Boomers, Kookaburras, Lacaze, sailors hold out hopes at Rio Olympics
BRISBANE athletes will continue to fight for medals when the Rio Olympics continues overnight. Take a look below to find our when your local athlete is competing.
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BRISBANE athletes will continue to fight for medals when the Rio Olympics continues overnight.
Take a look below to find our when your local athlete is competing and who stands in their way of medal glory.
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SAILING — 2.05am
GOLD medal hopefuls Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan will hope to close the gap on current 470 class leaders Croatia tomorrow morning.
The Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron members, who are aiming to defend Australia’s title from London in 2012, sit three points behind Croatia after four races. Race five and six will be from 2.05-4.20am.
Fellow RQYS member Jaime Ryan and sailing partner Carrie Smith sit 13th overall and will compete from 2.15-4.20am tomorrow morning in the women’s 470 class.
Bulimba resident and RQYS sailor Jake Lilley has a rest day and sits sixth overall in the men’s finn class.
SWIMMING — 2.35am
CATE and Bronte Campbell will begin their quests for redemption in the heats of the women’s 50m freestyle early on Saturday morning (AEST).
After finishing out of the medals in the 100m event they were expected to dominate, the Commercial Swim Club siblings will be desperate to make amends in the 50m dash.
Cate, who boasts the fastest time this year and second-quickest of all time after posting 23.84 at nationals in April, will swim heat 11 at 2.32am, before Bronte hits the water in heat 12 at 2.35am.
Should they progress as expected, they will line up in the semi finals beginning at 11.59am.
The all-Queensland team of Emily Seebohm (backstroke), Emma McKeon (butterfly), Taylor McKeown (breaststroke) and Cate Campbell (freestyle) is expected to push strongly for gold in the women’s 4x100m medley relay, which begins with heats on Saturday morning.
Australia will start from lane 3 in heat 2 at 4.38am, but the make-up of the heat team may differ from the full-strength line-up for Sunday morning’s final.
The men’s 4x100m medley relay team, including St Peters Western Swim Club backstroker Mitch Larkin, will swim heat 1 at 4.48am.
The 23-year-old will be joined in the team by David Morgan (butterfly), Jake Packard (breaststroke) and newly-crowned gold medallist Kyle Chalmers (freestyle).
After waiting all week for his time to shine, Games debutant and Nudgee College product Jack McLoughlin will swim in heat 6 of the men’s 1500m freestyle at 4.10am.
AUSTRALIAN BOOMERS — 3.15am
THE Boomers will look to bounce back from a loss to Team USA when they face China tomorrow morning.
Australia has been one of the standouts of the men’s basketball competition in Rio and pushed the world’s best team all the way in their last match but must return to the winner’s list in the morning if they want to finish second in Group A.
China have struggled during the tournament but still pose a threat to the Boomers with several NBA prospects on their roster.
If Australia can build a lead early, expect coach Andrej lemanis to rest his starters and share the court time around.
ATHLETICS — 3.30am
Race walker Dane Bird-Smith is tracing in his father’s footsteps to Olympic glory.
The 24-year-old Taringa resident will make his Olympic debut in Rio on Saturday, August 13, at 3.30am in the 20km race walk.
Bird-Smith’s father and coach Dave Smith competed at the 1980 and 1984 Games.
“It’s been a dream to go to the Olympics for as long as I can remember growing up around dad,” Bird-Smith, who went to Rainworth State School, St Peter’s Lutheran College and Indooroopilly State High, said.
“I never really chose race walking, it just happened along the way at high school.
“The Olympics is the pinnacle of our sport, it’s more than just the last four years. It’s a whole lifetime of sacrifices and challenges.”
Smith said his son, the University of Queensland’s Sportsman of the Year, was “realistically looking at top five (finish) or a medal in Rio”.
DIVING — 4.30am
Olympic bronze medal winning diver Maddison Keeney will compete in her second event at the Rio Olympic Games — the 3m springboard — on Saturday, August 13, at 4.30am.
The 20-year-old University of Queensland student debuted at the Olympics on Monday and came from behind to claim bronze in the women’s synchronised 3m springboard with Annabelle Smith.
It is a big win for Keeney, who was based at Chandler, who famously baulked on the board in the 1m springboard event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, costing her gold.
Keeney won silver and claimed a bronze in the 3m synchronised springboard alongside Smith.
CYCLING — 5.52am
AUSTRALIA was the third fastest qualifier in the 4000m track cycling team pursuit on Friday morning (Brisbane time), behind Great Britain and Denmark.
Brookfield’s Michael Hepburn is part of the quartet who completed the 4km event in less than four minutes, with a time of 3.55.60.
The Aussie men will now compete in the third heat on Saturday morning against second-placed Denmark (3.55.39) for a chance at a medal race.
The heats start at 5.52am (Brisbane time) with Germany and Switzerland; followed by Italy and China and then Australia and Denmark about 6.04am. Great Britain and New Zealand with contend the final heat.
Hepburn, 24, was part of Australia’s silver medal winning team at the London Olympics in 2012 along with current teammate Bobridge, and will be hoping to improve on that result in Rio.
HOCKEY — 9.30am
THE Kookaburras will be looking to make a statement ahead of the quarter finals when they meet a Brazilian side that is expected to provide few troubles in Saturday morning’s final pool game.
The world’s no. 1 ranked men’s team, Australia has been inconsistent at best as it chases its first Olympic gold since 2004.
Losses to Spain and Belgium have been bookended by unconvincing victories over New Zealand and Great Britain, but they will have a chance to build confidence and combinations against Brazil.
Victory in the 9.30am battle would secure the top-four finish needed to progress to the quarter finals, beginning at 11pm on Sunday.
“Relieved is the big feeling,” coach Graham Reid said after the win over Great Britain.
“We still need to work on our (penalty corner attack), we still need to put the ball in the net and create some better opportunities. With teams crowding the circles, it’s a lot harder to penetrate these days.”
ATHLETICS — 11.05pm
Genevieve LaCaze has been in fine form leading into the Rio Olympic Games.
The former John Paul College student, 27, qualified for the 3000m steeplechase in March and has since become the third fastest ever Australian in the steeplechase.
LaCaze will line up for the 3000m steeplechase on August 13 at 11.05pm.
LaCaze, who placed 22nd in the event at the London Olympic Games in 2012, will also compete in the 5000m steeplechase on August 16 at 10.30pm.
The young gun, coached by Nic Bideau, started her athletics career at the University of Florida in America in 2008 on a scholarship, where she studied a Bachelor of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology.
LaCaze, formally of Fairfield, became an internet sensation at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, where she finished fifth, when she jumped on stage with Kylie Minogue at the closing ceremony.
SOCCER — 11.10am
A REPEAT of the 2015 Women’s World Cup will be on the minds of the Matildas when they take on Brazil in the women’s soccer quarterfinals.
Australia shocked the world when they downed Brazil 1-0 at the tournament in Canada last year and will hope to repeat that result as they aim for a maiden Olympic medal.
The Matildas overcame a rough start against Canada and Germany to slot six goals past Zimbabwe in their third group game in a positive sign, with Lisa De Vanna, Clare Polkinghorne, Alanna Kennedy, Kyah Simon and Michelle Heyman (two goals) all finding the back of the net before Zimbabwe conjured a late consolation goal.
Kick-off is at 11.10am Saturday.
MEN’S WATER POLO — 11.10am
THE Aussie Sharks can take another step towards their first Olympic men’s water polo medal when they battle Serbia on Saturday.
An 8-6 victory over Japan was just the tonic the Australians needed after a loss and a draw to start their tournament, and they can edge closer to a position in the last eight by triumphing against the Serbians on Saturday at 11.10am.
They are currently equal third in their group with Hungary on three points, while Serbia lurk dangerously on two points in fifth. With only the top four teams in each group progressing to the quarterfinals, a win would put the Sharks in a strong position to qualify while a loss could well send them packing.
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