Sportshounds correspondent Mike Osborne wraps up the Australian highlights on Day 15 of 16 at the Paris Olympics.
Australia finished with two historic and inspiring silver medals on the penultimate day of the Paris Olympics, thanks to Jess Hull in the women’s 1500m and the Stingers water polo team.
Hull won Australia’s first distance running medal on the track since 1968 and the Stingers had their best result since a gold medal at the Sydney 2000 Games when women’s water polo made its debut.
Only an Olympic record by two-time defending champion Kenyan Faith Kipyegon could best Hull who has had a stellar season that included a world record in the 2000m just weeks before the Paris Games.
Both Hull and Stingers’ goal-scoring machine Alice Williams said they hoped their efforts would inspire the next generation of sportswomen.
“That was amazing, I am just so proud. It’s been a huge month,” Hull said. “I hope it inspires a few morning runs back home. I know it’s rare but I hope this opens the floodgates with a lot more runners coming through and this becomes normal.”
The women’s water polo team was undefeated through the Paris Games – including defeating the mighty USA team in the semi-final – until they fell to Spain 11-9 in the gold medal match.
“We were undefeated until the gold medal game and no one expected that but us,” said Williams, who finished the final with a game-high five goals.
“We surprised the world. This is huge. I really hope we’ve inspired a lot of young kids because it starts from the grassroots, and that’s how we got here. I’m standing on the shoulders of all the Stingers that came before me.”
You can read the full Sportshounds story on the Stingers here.
Hull said her mother had sent through a photograph of a young Hull as a junior athlete to help with inspiration ahead of the final.
“My Mum sent me a photo of me as a 12-year-old athlete and said ‘Do it for this little girl’. It brought me to tears. I thought ‘we can do this’,” Hull said.
The Australian sat with the lead pack throughout the race, jostling between third and fifth, until making her move to chase down the 1500 world record holder Kipyegon and holding off fast-finishing Brit Georgia Bell who set a national record to take the bronze.
“I hope it’s the first of many medals to come,” said Hull, who was delighted with the support from the huge crowd, which included Rolling Stone Mick Jagger. “It’s such a special feeling. I think I just did the longest victory lap and I won the silver medal.
“There are just so many Australians here. At the start I heard a ‘Go Jess’ chant. That’s crazy. There are just so many Australian flags and boxing kangaroos. I don’t know if gold could feel any better than this.
“To win silver behind Faith who is the best ever and doing a three peat. It’s amazing to be in such elite company. It is such a special feeling.”
In other action at the athletics 42-year-old javelin thrower Kathryn Mitchell, the 2018 Commonwealth champion, finished seventh in the women’s javelin while world championship bronze medallist Mackenzie Little was 12th.
The Australian action from other sports in Paris today:
CYCLING
Team sprint bronze medallists Matt Richardson and Matt Glaetzer both won their heats in round one of the keirin to advance to tomorrow’s quarter finals on the last day of the Games.
Richardson is chasing a third medal in Paris after also finishing second in the Individual sprint.
Meanwhile in the men’s madison team pursuit gold medallists Kelland O’Brien and Sam Welsford finished a distant 13th in the men’s madison.
And Kristina Clonan was eliminated from the women’s sprint in the repechage race.
DIVING
The 2023 10m platform world champion Cassiel Rousseau finished fourth in the final behind China’s gold medallist Cao Yuan, who ensured China won all eight of the diving events in Paris.
While it was an improvement from his eighth placing in Tokyo, the Australian was probably hoping for more in Paris. He also finished sixth in the 10m synchronised event with Domonic Bedggood.
Rousseau was not at his best and his fourth dive only scored 61.2 points leaving him in sixth place. But he moved up to fifth after five dives and a 92.5 point final dive moved him into fourth place.
GOLF
Australia’s 2019 Women’s PGA champion Hannah Green finished tied for fourth in the women’s golf, one shot off the podium.
Green, who tied for second at one stage, had a final round of 3-under 69 to finish the tournament 6-under.
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko finished 10-under and won the gold medal to add to her silver from Rio 2016 and bronze in Tokyo.
Germany’s Esther Henseleit stormed home with a 6-under 66 in the final round for an 8-under total to take the silver medal ahead of China’s Janet Lin Xiyu who finished with bronze at 7-under.
Green, who had a horror first round 77, said she felt like she was out of the medals in the final stretch.
“The time I saw I was in third position was coming off nine and then I hit into the water. That’s when I honestly felt I was out of it completely,” she said.
“But I gave myself some good opportunities coming down the back nine holes, but I’m a bit annoyed that the putt on 17 didn’t go in.
“Coming fourth after such a bad start to the Games on Wednesday, I have to be pretty proud of myself.”
Tied with Green at 6-under were Korea’s Amy Yang, Japan’s Miyu Yamashita and Bianca Pagdanganan from the Philippines.
Australia’s other female golfer in Paris Minjee Lee finished 1-under for the tournament and tied for 22nd.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Fijian-born Eileen Cikamatana finished just out of the medals in the women’s 81kg division of the weightlifting.
The Commonwealth champion was equal third after the snatch with 117kg but had to finish at 145kg in the clean and jerk after failing twice at 149kg.
That left the Australian fourth with a combined 262kg behind Norway’s Solfrid Eila Amena Koanda who took the gold with a total 275kg, an Olympic record as was her 154kg clean and jerk.
Egypt’s Sarah Ahmed took the silver medal and Ecuador’s Neisi Patricia Dajomes Barrera finished with the bronze.
SPORT CLIMBING
Oceania Mackenzie finished seventh in the women’s boulder and lead sport climbing, a huge improvement from her 19rth placing in Tokyo.
The Australian was third after the boulder component but dropped out of medal contention in the lead event.
Mackenzie took up the sport of climbing when she was eight when she would go to the climbing gym with her mum and sisters.
“I was too young to climb, so I was always climbing all over the short walls without a rope trying to sneak in more climbing,” she said.” Eventually, I got old enough to join the squad, and after about half a year I was into competitions.”
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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