SportsHounds Senior Correspondent Mike Osborne previews the key medal events for the Australians on Day 11 of 16 at the Paris Olympics.
Tuesday August 6 – possible Australian medals = 4 | Cycling | Diving | Sailing | Skateboard |
An historic day beckons for Australia.
Arisa Trew, 14, could become Australia’s youngest ever Olympic gold medallist if she can win the women’s park skateboarding at the Place de la Concorde in central Paris. Trew heads into the Games having won the Olympic qualifying competition. If she is successful she will surpass 1956 4x100m relay swimmer Sandra Morgan as the nation’s youngest Olympic champion.
At the sailing in Marseille world champion Matt Wearn is attempting to become the first man to win consecutive dinghy gold medals, having won in Tokyo. He would also continue Australia’s domination of an event that saw Tom Burton win in Rio 2016 and Tim Slingsby triumph in London 2012.
Melissa Wu dives at her fifth Olympics in the women’s 10m platform, having never finished outside the top six.
And at the velodrome Australia’s men’s sprint team hope to beat their arch-nemesis Dutch team having shared the past two world titles.
11:00-19:00 (19:00-03:00 AEST) Sailing men’s Laser Dinghy – Matt Wearn
Matt Wearn, 28, is the Olympic and dual world laser champion who has learned how to bend the wind and the will of a warring fleet. He has survived 10 races held over six days of Olympic competition with a double-point medal race at the end. The Olympic venue is the west-facing Marseille Marina on the Mediterranean 750km south of Paris. He created history at the Tokyo Olympics winning the third consecutive gold for Australia following the success of fellow green and gold sailors Tom Slingsby in London 2012 and Tom Burton in Rio 2016. He’s confident of creating more history by winning back-to-back Olympic gold. “There will be a lot of pressure and stress but I’m looking forward to that.”
17:00-19:00 (01:00-03:00 AEST) Skateboard – Women’s Park Skating – Arisa Trew
Arisa Trew, 14, grabbed international headlines when she was named 2024 Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year after becoming the first female to land a 720 trick (completing two full rotations in mid-air), made famous by American skateboard pioneer “Birdman” Tony Hawk. Trew won the Paris Olympic qualifying series in Shanghai this year, downing her friend Kokona Hiraki, Japan’s 15-year-old world No1 and Tokyo 2020 silver medallist, as well as Japan’s reigning Olympic champion Sakura Yosozumi, 22. Trew will be up against seven other finalists who will complete three 45‑second runs on a concrete bowl course with ramps, quarter-pipes and bumps staged right in the heart of Paris on the Place de la Concorde nestled between the Seine and the Louvre.
15:00-17:00 (23:00-01:00 AEST) – Diving Women’s 10m platform Melissa Wu and Ellie Cole
Melissa Wu, 32, is the first Australian diver to have competed at five Olympics and is the reigning Commonwealth Champion who also won a bronze medal in the 10m platform at the last Olympics in Tokyo. Wu has never finished outside the top six at her other Olympics – fishing sixth on debut in Beijing 2008, fourth in London 2012 and fifth at Rio 2016. Wu also won a silver medal in the 10m platform synchronised event with Briony Cole at her first Olympics in Beijing 2008 when she was just 16. The question is can Wu maintain her consistent form to end her career with another Olympic medal? teammate Ellie Cole will also be in the reckoning.
20:07 (04:07 AEST) – Cycling track men’s team sprint – Australia
Matt Richardson, Matt Glaetzer and Leigh Hoffman head into the men’s team sprint as 2023 World Champions and 2022 Commonwealth Champions, but face the mighty Dutch team who snatched the 2024 world title from the Australians. “We beat them in 2022 by 0.04 of a second and they beat us in 2023 by 0.03 of a second, so I guess it’s us and the Dutch who are favourites for Paris,” says Richardson. “The Dutch are an absolute powerhouse.” Richardson and Glaetzer will also chase more medals in the individual sprint and the keirin.
Michael Osborne has been a journalist for more than four decades including 35 years with the national news agency Australian Associated Press, rising from junior reporter to Editor.
He was AAP Editor for 11 years and served four years as Head of Sport and Racing. He was also posted to London and Beijing as AAP’s Bureau Chief and Foreign Correspondent.
He has worked at six Olympics and five Commonwealth Games, covered tennis grand slams, golf majors, international cricket, rugby world cups and numerous sporting world championships. He also co-ordinated and managed AAP’s teams and coverage at three Olympic Games in Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
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