A golden start to the Australian Olympic campaign has the hopes of everyone back home soaring. Victories in the swimming and the cycling gave us a taste of gold, but now we want more.
Day One now in the books, attention quickly turns to the big moments for Australia on offer tonight. And they come thick and fast again just like yesterday.
Flagbearer Fox in the box seat to take another Olympic title
Jessica Fox got her Olympic campaign underway less than a day after carrying the Australian flag for the Opening Ceremony when she took on the whitewater at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in the heats of the women’s kayak slalom.
After producing two strong runs in Heat 1 and 2 on Day One, the four-time Olympic medallist sits as the number one ranked qualifier heading into the semi-final run tonight. There will only be a short turn-around before the final run where the top-10 ranked canoeists from the semi-final will battle it out for gold. All eyes will be on Fox as she aims for her second gold medal at an Olympic Games after her triumph in Tokyo in the canoe slalom competition. She claimed bronze in the kayak event three years ago, and the greatest paddler of all time seems ready to add another trophy to her cabinet.
Semi Final run starts at 11:30pm. Final from 1:45am.
Another chapter in the storied book of Emma McKeon beckons
After becoming Australia’s most successful athlete ever last night with her sixth gold medal, Emma McKeon has the opportunity to build on her legacy in the 100m butterfly final. In what will be the final individual event of her Olympic career, McKeon faces a tough task. Qualifying sixth fastest in the semi finals, the Aussie will be faced with the might of the US duo Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske as well as China’s 2020 silver medallist Zhang Yufei.
The medal chances from Day One in the pool aren’t quite matched on the second day. Just two medal events will be contested, but we’ll get our first look at the next installation of Mollie v Arnie in the 200m freestyle as the heats and semi finals play out. O’Callaghan and Titmus are a second ahead of everyone else this year, so expect them to breeze into the final together.
Heats from 7pm. Finals from 4:30am.
Tillies look to bounce back against Zambia
A tough 3-nil loss against Germany on Friday morning put a significant dampener on the Matildas' chances to progress out of the group stage, but one thing that this women’s soccer team never does, is give up. A chance to bounce back against Zambia, who faced an identical scoreline at the hands of the USA, presents itself to Tony Gustavsson’s squad.
Expect Mary Fowler to show her class after an unusually quiet game against the Germans, and the customary grit and determination will be on show as the girls fight to stay in the tournament.
Event starts at 3am.
A big night for the Aussie girls
After last night’s barrage of men’s events in hockey, basketball and rugby sevens, tonight it’s the women’s turn.
The highly touted women’s sevens side get their campaign underway against South Africa. Buoyed by winning the World Seven Series in May, the girls will also play Great Britain in the early hours of the morning as the Charlotte Caslick-led side aims to better their fifth-place finish from Tokyo three years ago.
The women’s hockey team also finds themselves in an opener against the South Africans. After a tumultuous build-up centred around some shock omissions, the Hockeyroos will be hoping that a match-up against an opponent ranked 13 spots behind them on the world rankings gives the team an opportunity to settle in.
A similar group stage performance to that in Tokyo where the team only conceded one gold would be welcomed by the group, but they’ll be keenly focused on avoiding a slip-up like the one in Tokyo.
Don’t forget about the skateboarding either. The postponement of the men’s street event yesterday due to unsafe weather conditions opens the door for youngster Chloe Covell to strut her stuff and claim one of the first podium spots for skateboarding at these Olympics. If she manages gold, she’ll become the youngest Australian to ever achieve that feat, at just 14 years and six months.
The women’s rugby sevens play SA at 12am. They also play GB at 3:30am.
The women’s hockey team kicks off at 8:45pm.
Women’s street skateboarding prelims start at 10pm. The final gets underway at 1am.
Other key things to watch:
- Men’s water polo team the Sharks take on Spain in their opening fixture. Match starts at 6:30pm.
- Australia’s number one tennis player Alex de Minaur hits the court at Roland Garros. Tennis begins at 8pm, de Minaur will play in the second game.
- Our quartet of surfers hit the water for Round Two in Teahupo’o. Women’s Round Two from 3am. Men’s Round Two from 8am.
All times in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST).
Photo can be found here, used with Creative Commons licence.
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