Paris Olympic Wrap – Day 7 Friday August 2

SportsHounds Senior correspondent Mike Osborne wraps up the Australian highlights on Day 7 of 16 at the Paris Olympics.

Water and wheels provided three more gold medals for Australia as BMX racer Saya Sakakibara and swimmers Kaylee McKeown and Cam McEvoy all made history.

McKeown is the first swimmer to win the 100m and 200m backstroke at successive Olympics, McEvoy is the first Australian to win the 50m freestyle and Sakakibara found redemption in winning the BMX after a crash cruelled her chances in Tokyo.

McKeown now has two gold medals at these Games with the chance of more in the 200m individual medley and the relays.

“I put everything on line tonight,” McKeown said. I feel so privileged, it’s surreal. I got so emotional on the podium. History? It’s a cool thing to have next to my name.”

McEvoy, the first Australian man to win gold in Paris, has revolutionised swimming training by spending less time in the pool and more on speed, strength and conditioning.

“About 18 months ago, my goal was to just come back, give this new training approach a go and see what happens,” he said. “What I’ve done so far has just obliterated any expectations I had.”

Sakakibara meanwhile overcame a fear of crashes, treatment for severe concussion and seeing her beloved older brother Kai suffer brain trauma after a BMX race crash.

But she showed nerves of steel in Paris and never lost a race, winning all of her heats and semifinals, and ultimately the gold medal final in a dominant victory.

“I honestly can’t believe it, everything is a blur right now,” Sakakibara said. “As I rocked up today at 6pm I knew it was going to end at 10pm and I wanted to make those four hours the most proudest I have ever been and to give it everything.

“At the top of start hill I felt the most comfortable I have ever been. I knew I had it. I smiled at the start gate. It’s crazy, a dream. It’s real right. It’s so amazing. I have envisioned this moment, being on the podium, hearing the national anthem and with a gold medal around my neck.”

Sakakibara also praised her brother Kai who was in Paris to watch her win.

“I’m so happy Kai is here to support me. It means so much to have my family here after everything I have been through in the last few years. I even had Covid at the start of the week and missed a training session.”

Sakakibara’s French boyfriend Romain Mahieu won the bronze in the men’s race as Australia’s Izaac Kennedy crashed out of the final. Lauren Reynolds just failed to make the women’s final when she came off the course in her third semifinal run.

Also on the water, a bronze medal in the women’s rowing pair proved “bitter sweet” for Annabelle McIntyre and Jessica Morrison who went to Paris hunting gold.

Both champion rowers already have Tokyo Olympic gold from competing together in the women’s four. 

They were rowing for redemption in Paris after being denied the opportunity to double up and win another medal in the pair in 2021 due to a weather-enforced scheduling change.

But Dutch world champions Ymkje Clevering and Veronique Meester led from start to finish and were a boat length ahead of the Australians who held silver until the last 100m when the green and gold boat was overtaken by the fast-finishing Romanians. 

Netherlands were the unassailed gold medallists in 6min58.67, Romania was silver in 7min:02.97 while Australia was a disappointed bronze just 0.57 seconds behind silver in 7:03.54.

“We were going for gold, we thought we had silver and got bronze but a medal is a medal,” said McIntyre, 27, from West Australia.

“We were competing for ourselves, the rowing team and our country. It’s a fitting end to six very good years of rowing together.

“We knew the Dutch had good front-end speed. We decided to race the race and be aggressive at the start and try to hold on, which we didn’t do. But we tried.

“We wanted to complete the circle after missing out in Tokyo. We gave everything to the pair, we put our best race out there today.”

McIntyre and Morrison, who began rowing together in 2019, concentrated their sole focus on the pair for Paris and arrived at the Olympics as the world silver medallists and ranked world No.2 after finishing second at the Lucerne World Cup II (May 24-26) in Switzerland. 

“It’s tough to sit in second most of the way and get pipped on the line, that stings a little bit,” said Morrison, 32, from Victoria. “We put the work in early and that’s what happens sometimes, it’s the risk you take in racing a 2000m rowing race.”

Australia still has another three medal chances in the rowing in the women’s single sculls and the men’s and women’s eight on Saturday.

The Australian action from other sports in Paris today:

TENNIS

The Australian men’s doubles team of Matt Ebden and John Peers will play for gold after beating Americans Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul 7-5 6-2 in an hour and 34 minutes in their semifinal.

They will face another American duo in Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram in the final on the red clay of Roland Garros tomorrow.

Both pairs are guaranteed a medal as the loser of the final takes the silver medal.

“It’s great to have a guarantee of a medal, but we know there’s one more (match) and we want to win. That’s why we’re here,” Ebden said. 

One way or another the Australians will emulate the Woodies – Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde – who won the men’s doubles at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Games.

Ebden won the Australian Open doubles earlier this year with Indian partner Rohan Bopanna, while Peers won the 2017 Australian Open doubles with Finland’s Henri Kontinen. 

Both Ebden and Peers ran to their wives and children in the crowd at Suzanne Lenglen Stadium to celebrate the victory.

“My girls especially wanted to come home with a medal, and now they’re guaranteed one, which is really something special,” Peers said.

“To have friends and family here is something we dream of. “I spoke to my wife a few weeks ago, and I said, ‘Look, let’s just do it, bring them along’ (to the Olympics). I hope they remember this for the rest of their lives.”

SAILING

Australian 20-year-old Grae Morris will also sail for a medal in the men’s windsurfing after the competition on the waters off Marseille was postponed due to the conditions.

Morris is leading the fleet of 24 after 13 races and heads into tomorrow’s medal races guaranteed of finishing in the top three.

“I’m super stoked, but it’s not over yet,” Morris said after finishing top of the leaderboard.

“Anything can happen, we’re weather dependent – that’s why we have a reserve day in the schedule.

“I am very happy with the lead, that’s what we worked for and where I wanted to be – in the medal race and in the first spot.

“I’m not nervous, I am super prepared mentally and I want to get it done and show the world what I’ve got.

“My Dad has pushed me to train as hard as I could and he made sure I did the work even when I didn’t want to and he put me where I am today.”

ATHLETICS

Australia’s former world champion Eleanor Patterson and current world indoor champion Nicola Olyslagers both qualified for the women’s high jump final on the opening morning of track and field at Stade de France.

While Olyslagers had a clean sheet making every jump on her first attempt through to the qualifying height of 1.95m, Patterson had one miss at 1.92m. But cleared that height on her second attempt and then brushed the bar but got over 1.95m on her first attempt.

Sprinter Bree Master finished third in her 100m heat clocking a season’s best 11.26 seconds to qualify for the semi-finals, but her Australian 4×100 relay teammate Ella Connolly failed to progress.

Rose Davies qualified for the final of the 5000m after finishing third in her heat in a time of 15min00.86, but Isobel Batt-Doyle just missed out  by three-quarters of a second while Lauren Ryan was finished well back in her heat.

Nineteen-year-old Claudia Hollingsworth qualified for the semi-finals of the 800m finishing an impressive second in the final heat in 1min58.77s. Her teammate Abbey Caldwell and Catriona Bisset will get another chance in the repechage.

Australia’s three 1500m runners Oliver Hoare, Stewart McSweyn and Adam Spencer all failed to directly qualify for the semi-finals and also face a repechage race in a last chance to qualify.

Tokyo Olympic decathlon bronze medallist Ash Moloney withdrew with an abductor injury after three events while teammate Dan Golubovic was coming last after the first day of competition.

CANOEING

Dual gold medallist Jess Fox qualified second fastest for the new women’s kayak cross event making its Olympic debut in Paris.

Fox is trying to win all three white water events having already won the canoe and kayak slalom events.

She finished her time trial run for seedings in the new event in 70.84 seconds, behind leader Camille Prigent of France who clocked 70.84.

“It’s so hard to have expectations in cross because you could win the time trial and get knocked out in the first round,” Fox said of her hopes to win a third gold in Paris.

“Today was good, step one. It’s just about trying to stay adaptable. I’ll try to make it as far as I can and we will see.”

Fox said it was amazing to see her sister Noemie make her Olympic debut in the event where she claimed eighth place in 73.09 seconds.

“Today was amazing to see her become an Olympian for the first time,” Jess Fox said.

“I was definitely bouncing around, willing her on and cheering for her. It was good to see her have a good placing and a good run.”

But when it comes down to it the elder Fox said she may have to beat her sister.

“We’ve practised together. We have raced together before, and we are really good at reading each other,” she said.

“The top two make it through each round and as much as we can, we are going to be working together to make sure we are the top two.

“But if it comes down to it, absolutely go for me and vice versa.”

In the men’s event Australians Tim Anderson and Tristan Carter qualified 20th and 22nd.

WATERPOLO

​​The Australian women had a solid 10-7 win against Canada to remain undefeated in Paris.

They led 9-3 at one stage and held strong as the Canadians tried to bridge the gap.

“We’re looking pretty good at the moment, but we’re taking every day as it comes, trying not to get too ahead of ourselves,” said Alice Williams who scored three goals.

“To keep a lead is quite difficult when someone’s chasing you all the time like that. (But) We were able to stick to our systems and keep it going until the final whistle.”

After the win Zoe Arancini, 33, from Perth, paid tribute to her pioneering mum Wendy who won water polo gold at the 1986 World Championships and was inducted into the Australian Water Polo Hall of Fame in 2009, nine years after women’s water polo made its Olympic debut at the Sydney Games.

“She’s my role model and the history of what she’s achieved shows how far we’ve come,” she said. “We wouldn’t be here without women like her. Thank you to all the women who have come before us. When I first started water polo I didn’t even know she’d played.” 

SURFING

Jack Robinson’s strong run at the Teahupo’o break in Tahiti continued when he beat fellow Australian Ethan Ewing 15.33 to 13.00 in smaller surf than usual.

Robinson’s quarter-final victory came despite Ewing scoring the highest wave of 8.33.

But Robinson’s more consistent combined scores of 8.00 and 7.33 saw him get past his Irukandji teammate to face Brazil’s three-time world champion Gabriel Medina in the semi-finals.

Even though he is up against the best in the world Robinson is a big wave specialist and will be confident heading into the battle having won the Teahupo’o World Surf League event on this break last year.

Meanwhile, two-time world champion Tyler Wright (5.37) lost her quarter final against the USA’s current world champion Caroline Marks (7.77) ending Australia’s hopes in the women’s event.

BASKETBALL

The Boomers lost to Greece 77-71 in their last pool game finishing with one win against Spain and another loss against Canada.

“You need the momentum to go with you and we just didn’t have it today,” Captain Patty Mills said about the narrow loss.

The Australians now need other results to fall their way if they are to progress to the quarterfinals.

“We learn a lot about ourselves on this journey,” Mills said. “We have our work cut out for us but our spirits are still high. 

BB 3X3

It was a mixed day for the Gangurrus who beat Azerbaijan 21-7 but then lost to Spain 17-21 with bench player Lauren Mansfield out injured for the second game.

“It is just the way it can roll, you never know what is going to happen,” said Marena Whittle, who topped scored with 8 points in the first game and 7 in the second. 

The Gangurrus have now had four wins and two losses from their six pool games with a final match against France to come.

It’s likely they will need to win that game to qualify for the next round and Whittle said Mansfield should “be good for tomorrow”.

“We are really proud of the way we have gone. We will see what happens after the group phase, but at this point we are just focusing on finishing the week strong,” she said.

HOCKEY

The Kookaburras suffered their second loss of the Olympic tournament going down to India 3-2 in a tight match after being down 2-1 at half time.

But their three wins in the pool games has ensured they qualify for the sudden death quarter finals which start on Sunday where they are likely to face Holland or Germany.

“In the quarterfinals we always know we are going to have tough games, it doesn’t matter where you finish,” said captain Eddie Ockenden.

“You’re sort of ready for that. No one knows who they’re going to play yet. So we’re expecting a tough game no matter what.”

GOLF

Australia’s former PGA champion Jason Day was tied for 13th and six shots behind the leaders after a 3-under second round of 68 at the National course.

Day’s 68 followed a 69 yesterday but he remains six shots adrift of the leaders – Japan’s 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, double major winner Xander Schauffele of the USA and Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood.

Those three were locked at 11-under with Fleetwood making the big move today with a 7-under round of 64, while defending Olympic champion Schauffele went 5-under and Matsuyama going 3-under.

Min Woo Lee, Australia’s other men’s player at the Paris Games, had a 6-under 65 round which was a huge improvement on his opening 5-over 76 but he remained tied for 36th and 10 shots behind the leaders.

“I didn’t play the par fives as well as I should have or drive it as well as I should have,” Lee said. We’ll have similar wind and weather tomorrow and I have to really push out there and be aggressive.”