Matthew Ebden had not expected to last long against Novak Djokovic in the first round of the Olympics on Saturday and he was not wrong - but it left the Serbian wondering why the Australian doubles specialist was competing in the singles.

The down-to-earth 23-year-old held off Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh and American great Ledecky to join Dawn Fraser as the only Australian female swimmer to retain an Olympic crown.

Simone Biles will make her eagerly anticipated first appearance at the Paris Olympics on Sunday while British breaststroke king Adam Peaty aims to emulate Michael Phelps in the swimming pool.

McKeon, who was the star act in Tokyo and is at her last Olympics, won her sixth gold and 12th medal overall.

The 38-year-old effectively ruled himself out of the singles tournament as he battles a thigh injury picked up in training at Roland Garros, the scene of 14 of his 22 Grand Slam triumphs.

For Dressel, 27, it was his eighth gold medal from three Olympics, and he was tearful in the celebrations.

Carlos Alcaraz enjoyed a winning start to his Olympic Games career on Saturday when he swept aside Lebanon's Hady Habib.

Novak Djokovic lost just one game in his Olympic tennis opener on Saturday to set up a potential blockbuster clash against old rival Rafael Nadal.

High jumper Gianmarco Tamberi issued a profuse apology to his wife on Saturday after his wedding ring slipped off his finger while he was serving as Italy's flag bearer on a boat in the Seine River during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

French bishops complained on Saturday about the "scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity" during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games which has upset some conservatives and has drawn mixed reviews.

Kazakhstan duo Alexandra Le and Islam Satpayev won the first medal of the Olympic Games on Saturday after claiming bronze in the 10-metre mixed team air rifle event.

The International Olympic Committee apologised Saturday for a gaffe during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in which South Korean athletes were incorrectly introduced as North Korean.

Amid vast criticisms and security concerns, France pulled off the Olympic opening ceremony for the 2024 Paris Games on Saturday. Here, we present you some of the pictures from the grand opening ceremony that lasted a marathon four hours despite rain drenching performers, athletes, and onlookers protected by nothing more than plastic ponchos.

South Korea's sports ministry on Saturday expressed regret over a gaffe during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in which its athletes were incorrectly introduced as North Korean.

A mouthwatering 400m women's freestyle headlines the first full day of sporting action at the Olympics on Saturday after a soggy but spectacular opening to the Games in Paris.

The concept had been derided as overly ambitious and the location criticised as a prime security risk. But after years of preparation, France could Saturday breathe a sigh of relief -- it had pulled off the Olympic opening ceremony for the 2024 Paris Games.

Thousands of Olympic competitors cruised down the River Seine in a spectacular opening ceremony for the Paris Games on Friday that celebrated French history and culture to the delight of a crowd undeterred by persistent rain.

The Olympic flame cruised into Paris on Friday on a diesel-belching tug, the torch held aloft by its white-clad bearer, having earlier been carried by US rapper Snoop Dogg, as it passed under the peripherique motorway.

Sabotage crippling France's high speed TGV rail network will have "no impact on the ceremony" opening the Paris Olympics on Friday evening, the city's Mayor Anne Hidalgo said.

In a historic first, the opening ceremony will be held outside the stadium, and the 2024 Olympics will be the first in history to feature an equal number of male and female athletes.