Here are the major highlights of day 12 of the Paris Olympics 2024:

Artistic swimming:

With the absence of Russia, the long-dominant force in artistic swimming, China won their first gold medal in artistic swimming at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday with the theme of “Light of Life” scoring 996.1389 points.

The US delivered an ethereal routine with the theme “the sorceresses,” took silver Spain with a point of 900.7319 took bronze.

Athletics:

Quincy Hall produced an incredible late surge to overhaul Briton Matthew Hudson-Smith and take the first Olympic men’s 400-metre gold for the United States.

Hudson-Smith bettered his European record with 43.44 for silver and Zambia’s 21-year-old Muzala Samukonga set his second successive national record in Paris with 43.74 to take bronze.

Spain’s two-times world champions Alvaro Martin and Maria Perez took the first-ever gold medal in the mixed marathon race walk relay by nearly a minute at the Paris Games on Wednesday as the event made its Olympic debut.

The Spaniards finished in two hours, 50 minutes and 31 seconds.

Brian Pintado and Glenda Morejon of Ecuador took silver in 2:51.22, while Australia’s Rhydian Cowley and Jemima Montag claimed bronze (2:51:38).

Australia’s Nina Kennedy soared to the gold medal in the Olympic women’s pole vault on Wednesday with season’s best 4.90 metres.

American rival Katie Moon, cleared 4.85m to claim silver. Canada’s Alysha Newman went over the same height but was awarded bronze due to more missed jumps.

Jamaica’s Roje Stona won gold in the Olympic men’s discus throw on Wednesday, upsetting world record holder Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania to claim his country’s first-ever medal in the event at the Games.

Australia’s Matthew Denny took bronze.

Soufiane El Bakkali retained his Olympic men’s 3,000 metres steeplechase title to deliver Morocco’s first medal of the Games on Wednesday.

El Bakkali clocked a time of eight minutes 6.05 seconds as American Kenneth Rooks took silver in 8:06.41 and Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot claimed bronze.

Sailing:

Australia’s reigning Olympic champion Matt Wearn grabbed gold in the men’s dinghy on Wednesday, holding off his nearest rival Pavlos Kontides of Cyprus, who picked up his second silver.

Stefano Peschiera of Peru won bronze.

Marit Bouwmeester of the Netherlands earlier became the most successful female Olympic sailor ever with gold in the women’s dinghy, ahead of Denmark’s Anne-Marie Rindom with silver.

Norway’s Line Flem Hoest took bronze.

Cycling:

Australia won the Olympic track cycling men’s team pursuit gold medal at the National Velodrome after beating Britain in a thrilling final on Wednesday.

Italy, champions in Tokyo, easily overcame Denmark to take the bronze medal.

The United States won the gold medal in the Olympic track cycling women’s team pursuit for the first time as they beat New Zealand in the final on Wednesday in a time of 4:04.306.

Britain defeated Italy to take the bronze medal.

Wrestling:

In the men’s 77kg Greco-Roman style, in which holds below the waist are prohibited, Kusaka beat Demeu Zhadrayev of Kazakhstan 5-2 to claim the gold.

Armenia’s Malkhas Amoyan and Kyrgyzstan’s Akzhol Makhmudov took bronze in the event.

In the 97kg, Saravi turned the form book upside down with a 4-1 win against Artur Aleksanyan of Armenia, who claimed the silver.

Cuba’s Gabriel Rosillo and Uzur Dzhuzupbetook of Kyrgyzstan took bronze.

Sarah Hildebrandt of the United States won the women’s 50kg freestyle event.

Hildebrandt was originally scheduled to meet Vinesh Phogat in the gold medal match but the Indian was disqualified for being overweight.

Cuba’s Yusneylys Guzman, who lost to Phogat in Tuesday’s semi-finals, was promoted instead and Hildebrandt prevailed 3-0 to win the gold.

Tokyo champion Yui Susaki of Japan and Feng Ziqi of China won bronze.

Weightlifting:

China’s Li Fabin retained his 61kg weightlifting title with a dominant performance and a total lift of 310kg at the Paris Games on Wednesday.

Thailand’s Theerapong Silachai took a surprise silver medal in a thrilling finish after lifting an impressive 171kg in the clean & jerk for a total of 303kg.

American Hampton Morris finished third for bronze with a total of 298kg.

China’s Hou Zhihui retained her 49kg weightlifting title with a total lift of 206kg at the Paris Games on Wednesday.

In a nail-biting finish against Zhihui, Romania’s Mihaela Valentina Cambei took silver.

Thailand’s Surodchana Khambao claimed the bronze medal with a total of 200kg.

Climbing:

Poland’s world record holder Aleksandra Miroslaw won the women’s speed climbing on Wednesday to claim her country’s first gold medal at the Paris Games in the sport’s Olympic debut as a stand-alone event completing the vertical run in 6.10 seconds.

The silver medallist China’s Deng Lijuan set her personal best in the race, with 6.18s.

Miroslaw’s compatriot Aleksandra Kalucka won the bronze medal with a time of 6.53s.

Skateboarding:

Australia’s Keegan Palmer held off American Tom Schaar at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday to defend his title in the men’s park skateboarding event with tricks and high air for a score of 93.11.

Schaar ended up with the silver medal and Brazil’s Augusto Akio, edged countryman Pedro Barros to take bronze.

Taekwondo:

Panipak Wongpattanakit made history at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, becoming the first person from Thailand to win two gold medals when she defended her Tokyo title in the taekwondo women’s 49 kg category against China’s Guo Qing.

Panipak won 6-3 2-3 6-2, clinching the victory with two kicks to the head, which yielded three points each.

Croatia’s Lena Stojkovic and Iran’s Mobina Nematzadeh won the bronze medals.

South Korea’s Park Tae-Joon won the Olympic gold medal in the men’s taekwondo men’s 58 kg division on Wednesday, beating Azerbaijan’s Gashim Magomedov who withdrew from the match in the second and claimed silver.

France’s Cyrian Ravet and Tunisia’s Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi won the bronze medals.

Boxing:

Cuba’s Erislandy Alvarez broke the hearts of a delirious French crowd when he beat local favourite Sofiane Oumiha by a split decision in the men’s 63.5 kg lightweight boxing final at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.

Canada’s Wyatt Sanford and Georgian Lasha Guruli claimed the two bronze medals on offer after losing their semi-final bouts against Oumiha and Alvarez respectively on August 4.

Ukraine’s Oleksandr Khyzhniak won the men’s 80 kg boxing gold by split decision against Kazakh Nurbek Oralbay at the Olympics on Wednesday.

Oralbay took the men’s silver medal, while Cuba’s twice Olympic champion Arlen Lopez Cardona and Cristian Pinales of the Dominican Republic won bronze earlier on August 4.

Germany’s Tiafack Nelvie Raman and Aboudou Moindze Djamili-Dini of France took bronze in the men’s +92 kg category. The final is set to take place on August 10 between Jalolov Bakhodir of Uzbekistan and Ghadfa Drissi El Aissaoui Ayoub of Spain.