 90th minute.

10. Golden arm

In a dramatic finale to the women’s shot put, Germany’s Yemisi Ogunleye made the throw of her life in her final attempt to snatch the gold medal.

Ogunleye slipped early on the wet track and gave New Zealand’s Maddison-Lee Wesche a hard time, who had to settle for silver.