Australia tops the Olympic medal tally after claiming three gold and two silver in a stunning opening day in Paris.

Grace Brown – “little old me” – is the grand dame of the Paris boulevards after scorching to gold in treacherous Olympic road time trial conditions.

After years of near misses in major time trials, the 32-year-old cyclist dominated the 32.4km event to win Australia’s first medal at the Paris Games.

Come evening in Paris, two more Australian gold medals rolled in, for Ariarne Titmus in the 400m freestyle, and the freestyle relay team of Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Emma McKeon and Meg Harris, who clinched Australia’s fourth-straight Oympic title in the event.

Then came two silvers, for Elijah Winnington in the men’s 400m freestyle, and the Australia’s men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team who came in behind the US.

Cyclist Brown had finished second at the last two world championship time trials by a handful of seconds – but on Saturday, she won by a whopping one minute 31.59 seconds.

Grace Brown after winning Australia’s first gold medal at the Paris Olympics.  Photo: AAP

She also missed the podium at the Tokyo Olympics by seven seconds, finishing fourth.

Brown will retire at the end of this season and will close her career as the first Australian cyclist to win an Olympic time trial gold medal. It is the biggest win of her career.

She joins Sara Carrigan (2004 road race) and Kathy Watt (1992 road race) as Australia’s women road cycling gold medalists.

But more broadly, she reflected on what it felt like to join the Olympic champions club that features Australian sporting icons such as Cathy Freeman.

“It’s a bit insane – these are Aussie legends … it’s hard to get your head around other people viewing little old me in the same way,” she said.

“It might take a little while to get used to.”

“Insane” was how Brown described her winning margin, in no small part a function of her staying upright.

• See the latest medal tally here

Big names came to grief on the central Paris streets in the constant rain, including American world time trial champion Chloe Dygert, who had to be helped off her bike at the finish, clearly in distress after landing heavily on her right leg.

She still managed third, less than a second behind British silver medallist Anna Henderson.

“Maybe I just got a little bit lucky – some of it’s good management, some of it’s luck,” Brown said.

Brown led at the two intermediate time checks and once she knew she was up on Dygert, a renowned fast starter, the Australian’s confidence soared.

She was able to celebrate soon after the finish on the Pont Alexandre III Bridge with her husband Elliot and others.

“It’s a really big deal and just thinking of all the people who have supported me … really put their belief in what I can do here and given me the strength to go after it,” she said.

“To repay everyone with a gold medal is awesome.”

But the gold will not make Brown reconsider her retirement.

“I can be really proud to go out on such a high,” she said.

And now this year’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege winner can prepare for the August 4 Olympic road race with little pressure and sky-high confidence.

I will be able to just really race a bit more relaxed, take it in my stride, and see what opportunities I can take,” said Brown, who switched to cycling in frustration nine years ago because of frustration at injuries from cross-country running.

“I have one gold medal and that’s pretty good.”

No details were immediately available on Plapp and his crash as Belgian Remo Evenepoel, fresh off his third place at the Tour de France, won the men’s time trial ahead of Italian Filippo Ganna.

Evenepoel’s compatriot Wout van Aert was third.

Paddler to beat

Jessica Fox has posted the fastest time as she chases an elusive gold medal in the Olympic K1 event in Paris.

While she’s the reigning Olympic champion in the C1, the 30-year-old has won three medals in the kayak event in her three previous Games but her best result is a silver medal in London in 2012.

Jessica Fox has her eyes on the prize as she chases the first of three gold medals in Paris. Photo: AAP

In an unprecedented treble, Fox is attempting to win the K1, defend her C1 crown and will also chase gold in the kayak cross which is a new addition to the program in Paris.

Backing up after her flag bearer duties at a sodden opening ceremony, Fox had the second fastest time after their initial run on the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium but stormed home in the second run on Saturday night.

She posted a time of 92.18 seconds, 0.85 clear of Poland’s Klaudia Zwolinska while French paddler Camille Prigent had the third fastest time to the delight of a raucous home crowd.

Reigning Olympic champion Ricarda Funk only managed the sixth-fastest time with the German penalised for clipping a gate in each run.

“I felt good, I felt solid on my first run and just wanted to make some improvements for the second run and yeah, feeling good,” Fox said.

“I have obviously had a big 24 hours with the opening ceremony so I wanted to make sure I was resting as much as I could to come in with as much energy to go through the process.

“I was expecting to feel flat but didn’t so that was good.

“The heats runs are always about putting down solid runs and getting the feel for the water but also the atmosphere … I couldn’t help but smile and feel the goosebumps.”

While the result means Fox will be last on to the course for the semi-final on Sunday, which will be followed by the medal race, it otherwise counts for little.

“Everyone gets excited by the number for today but it doesn’t mean anything – we go back to zero tomorrow,” she said.

“It just means I get a little bit more time to look at the course tomorrow and that’s a good thing but it’s about qualifying into that final and then trying to do the best run I can.

Fellow Australian Tristan Carter finished his opening run of the men’s C1 ranked eighth and was unable to improve on his time with this second outing.

He dropped one spot to ninth, with the 16th fastest men advancing to the semi-finals on Monday.

It was still a massive result for Carter, who was 38th at last year’s world championships.

“To be able to go out and do a solid enough run that got me through, that’s a great feeling,” the 25-year-old Victorian said.

Dive disaster

Anabelle Smith “screamed underwater” after being responsible for the calamitous final dive that cost her and diving partner Maddison Keeney Australia’s first medal of the Paris Olympics.

The tears flowed after the shattered pair delivered a shocking fifth and final effort in the women’s synchronised 3m springboard event on Saturday.

It dropped them from third to fifth, just when it seemed they were set to even grab silver on the opening afternoon of the Games at the Paris Aquatics Centre.

Anabelle Smith of Australia (L) reacts with Maddison Keeney during the Womens Synchronised Springboard Final.  Photo: AAP

The normally trusty double act, regular podium placers at major championships, made a hash of their last difficult dive – a two-and-a-half somersaults with one twist in pike.

It left 31-year-old Smith, in her fourth Games, blaming herself for a slip off the right edge of the board.

“Yeah, pretty brutal. I can’t change it now, so no point dwelling on it,” the Melburnian said, after the tears subsided.

“Really, that stuff happens. It happens to the best of the best, and unfortunately it was my day today. So got to not let that define me, though. We’ve done some pretty amazing things across our 10 years.”

Asked as if her heart had sunk as soon as she took off awkwardly from the right edge of the board, Smith smiled ruefully: “I screamed underwater – I was hoping the under-water cam wasn’t on. It’s just disappointing, very disappointing.”

Lying less than a point behind the eventual US silver medallists Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook (314.64 points) going into the last round, the Australians – who had delivered the second best dives in the two previous rounds – looked set to at least equal their Rio performance of eight years ago when they won bronze.

“I dunno,” shrugged Smith, when asked about the fail. “That’s diving – trying to control our bodies and spin lots of times on an uneven, very bouncy plank. Had a bad hurdle and landed on the side of the board, which obviously affects the rest of the dive. It’s just unfortunate.”

Hitting the pool well out of synch, they were awarded the worst score – 48.60 points – of the final round for a final tally of 292.20, dropping them behind Britain’s bronze medallists Yasmin Harper and Scarlet Mew Jensen and fourth-placed Italians Elena Bertocchi and Chiara Pellacani.

China’s world champions Chang Yani and Chen Yiwen (337.68) were again in a class of their own as they struck gold.

Perth’s Keeney, the 284-year-old three-time world champ, and Smith had won silver at the world championships in Doha and had expected to repeat the dose behind the dominant Chinese pair.

“Maddi and I put a lot of hard work into synchro obviously, and we had a lot of expectation from ourselves and obviously from other people as well,” said Smith.

“Obviously, it’s gonna hit me a bit after this, but I’ve still got to kick on, I’m not dying, so I’m alright.

“I just feel bad for letting the team down.”

Sevens men ‘played their hearts out’

South Africa have denied Australia’s rugby sevens men bronze in a final-play thriller.

A Dupont-inspired France took gold over Fiji after Australia, into the semi-finals for the first time, lost both their games on Saturday to finish fourth.

Australia led Fiji 7-0 in the semi-final before halftime but barely touched the ball again in a 31-7 loss.

Nick Malouf and Ben Dowling following the loss to Fiji.

A man down, Australia threatened an incredible comeback, only for South Africa to score after the siren and win their bronze medal match 26-19.

Two-time defending champions Fiji then tasted their first loss in Olympic competition in a pulsating final, French 15-a-side captain Dupont scoring twice and setting up another in a 28-7 triumph.

Manenti and his side sat on the carpeted athletics track to soak in that masterclass from one of the code’s best, the coach able to look ahead to Brisbane’s 2032 Games while wondering what could have been.

“We are not funded as a gold medal program and that’s what we’re trying to get to,” he said.

“Hopefully the powers that be can see we’re in that echelon, fighting for a medal here on a shoestring budget.

“Staff, players, add a bit to it.

“It’s LA (2028) into Brisbane and I’d like to think we can do what the French have just done.

“They’ve been building … I would have loved to have played them, even for bronze.

“Amazing atmosphere, Antoine Dupont: holy moley, what a player.”

Australia were blown away by Fiji but hung tough against South Africa despite similar adversity.

Defending for the first five minutes, Australia scored first and then at 7-7 were called back from an attacking position for a knock-on that replays suggested never happened.

A pass that appeared well forward led to another South Africa try and, in between, captain Nick Malouf was rightfully red-carded for a high tackle.

At 19-7 and down to six men it looked like game over, but they scored the next two tries to level at 19-19.

Dietrich Roache missed the tough conversion and Australia were unable to secure the next restart Shaun Williams flew down the left wing to break Australian hearts after the siren.

“Tough; we fought so hard to get back in the game,” Manenti said.

“A couple of calls were pretty tough … that knock-on, that’s a big play.

“A big turning point and we know people will make mistakes but you don’t like to see them at this level

“But we can’t change it … the guys played their hearts out.”

AUSTRALIAN MEDALLISTS

Gold

* Ariarne Titmus (swimming – women’s 400m freestyle) – The Terminator left great rivals Summer McIntosh and Katie Ledecky in her wake in a commanding title defence.

* Women’s 4x100m freestyle relay – The team of Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Emma McKeon and Meg Harris clinched Australia’s fourth-straight Olympic title in the event, winning in Games record time.

* Grace Brown (cycling – women’s time trial) – The 32-year-old Brown will head into retirement later this year with a gold medal draped around her neck after dominating the competition on the rain-sodden streets of central Paris.

Silver

Elijah Winnington (swimming – men’s 400m freestyle) – Germany’s Lukas Martens was a deserving winner, but no-one got as close to him as the fast-finishing Winnington.

Men’s 4x100m freestyle relay – A flying Kyle Chalmers hoisted the men’s squad also including Jack Cartwright, Flynn Southam and Kai Taylor to silver behind Team USA.

OTHER HEADLINE GOLD MEDALLISTS

* France (men’s rugby sevens) – Cheered on by a packed house at the Stade de France, Les Bleus became the first team ever to beat two-time defending champions Fiji at Olympic level.

* The honour of being the first gold medallists of the 2024 Games went to teenaged Chinese shooters Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao, who saluted in the mixed 10m air rifle.

OTHER AUSTRALIAN ACTION

* Chris Burton, on board Shadow Man, is in the bronze medal position after the dressage section of the three-day event at Versailles with his Australian team lying eighth overall.

* Blake Govers scored the only goal on the stroke of halftime as the Kookaburras  won their opener 1-0 over Argentina.

* The Stingers overcame a Covid-disrupted preparation to post a hard-fought 7-5 women’s water polo victory over China.

-AAP