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Full coverage of Day Six of the Rio Olympics

CATE Campbell failed to medal despite being the hot favourite in the 100m freestyle final. Her response was heartbreaking.

James Matthey and Jai Bednall
15 min read
August 12, 2016 - 2:12PM
A team of champions and a champion team.
A team of champions and a champion team.

Live: Day Six of the Rio Olympics

It’s been another big day for the Aussies at the Rio Olympics. Sisters Cate and Bronte Campbell unfortunately missed out on a medal in the 100m freestyle final, but Mitch Larkin managed to win silver in the 200m backstroke

Overnight our men’s quad sculls team took silver in the rowing, while Jess Fox claimed bronze in the women’s K1 canoe slalom event.

Fiji won its first ever Olympic medal in the Rugby Sevens, and the Opals pulled off an epic comeback win over Japan in the basketball.

1.45pm

‘I PRAYED FOR A DEAD HEAT’

Cate and Bronte Campbell’s dad Eric only wanted the best for his daughters, but he got his lines of communication mixed up when asking for some help from the man upstairs.

The Almighty obviously misheard Eric, who prayed for a dead heat between the sisters.

He told SBS: “I prayed for a dead heat — and it was — it just wasn’t Cate and Bronte.”

Now, Simone Manuel and Penny Olesiak (the American and Canadian who tied for first) aren’t exactly names that rhyme with Cate and Bronte, so maybe God just wanted to mess with the Campbell family.

Come on man (we can call you that, can’t we?), was an Aussie one-two finish too much to ask for?

12.30pm

‘PLEASE STILL LOVE ME BACK’

Heartbreak for the siblings.
Heartbreak for the siblings.

Well that was unexpected.

Cate Campbell went into the 100m freestyle final as the hot favourite but finished sixth. Sister Bronte was fourth.

At the turn, they sat first and second. Their dream quickly turned into a nightmare.

America’s Simone Manuel and Canada’s Penny Olesiak tied for gold in a dead heat. Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom was next to touch the wall.

“Well that (the last 25m) hurt but not as much as this is hurting right now,” Cate said. “I’ve still got the 50 to go. I’ve always said I didn’t need a gold medal to have self worth and that’s being put to the test at the moment.”

When asked if she had a message for her supporters back home, Cate thanked them then finished with: “I love you, this doesn’t change how you should feel about me, so please still love me back.”

We’re not entirely sure she was joking, but we hope she was.

Bronte did well to hide her disappointment.

“That was great. It’s an Olympic final. I said to my coach before I left I’ve already won, I get to swim in an Olympic final with my sister,” she said.

“It’s not about winning, it’s about trying to win. I think that’s really important.

“We both tried our best, I have no regrets ... I don’t think either of us have anything to be ashamed of.”

The pair delivered Australia a gold medal earlier in the week, both swimming fantastic legs in the 4x100m freestyle relay final. It was that sort of form that had everyone pencilling them in for medals in the individual event.

But as happens so often in the Olympics, things don’t always go to plan. Well, they did for Manuel and Olesiak, but not for the Campbells.

Cate is a notoriously slow starter, but her form off the blocks in the final was more sluggish than usual. She appeared to baulk before diving in last.

Despite that she still managed to lead the way after 50m, Bronte not far behind. That’s where the good news ended.

12.15pm

PHELPS WIN GOLD #22

Phelps does things you didn’t think possible.
Phelps does things you didn’t think possible.

Michael Phelps, you are a freak. The American won gold in the 200m individual medley.

He pulled off remarkable breaststroke and freestyle legs to leave teammate and world record holder Ryan Lochte — who had stayed with him throughout the first 100m — in his wake.

It was simply incredible to watch him surge ahead in the final stages.

“I cannot believe the last 15 of the breaststroke leg, the turn and the 50m of freestyle,” commentator Giaan Rooney said.

“It almost seems wrong. He’s 31.

“But he just found another level. Daylight second, Michael Phelps first.”

It was his fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in the event, giving him another piece of history.

Japan’s Kosuke Hagino was second, and China’s Wang Sun was third.

11.30am

LARKIN WINS SILVER

Mitch Larkin.
Mitch Larkin.

Mitch Larkin won a silver medal in the men’s 200m backstroke final.

He just lost out to American Ryan Murphy, but just pipped Russian Evgeny Rylov who won bronze.

“I’m speechless to be honest, what can you say?” he said during a poolside interview after the race.

“It’s really tough, it’s an Olympic Games you know, every athlete in the world is training for this one event. It’s really incredible to come away with a medal.

“I sort of thought, ‘Oh no, I’ve pulled the pin too early,’ but I held on (at the back end of the race).

Earlier in the week he admitted he was disappointed to come away with a fourth-placed finish in the 100m backstroke, but this will go a long way towards atoning for that.

11.20am

MCKEOWN, SEEBOHM BRUTALLY HONEST AFTER FALLING SHORT

McKeown just missed out.
McKeown just missed out.

Australia’s Taylor McKeown missed out on a medal in the women’s 200m breaststroke final, swimming a slower time than she did in the semi.

She was ahead at the halfway mark, but faded as Japan’s Rie Kaneto stormed home to claim the gold.

She was clearly disappointed — a point she got across in a brutally honest interview.

“I’m just proud of myself for getting to this final, and I probably panicked a bit in this race. I was probably a little nervous, being my first Olympic final,” McKeown said.

“As much as I tried to be as chilled out (I wasn’t) … I’m not too happy with that result given it’s a second from my PB (personal best).”

Russian Yulia Efimova was second and China’s Shi Jinglin was third.

Emily Seebohm’s disappointing Olympics continued when she was nearly four seconds off her personal best in the 200m backstroke semi-final, failing to qualify for the final. This added to her underwhelming 100m final, where she finished seventh.

A dejected Seebohm couldn’t put her finger on what went wrong in Rio.

“I’m not surprised (about missing out on the final). I haven’t been on my game, it’s just disappointing to have an average Olympics,” Seebohm said.

“No, I have no idea (why) which makes it even worse.”

Fellow Aussie Belinda Hocking swum in the other semi and did make it through to Saturday night’s final.

11.10am

MCEVOY BOMBS OUT

McEvoy struggled again.
McEvoy struggled again.

Cameron McEvoy’s Olympics just went from bad to worse.

He came seventh in his 50m freestyle semi-final with a time of 21.89, failing to qualify for Saturday night’s final.

Australia’s head swimming coach Jacco Verhaeren said the 22-year-old bombed his 100m final — when he came seventh in the race won by teammate Kyle Chalmers — because he suffered “stage fright”.

Whatever the reason was, he wasn’t able to fix the problem in time for the explosive 50m event.

11am

THE COUNTDOWN IS ON

The important action in the pool is about to get underway, with plenty of medals on offer for Australia.

Taylor McKeown is up in the women’s 200m breaststroke, Mitch Larkin is a good chance to push for a podium in the 200m backstroke and the Campbell sisters — Bronte and Cate — line up in the 100m freestyle final.

Channel 7 commentator Basil Zempilas said today was “potentially the biggest day in Australian swimming”.

Michael Phelps is also on show in the 200m individual medley, and will be hopeful of winning Olympic gold medal number 22.

9.35am

LIFE IS TOUGH FOR MORE THAN JUST THE ATHLETES

Competing at the Olympics is tough on all the athletes’ bodies and minds, but it’s also a marathon for media covering the Games.

Former swimmer and US Olympic Hall of Fame member Ambrose “Rowdy” Gaines — who won three Olympic gold medals — gave an insight into the life of journos in Rio.

Now a respected swimming commentator for American network NBC, Gaines gave us all a reason to be a little sympathetic — not just jealous — of those over in Brazil to cover the mammoth sporting event.

9am

STOSUR, PEERS KNOCKED OUT

Australia’s Sam Stosur and John Peers have been knocked out of the mixed doubles in Rio, losing in straight sets to Indian pair Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna.

The fourth-seeded Indians were favourites heading into the first round clash, and showed why with a 7-5 6-4 win.

8.35am

FIJI CREATES HISTORY

Congratulations, Fiji.
Congratulations, Fiji.

Fiji has created history by winning the country’s first ever Olympic medal — and what a medal it is.

Their Rugby Sevens team absolutely thrashed Great Britain 43-7 in the final to claim gold.

It’s taken Fiji 14 Olympic Games to finally pick up a medal, but it was worth the wait. Some players appeared to be crying on the bench in the final minutes, and the team formed a huddle at the end of the match, singing together in emotional scenes.

Commentator Mark Braybrook called it “the biggest day in Fiji’s sporting history”, and he couldn’t have been more right.

Fiji was the raging gold medal favourite heading into Rio after finishing atop the World Series earlier in the year, but the pressure clearly didn’t get to the players. They made their country proud, and they didn’t even need Jarryd Hayne’s help.

South Africa won bronze after they beat Japan in the play-off for third.

At the medal presentation ceremony, each of Fiji’s players knelt and clapped three times when receiving their bling to show respect to Great Britain’s Princess Anne, who was presenting. It was a gesture that saw them lauded for their class and humility in victory — something the Olympics is all about.

Fiji coach Ben Ryan reportedly after the match said he would be stepping down from his post.

Australia lost 26-21 to Argentina and then 12-10 to France in the play-off pool to decide positions fifth through to eighth. Those disappointing results saw the Aussies finish eighth.

8.30am

HOCKEYROOS CONTINUE THEIR RESURGENCE

The Hockeyroos have continued their Olympic resurgence with a 1-0 win over Argentina.

After a disastrous start to the campaign that saw them lose their opening two matches to Great Britain and the US, the girls rebounded with a win against India before this latest victory to keep their medal hopes alive.

Click here for a full match report.

8.20am

OPALS’ GREAT ESCAPE

Liz Cambage was immense for the Aussies.
Liz Cambage was immense for the Aussies.

The Opals narrowly avoided an upset loss to Japan in the women’s basketball, pulling off an epic comeback in the final quarter to avoid embarrassment and win 92-86.

Down by 11 points late in the third, the Aussies rallied to take the lead with three minutes remaining and held on for the rest of the match. They outscored Japan 33-15 in the last quarter.

Japan’s shooting from beyond the arc was off in the final term, costing them dearly.

Liz Cambage was awesome for the Opals — both in offence and defence — while Penny Taylor was also one of our best, sinking a clutch three with a minute to go.

Japan hit back with a three of their own at the end, but it wasn’t enough as a late Cambage basket sealed the result.

7.40am

AUSSIE CYCLISTS MISS OUT ON BRONZE

France was too good for Australia in the men’s team sprint at the velodrome. In the end, they beat us relatively comfortably in the bronze medal race.

Great Britain pipped New Zealand for the gold medal, setting a new Olympic record with a time of 42.44 seconds.

7.20am

BILES ENHANCES HER REPUTATION

Biles is having an Olympics to remember.
Biles is having an Olympics to remember.

Simon Biles is the world’s best gymnast, and she keeps on showing us why.

After leading America’s “Final Five” to a gold medal in the women’s team final, she starred again in the all-round competition on Friday morning (AEST) to claim her second gold of the Games.

The 142cm gun beat compatriot Aly Raisman — who won silver — as Team USA grabbed the top two spots on the podium. Russia’s Aliya Mustafina was third.

7am

DUTCH CYLIST GOES DOWN

A heavy fall stopped competition at the velodrome on Friday morning (AEST) when a Dutch rider went down in a team event.

It’s hard to know who came off worse for wear — the athlete or the track. Officials had to resort to using duct tape to try and repair the damage done to the hardwood.

Dutch athletes on two wheels haven’t had a great time of it in Rio so far. Earlier in the week Annemiek van Vleuten suffered a horrendous crash in the road race. She was concussed and taken to hospital.

7am

AUSSIES GO DOWN IN WATERPOLO

Italy beat Australia 8-7 in the second game of the pool stage in the women’s water polo.

The Aussies gave up an early lead before fighting back to claw level at 6-6 heading into the final quarter, but Italy scored in the final seconds to secure victory.

6.30am

CAMERON MCEVOY ‘FROZE’

McEvoy was expecting much better.
McEvoy was expecting much better.

New Aussie sensation Kyle Chalmers stunned the field to win gold in the 100m freestyle on Thursday (AEST), but just as surprising was how badly compatriot Cameron McEvoy faded.

A near-certainty for a medal beforehand, the 22-year-old endured a horror race to finish seventh.

Australia’s head swimming coach Jacco Verhaeren said McEvoy’s woes were mental rather than physical, claiming he “froze” in the big lights of an Olympic final.

“It looked like he was frozen, how do you call it stage fright, or whatever and it had nothing to do with any physical, technical, tactical choices whatsoever,” Verhaeren said.

“He just wasn’t there at the right time. That is mental and what part of mental we have to find out.”

McEvoy still has the 50m freestyle to go, and won his heat on Friday morning.

6.05am

CYCLISTS’ EXCELLENT RECOVERY

Thankfully we all stayed up this time.
Thankfully we all stayed up this time.

After a horror crash in training sent the members of our women’s pursuit team flying — leaving Melissa Hoskins writhing in agony — our girls have stepped up in the competition proper.

The quartet — comprised of Hoskins, Annette Edmondson, Amy Cure and Georgia Baker — set a new Olympic record of 4:19.059 in an impressive first outing.

However, Great Britain smashed that soon after with a blistering time of 4:13.26 — a new world record.

We ended up qualifying third fastest (behind Great Britain and the US) for the chance to ride for a gold medal.

6am

FRASER TAKES CLUBHOUSE LEAD

Fraser had no difficulties navigating the Olympic course.
Fraser had no difficulties navigating the Olympic course.

Aussie Marcus Fraser finished the opening round of the golf with an eight-under 63, giving him the clubhouse lead.

He’s three shots clear of Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and Canada’s Graham DeLaet.

Fellow Australian Scott Hend is three-over.

5.40am

AUSSIE CYCLISTS GET GOING

Australia moved through to the next round of the men’s team sprints at the velodrome, qualifying third fastest behind Great Britain and New Zealand.

The Brits set a new Olympic record with a time of 42.562 seconds, while the Aussies were just more than half-a-second behind with 43.158.

Great Britain will face New Zealand in the gold medal race, while we have the opportunity to win bronze when we line up against France.

5.30am

COATES’ STINGING ASSESSMENT OF RIO GAMES

Rio has been a logistical nightmare.
Rio has been a logistical nightmare.

Almost a week into the Games, International Olympic Committee vice president John Coates delivered a stinging assessment, describing the 2016 Olympics as the “most difficult” for the IOC, particularly because of the civil unrest and the economic conditions.

“It’s been very difficult, the most difficult Games we have ever encountered in terms of political and economic background,” he told the BBC Today program.

“Seven years ago when (Rio) were selected they were on the verge of being a top five GDP nation in the world. They’re 74th now and it’s been a struggle.”

We’ve seen bullets hit the media centre and media bus, food and drink facilities have been criticised, security has come under fire, fans have been unable to get into venues on time and the diving and water polo pools have turned green.

5.15am

MURRAY SURVIVES FOGNINI SCARE

Murray’s win didn’t come easy.
Murray’s win didn’t come easy.

Defending men’s singles tennis champion Andy Murray was staring at a Rio exit down 0-3 in the deciding set against Fabio Fognini before recovering to win 6-1 2-6 6-3.

Murray will face American Steve Johnson in the quarters, where he is joined by Spain’s Rafael Nadal. Nadal defeated Gilles Simon in two sets to set up a date with Brazil’s Thomasz Bellucci. Juan Martin Del Potro, who knocked out Novak Djokovic in the first round, also progressed.

In the women’s Czech Petra Kvitova squares off with Monica Puig (Puerto Rico) in one semi. America’s Madison Keys will face Angelique Kerber in the other after the German overcame Great Britain’s Johanna Konta in the quarters.

5.05am

JESS OUTFOXED BY OFFICIALS

Fox had to endure plenty of drama.
Fox had to endure plenty of drama.

A controversial penalty saw Jess Fox relegated to third place in the women’s K1 canoe slalom in a final of high-drama.

The popular Australian competed fifth of nine competitors and was in the gold medal position when she completed the course. But a review of her run by on-course officials saw her handed a two-second penalty, which dropped her behind New Zealand’s Luuka Jones.

Spain’s Maialen Chourrat then proceeded to tear the course apart on her way to gold, pushing Jones to silver and Fox to bronze.

The London silver medallist was the short-priced favourite to claim gold and needed to be consoled by her father, Richard, after the race.

“It was a day rich in emotion, I went through all of them,” Fox said afterwards. “Just happiness then dread wondering whether I was going to be fourth or fifth. To finally get a second Olympic medal is a great feeling.

“My heart sank a little bit because I came in too tightly into that upstream and then slid out … because it (the two-second penalty) came in late I didn’t know (what would happen).

“Third place, the dream was obviously the gold medal but I’ll just have to come back in four years,” she laughed.

5am

POOL GETTING EVEN HOTTER

Taylor McKeown has looked to Mack Horton for inspiration.
Taylor McKeown has looked to Mack Horton for inspiration.

After the elation of Kyle Chalmers’ surprise win in the 100m freestyle, Australia is set for more gold in the pool.

Day six looms as our most prolific in the water as Cate Campbell looks a near-certainty in the women’s 100m freestyle and Mitch Larkin (men’s 200m backstroke) and Taylor McKeown (women’s 200m breaststroke) also eye gold.

McKeown’s showdown with Russia’s Yulia Efimova — the “drug cheat” who famously lost to American Lilly King in the 100m breast — will add another chapter to the ongoing narrative around doping in the sport.

“I saw her name pop up in the finalists,” said McKeown, after qualifying fastest. “I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from Mack Horton’s swims this week. I was quite emotional after his win because I knew it was such a big win for clean sport and for Australia.

“I know our country doesn’t look too kindly on people in that situation that have been caught — let alone twice. It’s going to be a good fight ... there’s no room for cheats in our sport.”

Earlier today, Cam McEvoy bounced back from a seventh placed finish behind Chalmers by winning his heat in the 50m free.

5am

FIJI INTO HISTORIC RUGBY SEVENS FINAL

Fiji has the chance to win a historic gold medal.
Fiji has the chance to win a historic gold medal.

Fiji’s rugby sevens team has guaranteed the first medal in its nation’s history after qualifying for today’s gold medal match against Great Britain.

The team that had no room for Jarryd Hayne clinically disposed of Japan 20-5 while the Brits squeaked past South Africa 7-5. Australia will play off against France for seventh place after losing to Argentina 26-21 despite leading 21-0. The gold medal game is on at 8am AEST.

5am

ROWERS SETTLE FOR SILVER

Not quite the oarsome foursome, but not far off.
Not quite the oarsome foursome, but not far off.

Australia’s eight year itch for rowing gold remains unscratched after its highly rated men’s quad sculls team had to settle for a silver medal.

Bookmakers had them short-price favourites but the Australians were beaten by a powerful German crew who led early and were never headed and beat Australia by about half a boat length.

5am

AUSSIE TAKES EARLY LEAD IN GOLF

Fraser was on fire.
Fraser was on fire.

Golf made its much-debated Olympic debut today and Australia’s Marcus Fraser made an impact.

The 38-year-old shot a first round eight-under 63 and is the current clubhouse leader — three shots clear of his nearest rival as the field continues to play.

Great Britain’s Justin Rose made history by scoring the first hole in one in an Olympic Games on the 189-yard par-three fourth.

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