How about that? The most successful first day for Australia in Olympic history.
The first medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games for Australia was gold, but it was just
the start of a super opening night.
Three golds and two silvers have Australia perched at the top of the medal tally, and
the pool was a happy hunting ground for our Dolphins once more. Here’s what you
may have missed from the overnight action.
Grace Brown conquers the streets to claim gold
No one could wipe the smile off the newest women’s time trial Olympic champion. Victorian Grace Brown stormed to a dominant win on the historic streets of France,
making poor cycling conditions and slippery cobblestone look easy on her way to a
victory. A 90-second advantage over the next best competitor showed clearly that
she was in a class of her own.
Throwing down an almighty pace from the beginning, Brown kept her balance as
others around her, including fellow gold medal hopeful Chloe Dygert (USA), fell. She
is the first Australian to win the time trial at the games, and will bow out of her
Olympic career at the absolute peak.
McKeon passes Thorpe, Titmus defends title
After winning the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay, Emma McKeon’s sixth Olympic
gold has her outright first in gold medals for Australia. The foursome of Mollie
O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, McKeon and Meg Harris went in as heavy favourites but
had to work hard to stave off the Americans and the Chinese. This year’s triumph
makes it four in a row in the event, dating back to the London 2012 Games.
Earlier in the morning, Aussies were treated to an Ariarne Titmus show, taking down
Canada’s Summer McIntosh and American superstar Katie Ledecky in the women’s
400m freestyle. The ‘Race of the Century’ didn’t quite live up to the hype as
McIntosh and Titmus worked their way clear of Ledecky early, but no one was
complaining as 'Arnie' led the field home in the last 50m.
Silver medals to Elijah Winnington (men’s 400m freestyle) and the men’s 4x100m
freestyle relay team – anchored strongly by the ever-reliant Kyle Chalmers –
rounded out a superb night for the Dolphins.
Boomers, Kookaburras work hard for victories
Two of Australia’s strongest teams got off to strong starts in their Olympic
campaigns. Over 200km removed from the main festivities, the men’s basketball
squad had their own party after knocking off Spain 92-80 in Lille.
Stellar performances from guard Josh Giddey and big man Jock Landale set the
Boomers up, but it was the important contribution of NBL Finals MVP Jack McVeigh
that lifted the team in the late stages.
Back in Paris, Blake Govers’ strike right on half time was the difference between
Australia and Argentina in a hard-fought battle. Chances didn’t flow for either team
but the Kookaburras held ascendency for most of the match without it showing on
the scoreboard.
Defending valiantly and successfully against a late penalty corner put the game to bed for the Kookaburras and Colin Batch’s men will be happy to make it one from one as they eye off a blockbuster against reigning champions Belgium.
Heartbreak for Aussie diving duo
Maddison Keeney and Anabelle Smith fell agonisingly short of a podium finish in the
women’s synchronised 3m springboard competition. The pair entered the final round
in third position, narrowly behind the Americans following a quartet of strong dives.
Needing to score more than 71 points on the final dive to claim silver and 10 points
less for bronze, the Rio 2016 bronze medallists weren’t able to execute their forward-
2 ½-somersaults-1-twist dive, ultimately finishing in fifth position.
Sevens team falls just short of the podium
Back-to-back losses to Fiji and South Africa spoiled the chances of a medal for the
Aussies despite a super effort in the bronze medal match. Captain Nick Malouf was
sent off for a dangerous hit early in the second half and it looked like that would end
the team’s run.
But consecutive tries tied the game at 19-a-piece as the game headed towards the
final siren. In the final play of the game, South Africa crossed for the bronze-medal
sealing try, relegating Australia to fourth place.
All times in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST).
Photo can be found here, used with Creative Commons licence.
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