Olympics day eight: Australia claim more medals as Julien Alfred wins women's 100m

John Peers and Matthew Ebden won gold medals and Ariarne Titmus claimed silver, while Kaylee McKeown and Australia’s mixed 4x100m medley team took bronze medals on day eight at the Paris Olympics.

Never before has Australia won at least one gold medal on the first eight days at an Olympic Games.

Julien Alfred from St Lucia flew through the Paris rain for a dominant victory in an Olympics women’s 100m final just as noteworthy for who wasn’t there.

Credit: SBS News

The Australians who won medals

In Tennis men’s doubles, Peers and Ebden won gold after defeating Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram in the title match.

20-year-old Sydneysider Grae Morris won Australia’s first Olympic windsurfing medal in 32 years — and the first for the 2024 sailing squad in Marseille at the 2024 Games.

Ariarne Titmus had to bow to Katie Ledecky on 800m freestyle swimming, having .

In 200m individual medley, Kaylee McKeown added a bronze to her burgeoning Olympic haul.

McKeown, Josh Yong, Matt Temple and Mollie O’Callaghan also won bronze in swimming mixed 4x100m medley relay.

Julien Alfred wins 100m sprint, Simone Biles adds another gold

Alfred won a first-ever Olympic gold for the tiny Caribbean nation of St Lucia in the women’s 100m, with US superstar Sha’Carri Richardson claiming silver.

Alfred stopped the clock at 10.72 seconds at Saturday, becoming the first Olympic gold medallist from the tiny Caribbean nation.

Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia celebrates after winning the women’s athletics 100 meters final. Source: SIPA USA / Bildbyran/Joel Marklund

Reigning world champion Richardson finished strongly to claim the silver in 10.87 ahead of fellow American Melissa Jefferson (10.92).

However, the most decorated female sprinter of all time, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s Olympic 100m swansong ended in bizarre circumstances when the 37-year-old was a no-show for her semi-final.

Simone Biles pocketed her seventh Olympic gymnastics gold medal in the vault, thrilling the crowd with her signature Yurchenko double pike and Cheng vaults.

Belgian cycling ace Remco Evenepoel overcame an untimely puncture 4km from the finish line to win the men’s road race.

What else happened?

World championships bronze medallist Kurtis Marschall made light of a sore left ankle to soar into Monday’s final.

Jason Day improved to a tie for 10th with one round to play in the men’s golf tournament, but the gold medal race looks like being a heavyweight battle between Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm.

The world’s most decorated female sprinter, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce from Jamaica, withdrew from the 100m semi-finals in mysterious circumstances.

Who said what?

“It probably is. Winning slams, winning Wimbledon, we’ve been into the Davis Cup finals the last couple of years …. but I mean, the Olympics? Gold? Really?” — Matt Ebden on whether Olympic gold was the greatest moment of his career.

“I was just off the pace today so I think I’ve got a mountain to climb to just get back into that top class.” — Sprint star Rohan Browning after being run out in the 100m heats.