Paris Olympics 2024 LIVE updates: Day 15 – Australia’s marathon men; Mackenzie climbs towards gold; Stingers face Spain; LeBron versus Les Bleus

“Show don’t tell” is one of the oldest rules in the writing book, and there really is no alternative way to do Marta justice. One can read in as many words that the Brazilian’s control of a football is preternatural, her playmaking skills ingenious and her on-field intelligence off the IQ chart.

For the country she captains, the goal tally is a record 126 from 201 caps. Until a few days ago, those numbers might have been frozen in time and splattered with the wrong type of tears. The greatest women’s player of all time is now 38, and her sixth Olympics is her last before international retirement by the year’s end. Regardless of results, Paris 2024 would be a celebration.

That was until midway through Brazil’s last group-stage match against Spain, when Marta received a direct red card. Spain exploited their numerical advantage and scored twice in the second half, leaving Brazil with a nervous wait on whether other results would fall their way and grant them passage to the quarter-finals as one of the top-two third-placed teams.

They squeaked through as the second, with a mountain to climb and a skipper about to serve a two-game suspension. The squad’s fresh faces overcame the odds and injury setbacks and defeated France 1-0, before upsetting World Cup champions Spain in the semis. The 4-2 win secured progression to a first major final since 2008 and will deliver their returning talisman a proper farewell and a shot at a maiden Olympic gold medal against Emma Hayes’ rejuvenated United States.

Read the full story by Emma Kemp here. The women’s gold medal match between US and Brazil kicks off at 1am (AEST).

Can Australia add to their record tally of Games gold medals? There are still two more days and plenty of events to come in an Olympics that just keeps running and running. Speaking of which, a trio of Aussie marathon men will get the action started early, followed swiftly by Oceania Mackenzie in the climbing and the final round of women’s golf.

Raygun put breaking in the headlines in Paris on Friday, and fellow Aussie J-Attack picks up the baton (no offence to the US men’s relay team) on day 15 in the men’s event. And of course, it’s not just Aussies in action. There’s huge showdown at the end of the day between LeBron James’ US team and host nation France in what should be a thrilling scrap for gold in the men’s basketball.