Tokyo 2020 Olympics Day 11 live coverage: Boomers book semi-final date with USA, Kookaburras through to gold medal match
Australia have destroyed Argentina by 38 points as the women’s beach volleyball pair shocked Canada to move to the semis.
- Aussies two wins from gold in beach volleyball
- Boomers book semi-final date with USA
- Kookaburras through to final
- Australia’s 33-year boxing medal drought ends
- No gold, but Biles leaves a winner
- ‘Mayhem’ as Aussies advance in 1500m
- Warholm wins epic 400m hurdles
- Javelin trio looking sharp
Read how Day 11 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games unfolded below.
DAY 11 HIGHLIGHTS:
■ COMPLETED: Athletics — men’s 1500m heats: Oliver Hoare (3rd); Stewart McSweyn (3rd); Jye Edwards (7th)
■ COMPLETED: Athletics — women’s javelin: Group A: Mackenzie Little 2nd (62.37m); Group B: Kelsey-Lee Barber 2nd (62.59); Kathryn Mitchell 7th (61.85m) advance to final
■ COMPLETED: Canoe sprint — K1 men’s final: Tom Green (7th)
■ COMPLETED: Athletics — women’s long jump: Brooke Stratton (7th)
■ COMPLETED: Canoe sprint — K2 women’s final: Alyssa Bull, Alyce Wood (5th)
■ COMPLETED: Sailing — Nacra 17 mixed medal race: Jason Waterhouse, Lisa Darmanin miss out on medal
■ COMPLETED: Boxing — men’s lightweight (57kg-63kg) quarter-final: Harry Garside (AUS) def Zakir Safiullin (KAZ)
■ COMPLETED: Hockey — men’s semi-final: Australia def Germany 3-1
■ COMPLETED: Athletics — men’s pole vault final: Kurtis Marschall fails three attempts at 5.55
■ COMPLETED: Water polo — women’s quarter-final: ROC def Australia 9-8
■ COMPLETED: Basketball — men’s quarter-final: Australia def Argentina 97-59
■ COMPLETED: Beach volleyball — women’s quarter-final: Mariafe Artacho del Solar/Taliqua Clancy (AUS) def Sarah Pavan/Melissa Humana-Paredes (CAN) 2-1
Andrew Rule12.40am:Show jumpers struggle in individual qualifying
Australian show jumpers Edwina Tops-Alexander and Katie Laurie struggled and failed to hold their own against the world’s best riders and horses in the individual jumping qualifying round on Tuesday night.
Tops-Alexander’s Belgian-bred mare Identity Vitsoroel brushed a lightweight bamboo rail with her hoof and dislodged it, incurring a four-point penalty that effectively put the combination out of contention. It wasn’t much, but in the pressure cooker of Olympic competition, any mistake is enough.
Later in the round, Tops-Alexander’s younger team-mate Laurie suffered a nightmare round that left her on the verge of tears after having to quit when her horse Casebrook Lomond knocked down three rails then blundered through the water jump.
Laurie, much-travelled daughter of Australian jumping legend Jeff McVean, switched to the Australian team in 2017 after riding for New Zealand, where her father was a leading coach for years after travelling the world show-jumping circuit.
The disappointing showing in Tokyo caps off a miserable week for Laurie in particular and the Australian jumping team in general.
Laurie announced that she had split with her rodeo-rider husband, Jackson Laurie, on the eve of the Games. And the two women had to shoulder the responsibility of representing Australia between them after highly rated Victorian rider Jamie Kermond was suspended just days before the Games for a positive test to cocaine.
Leading the 30 riders who qualified are Great Britain’s Ben Maher, Ireland’s Darragh Kenny and Israel’s US-based rider Ashlee Bond.
Selina Steele12.09am:Beach volleyball boilover: Aussies two wins from gold
The screams from beach volleyball pairing of Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar said it all.
Australia’s beach volleyball pairing of Clancy and Artacho del Solar are just two wins away from an Olympic gold medal.
Shrugging off the serving yips and unforced errors, the pair pushed aside the No.1 seeds, Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes, they eased into the semi finals with a 21-15, 19-21, 15-12 win.
The Canadians had yet to drop a set and in Pavan had one of the best defensive blockers at these Games.
But with Clancy dominating with her serve and Artacho del Solar pulling off deep defensive plays from the backcourt, the Australians avenged their heartbreaking Commonwealth Games defeat on the Gold Coast sand against this pairing.
And at the same time announced they were peaking at the right time for these Games.
Gadiel Notelovitz11.50pm:Boomers book semi-final with USA
How’s that for timing?
The Australian Boomers put on their best performance so far at the Tokyo Olympics to book a date with Team USA and send a message: we’re coming.
Hungry for more, the Boomers will have two bites at the cherry to break their Olympic medal drought after booking a semi-final spot with a 97-59 thrashing of perennial contenders Argentina late on Tuesday night.
Displaying the sort of defensive stubbornness that head Brian Goorjian believes can be the difference against the best teams remaining in the competition, the Boomers left their opponents literally crying on the bench.
Scott Gullan11.09pm:Thompson-Herah moves to Bolt territory with 200m win
The Jamaican monopoly on women’s sprinting continues with Elaine Thompson-Herah moving into Usain Bolt territory.
Thompson-Herah is putting together a Bolt-like domination after completing the 100m-200m double at consecutive Olympic Games.
Bolt did it three times and there seems no sign of 29-year-old Thompson-Herah slowing down given her domination in Tokyo.
After defeating her Jamaican teammate Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the 100m final on Saturday night, Thompson-Herah was even more dominant in the 200m final.
She burst away from lane seven and was never really in any danger, clocking a new personal best and Jamaican record of 21.53sec.
The surprise was the late burst from Namibia’s Christine Mboma to grab silver in a world U/20 record of 21.81sec with America’s Gabrielle Thomas taking bronze (21.87sec).
Fraser-Pryce faded over the final stages to finish fourth.
Thompson-Herah burst onto the scene at the 2016 Rio Olympics by becoming the first woman in 28 years to complete the Olympic sprint double.
She came into Tokyo with a cloud over her because of injury concerns but they were quickly dismissed in emphatic fashion.
One of the main talking points to come out of the Olympic final will be the performance of Mboma.
The 18-year-old was banned from running in the 400m because of high testosterone levels.
Under the rules which were introduced in 2018 for double Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya, Mboma and her teammate Beatrice Masilingi are able to compete in the sprints but not in middle-distance races.
Scott Gullan10.57pm:Teen stuns in 800m win
Get used to this name, Athing Mu.
Athletics is searching for some new heroes in the post Usain Bolt era and they may have found a keeper in the 19-year-old American who won the 800m Olympic gold medal in devastating fashion.
The tall, long-striding Mu led all the way and broke the USA record in the fastest 800m race in history with six of the eight finalists all producing lifetime bests.
Mu clocked 1min55.21sec to defeat Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson who ran a national record of 1:55,88sec with another American, Raevyn Rogers, registering a personal best 1:56.82sec.
And Mu also claimed a slice of history in the process becoming the first US woman to win gold over the 800m in more than 50 years.
“I was made for this,” she boldly declared in the lead-up to her Olympic debut.
Mu burst on to the scene when she was just 16, setting a senior US indoor 600m record of 1:23.57sec.
The athlete from Trenton, New Jersey, has gone on to break a string of high school, collegiate and age-group records from the 400m to the 800m. She was silver medallist in the 800m at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.
A freshman at Texas A&M this year, Mu has continued breaking records all season including the world U/20 indoor 800m record.
She is the second youngest of seven siblings whose parents moved to the US from Sudan 20 years ago.
Scott Gullan10.45pm:‘Next Bolt’ wows in 200m semis
While the crowd may be missing there was still a collective ‘wow’ resonate through the Tokyo Olympic stadium after Erriyon Knighton gave the world a glimpse of his abilities in the men’s 200m semi-final.
The 17-year-old has been earmarked as Usain Bolt’s successor in the 200m after he toppled the Jamaican’s Under-18 world record of 20.13, which he set back in 2003.
Knighton is certainly embracing the hype and there was a fair bit of Bolt about how he cruised over the finish line, clocking 20.02sec in the opening semi-final.
The 200m promises to be one of the races of the Olympics given how competitive the semi-finals were with favourite Noah Lyles having a minor scare.
He has long been anointed as Bolt’s replacement and won the world title in 2019 but he was almost caught out by slowing down on the line.
Lyles seemed to be doing it comfortably in the lead but Canada’s Aaron Brown and Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh both surged at him on the line.
After a long deliberation Brown was awarded the victory despite all three being given the same time of 19.99sec.
Lyles slipped down to third but got through to Wednesday night’s final as one of the two fastest losers.
In the third semi-final Canada’s Andre De Grasse made a statement setting a new national record of 19.73sec to defeat American Kenneth Bednarek (19.83sec).
While Knighton has been talked up recently De Grasse has always been in the Bolt discussion given he was competitive with the world record holder at the end of his career.
Joe Barton10.42pm:HT: Boomers lead 39-33
That was ten minutes of Boomers basketball. And it’s opened up a six-point lead at the break.
Scrappy defence and just finding enough ways to get points on the board at the other end has been what the Boomers have built their campaign on so far.
Through six and a half minutes in the 2nd quarter, Argentina had scored just four points since the first break.
Matisse Thybulle is the driving force of this team’s defence, but the likes of Dante Exum and Matthew Dellavadova are relentless, scrappy defenders who fight through screens and pester the ball handler.
Exum has paid the price for his enthusiastic defence, heading for the bench late in the half with three fouls.
Joe Barton10.18pm:QT: Australia trail Argentina 18-22
Well then, this might be a little harder than Australia were hoping.
The first quarter is in the books and the Boomers’ offence – stop me if you’ve heard this before – is looking clunky as hell.
Patty Mills doing his best to drive the tempo in attack and leads Australia with five points, but it’s been a hard graft out there.
Nico Laprovíttola has been the chief destroyer for Argentina, with nine points and two assists.
Julian Linden10.04pm:Water polo shock: ROC knock out Stingers
With Erin Smith
Australia have been cruelly knocked out of the women’s Olympic water polo tournament after a shock 9-8 quarter-final loss to a Russian team that most fair-minded sports fans believe should never have been allowed to compete at Tokyo in the first place.
Initially banned from all international sports events for four years after being busted for state-sponsored doping, the Russians were only cleared to play at the Olympics after the Court of Arbitration (CAS) lost its nerve and halved the suspension.
Insisting it hasn’t gone soft on cheats, the CAS added some so-called penalties - renaming the team as the Russian Olympic Committee and preventing the playing of the national anthem - but no-one has been fooled by any of those token gestures.
That made it an even more gut wrenching loss for the Stingers, who had gone to Tokyo with genuine hopes of getting back on the podium after missing out on the medals at Rio in 2016.
The Australians sailed into the knockout stage after winning three of their group games and got off to a flyer against the Russians when Keesja Gofers opened the scoring in the first quarter.
But that was the first and last time that the Australians had their noses in front as the eastern Europeans took control, leading by two goals at the end of each of the first three quarters despite an heroic performance by Australian goalkeeper Gabi Palm, who made nine saves, including a penalty to keep her team in the contest.
But it was all to no avail as the Australians struggled to get the ball in the net, despite having 32 shots at goal - 10 more than the Russians, who opened up a four-goal lead in the final quarter then held on grimly.
Tilly Kearns, the daughter of Wallaby legend Phil, scored with her first touch then Bronte Halligan, the daughter of NRL pointscoring machine Daryl, rifled one into the back of the net to cut the margin to one with 16 seconds left on the clock before time ran out.
The Stingers will play Canada next in the classification round to decide the 5th-8th placings.
Adrian McMurray10.01pm:Go-time for the Boomers
Australia have taken to the court for their quarter-final against Argentina. The winner books a semi-final against the USA.
Ellen Whinnett9.50pm:‘That meant the world’
An emotional Simone Biles said it “meant the world’’ to get another Olympic chance.
She said that as late as the previous night, she didn’t know if she would be competing and worked with doctors and sports psychologists before her event, trying to stay “level-headed’’.
“It wasn’t easy pulling out of all the competitions. People just thought it was easy but I physically and mentally was not in the right headspace and I didn’t want to jeopardise my health and my safety,’’ she said.
“Because at the end of the day it’s not worth it. My mental and physical health is above all medals that I could ever win. It just meant the world to be back out there and I wasn’t expecting to walk away with the medal.
“I was just going out there doing this for me and whatever happens, happens.’’
She said she was going home to “work on herself’’ and would tour America with her teammates. She brushed off questions about whether she would compete in Paris in three years’ time, saying she was still trying to process Tokyo.
“Just to have one more opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games meant the world because training for five years and then coming here, and then kind of being triggered and not being able to do anything, it wasn’t fun,’’ she said.
She said she could compete in the beam but not on the other apparatus because they put her safety at risk.
“Because it’s twisting and I would just keep getting lost in the air and crashing, and (with) beam obviously I don’t have that issue,’’ she said.
Christy Doran9.32pm:Kookaburras through to gold medal match
Two down, one to go.
The Kookaburras were given a Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer run into the final, but after taking down Germany in the semi-finals they now play Belgium in the gold medal match on Thursday.
Their 3-1 win atoned for their heartbreaking 4-2 defeat to Germany at the same point in London, where the Europeans eventually went on to take gold while Australia claimed their second straight bronze medal.
Colin Batch’s men now take on world No.2 Belgium, the 2016 silver medallists who earlier on Tuesday thumped India 5-2 in hot conditions.
Blake Govers was the star for the Kookaburras.
His exceptional vision to lob the German defence and find an unmarked Flynn Ogilvie led to Tim Brand’s opening goal.
After the heartbreak of seeing the Hockeyroos bow out in the quarter-finals after an early miss which struck the posts, it was just the start the Kookaburras were after in perfect conditions at Oi Hockey Stadium.
Then, having conceded a goal at a short corner, it was Govers again.
The striker fired home from a penalty corner, as he beat the outstretched stick of Tobias Hauke to give Australia a lead going into half time.
Australia survived a late raid, with the Germans taking off their goal-keeper with three minutes remaining as they chased to stay in the goal medal match.
It proved a fatal move.
Tim Sharp, having been the culprit by giving away the penalty corner that led to Germany’s only goal to Lukas Windfeder, scored a simple tap in with 92 seconds left to send the Kookaburras into the final.
Michael Randall9.02pm:HT: Kookaburras lead 2-1
The Kookaburras are locked in an enthralling semi final battle with Germany.
The Aussies had the best of it early and were rewarded in just the seventh minute by another sublime effort from Tim Brand.
Brand’s deflection at the left back post from a Flynn Ogilvie rocket was an incredible piece of skill execution.
But the Germans steeled themselves and found their way back into the contest through Lukas Windfeder – after a piece of undisciplined play gifted them a short corner.
Blake Govers ensured the Aussies would take a lead into halftime with a low drag flick that beat the keeper to his left and crashed into the backboard.
Govers’ goal gave him seven for the tournament – one off the Australian record.
Brand has been arguably the Kookaburra’s player of the tournament, scoring four goals off his own stick and having a hand in a number of others.
Jacquelin Magnay9.00pm:Aussie teams under investigation after wild flight
The Olyroos and the men’s rugby Sevens Olympic teams are under a series of immediate investigations following a written complaint sent from Japan Airlines to the Australian Olympic Committee about obnoxious and unsafe behaviour on a flight home.
Each team is blaming the other for hours of rowdy and drunken antics on the 10 hour flight from Tokyo to Sydney that arrived on Friday morning.
Passengers on the flight have told News Corp that the men were “loud, singing, refusing to sit down when requested, rowdy and obnoxious’’.
“Obviously they weren’t wearing their masks as they were drinking all the time,’’ said a passenger.
Airline staff on board were frustrated because the men refused to heed instructions to sit down, a source said. It is unusual for an airline to acknowledge any issues, and highly rare for them to file a written complaint.
Brianna Travers8.48pm:Fall costs Aussie shot at medal
A fall off the horizontal bar has cost Australian gymnast Tyson Bull an Olympic medal in Tokyo in what is likely to be one of the last performances of his career.
Bull, 28, was the first Australian male to make an artistic gymnastics final but an unusual mistake in his high flying routine cost him a podium finish.
He scored 12.466 in the final, a marked drop from his qualification mark of 14.433 – finishing up in fifth place.
Half the field couldn’t stick their routines and fell off the bar in what was an unmissable final at Ariake gymnastics arena.
Hometown hero Daiki Hashimoto won the event for Japan with a flawless routine with a mark of 15.066.
Gadiel Notelovitz8.27pm:Boxing: Garside through to final four
It’s been 33 years since an Australian won a medal in boxing at the Olympics.
On Tuesday night, Harry Garside guaranteed that drought would come to an end in Tokyo.
And if you ask him, the job’s far from over.
“I only want gold,” Garside said after earning the tightest of split decision victories over Kazakhstan’s Zakir Safiullin.
The quarter-final triumph secured passage to the semi-finals, where win or lose, Garside will take home a medal.
Hayden Johnson8.17pm:Cyclists battle back from crash to push for bronze
Australia’s cyclists will battle New Zealand for a bronze medal in a staggering fightback from the team’s horror crash on the first day of racing.
The men’s pursuit riders set a blistering time to book a spot in Wednesday’s race against the Kiwis on a day of drama and redemption at Izu Velodrome.
Their record-pushing pace left some in the Australian camp pondering what could have been after Monday’s crash and slow qualifying ruled the riders out of a shot at gold.
Pursuit rider Kelland O’Brien said the men “gave it everything” and would not dwell on the lost opportunity - instead choosing to focus on the chance at bronze.
“It’s obviously been an interesting 24 hours for us as a team and it says a lot about who we are as a nation and who we are as a team for the way we bounced back,” he said.
“This is sport, this is bike racing, it’s just the way it goes.
“We’re always going to look at it in the glass half full way.”
Earlier on Wednesday the men’s sprint team, considered the best chance of a medal, came agonisingly close to a bronze.
The sprinters led the first two of three laps but were unable to hold off a late charge by their French competitors.
Ellen Whinnett8.10pm:No gold, but Biles leaves a winner
She didn’t get the gold, but American superstar Simone Biles left the Tokyo Olympics a winner after conquering the demons which had derailed her gymnastics campaign.
Biles, 24, took bronze in the balance beam, the only event she completed despite starting Tokyo with some pundits predicting she was capable of a clean sweep of six gold medals.
She had pulled out of the teams event last week after becoming disorientated midway through her first vault, and took a week to work on her mental health, also withdrawing from the individual all-around, floor, uneven bars and vault.
Waling in to a standing ovation, Biles was third up, and scored 14.000.
Chinese teen sensations Guan Chen, 16, and Tang Xijing, 18, took gold and silver, with Guan scoring 14.633 in the final routine of the night.
Tang’s 14.233 had come immediately before Biles, so it was obvious early-on the American would not walk away with the fairytale gold ending.
Biles’ routine, which included three consecutive backflips, appeared flawless in its execution, but was deemed to have a lower degree of difficulty than those of the Chinese competitors.
A relieved Biles started smiling before she had even settled on her landing, and was surrounded by the other competitors who rushed to hug her. She waved to the huge contingent of press photographers as broadcasters in multiple languages narrated her performance across the globe.
IOC president Thomas Bach intercepted her to congratulate her as she left the field of play.
One of the true global superstars at the Games – and the only athlete to have her own emoji – Biles was a major drawcard and her withdrawal had been a huge blow for organisers.
She had won bronze in Rio for this event, along with four golds, and there is speculation her performance in Japan will be the end of her Olympic career.
Adrian McMurray7.50pm:Bronze for Biles
It’s bronze for Biles! She’s finished third behind Chinese pair Guan Chen (gold) and Tang Xijing (silver).
AFP7.30pm:Biles makes her return
Simone Biles made her anxiously-awaited return to the Olympic Games on Tuesday, competing in the beam final at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre.
This was the US superstar’s first taste of competition in Tokyo since dramatically standing down during the women’s team final last week, struggling with the “twisties”, a condition where gymnasts lose the ability to orientate themselves in mid-air.
Biles walked into the arena to a loud cheer, and going third of the eight finalists, put in a solid routine ending with a double backward somersault and double pike onto the mat.
Having looked pensive beforehand, she wore a broad smile after her 90 seconds on the 10cm beam, with the judges awarding her 14.00 points.
Ellen Whinnett7.08pm:All eyes on Biles as star returns
The world’s media has gathered to witness what could be the final Olympic appearance of American superstar gymnast Simone Biles.
The 24-year-old is attempting to leave the Tokyo Olympics on a high with a performance on the balance beams – an event she won a bronze medal for in Rio, but which she had been favourite for in Tokyo.
She had come into the Tokyo Games under enormous pressure with expectations she could perform a clean sweep and potentially take home six gold medals.
But she became disorientated in the air on her very first vault, failing to land her dismount properly, and subsequently pulled out of the event, citing the need to look after her mental health.
In a huge blow to Games organisers, she also pulled out of the individual all-around event, and the individual floor, uneven bars and vault events.
As hundreds of photographers and journalists crammed into the Ariake Gymnastics Centre, Biles performed a warm-up on the beam, surrounding by American officials.
She has been keeping a low profile in the week since withdrawing from the teams’ event, but posted on her Instagram account to thank those who reached out to offer support.
“The outpouring love & support I’ve received has made me realize I’m more than my accomplishments and gymnastics which I never truly believed before,’’ she said.
Academy Award-winning actor Viola Davis was one who tweeted Biles ahead of her competition, telling her she was “Rooting for you sis!! You are a bad ass WARRIOR!!!.’’
Biles, the only athletes at the Games to be given her own emoji, is one of the true global superstars at the Games, and her shock withdrawal made global headlines and the front page of newspapers across America.
Hayden Johnson6.58pm:Australia miss out in team sprint
Australia has narrowly missed a bronze medal at Izu Velodrome with the men’s team sprint losing to France.
The men’s sprint team was considered Australia’s best chance at a medal in track cycling.
The Australians, anchored by Matt Glaetzer, led two of the three laps before succumbing to the charging Frenchmen.
It comes after the women finished fifth in the team pursuit.
Callum Dick6.09pm:Don’t expect Smith-style haircut from Lee
Minjee Lee is in the form of her life and ready to fight for Australia’s first-ever Olympic golf medal - just don’t expect Cam Smith-levels of patriotism.
Lee, 25, says her breakthrough major championship victory - and her younger brother’s Scottish Open success - is the perfect precursor to an all-out assault on her second Olympics.
Long considered one of the most talented golfers on the LPGA tour to have not won a major, Lee finally got the monkey off her back late last month by winning the Evian Championship in France.
It came just three weeks after her brother Min Woo won the Scottish Open, and has led many pundits to push the Aussie further up their Olympic pecking order.
“When he won the Scottish, I just think that I was even more emotional when he won than when I won,” Lee said.
“I couldn’t actually see him, I didn’t see him play (because) I was flying back to the (United) States. But I called him after and he was just so happy.
“I think he probably inspired me to pick up my game a little bit and play well at Evian.”
Winning form is the best kind of form and Lee says she is riding the wave of her success at Evian all the way to Wednesday’s opening round in Tokyo.
“I think I’m probably in the best place that I’ve been in, in terms of golf and mentally,” she said.
“I’m in a really good place coming off the major championship and it was nice to have a week off to see my brother and just kind of regroup.
“I’m just really excited to be here. We have such a great team with us and it’s been a lot of fun so far and (I’m) just really looking forward to getting the tournament started.”
Lee and fellow Aussie contender Hannah Green had dinner with men’s contenders Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman following their Olympic campaigns.
Lee and Green said the get-together on Sunday night was a great way to unwind before refocusing on the job at-hand - winning Australia’s first-ever Olympic golf medal.
But for all the fun, Lee ruled out debuting a mullet or shaved-in A-U-S that made Smith the talk of Tokyo last week.
“Not that committed.”
Hayden Johnson6.00pm:Denmark, Great Britain crash in team pursuit
Simmering tensions between Denmark and Great Britain at Izu Velodrome have ended in a huge collision on track between the countries in the men’s team pursuit.
Denmark, which moments earlier had been found to have broken the rules on Monday by using unapproved shin tape, crashed into a slower British rider during the heat race between the two countries.
The high drama came after British Cycling Performance Director Stephen Park called for Denmark to be disqualified for using the tape and appearing to tamper with online data to suggest the shin tape was available for public sale from January 1 - which is required under international rules.
It is understood UCI officials have ruled the tape illegal, but will not penalise the country.
AFP5.36pm:Biles heads back to the beam ahead of return
US gymnastics superstar Simone Biles came through a training session smoothly on the beam ahead of her eagerly awaited return to the Olympics on Tuesday.
Biles has not performed in public since sensationally dropping out of the women’s team final last week.
Suffering from the twisties, a psychological phenomenon impinging on a gymnast’s spatial awareness, she then pulled out of the all-around, and the vault, floor and uneven bars.
A three-time world champion on the beam, she had to settle for bronze on the apparatus at the Rio Olympics, to add to her four golds.
Along with her fellow finalists she had three sessions lasting around two minutes each, and appeared confident and comfortable.
On the first attempt she dismounted with a backward somersault, but on the next two somersaulted backwards with a double pike dismount to suggest she has every chance of rounding off her Tokyo Games in medal contention.
AFP
Amanda Lulham5.11pm:Sailors’ eyes on Paris after missing out in Tokyo
Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin may be one of the few crews from the Australian Tokyo sailing team to campaign on to Paris 2024, declaring they have unfinished business after missing a medal in the Nacra 17 class on Tuesday.
The devastated Sydney cousins were victims of their Covid isolation from leading European rivals who trained together for the 18 month lead-up to the Games.
Speed differentiation was a major issue for Aussie combo in Japan who went in with high hopes of a gold but left without a medal of any colour after their fifth place finish in the Nacra regatta won by Italians Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti.
Hayden Johnson5.08pm:Bronze goes begging in team pursuit
A bronze medal has gone begging in the women’s team pursuit with Australia set to instead race for 5th place as world records tumble at Izu Velodrome.
After a tough Monday the Aussie women were able to defeat New Zealand with a 4.09.92 in the heats, however it was not quick enough to earn a place in the race for bronze.
Lightning-fast conditions at Izu Velodrome saw Great Britain beat the world record set by Germany yesterday, only to have the Germans return serve and go 0.5 seconds quicker one race later.
Australia will race Italy for fifth place this afternoon while Germany and Great Britain will fight for gold.
Hayden Johnson5.01pm:‘Frustration, anger’ in cyclist’s bike failure
Alex Porter has revealed the “frustration and anger” he felt just seconds after crashing out of the men’s team pursuit following a catastrophic mechanical failure.
As his handlebars sheared off the front of his bike Porter was immediately confused, struggling to understand what was happening.
“I was on the back and I was just trying to settle in and get ready for my next go in front and all of a sudden I just felt my arms pointing down and then I could just see the track getting closer to my face,” he said.
“Before I knew it I was sliding all the way through the bend.
“At first it felt like a dream because my brain couldn’t quite work out what was happening and then just before I hit the track it kind of clicked that something at the front of my bike had just fallen away.”
Porter, in an interview with Anna Meares on Channel 7, said it was a no-brainer to get back up and ride again just half-an-hour later.
“It’s the Olympics … I’m not letting something like this stop us now,” he said.
“I wasn’t going to let it disappear, everything we’ve sacrificed.”
The 25-year-old said he was furious immediately after the incident.
“I was really angry, I was really frustrated,” he said.
“We’ve all put in so much hard work.
“I had this feeling before the start we were going to be able to go out there and do something special.”
Porter will miss today’s must-win team pursuit ride against Switzerland.
AFP4.43pm:New major champ Lee looks for fast start after missing Rio medal
Australia’s Minjee Lee said Tuesday she is looking for a “fast start” to her Tokyo Olympics campaign just nine days after shaking off the unwanted title of best woman golfer without a major.
Lee captured her long overdue maiden major at the Evian Championship in France after a record-equalling final-round comeback on July 25.
Five years ago at Rio 2016, Lee tied for seventh as a 20-year-old, two shots behind bronze medallist Feng Shanshan of China.
Now the world number eight said she knows exactly what she needs to do to get in the shake-up for medals when she tees off at Kasumigaseki Country Club on Wednesday.
“You know, I just think that with the Olympics you need to get off to a fast start,” she told AFP on Tuesday.
“For some reason I feel like last time in Rio I just slowly built up until the last round. So hopefully this time around I can start off with a good score and then just build from there.” Lee’s final-round rally from seven shots behind to win the Evian equalled the best in women’s major history.
It capped a great fortnight for her family, after brother Min Woo Lee won the biggest prize of his career at the Scottish Open on the European Tour.
“I just think that I was even more emotional when he won than when I won the Evian Championship, so it was just really nice to see Min Woo win,” said Lee.
“I called him after and he was just so happy and he said he was like crying 10 minutes after he won. So that was kind of sweet.
“I think he probably inspired me to pick up my game a little bit and just kind of play well at the Evian.” Lee will tee off for the first two rounds in the company of two other first-time major winners, Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit and Germany’s Sophia Popov.
AFP
AFP4.20pm:US wary of Australian threat in women’s basketball quarters
The United States are wary of a “formidable” Australia after the Opals staged a great escape to book a quarter-final showdown with their arch-rivals in the women’s Olympic basketball tournament.
The all-conquering Americans remain on track for a seventh consecutive title after winning their three group games, but now face a team that inflicted a rare defeat on them prior to the start of the Games.
That Australian side featured its best player Liz Cambage, but she pulled out ahead of Tokyo citing mental health struggles and her team have struggled without her.
The world number two Opals suffered tough losses to Belgium and China in the preliminaries and were left with the unenviable task of needing to beat Puerto Rico in their final group game by at least 25 points to stay alive on Monday.
Stunningly they did, battling to a 96-69 victory despite being behind at the end of the first quarter.
“Was it the great escape? I guess so,” skipper Jenna O’Hea said. “Knowing before the game that it was a 25-point margin (required to qualify), it’s a bit daunting in the back of your mind. It wasn’t a small number at that.” It ensured a clash on Wednesday with the world’s top-ranked team, led by WNBA legends Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and Sylvia Fowles and who are on a 52-game winning streak in Olympic competition.
“Australia will be a formidable opponent because we know each other so well, and we look forward to the challenge of getting out of the quarter-finals,” said US coach Dawn Staley.
“We certainly have to execute on both sides of the ball and continue to get better to advance.” Two teams from Asia made it to the quarter-finals for the first time with undefeated China, spurred by outstanding centre Li Yueru, facing Serbia on Wednesday with a semi-final berth at stake against either the US or Australia.
AFP
Amanda Lulham4.10pm:Aussie sailors set for gold
“Doing a Bradbury” is part of Australian vernacular. Now “doing a Wearny’’ could be to after more sailors moved so far ahead of their rivals they now only have to start their final race to become Olympic champions.
Mat Belcher and Will Ryan have “done a Wearny’’ — finding themselves in the same strange situation as their gold medal winning teammate Matt Wearn in only having to start the final race of the 470 regatta and stay out of trouble to secure a historic gold.
In Enoshima over the past 10 days, the Australian pair have turned the Pacific Ocean into their personal field of dreams in their final appearance together in the 470 boat which also delivered them silver at the Rio Olympics.
On Tuesday, a day before their double-point medal race, the pair raced to a 2nd and 8th which means they are just a race away - barring a disqualification disaster - from a historic gold after Wednesday’s medal race.
Jacquelin Magnay3.55pm:IOC spruiks huge TV ratings
International Olympic Committee marketing boss Timo Lumme said the Japanese people had “totally embraced’’ the Tokyo Games, revealing huge television viewing figures.
He also said the lack of crowds at venues had shown no effect on broadcast figures.
Lumme said the Games were tracking for “really strong engagement’’ across all digital platforms and that global engagement was strong.
More than 70 million Japanese watched the opening ceremony.
Lumme said: “as to no spectators, well I am happy to report that it has had no effect from what we’ve seen in the numbers of engagement as a whole, but also the viewership for the games whether traditional linear (television) or digital. I think this is also helped by the fact the broadcast is able to convey a sense of atmosphere mostly from the sports because of the incredible sporting performances but also by athlete family moments.”
Mr Lumme said in Brazil the new sports of surfing and skateboarding made up five of the top 10 Olympic programs in the first week.
In Australia, Channel 7 announced its digital streaming was the biggest in the country’s history, while on television, 62 per cent of the local population have watched some coverage of the Games.
In the US, NBC said the Games were on track to post record digital figures.
Agencies3.35pm:IOC under pressure over podium statements
Chinese cycling sprint pair Bao Shanju and Zhong Tianshi have sparked outrage with a tribute to former ruler Mao Zedong during their medal ceremony.
Bao and Zhong set a new world record in the sprint on the way to gold ahead of Germany and the Russian Olympic Committee.
But it was the badges featuring Chairman Mao that created a stir.
IOC laws forbid athletes from making political statements, although they have eased rules in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protest movement.
It is unclear what action, if any, the IOC will take against the Chinese pair.
Elsewhere, Olympic officials are “looking into” US shot putter Raven Saunders after she made the first podium protest of the Games, risking possible disciplinary action.
The 25-year-old African-American athlete crossed her arms in an “X” gesture during Sunday’s medal ceremony at the Olympic Stadium after claiming silver.
Mao is responsible for some of the worst catastrophes in human history, the persecution and murder of tens of millions. Completely unacceptable for Chinese athletes to promote Maoist political propaganda at the Olympic Games. Should be a medal stripping offense! @badiucaopic.twitter.com/5MMlHMPiTK
— Drew Pavlou (@DrewPavlou) August 3, 2021
US media outlets reported that Saunders, who is black and an outspoken supporter of LGBT rights, said her gesture was made in solidarity with “oppressed people”.
Saunders’ protest is the first test of International Olympic Committee rules which ban protests of any kind on the medal podium at the Olympics.
The IOC tweaked its rules regarding athlete protests ahead of the Games, saying that peaceful protests before competition would be allowed.
However the Olympics governing body has maintained a strict rule against protesting on the medal podium.
Asked about the protest, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said the body was in touch with the US Olympic Committee and World Athletics.
“We are, not surprisingly, looking into the matter and we’ll now consider our next steps,” he added, declining to be drawn further on possible consequences.
“I think we need to fully understand what’s going on and then take a decision from there,” he added.
— with Agencies
Jacquelin Magnay3.05pm:IOC begins probe into ‘kidnapped’ athlete
The International Olympic Committee has opened a formal investigation into the actions of the Belarus Olympic Committee after kidnapped Belarus athlete Kyrstsina Tsimanouskaya was deemed safe inside the Polish embassy in Tokyo.
The IOC was awaiting a report from Belarus officials on Tuesday, but was keen to ensure that any further disciplinary action against Belarus - which could include expulsion from the Games of various officials - would not impact on the rest of the team’s athletes.
Belarus has another 29 track and field athletes competing this week, and its full team across all sports is 103.
“Our responsibility is to the safety of the athlete,” said IOC spokesman Mark Adams, insisting that Tsimanouskaya was in a “safe, secure place”.
“Together with the relevant authorities, she is planning her future.’’
Earlier this year the IOC had imposed sanctions against Belarus officials, including banning the Olympic committee’s president, Viktor Lukashenko, son of ruling dictator Alexander Lukashenko, from attending the Tokyo Olympics. This was because of “the great disappointment” that the Olympic committee had failed to protect Belarusian athletes from political discrimination.
Tsimanouskaya’s world has turned upside down in the past three days, spearheaded by a dramatic late night appeal to Haneda airport security on Sunday night.
The 24-year-old sprinter told officials that she had been kidnapped and was being sent back to Minsk against her will after she had complained about team selections for a 4x400m relay.
Before being escorted to the airport, two Belarus officials were filmed threatening Tsimanouskaya that she was caught in a “spider’s web”, warning her that any non-compliance about returning to Minsk could lead to a “suicide verdict’’.
Scott Gullan2.45pm:Stratton’s showtime performance
Earlier this year Brooke Stratton didn’t think she’d be on the runway competing for long jump gold in Tokyo.
Two badly timed knee injuries had made a mess of her preparation, but she managed to find a way to make her second Olympic team where again she enhanced her reputation as a big-time performer.
Stratton, 28, was staring at an early exit from the final after two sub-standard first jumps before launching 6.83m to not only keep her in the competition but briefly had her in the medal hunt.
Unfortunately she was unable to improve with an extra three jumps and finished seventh behind Germany’s Malaika Mihambo (7.00m). Former Olympic champion Brittney Reese took silver (6.97m) with Nigeria’s Ese Brume bronze (6.97m).
“The competition started a bit rocky with a foul on the first jump,” Stratton said. “Then to jump 6.83 with my third jump to secure a spot in the final, I was more than happy with that distance.
“It definitely boosted my confidence going into the next three jumps but to be honest I’m more than happy with the result.
“It’s been a pretty rocky lead-in with injury and a couple of months ago I didn’t even know if I was going to make it here.
“I came seventh in Rio as well so it’s a bittersweet placing but I jumped further than I did in Rio. This is actually my fifth farthest jump ever so I can’t be disappointed with that.”
Stratton will now take time off to get married in September before turning her attention to next year’s world championships and Commonwealth Games.
Agencies2.2pm:Warholm wins epic 400m hurdles final
Norway’s Karsten Warholm has produced a devastating performance to smash his own world record and win the Olympic men’s 400m hurdles gold, AFP reports.
Touted as one of the stand-out events of the 10-day track and field program at the Olympic Stadium, the cream of a very good hurdling crop did not fail to deliver in a thrilling race despite stifling midday heat and humidity in Tokyo.
Warholm clocked a remarkable 45.94 seconds, pulverising his previous world best of 46.70sec. To put that performance into perspective, only four runners in history have even clocked sub-47sec times, let alone sub-46.
American arch-rival Rai Benjamin won silver in 46.17sec, with Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos claiming bronze in 46.72, both regional records that also smashed their previous personal bests.
As the Norwegian, with minimum upper body movement as he negotiated the early hurdles, hit the final 200m well ahead of the field, the question was whether he could keep his rhythm and pace.
Benjamin had not given up hope and pushed down the home straight, coming almost neck-and-neck on the 10th and last hurdle.
Warholm, teeth gritted and head flailing, looked like he might tie up to hand the American victory.
But from somewhere, the Norwegian two-time world champion dug deep and found just enough energy for an extra spurt that saw him surge through the line.
Eyes bulging at the world record time flashed up on the big screen, Warholm roared and spontaneously ripped open his shirt amid gasps from sparse pockets of fellow athletes and team officials at a stadium empty of spectators because of coronavirus rules.
There were national records for British Virgin Islands’ Kyron McMaster in fourth, Turkey’s Cuban-born 2017 world silver medallist Yasmani Copello in sixth and Estonian Rasmus Magi in seventh.
Qatar’s 2019 world bronze medallist Abderrahman Samba, one of the four runners to have dipped under 47 seconds in his career, was fifth in a season’s best of 47.12.
— Agencies
Brianna Travers2pm:Kayak pair fall short of the medals
It’s been a day of disappointment for Australia’s kayakers, with our K2 500m paddlers Alyssa Bull and Alyce Wood failing to win a medal.
The pair were ranked second ahead of the final, but finished in fifth place, with our trans-Tasman rivals stealing the gold.
Bull and Wood, both from the Sunshine Coast, were 1.627 seconds behind New Zealand.
Brianna Travers1.45pm:Green outclassed in canoe final
It wasn’t to be for Gold Coast paddler Tom Green in the men’s K1 1000m canoe sprint event today.
Green, 22, completed the blue ribbon race in a time of 3.28.360, but was outclassed by more seasoned athletes.
Coming from lane two, the Australian surf life saver was unable to keep up with the gold medallist Balint Kopasz.
He was supported by his mentor, Australia’s deputy Chef de Mission Ken Wallace, in the crowd.
Green finished in seventh place out of eight competitors at his debut Olympics.
Hayden Johnson1.30pm:Bike debacle forces urgent probe
The strength of Australia’s track bikes is being urgently assessed after the failure of a 3D-printed component caused Alex Porter’s catastrophic crash at Izu Velodrome on Monday.
It is understood the component which snapped was a 3D-printed titanium handlebar made by Bastion Cycles, which is now investigating the cause of the incident.
“Our first concern was for Alex Porter and the entire team,” company co-founder Ben Schultz said.
“We are in constant contact with the Australian Olympic cycling team and coaches, and give our assurances that we are using all means available to investigate why this occurred.
“Our focus at this time is to continue supporting the Australian cycling team for the remainder of the competition.”
Bastion supports the Australian Olympic and Paralympic teams and has been providing custom-made components for athletes since 2016.
Scott Gullan1pm:Barber cuts it fine in javelin
The stakes weren’t quite as high but the moment was just as big for Kelsey-Lee Barber.
In 2019 Barber famously won the world title in Doha with her final throw in one of the biggest clutch moments in Australian sporting history.
On Tuesday morning in Tokyo the defending world champion was facing an early exit from qualifying following two sub-standard throws.
Barber has battled the “yips” all season and it looked like her confidence issues had struck again when she was only able to produce a best effort of 53.82m - almost 14m outside her career best.
Clearly she has ice running through her veins as, after a long chat with husband and coach Mike, she proceeded to launch the javelin 62.59m to guarantee a spot in Friday night’s final.
There will be a trio of Australians chasing the medals with Commonwealth champion Kathryn Mitchell (61.85m)) and team debutant Mackenzie Little (62.37m) also qualifying.
Hayden Johnson12.45pm:From crash to crash through
Australia’s cyclists are riding for redemption today after a shocking start to the track campaign on Monday.
Both the men and women’s team pursuit squads must today win their heat races and post a fast time for a shot at bronze.
Alex Porter will ride the men’s team pursuit heat against Switzerland after suffering a nasty crash yesterday only to get back on the bike half-an-hour later.
“The job’s not done ... more to come from us,” he wrote on social media. “Thank you for all the support through messages.”
Australia’s team sprint men, who are considered a medal chance, will also ride in qualifying this afternoon.
Brianna Travers12.30pm:Paddlers bullish over medal prospects
Australia’s K2 500m paddlers Alyssa Bull and Alyce Wood go into this afternoon’s final as the second-fastest team.
The dynamic duo have come into Tokyo as dark horses, but will hope to add to Australia’s medal tally in their finals berth.
The pair finished in eighth place in Rio and there’s every indication they could place on the podium today after a slick semi-final performance.
Bull, 25, from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, is a former ironwoman and was a young star on Australia’s surf life saving scene.
“We’re pretty excited and I’m very happy every time I get to sit in the K2,” she said leading up to the games.
Wood, who also hails from the Sunshine Coast, was the K1 1000m world champion in 2017 and is busting for Olympic glory.
The 28-year-old wears a hint of pink to every race as a good-luck charm when she competes to accompany the green and gold.
From a young age Wood aspired to be an ironwoman and turned to kayaking aged 15 to improve her surf ski paddling, but fell in love with the sport.
The women will paddle in lane six at 2.46pm AEST.
Brianna Travers12.05pm:Is Green the new gold?
Kayaker Tom Green will fight for Aussie gold in the blue ribbon K1 1000m event this afternoon.
Green, 22, put in a solid performance in a fast semi-final this morning and will compete from lane two at 1.20pm AEST.
He paddled a time of 3.24.612, just 1.670 behind Fernando Pimenta who is hoping to win Portugal’s first ever medal in canoe sprint.
The course at Tokyo’s Sea Forest waterway is lightning quick, with a strong wind behind the paddlers making a world record likely in the final.
Green, a surf life saver from the Gold Coast, grew up in a single-parent household and has never taken things for granted.
“It’s just myself, my mum, my brother and my sister,” he said. “So I grew up in a single parent household and my mum did an absolutely amazing job. Like she did everything she could for me and my siblings. She made sacrifices for all us kids.”
Green’s mum Meredith and siblings Lachy and Britt will be cheering him on from home today.
Green is mentored by Beijing gold medallist Ken Wallace and says he has no idea how he will fare against his competitors, as he hasn’t raced internationally since 2019 due to the pandemic.
Fellow Australian Jean van der Westhuyzen did not make the A final.
Tom Crystal11.50am:Long way to the top
The 12 finalists in the women’s long jump event are being introduced, and Australia’s Brooke Stratton is among them.
It’s the 28-year-old’s second Olympic final — she finished 7th in Rio in 2016 — and comes after a sixth-placing in the London world championships in 2017 and a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in 2018.
The woman to beat here is Croatia’s Ivana Spanovic, who has jumped 7m this season and has a personal best of 7.2m.
Stratton’s best jump of 7.05m came in 2016.
Scott Gullan11.45am:‘Dangerous’ out on the track
Stewart McSweyn knows there is plenty of room for improvement after getting through the 1500m qualifying round unscathed.
There was lots of drama with several falls in the other heats, but the Australia’s medal hopeful avoided that by taking up the running and comfortably getting through as an automatic qualifier, finishing third in 3min36.39sec.
It was far from an impressive performance – Britain’s Jake Heyward sat off McSweyn and then easily won the heat – but the Australian knows Thursday night’s semi-final will be a different story.
“Obviously I was kind of surprised no one else wanted to take on the pace but I am in good shape. I am fit. I was happy to do it,” he said.
“I knew on that last lap, I had a quick look at the camera and I knew that I had a lot to give and I thought I would comfortably be in that top six.
“The first round it can be pretty dangerous in the pack, you can get clipped and fall over and I wanted to take my fate in my own hands.
“I know that I need a lift for the semi, I feel like it is there, training is going well so I am going to run what suits me.
“I am going to take it on and if guys beat me they beat me. I can live with it but I am not going to die wondering.”
He will be joined in the semi-final by teammate Oliver Hoare, who finished third in the opening heat (3:36.09sec).
The US-based college runner knew he had drawn a stacked heat so put himself forward early to stay out of trouble.
“With the heat, you can’t really take anything for granted,” Hoare said. “I knew my heat was going to be hard with the world champion and the world finalist in that heat.
“So I wanted to make it honest and make sure that my fitness will prevail.”
Australia’s third representative Jye Edwards, who defeated McSweyn at the Olympic trials in April, failed to qualify after he was involved in a tangle over the final 200m, which saw one of the leading medal chances Marcin Lewandowski fall.
“Absolutely brutal,” was how Edwards described his Olympic debut. “This is obviously what Olympic races are like. I had a good preparation leading in and unfortunately I couldn’t get it done, I couldn’t execute on the day.
“It is quite frustrating and a pretty messy race too. It is what it is. I thought I was in a good spot earlier, everyone came around, kind of swamped (me) a bit. I didn’t hold my position until after the end. It’s cut-throat, I gave it everything. Pretty disappointed.”
In the women’s 400m heats Bendere Oboya surprisingly struggled, finishing fifth in 52.37sec to be eliminated.
“Not every race is going to be great, this wasn’t a great one,” she said. “I know I wasn’t in bad shape, I’m not going to give any excuse. That’s life.”
Selina Steele11.25am:Matildas still mystified over ref howler
“One hundred per cent it was a fair goal”.
The Matildas – who today will dust themselves off and start building towards their Olympic bronze medal match against the US – are still befuddled by the controversial call that disallowed a Sam Kerr goal in the closing stages of the first half of their semi-final against Sweden.
It was a defining moment of the match given the cruel sucker punch that was to come from Fridolina Rolfo less than a minute into the second half.
Kerr had volleyed Steph Catley’s free kick home at the near post only for referee Melissa Borjas to rule Matilda Emily van Egmond, further down the line of players, had blocked the run of Swedish defenders, leaving the Matildas up in arms.
Van Egmond, still processing the incident after the match, said: “One hundred per cent that was a fair goal.”
“Personally I didn’t think there was much contact at all ... I thought the girl ran into me and I am actually not too sure if there was anything at all in it.
“The ref called me for a potential block ... look we still have a game to play and a chance to get a medal so we’ll rest up and recover the best we can.
“It’s a tough tournament ...but we have huge ambitions to win a medal.”
When asked if the referee should have held her whistle instead of blowing it before the goal went in and checked with the VAR, Edmund added: “She blew the whistle before the goal was scored.
“The whole point of VAR isn’t it to go back and check?”
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson said he was “disappointed” to have the goal disallowed and he needed to see the replays to understand the call, while vice-captain Stephanie Catley was perplexed.
“I didn’t get to speak to the referee. She didn’t answer me,” Catley said.
“She didn’t say why it was disallowed – but maybe some of the other girls were able to speak to her. But it didn’t look like anything clear in my opinion.”
They will now face the US, who lost to Canada 1-0 in the earlier semi-final, in Thursday’s bronze medal match – but without star defender Ellie Carpenter, who will be suspended after being sent off in the 95th minute.
Tom Crystal11am:Sixth sense for Aussie Oboya
Australia’s Bendere Oboya battled on to finish sixth in her 400m heat, almost 1.5 seconds behind race winner Jodie Williams, from Great Britain.
Oboya clocked 52.37 in her first Olympic Games campaign, admitting she struggled but refusing to make excuses for her performance.
It’s not easy going out there, again in stifling heat in excess of 30C, and two runners in Oboya’s heat failed to finish, while another was disqualified.
The first three in each of the six heats, plus the next six fastest times, advance to the semi-finals on Wednesday.
Tom Crystal10.35am:Aussies advance amid 1500m carnage
Oliver Hoare (3min36.09) has been joined in the semi-finals by Stewart McSweyn (3:36.39) after some eventful 1500m heats.
Two runners went down in the second race, which featured another Australian, Jye Edwards, who placed seventh in 3.42.62.
One of the medal favourites, Poland’s Marcin Lewandowski, was tripped up amid some rough and tumble in Edwards’ heat, along with Qatar’s Saeed Hassan, prompting Channel 7 caller Bruce McAvaney to declare: “It’s mayhem out there.”
Fellow commentator Tamsyn Manou added: “That was a real baptism of fire for Jye ... so rough”.
Hoare said he was used to some argy bargy mid-race.
“It’s a non-contact sport but there’s a bit of contact sometimes,” he said. “You’ve just got to stay relaxed and stay calm relax.”
Lewandowski was granted passage through to the semi-finals by the race referee.
Tom Crystal10.15am:Oliver looks for more
Australian 1500m runner Oliver Hoare has finished third in his heat after an impressive performance in the first race of the day out on the main stadium.
The 24-year-old was among the leading pack early, but battled to keep in touch as they went for home.
Hoare kicked again, however, to clock a time of 3min36.09sec, behind race winner, Belgium’s Ismael Debjani in 3:36.00, and Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot (3:36.01).
Hoare is safely through to the semi-finals, as the top six from each heat advance, along with the next six best times.
Agencies10am:Pole position on offer
Men’s pole vault – Final Another male star of track and field goes for gold in the shape of pole vault world record holder Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, AFP reports.
The US-born Swede revealed how fate intervened to help him avoid a potentially ruinous meeting with Covid-positive rival Sam Kendricks.
He said he only missed a coffee appointment with the American because a conversation with his girlfriend overran.
Potential disaster averted, Duplantis was one of 14 men to go through to the final after clearing 5.75 metres in qualifying.
He predicted, however, that the Olympic record of 6.03, set by Brazil’s Thiago Braz in the 2016 Rio Olympics, could well be broken in Tokyo.
“I’m just going to go 110 per cent for it no matter what,” he said.
— Agencies
Agencies9.30am:Double-double any trouble?
The moment of truth is looming for self-proclaimed “Olympic baby” Elaine Thompson-Herah as she contests the 200m women’s final in her bid for an unprecedented women’s sprint “double-double”, AFP reports.
The 29-year-old looks most under threat in the final from her compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, whom she beat to gold in the 100m.
“I guess I’m an Olympic baby, an Olympic darling because I have not won a world championship title,” Thompson-Herah said.
“It means a lot to me and in the next three years to come.”
Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou and Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo could get into the medals mix along with the surprise Namibian duo of Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi, who were both barred from competing in their preferred 400m due to elevated testosterone levels.
— Agencies
Hayden Johnson9.10am:Crash leaves Aussie coach speechless
Adelaide’s Alex Porter hit the timber face-first at 65km/h. Less than an hour later he was back on the bike in one of the most courageous feats of the Tokyo Games. Read more here
Agencies8.50am:Son of a gun hopes to deliver
The men’s 400m hurdles is one of the most keenly anticipated events pitches world record-holder Karsten Warholm against arch rival Rai Benjamin, AFP reports.
Norway’s two-time world champion Warholm edged Benjamin in their semi-final, although the American eased up well before the line with qualification assured.
Benjamin has largely played second fiddle to Warholm, including finishing runner-up behind the Norwegian in the 2019 world final in Doha.
However, the 25-year-old American — son of former West Indian pace bowler Winston — came off the track in an excellent frame of mind, saying he was “excited for the final... The job’s not done”.
— Agencies
Agencies8.30am:Biles back after mental-health break
Simone Biles will make her long-awaited bid for an individual gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday, while the men’s 400m hurdles and women’s 200m finals take centre stage on the track, AFP reports.
American superstar gymnast Biles, who won four gold medals in Rio five years ago, has said she is struggling with the “twisties”, a condition where gymnasts lose the ability to orientate themselves in mid-air.
She dramatically pulled out of last week’s team competition final after one vault as Team USA took silver, and said she feared for her mental health.
The 19-time world champion subsequently withdrew from the all-around final and three of the four apparatus finals — the floor, vault and uneven bars.
But Biles will be back in the last women’s final of the Games, on the beam, and all eyes will be watching to see how she handles the pressure.
Although it is not her strongest apparatus, the 24-year-old is a three-time beam world champion and took Olympic bronze in 2016.
Victory would be one of the great comeback stories, with Biles having documented her mental health struggles during the Games in regular social media posts.
Biles had arrived in Tokyo seeking five gold medals to equal the all-time Olympic record for a female competitor of nine.
— Agencies
Ellen Whinnett8.15am:Hubbard crashes out of women’s event
Transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, has crashed out of the super heavyweight women’s final, failing to record a clean lift. Read more here
Jacquelin Magnay8am:Aussie athletes trashed hotel rooms
A pair of Australia’s Olympic teams have been severely reprimanded for bad behaviour in the athletes village after a wild weekend in which rooms were trashed and cleaners called in to mop up vomit.
The drunken hijinks raged throughout Friday and Saturday nights, upsetting athletes who were still competing, including several from within the Australian contingent and rivals such as Team GB. Read more here
Brent Read7.30am:McSweyn on track to shock the world
He has run the fourth fastest time in the world in 2021. He is fifth in the world rankings. And today, our great 1500m hope Stewart McSweyn kicks off his bid to capture Australia’s first gold medal in the event since Herb Elliott in Rome in 1960.
Anything less than the final would be a disappointment for McSweyn, who has been running especially hot in recent months. He smashed the national record for the 1500m a month ago at the Diamond League meet in Oslo — a blistering 3:29.51 which ranks him behind only 20-year-old Norwegian wunderkind Jakob Ingebrigtsen (3:28.68) among the athletes that will step onto the track for Heat 3 at 10.27am (AEST) today.
Bookmakers have McSweyn right in the thick of 1500m markets. The TAB has made him a $13 chance for gold, behind only Kenya’s reigning world champion Timothy Cheruiyot ($1.70) and Ingebrigtsen. Athletes the calibre of Rio gold medallist Matthew Centrowitz ($17) and Algeria’s 2019 world championship bronze medallist Marcin Lewandowski ($21) all trail McSweyn in the betting — a clear indication of just how high in the international pecking order McSweyn currently sits.
But the heights of Tokyo are a far cry from McSweyn’s humble beginnings, where he and twin Angus — Stewart arrived two minutes ahead of his brother — played a myriad of sports as children on the family’s 1500-acre property.
McSweyn’s life changed when his parents made the difficult decision to send him and Angus to board at Ballarat Clarendon College. McSweyn started receiving coaching and eventually found his way into the hands of the country’s distance guru Nic Bideau, a man who has presided over the careers of some of the country’s greatest distance runners and is now part of the Australian coaching ensemble.
If Stewart mcsweyn wins the gold in the 1500m athletics I'm going to freak out in a way that makes Titmus' coach’s reaction look tame
— Tim Storer (@storertim) July 26, 2021
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Amanda Lulham7am:Lifesaver rockets into kayak medal contention
Kayaker Tom Green really had no idea how he would go in his debut at an Olympic Games until the moment he paddled across the finish line in his first ever heat in fiery conditions in Tokyo.
But the 22-year-old surf life saver was then so relaxed, he offered to hold umbrellas over the heads of support staff as they went about their jobs in extreme heat at the Sea Forest Waterway on Monday.
The young gentleman of paddling has been grounded in Australia, training with teammates but unable to test himself against international fields for the past 18 months.
It meant the youngest member of the canoe sprint team didn’t know how he would do until he finished his heat in second place to Rio silver medallist and Czech Josef Dostal to advance directly to Tuesday’s semi-finals.
Also happy was his K1 partner Jean van der Westhuyzen who also made it through to Tuesday’s semi-final via a win in his repechage after finishing third in his heat.
A third Australian crew will also race in Tuesday’s semi-finals with Rio Olympians Alyssa Bull and Alyce Wood qualifying for the semi-finals of the K2 100.
Gadiel Notelovitz7am:Boomers have cause for concern ahead of quarters
The Australian Boomers have been good enough so far in Tokyo. But “good enough” will have to get a whole lot better from this point on.
While Brian Goorjian’s team avoided the worst-case scenario in Sunday night’s draw, they’ll still face perennial contenders Argentina tonight (10pm AEST), with a match-up against either Team USA or Spain on the other side of a win.
The Boomers are 3-0 — with wins over Nigeria, Italy and Germany — but have plenty of room for improvement and one big cause for concern.
The defence has unsurprisingly been the standout, but the half-court offence has looked disjointed at times, even if it has shown signs of progress. And the big question now revolves around life without Aron Baynes, which got off to a worrying start against Germany.
“With Baynes not there, we got comprehensively beaten on the boards,” Boomers legend Andrew Gaze told News Corp. “Intent, purpose and understanding the urgency on the boards wasn’t where it needed to be.”
Australia beat Germany on Saturday, but were dominated 45-28 in the rebound category as Baynes was missed. In the end, it didn’t matter. But it will if the Boomers want gold.
💚💛thanks for the luv! https://t.co/NZStFHWDVF
— Aron Baynes (@aronbaynes) July 30, 2021
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Gadiel Notelovitz6.45am:Opals face Team USA showdown
After squeezing into the quarter-final stage of the Tokyo Olympics last night, the Australian Opals were dealt a nightmare match-up against Team USA.
Paying the price for a third-place finish in Group C, the Opals were drawn against the United States, only an hour after defeating Puerto Rico by a margin of 27 points to book their spot in the knockout stage.
With Team USA and Spain the only two options due to the rules of the draw, the Opals got the gold medal favourites, who are yet to lose.
If they manage to topple the United States, Australia will play the winner of China v Serbia.
Without Liz Cambage, the Opals beat Team USA in a Las Vegas warm-up game just last month.
But after a less than convincing start to life in Tokyo, Australia will have a serious task on their hands if they wish to progress to the semi-finals.
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