The erratic Parisian weather turns it up a notch

After torrential rain covered athletes and spectators during Friday's opening ceremony, persistent downpours carried into the weekend causing cancellations to events such as skateboarding and majorly disrupting the triathlon. 

With the Parisian weather then warming on Day Four of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, today the climate provided the polar opposite to the first couple of days with an intense heat sweeping across the City of Light.

Umbrellas returned but this time to shelter from the sun rather than the rain. Snoop Dogg was spotted needing both an umbrella and an electric pocket fan to cool down from the potent Parisian heat that brought temperatures of 36 degrees Celsius for much of the day. 

Two Koreas united by an Olympic selfie

There have been inevitable tensions at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games over Russia's attempt to annex Ukraine and Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip. 

On Day Five another two nations historically at each other's throats instead showed signs of unity when North Korean and South Korean table tennis players took a selfie together on the podium after South Korea won bronze and North Korea took silver.

South Korea’s Lim Jong-hoon snapped the iconic selfie, capturing Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong from North Korea, as well as the victorious Chinese duo Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha.

Canada women's football team heading to quarterfinals against all odds

The Canadian women's football team have been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games having won gold at Tokyo 2020. 

Last week they were found to have spied on closed practice sessions of opponents New Zealand using a drone and when French authorities traced the unauthorised drone back to Joseph Lombardi, a Canada Soccer technical analyst, Joseph Lombardi, he, assistant coach Jasmine Mander, and coach Berly Priestman were all expelled and given year-long bans by FIFA.

Things got worse for Canada when on Saturday they were deducted six crucial points and fined €210,000 for the spying scandal before having their appeal then rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport today.

It meant that, despite winning both games against New Zealand and France, Canada sat in third place in Group A on zero points instead of six and had a do-or-die game against Colombia which they needed to win if they were to advance through the preliminary round. 

Against all odds, the defending Olympic champions overcame the uphill battle beating Colombia 1-0 on Wednesday to finish second in Group A courtesy of a 61st-minute goal from Vanessa Gilles.

Canada can now put their tricky points deduction behind them and will face Germany in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Ledecky reaffirms legend status with eighth Olympic gold

American swimming superstar Katie Ledecky showed why she's a household name in the United States by winning the women's 1,500m freestyle on Wednesday to defend her title and get her hands on an eighth Olympic gold

With a time of 15 minutes 30.02 seconds, she was more than 10 seconds ahead of France's Anastasiia Kirpichnikova in second place coming out all guns blazing to gather a one-length lead at 100m. 

The 27-year-old has the chance to become the first athlete to win the same Olympic event four times in a row in the 800-meter freestyle. 

Her achievement would further elevate an already illustrious career that boasts 10 Olympic medals, including seven golds, and 16 individual world titles, one more than the legendary Michael Phelps.

No more Nadal?

Rafa Nadal's farewell to the world of tennis will not be the fairytale ending he might have been hoping for as the Spanish legend crashed out in the Men's Doubles alongside partner and Wimbledon winner Carlos Alcaraz.

The Spanish tennis legend, who has dominated at Roland Garros over the years, had already bid farewell to some fans on Monda when the two-time Olympic gold medalist was defeated by his longtime rival Novak Djokovic in the Paris 2024 singles competition.

Djokovic's comprehensive victory over Nadal meant that his last remaining hope at an Olympic swansong lay in his and Carlos Alcaraz's doubles chances but alas it wasn't to be as Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram advanced to semi-finals in Paris by beating the Spanish duo 6-2, 6-4.

Afterwards, the 14-time French Open champion, who is immortalised with a statue at Roland Garros admitted that it was probably his last time playing there. 

So, who's at the top of the medal table at the end of Day Five?

As Day Five of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games draws to a close the People's Republic of China has risen to the top of the leaderboard for the first time this summer. China's nine medals are one more than each of France or Australia. 

The host nation sits in second with eight golds, ten silvers and eight bronzes, their total of 26 the second best at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Japan have slipped down to third, also on eight golds but with three silvers and four bronzes while Australia are just behind them in fourth with seven golds, six silvers and three bronzes.

Team GB have made their way up the table for another day running and make up the top five with six golds, six silvers and five bronze medals. 

Behind Team GB, the Republic of Korea are now sixth ahead of the United States in seventh and Italy in eighth. 

The United States has the highest medal count overall with its 30 medals made up of five golds, thirteen silvers, and twelve bronzes.

Canada and Germany make up the top ten in ninth and tenth respectively. 

Bring on Day Six!