Fiji gave rugby sevens its perfect Olympic bow today by producing a scintillating final performance to sweep aside Britain 43-7 and claim their first gold medal in any sport.

British cycling’s apparently inexhaustible capacity to reinvent its wheels made for a thunderous statement of intent on the opening day of the track programme as their men’s team sprint trio - with 23-year-old Callum Skinner in for the retired legend that is Sir Chris Hoy - beat world champions New Zealand to earn gold in an Olympic record of 42.440sec.

Will the Rio 2016 athletics programme, which gets underway tomorrow, become part of the Usain Bolt Narrative in the way that Beijing and London have already been?

China’s Ma Long became only the fifth man to complete a career table tennis grand slam of Olympic, world and World Cup titles with an imperious display against his fellow countryman Zhang Jike, the defending champion.

Slovakian cousins Ladislav and Peter Škantár sealed the Olympic men's C2 canoe slalom title as they emerged victorious from a dramatic final at Rio 2016 at the Whitewater Stadium today.

American judoka Kayla Harrison confirmed her retirement after successfully defending her women’s under 78 kilograms Olympic title by overcoming France’s Audrey Tcheumeo in the gold medal match at Carioca Arena 2 in Rio de Janeiro. 

Romania won their first medal of Rio 2016 after beating defending Olympic champions China in the women’s épée team final at Carioca Arena 3.

Simone Manuel and Penny Oleksiak tied for gold in the women's 100 metres freestyle on another enthralling night of swimming action also topped by a 22nd Olympic gold medal for the irrepressible Michael Phelps.

Chang Hye-jin of South Korea completed an impressive Rio 2016 Olympic archery double on Thursday as she added the women's individual title to her team success.

From the moment Simone Biles stepped out into the arena, victory never looked in doubt as the American star dazzled her way to her maiden individual Olympic gold medal in the women's all-around competition today.

Kenya have suffered a further blow on the eve of the Olympic athletics competition as coach John Anzrah has been sent home from Rio 2016 for impersonating an athlete and providing a urine sample.

Germany's Barbara Engleder became her nation's first gold medal-winning shooter since 2004 today as she won the women's 50 metres rifle three positions competition with an Olympic record score at Rio 2016.

Portugal and Costa Rica lead the team standings after another busy day of action at the International Surfing Association (ISA) World Surfing Games in Playa Jaco in Costa Rica.

The first day of Rio 2016 rowing finals ended with Germany heading the medals table after taking gold in both men’s and women’s quad sculls.

As South Africa’s Caster Semenya heads towards what could be a controversial victory in the women’s 800m final at these Olympic Games,International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President Sebastian Coe has underlined his organisation’s intention to challenge the ruling which suspended the monitoring of female athletes with higher than usual levels of testosterone.