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A recap of all the action from Day 13 of the Rio Olympics

USAIN Bolt won gold in the 200m final but he wasn’t entirely happy, and it wasn’t long before he took it out on his rivals.

James Matthey and Jai Bednall
15 min read
August 19, 2016 - 5:40PM
Bolt is the king.
Bolt is the king.

Live: Day 13 of the Rio Olympics

It’s been another memorable day at the Rio Olympics. Usain Bolt stole the show by winning gold in the 200m final, adding another achievement to his incredible resume. It was a positive day for Australia too. Sailors Mat Belcher and Will Ryan picked up silver in the men’s 470 class, and Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen managed the same placing in the 49ers class. Runner Ryan Gregson came fourth in his semi of the 1500m to book a place in the final, but unfortunately diver Melissa Wu missed out on a medal in the women’s 10m platform event.

1.50pm

Brazil wins gold

Pandemonium erupted at Copacabana beach when Brazil’s men’s beach volleyball team won gold.

The pairing of Bruno Schmidt and Alison Cerutti beat the Italians in straight sets 21-19 21-17 to send the home crowd wild.

Even as rain fell under the Rio moonlight, the raucous supporters couldn’t be silenced. There was a sheer outpouring of emotion from the Brazilian players after they sealed the win, both men running into the crowd with tears streaming down their faces.

It was a moment that won’t be forgotten anytime soon, and gave the host country its fourth gold medal of the Games.

11.40am

Bolt wins gold then sledges rivals

An all-time great.
An all-time great.

Usain Bolt, you are a freak.

The Jamaican won gold in the men’s 200m final, beating his rivals with a time of 19.78 seconds.

It’s his third Olympic gold medal in the event, further reinforcing his status as one of the greatest athletes we’ve ever seen.

It’s also his second gold of the Rio Games to go with his victory in the 100m earlier in the week.

Canada’s Andre De Grasse (20.02s) was second, France’s Christophe Lemaitre (20.12s) won bronze.

Despite his incredible feat, Bolt looked less than impressed after he crossed the line well ahead of his competitors.

That was probably because he wasn’t able to break his own world record of 19.19 seconds — a mark he was hoping to reset here in Brazil.

His anger at not being able to achieve that goal was laid squarely at the feet of his rivals. Bolt blamed the rest of the field for not pushing him hard enough, saying it was their fault he couldn’t have a crack at setting a new world record.

After saying De Grasse running too fast in their 200m semi-final was “not cool”, his latest sledge proves Bolt has the sharpest tongue in athletics to go with the quickest legs.

Ironically, by his logic, the very reason he was upset with De Grasse on Thursday (AEST) was the very thing he desperately craved in the final, prompting the sledge.

Speaking to Channel 7’s Pat Welsh after the race, Bolt admitted his race was tinged with sadness, knowing it was probably the last time he’d ever run the event at an Olympics, but was still proud of what he’d accomplished.

“I really wanted to race faster, but I came out here to win and that’s the first thing. I’m happy about that,” Bolt said.

“Just coming back from injury and staying focused, I think that’s been the hardest part and I’ve got it done so I’m proud of that.

“I keep telling these young ones, ‘I’ll never let you guys beat me, it’s never going to happen.’

“I’m getting older, I’m slowing down, that’s why I need to get out of the sport.”

Bolt salutes the crowd.
Bolt salutes the crowd.

Bolt has never lacked ambition, and he said he was motivated to keep reaching new heights so he would one day be ranked among sport’s biggest names.

“I have proven to the world over and over again that I am the greatest. That is all I can do,” he said.

“I am trying to be one of the greatest. Be among Ali and Pele.

“I hope after these Games I will be in that bracket.”

Bolt may have thrown shade on those running alongside him, but his competitors acknowledged his greatness.

“If his time is up, a new person has to come in,” said De Grasse. “I have to bring my A game.

“It has been an honour being part of history, with what he has accomplished.”

The 29-year-old is hoping to pull off the “triple triple”. He won individual gold in the 100m and 200m in Beijing and London, and was a member of Jamaica’s victorious 4x100m relay team at both those Olympics, giving him six golds from two Games.

Gold in the 200m in Rio has kept that dream alive, and with the relay to come this weekend, we could be bowing down to him yet again before the Games are over.

11.20am

Mitchell misses out on a medal

Australian javelin thrower Kathryn Mitchell has finished sixth in the women’s javelin final.

Her final throw of 63.02m was her best, but it wasn’t enough to get her on the podium.

11am

Bolt prepares for yet another gold

Can Bolt add to his golden haul?
Can Bolt add to his golden haul?

Everyone’s got Usain Bolt fever as he prepares to secure his second gold medal of the Games in the men’s 200m final.

He already won gold in the 100m earlier in the week, beating American rival Justin Gatlin. He won’t have to contend with Gatlin this time around though as a poor semi-final run saw him fail to qualify for the final.

Bolt was pushed all the way in his 200m semi by Canadian Andre De Grasse, and he had to strain to pip him at the line. Usually Bolt steps off the gas well before the finish in anything other than a final, and he was angry De Grasse hadn’t allowed him to do that this time, saying: “It’s not cool.”

The race is scheduled to start at 11.30am AEST.

The whole world expects him to win, so the real interest lies in whether he will be able to break a world record. However, it’s raining in Rio at the moment, which could ruin any hopes Bolt has of running faster than ever before.

All eyes will be on the most popular athlete in Rio when he steps onto the track, and Channel 7 presenters and commentators have been buying into the hype.

The 29-year-old is hoping to pull off the “triple triple” in Brazil. He won individual gold in the 100m and 200m in Beijing and London, and was a member of Jamaica’s victorious 4x100m relay team at both those Olympics, giving him six golds from two Games.

With the relay to come on the weekend, he needs gold in the 200m to keep that dream alive.

10.30am

Birkinhead finishes 10th

Aussie Damien Birkinhead has finished 10th in the final of the men’s shot put.

His best of 20.45m from his first three throws wasn’t enough to secure him a spot in the final eight so he bowed out early of the 12-man field.

The USA’s Ryan Crouser won gold.

10.25am

Punters get behind Chiller

Chiller hasn’t won too many friends.
Chiller hasn’t won too many friends.

Kitty Chiller has split public opinion more than any Aussie athlete has at these Olympic Games.

From her slanging match with Nick Kyrgios to barring two Aussie swimmers from attending the closing ceremony because they broke team curfew, Australia’s chef de mission hasn’t always endeared herself to Aussie sports fans.

Some think she’s got far too involved and is more concerned with boosting her own profile, while others think she’s perfectly entitled to speak out given it’s her responsibility to ensure Australia’s Olympics campaign runs smoothly.

Then there are the seven Aussies who think she might take self-promotion to a whole new level and carry the flag at the closing ceremony.

They’ve placed bets with Sportsbet for that to happen, with Chiller paying $101. One punter was confident enough to lay out $25.

“Quite clearly, we put Kitty Chiller in the market as a bit of a laugh and we were surprised as anyone to see seven bets roll in on her to be the flag bearer,” said sportsbet.com.au’s Christian Jantzen.

Gold medal-winning rower Kim Brennan is favourite at $1.40. Swimmer Kyle Chalmers and sailor Tom Burton are the next best bets.

10am

Gregson books a final berth

We’ll see Gregson in the final.
We’ll see Gregson in the final.

Australia’s Ryan Gregson ran a gun last lap to book a spot in the final of the 1500m.

He became the first Australian in 40 years to do so after finishing fourth.

“I’m just patient, I’m telling you,” he told Channel 7’s Pat Welsh.

“Like a Melbourne Cup jockey, I stayed patient, then waited for the straight.

“That’s a huge achievement what I did then, I realise that. If I retired tomorrow, that would be a great career.

“The few people who’ve been in my corner, who have been there for the last six years, they’re very special people and I wouldn’t be here without them.”

One of those people is his girlfriend Genevieve LaCaze, who is also an Australian long distance runner.

“She gave me a kiss in the call room before and said, ‘Make sure your Olympics doesn’t finish before mine finishes.’ I have to go to Saturday because she finishes on Friday night.”

9.10am

Aussie’s embarrassing javelin moment

Dubler’s seen better days.
Dubler’s seen better days.

Cedric Dubler had to apologise to nearby photographers after completely botching an attempted javelin throw in the decathlon.

The Aussie lost control of his javelin and threw it sideways instead of straight ahead. As soon as he let go, nearby photographers hit the deck.

“He nearly took out some cameramen here, I’m not even joking,” said Olympic gold medallist Steve Hooker.

“You can see there in the background a few cameramen are congratulating each other on still being alive.”

“That was a dangerous moment and an interesting moment in this competition,” added another Channel 7 commentator.

“It didn’t go flat and hard but it did go sideways, and that caused everyone to hit the deck.”

Dubler looked distraught after his error.

Things didn’t get any better as the competition progressed. His third throw only travelled 42.82m because once again nerves got the better of him and he ended up throwing the javelin so it was virtually completely vertical in the air — not exactly advised by the javelin textbook.

Dubler was left standing at the end of the runway, hands on hips. The look on his face when he eventually turned around made the infamous “crying Jordan” photo that has become an internet meme sensation look positively thrilled.

“He’s pretty disappointed with himself here, he lost his composure through that second round and he wasn’t able to get it back together,” Hooker said.

“You can see this go almost entirely vertical.”

8am

China loses out in bizarre relay events

The Americans ran all on their lonesome.
The Americans ran all on their lonesome.

The US women’s 4x100m relay team had a second bite at the cherry when it came to qualifying for the Olympic final, and they made the most of it.

They successfully launched a protest to have another crack at running because they believed Allyson Felix lost her balance after being bumped by a Brazilian runner in their heat, causing her to drop the baton and scupper any hopes of finishing with a decent time.

So just after 8am (AEST), the Rio athletics stadium witnessed one of the more bizarre events it will see this Olympics. Running only against the clock without any other teams on the track, the four-woman team made amends for their earlier blunder.

Their new time of 41.77 seconds saw them qualify fastest, two hundredths of a second ahead of Jamaica.

“It was weird but a lot of fun. Glad we got the chance to run a race tonight,” said America’s English Gardner.

Channel 7 commentator Bruce McAvaney said that saw China — who had initially qualified for the final — relegated from the field, while Canada would retain their place.

“You’ve got to feel for China,” McAvaney said.

That in itself made the whole situation even stranger because Canada and China both posted the exact same times in their heats.

That saw officials take the countries’ times out to thousandths of a second, and Canada was proved to be slightly quicker.

7.45am

Argentina wins gold in men’s hockey

Argentina beat Belgium 4-2 to win gold in the men’s hockey.

Leading 3-2 late in the final quarter, the Belgiums were pushing everyone up in an effort to force an equaliser. That made it easy for the Argentinians to slot the ball into an open net on the break with less a minute remaining to secure the win.

7.30am

Sailors’ bizarre request of Nicole Kidman

Our sailors must really love Nicole Kidman.

Australians in the 470 class have a history of naming their boats after films the Aussie actress has starred in, and Rio was no different.

Mat Belcher and Will Ryan won silver in their vessel Room to Move, named after the 1987 flick where Kidman plays an elite runner whose priorities in life start to change.

Speaking on Channel 7’s Sunrise on Friday, Belcher had a request for the 49-year-old.

“I haven’t received one (a text message from Kidman), but I would like one,” he said.

“The tradition actually started 12 or 14 years ago and it’s worked well for us.

“We’re encouraging her to make a few more (films) because we need more boats.”

7.15am

Ireland finds a hero, hurdler breaks down

Culson’s dream was shattered.
Culson’s dream was shattered.

Thomas Barr just missed out on a medal, but he made the whole of Ireland proud.

He was desperately unlucky to come fourth in the men’s 400m hurdles final with a blistering time of 47.97 seconds. The same time would have won him bronze in 2012 and silver in the two Games before that, but it wasn’t enough to pip a quality field in Rio.

Still, he was thrilled he’d managed to run a sub-48 race and set an Irish national record in the process.

“It’s insane, I never thought I’d see the day. It’s unbelievable,” Barr said afterwards.

“Adrenaline just took over in the race … I kicked like an absolute animal in the last 80m but it wasn’t enough, I just fell short.

“Fourth is the worst place to come!”

Before the race, he changed his Twitter bio to “BRB (be right back) ... Gone doing something to try make this bio more impressive.”

In the same race, Puerto Rico’s Javier Culson was inconsolable after being disqualified for a false start. Down on his haunches on the track, he put his hands to his face and sobbed.

“He looks so upset, it’s horrible scenes to watch this,” said Channel 7 commentator Tamsyn Manou.

“It’s awful. It’s been a contentious issue the one break rule, he’ll never forget this for the rest of his life.”

6.30am

‘I’ve been going through hell’

There were emotional scenes at the end of the race.
There were emotional scenes at the end of the race.

Great Britain had every reason to celebrate after the men’s triathlon as brothers Alistair and Jonny Brownlee crossed the line in first and second.

Alistair defended the Olympic crown he won in London, getting away from Jonny roughly halfway through the final leg — the 10km run, but was in serious danger of getting hauled in near the finish. He ended up winning by six seconds.

As both men collapsed, exhausted, after crossing the finish line, they congratulated each other in emotional scenes — shown in the photo above.

The gruelling event consisted of a 40km bike ride and 1500m open water swim before the running leg.

Speaking after the event, Alistair spoke of how his brother had pushed him to new heights.

“I was pretty confident we would get first and second but I didn’t know which way round it would be,” he said.

“I just had the edge on Jonny but he has killed me in training and I have been going through hell. It has been so hard. I have woken up in pain every day.

“The swim wasn’t that quick but we knew the first two laps on the bike would be crucial. The last few weeks we have been training to commit and, boy, we did.”

6.15am

Wu misses a medal

Wu finished just off the pace.
Wu finished just off the pace.

Australia’s Melissa Wu has missed out on a medal in the women’s 10m platform diving event.

The 24-year-old finished fifth with a score of 368.30.

China’s Ren Qian took the gold with a score of 439.25 and compatriot Si Yajie won silver.

Canada’s Meaghan Benfeito rounded out the podium.

5.45am

Spain, USA progress to women’s basketball final

Spain booked its spot in the women’s basketball final with a win over Serbia in the first semi-final.

They beat the Serbs 68-54 on Friday morning (AEST) to progress to the gold medal match.

They will face the USA, who beat France in their semi later in the day.

5.20am

Bolt’s final Gatlin sledge

Bolt usually has the last laugh.
Bolt usually has the last laugh.

Usain Bolt was brutally honest after American rival Justin Gatlin failed to join him in the final of the 200m.

“Everybody’s in shock,” Bolt told BBC Radio 5 Live of Gatlin after the Jamaican advanced with the top time in Wednesday’s semi-finals. “You can tell from the 100m he’s getting old. It’s a fact the older you get, the rougher it gets to double.”

Bolt, who admitted he was likely to only attempt the 100m at next year’s world championships as age catches up with him too, is targeting a world record in today’s 200m final.

“I definitely think I can try for the world record,” said the sprinter, whose current record in the 200m stands at 19.19 seconds. “But now, it’s executing right, running the corner efficiently and coming in the straight and running the perfect race.”

The race starts at 11.30pm AEST.

5.15am

Next big thing left in tears

Tough to handle.
Tough to handle.

A gold medal while in high school followed by a world championships final meant Eleanor Patterson was pegged as Australia’s next big thing.

That assessment took a hit in Rio today with the 20-year-old high-jumper failing to get out of the qualifying round.

A shattered Patterson was in tears after missing on her third attempt at 1.92m which ended her Olympic dream.

“I’m very disappointed,” she said.

“I just couldn’t pull it together, I was feeling really good, jumping really well and then I hit that 92 and I couldn’t put it together.”

— Scott Gullan

5.15am

US women avoid disaster, just

Uh oh.
Uh oh.

The United States women’s 4x100m relay team has been given a second chance to defend its Olympic gold medal after winning a protest on a controversial, botched baton drop.

The US team will now have a dramatic solo race against the clock to qualify for the final when the track and field events resume later this morning.

With no other teams on the track, they need to post a time better than China’s time of 42.70 seconds to gain a spot for tomorrow’s final.

Allyson Felix lost her balance after being bumped by a Brazilian runner and failed to pass the baton cleanly to English Gardner.

“I got bumped coming into the exchange zone and it completely threw me off balance,” said Felix.

“I tried to hold it together to get to English. Maybe if I had one more step I could’ve, but I was falling.”

— AP

5.10am

Silver sailors boost tally

It’s not just the winners who are grinners.
It’s not just the winners who are grinners.

Australia’s sailing team claimed its third and fourth medals of the games on a silver-tinted day on the water.

Mat Belcher and Will Ryan were unable to reel in gold medallists Croatia in the men’s 470 class but held off Greece in dramatic circumstances.

Ryan needed to be pulled back into his boat by crew mate Belcher, to avoid falling into the water at one point.

Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen followed that with another silver in the 49ers class.

The success came after Tom Burton’s gold in the Laser and cousins Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin’s silver in the Nacra 17-mixed.

5am

BMX riders on fire

Sam Willoughby’s form has been irresistible.
Sam Willoughby’s form has been irresistible.

Australians Sam Willoughby and Anthony Dean have made it through to tomorrow’s BMX semi finals in Rio after dominant performances in their quarter-final heats.

Willoughby won all three heats while Dean finished 2nd, 1st and 1st in his.

The news wasn’t as great for youngster Bodi Turner who was off the pace finishing 6th, 8th and 4th meaning he won’t progress.

On a day of drama, both world champion Joris Daudet of France and two-time defending Olympic champion Maris Strombergs from Latvia were eliminated.

Lauren Reynolds and Caroline Buchanan have already made it to tomorrow’s semi-finals.

— Reece Homfray

5am

Wallace, Tame take bronze

Take a bow, boys.
Take a bow, boys.

Ken Wallace can enter the history books and become Australia’s greatest-ever kayaker after combining with Lachlan Tame to claim bronze in the K2-1000m sprint final in Rio.

The Australian duo were courageous in defeat, climbing off the canvas from fourth position at the 700m before finishing third on the flat water of the spectacular Lagoa Stadium.

World champions Germany won gold, with world number three Serbia claiming silver.

Having won gold and bronze kayak medals in Beijing, Wallace’s bronze sees him equal with kayak champion Clint Robinson, who also has three Olympic medals including a gold, silver and bronze.

Wallace is striving to become the first Australian to win two Olympic kayak gold medals.

He will get that a final chance to achieve the feat and also the opportunity to take his tally to an unprecedented four medals when he joins Australia’s K4-1000m crew — the current Olympic champions — from tomorrow.

— David Riccio

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