BY BOZZA

The quadrennial sporting extravaganza that is the Olympic Games is in full swing and we have a week already in the History Books. Welcome to our second Monday Wrap as we take a look at Days 7, 8 & 9 of action from Rio.

Australian Medals:

Dane Bird-Smith, Bronze, 20km Walk

Our Men’s Cycling Pursuit Team were favourites to win the Gold and they looked every inch the team to beat all the way to the final where it took a World Record ride from the British team to consign our boys to the Silver Medal.

Rowing Men’s Four also claimed silver.

Anna Meares became the first Australian to win an individual medal in four Olympic Games with her Bronze Medal in the Women’s Keirin event.

Kim Brennan came to Rio with the expectation of favouritism but it did not weigh her down as she blitzed the field to claim Australia’s first rowing medal for eight years, coincidently won by her husband in Beijing.

Cate Campbell put the disappointment of her individual 50m & 100m races behind her to swim an unbelievable anchor swim to bring the 4x100m Medley Relay team home for a silver medal.

100m Freestyle Gold Medallist Kyle Chalmers again showed his class, bringing the men’s 100m Medley Relay team from the clouds into the Bronze Medal. Beyond again showing Chalmers’ class, the race will also be remembered as the last of Michael Phelps’ distinguished career, with him signing off from Olympic competition with Gold Medal number 23.

Our medal fancies have produced mixed results:

The Matilda’s lost their quarter final in penalty shoot out to hosts Brazil. The Matildas had a strong call for a penalty waived away in the 90th minute and looked likely winners when goal keeper Lydia Williams stopped Brazil’s 5th penalty attempt. It was not to be however with the Matilda’s missing two penalties themselves after this to lose the shoot-out 7-6.

 

Boxer Shelley Watts suffered a shock preliminary defeat at the hands of Italian Irma Testa.

The Kookaburras streak of 6 consecutive medals came to an end in the Quarter Finals, losing to the Netherlands 4-0. The Hockeyroos rounded out their groups stage play with a 2-0 win over Japan, booking a date with New Zealand in the Quarter Finals.

On Day 10 we sail for Gold with Ashley Stoddart and Tom Burton in the Women’s and Men’s Laser Radial Single Dinghy Medal Races.

Fabrice Lapierre was a medal fancy in the Long Jump but was unable to replicate ‘Jumping’ Jai Taurima and finished 10th in the Final.

The Boomers rounded out their group stage play with wins over China and Venezuela, qualifying for the Quarter Finals with just one loss. They will meet the 3rd place team from Group B in the knockout rounds.

The Opals maintained their perfect group stage record with a 74-66 victory over Belarus, they now have an appointment with Serbia in the Quarter Finals.

Mack Horton entered the 1500m as one of the fancied chances but after an amazing week in Rio having already claimed a Gold and Bronze, Horton was unable to replicate his earlier heroics, finishing fifth.

Memorable Moments

21 year old Joseph Schooling grew up idolising Michael Phelps, so much so one of his most precious possessions was a picture of him with the swimming champion. In Rio he thwarted his idols attempt to win the 100m Butterfly for a record fourth time. Schooling’s victory represented Singapore’s first ever Olympic Medal but more remarkably was the fact that behind him was the Olympic Games first ever 3 way tie for Silver.

Usain Bolt did something no man had ever done before in the 100m Final. The Olympic Games showpiece event was won by the Jamaican for the 3rd time. There was much talk heading into the games as to whether Justin Gatlin would spoil the party and at the half way point the upset appeared on. But as is his style, Bolt turned on the after burners and again streeted away to glory.

Wayde Van Niekerk, who already owns a special place in athletics history being the only man to have run a sub 10sec 100m, sub 20sec 200m and sub 44sec 400m, carved another special place in history in the 400m Final.

Heading into Rio it was thought that Van Niekerk might be the man to break Michael Johnsons 17 year old World Record of 43.18. Drawn in lane 8, a lane that no-one had won Olympic Gold from in the 400m, Van Niekerk produced a very special run. Heading into the final straight he had a narrow lead but extended it all the way to the line, breaking Johnson’s record in the process, posting mind-blowing 43.03.

Heartbreaking Moment

The Matildas lost their Quarter Final in the sport’s cruellest fashion. After 120 scoreless minutes the Australians went head to head with the hosts in a Penalty Shoot-Out. Australia looked likely winners when Goal Keeper Lydia Williams stopped Brazilian Captain Marta’s spot kick. Katrina Gorry stepped up to send the Matilda’s through, but was denied by the imposing keeper Barbara.

Alana Kennedy was the unlucky Matilda whose miss cost Australia progression and she was immediately consoled by her team-mates. If losing in this fashion was not devastating enough, it later emerged that the Brazilian Keeper had been off her goal line in each missed kick, in fact she was off her line for every penalty attempt, by the letter of the law each should have been retaken and the keeper yellow carded. Heartbreaking.

Biggest Dummy Spit

Hope Solo, the US Women’s Football Team Goal Keeper, has had quite the Olympic campaign. Pre-games she was an outspoken critic of the Games’ location, tweeting numerous times about her fears regarding the Zika Virus and various safety concerns. Actions that saw her loudly booed every time she went near the ball during the tournament followed by a ‘Zika’ chant whenever she completed a goal kick. Solo however saved her best for last.

The US were overwhelming favourites to take out gold but were held to a draw by Sweden in the quarter finals before losing on penalties. When commenting upon their exit after the match Solo wasn’t afraid to share her thoughts. “I thought we played a courageous game” the two-time gold medallist began “I thought we had many opportunities on goal. I think we showed a lot of heart. We came back from a goal down. I’m very proud of this team.” If she had have left it at that we wouldn’t even be talking about this exchange but it was here that she showed a level of ungraciousness rarely seen at the Olympics “But I also think we played a bunch of cowards. The best team did not win today. I strongly believe that”. Yep, that is what she said, Prompting some to opinion that she had now taken the mantle off Kylo Ren as the worst Solo.

Best Beef

The public spat between Russian Yulia Efimova and American Lilly King has escalated with the Russian now reconsidering whether she will return to the South Californian training base she has called home since she was a teenager. Efimova found herself in King’s anti-drug crosshairs having been convicted of doping violations and only swimming at Rio after an 11th hour appeal.

After the pair swam first and second in the 100m Breaststroke, there was an awkward press conference as the pair had to be separated by the Bronze Medallist rather than be sat next to each other as is traditionally the case.

This came after the crowd got behind King’s questioning of Efimova’s presence in Rio with large sections booing the Russian whenever she was announced for her events. Efimova likened the experience to war. “It was like a nightmare. This completion is a relief because I love racing, but this was a war.”

She also asked what King’s stance was in relation to Michael Phelps, a pointed reference to the champion’s 3 month ban by USA Swimming for smoking marijuana back in 2014. “There must always be another chance” the Russian opinioned “when you drive a car and break a rule, you just get a ticket. You don’t lose your license for life or get put in jail”.Will this be the end of the spat or will Lilly King make her thoughts known on the Efimova’s comments.

What was that about?

“Just classic Dad really”

That is how Dane Bird-Smith laughed off the fact his father had been arrested by police after his Bronze Medal 25km Walk. His Dad, who is also his coach, had apparently been detained by officials as he tried to celebrate the moment with his son. The situation became heated and Bird-Smith senior was taken away. Dane at the same time appropriately but unknowingly was suggesting to Channel 7 that his father was “going to be going nuts somewhere”.

In a fitting end to a fascinatingly odd medal effort, Bird-Smith was said to have violently “shared” his Gatorade with the rest of the Olympic Athletes Bus Transport, after having consumed it.

Biggest Upset

Juan Del Potro had an Olympic tournament to remember. After eliminating Novak Djokovic in round one he found himself up against another tournament fancy, Rafael Nadal, in the semi-final. Again showing the form that saw him better the world number 1, Del Potro was unstoppable against the Spaniard. Belying his world 141 ranking he defeated Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 and booked a date with Andy Murray to play for Gold.

Best Interview

Irish Lightweight Double Sculls competitors Paul and Gary O’Donovan may only have won Silver in their chosen even but their interviews have been pure gold. From expressing their disappointment to be missing the celebrations back home in Ireland or their pleasure at being able to put on “podium pants” the pair have been remarkably refreshing in comparison to the usual dry fare on offer in these situations. You can watch one of their efforts here.

Best Meme’s and Tweets

An interesting look into the mind of Americans when they see the swimming starting lists

Thumbs Up

Cate Campbell. It mustn’t be easy facing the cameras and an interview after again missing out on a prize you have craved your entire life. The 24 year old was sensational in finding humour “the world got to witness the greatest choke in Olympic history a couple of nights ago” when most would have struggled to do anything other than cry.

Thumbs down

The idiots breaching the security gates to enter the Ladies Marathon track, thankfully they caused nothing more than a nuisance but, in a world post Monica Seles, it is something that is extremely unwelcomed. While handing out Marathon brickbats, the officials who decided it best for athletes to re-enter the track, and into the path of those yet to finish, to acknowledge the crowd need to reconsider the career choice. I am sure one of the last things someone wants to be doing 41 odd kilometres into a race is getting out of the way of someone waving to the crowd. Let’s hope authorities do a better job at preventing both things happening when the men compete next weekend.

Events to Watch Days 10 & 11

Monday 15 August
10:35pm Women’s 3000m Steeplechase – Madeline Hills and Gen LaCaze contest the final, representing the first time in Olympic history that two Australian’s have done so.
11:00pm Hockeyroos take on New Zealand in the women’s hockey quarter final. Victory gives them two bites at a medal.
11:00pm Anna Meares recommences her defence of her Women’s Sprint Crown.
Tuesday 16 August
02:05am Sailing – Tom Burton, already assured of a medal will be hoping a strong performance in the Laser Medal Race can propel him from his current second position into Gold. Our Men’s and Women’s 470 Crews will also be hoping strong performances can see them into the medal races.
3am Stingers v Hungary in the Women’s Water Polo Quarter Finals. The US most likely awaits the winner in the semi-final. A match up the Aussies would relish being the only team to defeat the world champs this year.

MEDAL TALLY AFTER DAY 9

Country	G	S	B
USA	26	21	22
Great Britain	15	16	7
China	15	13	17
Russia	9	11	10
Germany	8	5	4
Australia	6	7	9

AUSTRALIAN MEDALLISTS

GOLD	SILVER	BRONZE
Mack Horton – 400m Freestyle	Maddi Groves – 200m Butterfly	Men’s Team Archery
Women’s 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay	Women’s 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay	Keeney/Smith – Sync. 3m Springboard
Catherine Skinner – Women’s Trap	Men’s Quadruple Sculls	Men’s 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay
Women’s Rugby	Mitch Larkin – 200m Backstroke	Equestrian Eventing Team
Kyle Chalmers – 100m Freestyle	Men’s Cycling Team Pursuit	Emma McKeon – 200m Freestyle
Kim Brennan – Single Sculls	Men’s Four Rowing	Jessica Fox – K1 Canoe Slalom
	Women’s 4 x 100m Medley Relay	Dane Bird-Smith – 20km Walk
		Anna Meares – Keirin
		Men’s 4 x 100m Medley Relay

AUSTRALIAN RESULTS
Archery
Men’s Individual Round of 16 – Taylor Worth (Aus) def Antonio Fernandez (Esp)
Men’s Individual Quarter Final – Taylor Worth (Aus) def by Bonchan Ku (Kor)
Athletics
Men’s 10,000m – David McNeil 16th, Ben St Lawrence 28th
Men’s 20km Race Walk – Dane Bird-Smith BRONZE, Rydian Cowley 33rd
Men’s 800m Round 1 – Heat 2 – Luke Mathews 7th
Men’s 800m Round 1 – Heat 6 – Jeff Riseley 4th
Men’s 800m Round 1 – Heat 7 – Peter Bol 6th
Men’s Discus Throw Qualifying Round – Group A – Benn Harradine 8th
Men’s Discus Throw Qualifying Round – Group B – Matthew Denny 12th
Men’s High Jump Qualifying Round – Group A – Brandon Starc 5th
Men’s High Jump Qualifying Round – Group B – Joel Baden 20th
Men’s Long Jump Qualifying – Group A – Henry Fayne 5th
Men’s Long Jump Qualifying – Group B – Fabrice Lapierre 3rd
Men’s Long Jump Final – Henry Fayne 5th, Fabrice Lapierre 10th
Men’s Pole Vault Qualifying Round – Group A – Kurtis Marschall 7th
Women’s 10,000m – Eloise Wellings 10th
Women’s 100m Round 1 – Heat 7 – Melissa Breen 7th
Women’s 1500m Round 1 – Heat 1 – Linden Hall 4th
Women’s 1500m Round 1 – Heat 2 – Jenny Blundell 8th
Women’s 1500m Round 1 – Heat 3 – Zoe Buckman 6th
Women’s 1500m – Semi Final 1 – Linden Hall 8th, Zoe Buckman 9th
Women’s 1500m – Semi Final 2 – Jenny Blundell 11th
Women’s 3000m Steeplechase Round 1 – Heat 2 – Madeline Hills 5th, Victoria Mitchell 10th
Women’s 3000m Steeplechase Round 1 – Heat 3 – Genevieve LaCaze 2nd
Women’s 400m Round 1 – Heat 1 – Annelise Rubie 3rd
Women’s 400m Round 1 – Heat 5 – Morgan Mitchell 2nd
Women’s 400m – Semi Final 2 – Morgan Mirchell 8th
Women’s 400m – Semi Final 3 – Annelise Rubie 6th
Women’s Marathon – Milly Clarke 18th, Jess Trengove 22nd, Lisa Weightman 31st
Badminton
Men’s Doubles Group Play Stage – Group A – Australia def by Russia
Men’s Doubles Group Play Stage – Group A – Australia def by Chinese Taipei
Mixed Doubles Group Play Stage – Group C – Australia def by Thailand
Mixed Doubles Group Play Stage – Group C – Australia def by Malaysia
Women’s Singles Group Play – Stage H – Wendy Chen (Aus) def by Kate Fu Kune (Mau)
Basketball
Men’s Preliminary Round – Group A – Boomers def China 93-68
Men’s Preliminary Round – Group A – Boomers def Venezuela 81-56
Women’s Preliminary Round – Group A – Opals def Belarus 74-66
Beach Volleyball
Women’s Round of 16 – Bawden Clancy (Aus) def Kolosinska/Brzostek (Pol)
Women’s Quarter Final – Bawden Clancy (Aus) def by Walsh Jennings/Ross (USA)
Boxing
Men’s 75kg – Preliminaries – Daniel Lewis (Aus) def by Bektemir Melikuziev (Ukr)
Women’s 60kg – Preliminaries – Shelley Watts (Aus) def by Irma Testa (Ita)
Cycling
Men’s Omnium Elimintion Race 3/6 – Glenn O’Shea 10th
Men’s Omnium Individual Pursuit 2/6 – Glenn O’Shea 11th
Men’s Omnium Scratch Race 1/6 – Glenn O’Shea 4th
Men’s Sprint Qualifying – Matt Glaetzer 3rd, Patrick Constable 17th
Men’s Sprint Round of 32 – Heat 2 – Patrick Constable (Aus) def by Callum Skinner (GBR)
Men’s Sprint Round of 32 – Heat 3 – Matt Glaetzer (Aus) def Fabian Puerta Zapata (Col)
Men’s Sprint Round of 32 – Repechage – Heat 2 – Patrick Constable 1st
Men’s Sprint Round of 16 – Heat 2 – Patrick Constable (Aus) def by Callum Skinner (GBR)
Men’s Sprint Round of 16 – Heat 3 – Matt Glaetzer (Aus) def Maximillian Levy (Ger)
Men’s Sprint Round of 16 – Repechage – Heat 2 – Patrick Constable 1st
Men’s Sprint Quarter Finals – Heat 1 – Patrick Constable (Aus) def by Jason Kenny (GBR)
Men’s Sprint Quarter Finals – Heat 3 – Matt Glaetzer (Aus) def Joachim Eilers (Ger)
Men’s Sprint Race for 5th – 8th Place – Patrick Constable 8th
Men’s Sprint Semi Finals – Heat 2 – Matt Glaetzer (Aus) def by Callum Skinner (GBR)
Men’s Sprint Finals – Bronze – Matt Glaetzer (Aus) def by Denis Dmitriev (Rus)
Men’s Team Pursuit First Round – Heat 3 – Australia def Denmark
Men’s team Pursuit Finals – Gold – Australia SILVER def by Great Britain
Women’s Keirin Finals 1-6 – Anna Meares BRONZE
Equestrian – Jumping First Qualifier – Scott Keach 27th, Matthew Williams 53rd, James Paterson-Robinson 53rd
Equestrian – Jumping Team Qualifier – Australia 12th
Football
Women’s Quarter Final – Matildas def by Brazil 0-0 (7-6 on penalites)
Golf
Men’s Individual Stroke Play – Marcus Fraser T5, Scott Hend T39
Gymnastics
Men’s Trampoline Qualification – Blake Gaudry 13th
Hockey
Men’s Preliminary Round – Kookaburras def Brazil 9-0
Men’s Quarter Final – Kookaburras def by Netherlands 0-4
Women’s Preliminary Round – Group B – Hockeyroos def Japan 2-0
Rowing
Men’s Single Sculls Semi Final A/B 1 – Rhys Grant 5th
Men’s Single Sculls Final B – Rhys Grant 3rd
Men’s Four Final – Australia SILVER
Women’s Single Sculls Semi Final A/B 1 – Kim Brennan 1st
Women’s Single Sculls Final – Kim Brennan GOLD
Sailing
Men’s One Person Dinghy – Finn – Races 7-10 – Jake Lilley 3rd, 5th, 23rd, 16th
Men’s One Person Dinghy – Laser Radial Races 7-10 – Tom Burton 7th, 2nd, 11th, 4th
Men’s Skiff – 49er – Races 1-6 – Outteridge/Jenson 13th, 8th, 2nd, 5th, 10th, 13th
Men’s Two Person Dinghy 470 – Races 5-7 – Belcher/Ryan 2nd, 8th, 10th
Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17 – Races 7-12 – Waterhouse/Darminin 15th, 11th, 11th,1st, 12th, 17th
Women’s One Person Dinghy – Laser Radial – Races 7-10 – Ashley Stoddart 23rd, 11th, 7th, 8th
Women’s Two Person Dinghy – 470 – Races 5-7 – Smith/Ryan 7th, 6th, 14th
Shooting
25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men’s Qualification – Stage 2 – David Chapman 26th
50m Rifle 3 Positions Men’s Qualification – Dane Sampson 20th, Will Godward 39th
Swimming
Men’s 1500m Freestyle Final – Mack Horton 5th
Men’s 4 x 100m Medley Relay Final – Australia BRONZE
Women’s 4 x 100m Medley Relay Final – Australia SILVER
Women’s 50m Freestyle Final – Cate Campbell 5th, Bronte Campbell 7th
Syncronised Swimming
Duets Free Routine – Preliminary – Pablo/Stackpole 24th
Table Tennis
Men’s Team Round 1 – Australia def by Hong Kong
Women’s Team Round 1 – Australia def by China
Water Polo
Men’s Preliminary Round – Group A – Sharks def by Serbia 8-10
Men’s Preliminary Round – Group A – Sharks def Greece 12-7
Women’s Preliminary Round – Group A – Stingers def Brazil 10-3
Weightlifting
Men’s 94kg – Group B – Simplice Ribouem 5th