Tokyo 2020 Olympics Day 15 live coverage: Boom: Historic high jump silver, Boomers’ finally blast way to bronze
Nicola McDermott wins Australia’s first high jump medal since 1964 as Patty Mills masterminds way to Australia’s first basketball medal.
- Nicola’s help on high for high jump silver
- Boomers finally get their bronze
- Coach thrown out for horse cruelty
- Rosseau 8th in diving debut
- Gallant Green misses golf medal
- Kenyan survives war of attrition
- Animal cruelty row erupts
- Aussie high jumper’s secret weapon
- McSweyn flags 1500m tactic change
Day 15 at Tokyo and the Games may be winding to a close, but the action wasn’t. Australia continued to hit milestones – not least adding silver and bronze medals which brought its total Tokyo tally to 46.
From the chaos and crashes at the velodrome emerged Matthew Glaetzer: a man battling thyroid cancer who nonetheless has made it – along with teammate Matthew Richardson – as the last of our men’s track cycling medal hopes on Sunday.
It was the night the Boomers finally shed their dreaded bridesmaid tag – after four losing shots at an Olympic medal, they finally picked up bronze — with a Patty Mills-engineered demolition of Slovenia.
Meanwhile, out at the track and field, Stewart McSweyn’s bold attempt to steal the 1500m ran out of legs, but Nicola McDermott was flying high.
Bullied as a kid in high school because of her height — she was called a giraffe — the devoted Christian called on all her higher powers to win silver in the high jump.
It came in the same year she became the first Australian woman in history to clear the magical two metre mark.
Here’s how Day 15 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games unfolded:
KEY AUSSIES:
■ COMPLETED: Athletics, women’s marathon — Sinead Diver (10th), Ellie Pashley (23rd), Lisa Weightman 26th
■ COMPLETED: Golf, women’s final round — Hannah Green 5th, Minjee Lee 29th
■ COMPLETED: Canoe sprint, women’s kayak four, 500m — 7th
■ COMPLETED: Canoe sprint, men’s kayak four 500m — 7th
■ COMPLETED:Diving, men’s 10m platform final — Cassiel Rousseau 8th
■ COMPLETED:Track cycling, men’s keirin — Matthew Richardson 3rd (into QF), Matthew Glaetzer 1st (into QF)
■ COMPLETED:Track cycling, men’s madison final — Australia (Leigh Howard, Kelland O’Brien, Sam Welsford (did not finish)
■ COMPLETED: Athletics, women’s high jump final — Nicola McDermott SILVER, Eleanor Patterson
■ COMPLETED: Basketball, men’s bronze medal game — Australia 107 (BRONZE) d Slovenia 93
■ COMPLETED:Athletics, men’s 1500m final — Stewart McSweyn 7th, Oliver Hoare 11th
Scott Gullant 11.10pm:Nicola’s help on high for silver
Religion and high jump are Nicola McDermott’s passions and they combined together in beautiful synchronicity for Olympic silver in Tokyo.
McDermott has always believed the Lord gave her wings to fly and she soared into the history books, breaking her own Australian record as she came agonisingly close to Olympic glory.
In a thrilling jump-off for gold, McDermott cleared 2.02m on her second attempt to match the clearance of Russia’s Mariya Lasitskene.
But the reigning world champion then cleared 2.04m on her second attempt, which the Australian was unable to match.
Rather than be daunted by the occasion, the 24-year-old from the NSW Central Coast smiled her way through the Olympic final.
Her ritual of writing down an assessment of every jump in a journal had TV viewers around the world captivated.
After every entry she also drew a yellow Christian cross on the page.
McDermott’s silver medal caps off an incredible Games for Australia’s athletics team with her victory coming after bronze medals to javelin thrower Kelsey-Lee Barber and decathlete Ash Moloney.
It matches Australia’s previous best result in the high-jump with Michelle Brown also winning silver in Tokyo in 1964.
Adding to the history narrative, for the first time Australia had two jumpers in the top five with Eleanor Patterson finishing fifth with a best clearance of 1.96m.
McDermott became a devoted Christian in high school after she had initially been bullied as a kid because of her height – she was often called a giraffe.
When she broke the national record in April she had a passage from the Bible written on tape on her wrist.
She is also the co-founder of a ministry group, Everlasting Crowns, with other international athletes.
McDermott has literally raised the bar this year becoming the first Australian woman in history to clear the magical two-metre mark.
She was the story of the national championships in Sydney in April when she cleared 2.00m to claim the Australian record.
McDermott then improved that to 2.01m in Stockholm last month.
She didn’t elect to enter the Olympic final until 1.89m which she cleared easily and immediately looked in total control.
A miss at 1.96m was soon rectified and when she cleared 1.98m on her first attempt to put herself in the frame for gold.
She then cleared 2.00m at her first attempt to put the pressure on Lasitskene who missed at her first attempt before clearing it with her next jump.
The roles were reversed at 2.02m with the reigning world champion making a clear leap first-up while McDermott missed her first before dug deep again.
Ellen Whinnett 11.01pm:Nicola McDermott wins silver in high jump
In Australia’s first high jump medal for Australia since Tokyo 1964, Australia’s Nicola McDermott has won silver.
McDermott was guaranteed a medal after clearing 2.02 as the women’s high-jump reaches its final rounds.
She was the only competitor to clear 2m on her first attempt, but took two tries to clear the bar at 2.02. She looked to the heavens then urged her teammates to clap her into her run-up as she launched.
She immediately backed up for an attempt at 2.04, which was not successful at her first try.
The ROC athlete Mariya Lasitshere, who cleared 2.02 on her first attempt, is in first place.
Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh is in third.
Gadiel Notelovitz 10.47pm:How Patty Mills inspired history-making bronze
The Boomers’ golden generation finally has their medal.
The elusive prize the Boomers have been chasing quite literally forever is in their hands after a Patty Mills-inspired 107-93 win over Slovenia late on Saturday night.
It’s not gold. But a history-making Olympic bronze is enough. Because it so almost could have been fourth. Again.
Mills scored 42 points, the Boomers locked down a frustrated and injured Luka Doncic, and ultimately did enough to get over the line as the Australian men’s basketball team made history inside the Saitama Super Arena.
The Boomers were just 9.7 seconds away from the bronze in 2016 after an Aron Baynes hook shot dropped in against Spain. A foul call at the other end and a turnover saw the medal fall through their fingers.
At the 2019 World Cup, it was Spain, again, who triumphed in double-overtime to book a place in the final, before Australia fell to France in the third-place playoff.
“If you look at history, the Boomers have done a lot of things well over time – but they haven’t handled this situation well,” head coach Brian Goorjian said before the game.
Against Slovenia, Mills and the Boomers applied everything they’d learned from past heartbreaks as they squeezed the new boys on the block until they popped.
Matthew Dellavedova had started against Team USA despite playing just a tick over 10 minutes. Against Slovenia, there were no such niceties. In came Matisse Thybulle for Dellavedova from the start. And on went Thybulle on Doncic. He kept the guard quiet until it was Dante Exum’s turn.
The focus was Doncic, and the result was a first quarter where the NBA superstar had just six points; four of which came from the free throw line.
The problem? By the time Doncic checked back into the game with 6:48 left in the second quarter, after leaving late in the first, Slovenia had extended its lead to 31-28.
The answer? Mills, who carried the flag for Australia, and then carried the Boomers. The 32-year-old matched his total against the United States – 15 points – with more than six minutes left in the first half. He had 26 by the break after a 16-point quarter as a Thybulle dunk gave the Boomers a 53-45 lead and was followed by a Doncic technical foul after the Slovenian’s frustrations finally boiled over.
Doncic, playing with a strap on his left wrist after hurting it in the semi-final against France, had just nine points and two assists at the half in what was his worst 20 minutes of basketball in Tokyo.
It didn’t get much better in the second half for the NBA’s golden boy, despite a late flurry, as he finished with just 22 points on 19 shots.
Mills, on the other hand, picked up right where he left off in the third as Slovenia’s offence struggled to keep pace without Doncic’s usual contribution.
Despite Australia growing that lead to 14 points early in the fourth, an 8-0 Slovenia run cut it to 81-75 with 7:47 on the clock. It was three points not long after, before the Boomers effectively iced the game with a 19-6 spurt of their own. A Thybulle put-back dunk put the icing on the cake as Mills and Joe Ingles embraced after the buzzer sounded.
Australia also can take solace in the fact that the team who beat them in the semi-final, Team USA, went on to win the whole thing. Led by Kevin Durant’s 29 points, the United States proved too good for France; sealing their fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal earlier on Saturday.
Wally Mason 10.45pm:Boom: Aussie basketballers finally get their bronze
Patty Mills masterminded an Australian assault leading the scoring with 42 points as the Boomers defeated Slovenia 107-93 to win Australia’s first basketball Olympic medal.
In a back-end-forth battle, Australia led by seven points in the first quarter before falling behind in the second, then exploded on a 16-7 run to take a 10-point lead at 45-35. At halftime the lead was eight points at 53-45, highlighted by a massive Matisse Thybulle dunk just before the halftime buzzer.
But the Boomers owed plenty of their points to Mills, who had seven points in the first quarter and another 19 in the second. He was shooting 4-of-13 from deep and added four assists, two rebounds and a steal.
Andrew Gaze said: “Patty Mills has been uber-aggressive in this one, and by and large we’ve needed it … He’s clearly the go-to.”
Brianna Travers 10.43pm:Fice games, seven gold: Felix America’s most decorated woman
USA golden girl Allyson Felix has become the most decorated American female athletics star of all time by snaring gold in the women’s 4x400m relay on Saturday.
Felix, 35, won a historic 11th Olympic medal at the final night of competition, taking her past Carl Lewis as the most decorated American track and field athlete in history.
The USA ran comfortably in first place throughout the entire duration of the relay, finishing with a season best time of 3.16.85.
It is Felix’s fifth Olympic Games and her seventh gold medal.
Ellen Whinnett 10.30pm:McDermott has a medal, Patterson out
Exciting stuff: Nicola McDermott is set to medal in the women’s high jump, sitting on top of the leaderboard.
But fellow Aussie Eleanor Patterson’s Olympics is over, with the 1.98m bar proving too much of a hurdle.
McDermott cleared the 2m bar easily on her first attempt, looking to have plenty of room to spare and setting off a huge cheer from the Australians in the stands.
Joe Barton 10.25pm:Mills magic has Boomers on verge of history
Australia has an 11-point lead with 10 minutes to go in this bronze medal match. The Boomers’ golden generation is on the verge of picking up an elusive Olympic medal.
It’s there for the taking.
And it’s actually quite absurd that they don’t have a much bigger advantage. They’ve kept Luka Doncic to just 14 points, but have allowed Slovenia to chip away through their other starters – with the likes of Kleme Prepelic (11 points) and Mike Tobey (11 points) finding ways to contribute.
But then there’s Patty.
The Boomers’ captain is having a monster evening, with 36 points in a single-minded performance where he simply isn’t taking no for an answer.
Joe Ingles sprung to life late in the third quarter, hitting two threes to push Australia’s lead back into double digits.
Scott Gullan 10.16pm:‘Legs ran out of steam’: McSweyn
With one lap to go Stewart McSweyn was exactly where he wanted to be in the men’s 1500m Olympic final.
He was third in a small breakaway group stalking the two gold medal favourites Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Timothy Cheruiyot, with a possible medal just 400 metres away.
Unfortunately his courageous tactics of putting everything on the line backfired, with McSweyn fading to finish seventh.
It took guts to do it that way and the Australian champion had no regrets afterwards.
“I went in with big goals,” McSweyn said. “To finish seventh, I didn’t achieve the goal I was after but to run 3.31.91 in an Olympic final – I can’t be too disappointed.
“I put myself in the right spot (at the bell) unfortunately the legs just weren’t there but the effort was there.
“Overall I’m happy with it, the guys were too good today. I’ll have to keep trying to get better for the next major championship.”
Ingebrigsten, who has been one of the finest 1500m runners on the planet since bursting onto the scene in 2018, showed his class with the 20-year-old Norwegian surging clear to win gold in a new Olympic record time of 3min28.32sec.
Cheruiyot, the reigning world champion, stuck on to take silver in 3min29.01sec with a shock bronze going to Great Britain’s Josh Kerr in a personal best 3:29.05sec.
McSweyn’s time of 3:31.91sec was more than two second outside his national record while fellow Aussie Oliver Hoare couldn’t back up his impressive semi-final run, fading badly to finish 11th (3:35.79sec).
In the women’s 10,000m Sifan Hassan bounced back from her slip-up in the 1500m to collect the 5000m-10000m double.
The Dutchwoman had been one of the stories of the games with her audacious attempt to win three gold medals but she will have to settle with two golds and a bronze.
Hassan sprinted away over the final lap to capture the Olympic title in 29min55.32sec from Bahrain’s Kalkidan Gezahegne (29:56.18sec) with world record holder Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey taking bronze (29:55.32sec).
Wally Mason 10.15pm:India’s Chopra takes men’s javelin gold
India’s Niraj Chopra has won the men’s javelin gold medal with a monster throw of 87.58.
It’s a big story for the Indian media contingent in the stands, who are finding it hard to contain themselves.
Chopra has begun a victory lap draped in the Indian flag.
Czechs Jakub Vadejch and Vitezslav Vesely take silver and bronze.
Ellen Whinnett 10.08pm:Australians sit at first and second in high jump
Back to the high jump, with a great effort from Nicola McDermott who cleared 1.98 on her first attempt. That puts her initial miss at 1.96 firmly in the background. And she’s the only one to clear the bar on the first attempt.
Teammate Eleanor Patterson missed on her first and second goes at 1.98 but still has one more try up her sleeve. It’s a big jump for Patterson, whose personal best is 1.99. Her best so far this season has been 1.96.
Three competitors failed to make it over the 1.96 bar so we are down to nine in the finals field.
We are five rounds in and McDermott is sitting in first place, with Patterson in equal second.
Ellen Whinnett 9.53pm:Aussie men miss out on 1500m medals
The Aussies have missed out on the medals in the men’s 1500m finals.
The King Island flyer Stewart McSweyn ran seventh with a time of 3.31.91. Teammate Oliver Hoare was 11th in 3.35.79.
Gold medallist Jakob Ingebrigtsen, of Norway, smashed the Olympic record, clocking 3.28.32, while Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot, who led the race most of the way, won silver. Josh Kerr from Great Britain took the bronze.
McSweyn had been in the top three most of the way but couldn’t maintain the brutal pace when Ingebrigtsen hit the accelerator with 300m to go.
Debbie Schipp 9.49pm:Boomers lead by eight at main break
The Boomers are up 53-45 over Slovenia at half time in their bronze medal match.
Patty Mills is on fire for Australia: 26 points and four assists.
Wally Mason: 9.40pm:McDermott clears on second attempt
Good news from Olympic Stadium – Nicola McDermott has cleared 1.96 on her second try and goes through to the next round.
Ellen Whinnett9.39pm:Patterson breezes through 1.96m
Patterson had cleared the 1.96m at her first attempt, but fellow Aussie Nicola McDermott did not.
The fourth-round height proved problematic for McDermott and most of the other competitors, but they will get two more attempts to clear the bar.
The handful of Australian officials and athletics teammates in the stadium have relocated tonight to an area closer to the high jump and are making plenty of noise. They’ll have more to cheer about now Oliver Hoare and Stewart McSweyn have come out for the 1500m final.
Also in the last few minutes, Kelsey-Lee Barber has received her javelin bronze medal in a podium ceremony held on the sidelines of the stadium.
Brianaa Travers9.37pm:Hassan crawls from track after winning 10,000m gold
Dutch athletics star Sifan Hassan completed an unprecedented hat trick on the track when she won gold in the 10,000m on Saturday night.
Hassan, 28, won the women’s event in 29:55.32, making history after winning gold in the 5000m and bronze in the 1500m earlier this week.
In one of the most highly anticipated clashes of the Games, the double 2019 world champion and multiple world record-holder defeated Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey, the world record holder in the 10,000m.
Gidley led the race until the final 100m, where Hassan took the lead and sprinted home to the finish line.
Kalkidan Gezahegne of Bahrain won silver and Gidey drifted to third.
Wally Mason9.29pm:Hassan crawls from track after winning 10,000m gold
Sifan Hassan has crawled from the track on hands and knees, asking for water after her magnificent sprint finish to take gold in the women’s 10,000.
It’s 28C in Tokyo and the humidity is 80 per cent.
Medical staff are helping two other athletes from the track.
Tokyo’s National Stadium is one of the most magnificent venues in world athletics – compact and intimate, but big enough to accommodate the Olympic stage.
Capacity of the stadium is 68,000 and what a pity they aren’t here tonight. The atmosphere would be electric.
Although, as has been the case with most events at these Games, the small crowd of media, officials and fellow competitors is enough to create a buzz.
At one end of the stadium, the men’s javelin final, at the other two Australian women are still in the running in the high jump and we have just witnessed a fantastic performance from Dutch superstar Sifan Hassan to win the women’s 10,000m. Meanwhile, Australian Kelsey-Lee Barber is just receiving her bronze medal for the women’s javelin.
Joe Barton9.25pm:Boomers lead by a point at quarter time
Australia has taken a one-point lead into quarter-time of its bronze medal match with Slovenia, with Patty Mills leading in points, rebounds and assists as the Boomers lead 20-19.
Coach Brian Goorjian pulled a swift before the tip-off, with Matisse Thybulle given his first starting role – coming in for Matthew Dellavedova.
His job? Stop Luka.
The tenacious defender, along with Dante Exum, shadowed Luka Doncic’s every move in the first quarter and as a result the NBA superstar being limited to just one first-quarter field goal.
That’s helped, and with Mills’ seven points, Australia will feel mildly confident.
Ellen Whinnett9.18pm:High jumpers through to round three
The Australians are continuing their strong performance in the high jump, with Nicola McDermott and Eleanor Patterson both advancing in the third round.
The pair made the 1.93m bar look easy, clearing it on their first attempt.
The height is proving a bit more problematic for the competitors – Germany’s Marie-Laurence Jungfleisch, Marija Vukovic of Montenegro, Ukraine’s Yuliya Levchenko and Bulgaria’s Mirela Demireva all missed on their first attempt.
The round continues, before the bar rises to 1.96m.
Ellen Whinnett9.08pm:High hopes as our high jumpers take first leaps
Australia’s Nicola McDermott has taken her first jump in the women’s high jump final, clearing the 1.89m bar cleanly. McDermott gave a little clap and a wave after her jump.
Eleanor Patterson also cleared the bar in her first attempt.
Maja Nilsson of Sweden failed in her three attempts at the height.
The next round sees the bar rise to 1.93.
As an aside, the dense humidity in the arena is taking its toll on the women’s 10,000 competitors, with three runners dropping out so far, about halfway through the race.
Debbie Schipp9.00pm:Game on in Boomers’ bid for history
Australia’s men’s basketball team has opened its bid for bronze against Slovenia in the bronze medal playoff in Japan.
Patty Mills led the team onto the court as the historic shot began.
The Boomers are desperate to shed the bridesmaid tag: they’ve been in this position four times before. Four times they’ve left empty-handed.
Australia was just 9.7 seconds away from the bronze medal in 2016 after an Aron Baynes hook shot dropped in against Spain. A foul call at the other end and a Boomers turnover saw the medal fall through their fingers.
At the 2019 World Cup, it was Spain, again, who triumphed in double-overtime to book a place in the final, before Australia fell to France in the third-place playoff.
Standing in their way tonight are Luka Doncic — who is heavily strapped on his arm — and Slovenia, who have taken the tournament by storm in their first-ever Olympic campaign. — with Gadiel Notelovitz
Hayden Johnson7.45pm:Glaetzer, Richardson good as gold in keirin
Unable to breathe earlier this week, Australia’s sprint king has been resurrected for the final track cycling battle at Izu Velodrome.
South Australian Matthew Glaetzer, who was forced to withdraw from his individual sprint race after suffering during the team event, returned on Saturday to win a knockout keirin race and scrape through to the quarter-finals.
Glaetzer, who is battling thyroid cancer, and keirin teammate Matthew Richardson are Australia’s last men’s track cycling medal hopes on the final day of competition.
“I’m starting to warm up that’s for sure and it’s good to get a few races under the belt,” Glaetzer said.
“It’s been two years since I’ve raced individually so I’m a little bit rusty but it’s coming together now.”
The 28-year-old said Tuesday’s team sprint event “completely broke me”.
“I had a really sore back, struggled to breathe and was not feeling good at all,” he said.
“Unfortunately I wasn’t well enough to ride the sprint which is a tough call but it made sure I was able to compete well today in the keirin and make sure I have a good last few races for Australia.”
Richardson narrowly escaped two crashes in his keirin heat event to also progress to the quarterfinals.
“In the second one the guy touched wheels in front of me and I just snuck in underneath,” he said of the crash.
“It’s a horrible feeling you get as the crash happens in front of you and then it quickly turns around and becomes the greatest feeling when you get through it unhurt.
“There are mixed emotions in that one.”
Annette Edmondson and Georgia Baker will ride in the women’s sprint and omnium events on Sunday after Saturday’s rest.
Australia’s madison men Leigh Howard and Kelland O’Brien were a shock withdrawal from the marathon 200-lap event after suffering severe exhaustion.
The pair went a lap down and appeared to be struggling before exiting the race, with Howard looking dazed while walking into the infield.
“We were right in there in the hunt for a good 60 or 70 laps and it all started crumbling down,” O’Brien said.
“It all started on day one for us … we had our fair share of knocks on the chin this week and it didn’t seem to plan out the way we wanted.”
“Three years from now there will be another Olympics.”
With 60 laps to go the Australians joined Canada and the United States — whose teammates crashed into each other — as non-finishers.
Jacquelin Magnay7.00pm:Coach thrown out of Olympics for horse cruelty
A German modern pentathlon coach has been thrown out of the Tokyo Olympics for cruelty to a horse.
Kim Raisner, the coach of German Annika Schleu, has been stripped of her Olympic accreditation for striking the horse allocated to Schleu called Saint Boy.
The world modern pentathlon authority, UIPM said in a statement: “The UIPM Executive Board has given a black card to the Germany team coach Kim Raisner, disqualifying her from the remainder of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The executive board reviewed video footage that showed Ms Raisner appearing to strike the horse Saint Boy, ridden by Annika Schleu, with her fist during the riding discipline of the women’s modern pentathlon competition.”
READ the full story here.
Haden Johnson6.47pm:Australia’s shock withdrawal from cycling
Australia’s track cyclists are a shock withdrawal from the marathon men’s madison event after appearing to suffer exhaustion.
Leigh Howard and Kelland O’Brien went a lap down and appeared to be struggling before exiting the race, with Howard looking dazed while walking into the infield.
With 60 laps to go the Australians join Canada and the United States — whose teammates crashed into each other — as non- finishers.
Agencies6.30pm:Brit takes flyweight boxing gold; Ukrainian KO’d
Britain’s Galal Yafai defeated Carlo Paalam to win the Olympic flyweight title, denying the Philippines a first boxing gold medal in the country’s history.
The men’s middleweight final produced a shock as Ukrainian top seed Oleksandr Khyzhniak was knocked out in the third round of his bout by Brazil’s Hebert Sousa.
The 28-year-old Yafai, a former car-factory worker, won on split points in an enthralling contest against Paalam to earn Britain’s first boxing gold in Tokyo.
Yafai had the Filipino down in the first round of the scheduled three after an incisive three-punch combination.
Paalam was always playing catch-up after that against Yafai, whose two older brothers are both professional boxers.
Britain, who like the Philippines have a proud boxing history, have now won one gold, two silvers and two bronze in the sport in the Japanese capital.
Despite the disappointment for 23-year-old Paalam, the Philippines have enjoyed a breakthrough fortnight in boxing at the Games.
Nesthy Petecio won women’s featherweight silver and Eumir Marcial took men’s middleweight bronze.
Ukraine’s Khyzhniak was ahead on the judges’ scorecards and appeared destined for middleweight gold but out of nowhere the unfancied Sousa floored him with a left flush on the cheek.
The referee immediately waved the bout off, with Khyzhniak wobbly on his feet and looking groggy. — AFP
Hayden Johnson5.35pm:Deafening velodrome home crowd, Aussies through
At these Olympics the second-best thing to an Australian victory has been a Japanese one.
Izu Velodrome about 150km south of Tokyo is one of the few venues where Japanese athletes can compete in front of a home crowd — and aren’t they relishing the opportunity.
Two back-to-back Japanese victories in the keirin heats have lifted the roof at the velodrome.
It’s a sad reminder of what’s been missing these Olympics — an atmosphere.
Separately, Australian riders Matthew Richardson and Matthew Glaetzer will face a knockout keirin race this afternoon.
Richardson was looking strong before a crash among competitors cut the race short.
He finished third in the restart, which also featured a serious crash, to make it into the quarter-finals.
Matthew Glaetzer won his heat and is also through to the quarterfinals.
Debbie Schipp5.30pm:Rosseau finishes eighth on Olympic debut
China’s Yuan Cao and Jian Yang have won gold and silver respectively in the men’s 10m platform diving final, with the UK’s Tom Daley taking a second bronze in the event.
Just four years after he took up diving, Australia’s Cassiel Rousseau finished in eighth spot, his finals performance improving every time he hit the water for him to finish with a score of 430.55 after his six dives.
Cao (582.35) just tipped out Yang on 580.40 for the gold, with Daley scoring 548.25 for bronze.
The event finished on a sour note, with fans stunned after the final when second placed Yang reacted poorly to Cao’s gold medal dive.
“This is a bit of nasty postscript really. It’s not the sportsmanship that should be on display in an Olympic Games,” Channel 7 commentators said.
Rousseau matched it with some of the world’s best divers – pulling off Australia’s best men’s Olympic diving performance in 13 years.
His best dive was a forward four-and-a-half somersaults tucked, which scored him 88.80.
Australia hasn’t had a 10m men’s platform diver on the podium at an Olympics since Matthew Mitcham won gold in Beijing.
Since then the best performance had been Domonic Bedggood’s 12th-place finish at Rio. — with Erin Smith
Debbie Schipp4.37pm:Rosseau’s hopes take a dive
He qualified in sixth place for the diving final, but Australia’s Cassiel Rosseau is having a tough time of it so far in the men's 10m platform.
After two rounds he was in 12th spot with a total of 110.80.
His third dive was better — a 74.25 pushed him up the leaderboard to eighth at the halfway mark of the competition, with a total of 193.05.
Staff Reporters3.45pm:Network backflips on Bogut
Channel 7 has been forced into a backflip the likes of Simone Biles would be proud of.
Just hours after Andrew Bogut dropped an Olympic bombshell announcing he would not be commentating the Boomer’s bronze medal match against Slovenia, it seems the ex-NBA star is back on deck. Read more here
Scott Gullan3.20pm:Barber masters tight margins
Javelin bronze medallist Kelsey-Lee Barber says she could write a book about what she has been through over the past two years.
The title would surely have to be Clutch.
Barber produced one of the biggest clutch moments in Australian sport to win the 2019 world javelin title in Doha with her final throw.
In Tokyo she did it again, this time she was staring at an inglorious exit in the qualifying round on Tuesday morning before a booming throw got her into Friday night’s final.
And it was there where Barber showed how much she thrives in the spotlight, turning around a horrible year to fight it out for the medals, just missing silver by 5cm and winning bronze with a throw of 64.56m.
From the yips to the medal dais was something the 29-year-old thought wasn’t going to happen several times in the lead-up to Tokyo.
“I could write a book on the past two years and what I have been through,” Barber said.
“I have had such moments of doubt, such moments of pressure. Carrying so much baggage at different points of the year and I think I just have to say thank you to my husband (and coach Mike).
“I don’t want to go into details on what specifically came up because I know every athlete has their challenges, but I just can’t tell you how much I was challenged in ways that I never anticipated.”
Barber led a three-pronged Aussie contingent in the javelin final with Kathryn Mitchell finishing sixth and Olympic debutant Mackenzie Little eighth.
“I love it, I live for those moments and I can’t tell how much I’ve missed it over the last few years,” she said.
“Just being out there, soaking it up and just reminding myself I love being an athlete, I love the event and I just wanted to make the most of it.
“I am so happy with the Aussie girls, the way we represented our country out on the field and on the track, it is incredible and I hope that we have inspired other girls to throw, other young girls to be on the track.
“This is a beautiful sport and we’ve made ourselves proud.”
Callum Dick3pm:Red-hot Green falls just short of podium
Hannah Green took her country on a wild rollercoaster ride in her quest to be Australia’s first-ever Olympic golfing medallist.
In the end it was all about the journey, not the destination. No medal, but what fun it was.
The West Australian looked out of the running when she turned for home on Saturday, having dropped two strokes through nine holes to be well back from the leaders.
But the back nine which had served her so well over the previous three days again became her playground.
Green shot an incredible (six-under par) over the final nine holes to rocket herself back into contention.
It started on the 10th; a birdie that brought with it hope of something more. That came again on 13, before the magic happened.
Her approach to the par-five 14th landed over the back of the green and in the rough, 11m from the hole.
Needing something special, Green covered the distance with the wedge and more, finding the cup and pegging back two crucial strokes to put herself in the medal conversation once again.
Strap in, Australia.
The 24-year-old started the day in a four-way tie for third and five shots back from world No. 1 Nelly Korda atop the leaderboard.
As Korda and co continued their charge to a medal, Green’s push faltered.
She lost a stroke at the third, the same hole which produced a double bogey on Wednesday, and dropped another on the ninth to turn for home seven shots behind Korda.
But with the eagle came hope, and Green chained that breakthrough with birdies on 15 and 16 to put pressure on the leading group playing one hole back.
Then came the rain.
Green was left stranded on the 17th hole, five-and-a-half metres away from a birdie that would move her into equal-third with New Zealand’s Lydia Ko and Aditi Ashok of India.
The Aussie had 45 minutes to consider the putt for birdie and when she returned to the 17th green, rolled it mere inches to the right of the hole.
Her momentum halted, Green went on to bogey the 18th and finish, just as compatriot Cameron Smith had six days earlier, agonisingly short of a medal.
For all the day’s drama it was Olympic champion elect, Korda, who claimed gold.
The world number one produced a final-round 69 to take the crown, seeing off Tokyo local Mone Inami and Rio runner-up Ko, who played off for silver and bronze.
Agencies2.50pm:Storm delays tense golf finish
The final round of the women’s golf tournament resumed on Saturday with the leaders having two holes to complete after a 49-minute interruption because of a passing thunderstorm, AFP reports.
Play restarted at 1.15pm local time (2.15pm AEST), with American world number one Nelly Korda leading on 17-under par, one shot ahead of Japan’s Mone Inami, with India’s Aditi Ashok and Lydia Ko of New Zealand tied for third a stroke further back.
Australia's Hannah Green finished on 13-under after firing a final-round 68.
The final group of Korda, Ashok and Ko had all just played their tee shots at the driveable par-four 17th when play was suspended at 12.26pm.
They had teed off at 8.18am, three hours ahead of the original schedule, in an attempt to complete 72 holes before a severe tropical storm sweeps through the area later Saturday and Sunday.
Joe Barton2.35pm:US win basketball thriller
Team USA have exacted their revenge on France to claim a fourth consecutive gold medal, as Kevin Durant celebrated a monstrous new NBA deal.
As he’s done all tournament, Durant starred as Team USA roared to a 87-82 victory which adds a 16th gold from 19 Olympic tournaments to highlight their ridiculous domination of the event.
In doing so, he became just the second man – after fellow American Carmelo Anthony – to claim a third Olympic basketball gold medal.
Even on a team of superstars, there has to be a big dog. And that’s Durant.
In an awkward start to the game, with France opening up a six-point lead, USA’s strategy was simple: give it to the best scorer on the planet.
A clunky half-court offence devolved into pinballing the basketball around until it fell into the hands of Durant.
And, every time, Durant delivered. When he went to the bench with 90 seconds left in the first quarter he had 12 of the USA’s 18 points. The USA would not trail again for the rest of the match.
Inside Saitama Super Arena the past two weeks, the halftime entertainment has included a robot designed for the sole purpose of shooting basketballs – but after CUE5 bricked his three-point attempt on Saturday, even he isn’t as reliable as Durant.
Durant will this week put pen to paper on a four-year contract extension with the Brooklyn Nets that will bank him an extraordinary $A290m.
It’s an unfathomably large amount of money, though somehow still doesn’t put him as the league’s highest earner, and on Saturday he showed why Brooklyn is getting a bargain.
Put the ball in his hands and he will win you the game – as he did with 8.8 seconds remaining when, up by 3, Durant iced two free throws to kill off France’s fourth-quarter comeback and finish with 29 points.
He did it against a French team that had stunned the US 83-76 in their opening game, consigning them to a first Olympic defeat in 17 years, and boasted the defensive talents of big man Rudy Gobert.
Gobert did everything within his power to will France to victory, with 16 points and 8 rebounds, while Evan Fournier added 16 points. But anytime France pulled close, Durant would trigger another run to always have one hand on the gold medals.
Damien Lillard erupted in the fourth quarter and Jayson Tatum (19 points) helped seal the victory.
Hayden Johnson2.25pm:Cyclist lashes out at Games ‘hurt’
Fighting back tears, cycling veteran Kaarle McCulloch lashed out at Aussie critics who questioned whether she was “good enough” to represent her country.
McCulloch’s Olympic campaign ended on Friday when she was defeated by China’s Tianshi Zhiong in a knockout sprint.
The 33-year-old, who had to fight cycling’s internal politics for a place on the team, was on the edge of tears when asked if the detractors had been silenced.
“I came here and I gave it everything I had,” she said. “When you get sat down and told, with 78 days to go, to consider if you’re good enough to be here that hurts.”
Her Games highlight was a ninth place in the keirin – an event she had little experience in.
McCulloch plans to take a break from cycling and finish her university degree before considering the future – and she’s buoyed by the short turnaround to the 2022 Commonwealth and 2024 Olympic Games.
“Who knows, maybe this isn’t the end of Kaarle McCulloch just yet,” she said with a grin.
Gadiel Notelovitz2pm:Same old story as Durant dominates
Kevin Durant is doing Kevin Durant things and Team USA is 10 minutes from another gold medal.
Team USA is up 71-63 going into the fourth after a third quarter that saw them grab a 14-point lead before two late French three-pointers kept things interesting going into the final period.
Durant has top scored with 27 points, while Rudy Gobert is the high man for France with 16 points.
France has hung tough, but will need a miracle in the fourth if they’re to stop the US from winning their fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal.
Gadiel Notelovitz1.30pm:French hoops hopes take a hit
They haven’t had it all their own way, but Team USA’s superstars (mostly Kevin Durant) have done enough to take a 44-39 lead into the break against France in the gold-medal basketball game.
Throughout most of the tournament, the US have been willing to give their opposition a first-half head start. On Saturday, France was afforded barely half a quarter before Team USA decided to pick it up.
Still, US players not named Durant have somewhat struggled to put the ball in the basket, with America’s all-time leader in Olympic scoring accounting for 21 of their 44 first-half points.
Team USA led by four points after one quarter, blew it out to a 13-point advantage midway through the second, before France came fighting back.
Gadiel Notelovitz1pm:Kevin-sent for US team
The US haven’t been close to their best, but still lead France 22-18 after one quarter in the gold medal game inside Tokyo’s Saitama Super Arena.
Team USA struggled offensively to begin the contest — just like they did against Australia — before locking down on defence to bridge a six-point lead, and come over the top of their European rivals.
As he’s done all tournament, Kevin Durant has led the way for Team USA with 12 points.
France beat the US in their opening group game, but will now need to do it on the biggest stage in international basketball.
Erin Smith1pm:Aussie diver sets platform for success
He has done it – the acrobat from Queensland is through to the final of the men’s 10m platform diving at his debut Games.
Cassiel Rousseau has pulled off some spectacular dives this morning – his best a back three-and-a-half somersaults earning 84.15 points.
Rousseau, 20, finished the semi-final in 6th place. He will be back in the pool for the final at 4pm.
Callum Dick12.45pm:Bogeys bury Lee’s medal hopes
Sixteen. Bogeys, that is.
Not what Minjee Lee had in mind when she teed off on Wednesday afternoon with an Olympic medal in sight.
Just three weeks after her breakthrough major success at the Evian Championship, the 25-year-old came to Tokyo with high hopes, but left frustrated and deflated at another missed opportunity.
In a week where golfers such as Rory Sabbatini and CT Pan went on incredible one-day runs to snatch a medal, Lee’s hope was to follow suit, but her game never reached the heights she knew it could.
“Obviously I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t perform better but I still had a great week with everybody,” Lee said after finishing 4-under, well outside medal contention.
“I’m probably going to take my positives out of this week into next week, and rest.”
Moments of brilliance, like her eagle on the 14th on Saturday, were accompanied too often by disappointment – the bogeys that followed on 15 and 16, for example.
“Well I finished four-under, which means I had 18 birdies and an eagle – that’s a pretty good number,” Lee said.
“We made a lot of birdies, but I made too many bogeys … too many soft mistakes out there.”
The Olympics was Lee’s sixth tournament inside two months.
She said the packed travel schedule hit her harder than she anticipated.
“I’ve been hitting the ball really good and putting good, I think mentally I wasn’t quite focused to my sharpest,” Lee said.
“Evian was my last event of three weeks of travel and I’ve just been everywhere. It’s been a hectic travel schedule for me, so I was bound to be tired, but I didn’t think it was going to hit me as hard as it did.
“I think it just being so hot, it made it (harder).”
Lee flies to Scotland on Sunday night ahead of the Scottish Open, which begins Thursday.
Tom Crystal12.30pm:US basketballers eye France conquest
The star-studded US team is about to step on court in their gold-medal game against a tough France outfit.
Kevin Durant has been the standout for the US, dragging them back into their semi-final against Australia when they were in a 15-point hole early.
The French team, who scored a stunning first-up win over the US in Tokyo, has some NBA talent of their own to call on, including Evan Fournier (Boston Celtics), Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz) and Nicolas Batum (LA Clippers).
Fournier led the way for France in the pool game, scoring 28 points on 11-of-22 shooting in their 83-76 victory.
Tom Crystal12.20pm:Golfing Green slips out of contention
Hannah Green is six shots adrift of leader Nelly Korda during the final round of the women’s individual stroke play event at Kasumigaseki Country Club.
Green is even par after 13 holes, tied for seventh with four other players, and is running out of time to close the gap to the top three.
Fellow Australian Minjee Lee carded a three-under-par 68 to finish on four-under for the event, in a tie for 29th.
Amanda Lulham11.35am:Kayak crews go for gold
Australia has two crews paddling for gold in Tokyo this morning after both the men’s and women’s K4 teams advanced to the finals of their events in deteriorating weather conditions.
The women’s crew of Jo Brigden-Jones alongside Catherine McArthur, Shannon Reynolds and Jaime Roberts qualified first on a hot and humid morning at the Sea Forest Waterway.
Soon after, the team of Riley Fitzsimmons, Murray Stewart, Lachlan Tame and Jordan Wood also booked a spot in the final.
The men’s team have been on a rollercoaster journey the past five years with two of their crew – Murray and Tame – undergoing back and shoulder surgeries respectively to ensure they could paddle in Tokyo.
Wally Mason11.25am:Belcher earns closing ceremony honour
Gold medal-winning sailor Mat Belcher will carry the Australian flag at Sunday night’s closing ceremony for the Tokyo Olympics.
Belcher, Australia’s most successful Olympic sailor, won gold in the 470s on Wednesday with his mate Will Ryan – to add to an impressive tally of gold in London and silver in Rio.
He is expected to lead a small Australian contingent in the ceremony, with the majority of athletes already back in Australia. Under Covid regulations, athletes must leave Tokyo within 48 hours of finishing competition.
Australian Olympic team Chef de Mission Ian Chesterman said Belcher was a deserving candidate to lead the team at the end of what has been an extremely successful Games for Australia.
Erin Smith11am:Aussie diver takes high road
Cassiel Rousseau is about to compete in a semi-final at his debut Olympics but to him it is just another day at the office.
Rousseau, 20, an accomplished acrobat and gymnast, has performed on stages around the world and at international competitions. He says it was perfect preparation to keep the nerves at bay as he dives off the 10m platform for a spot in the final and a chance at an Olympic medal.
The Queenslander only took up the sport four years ago and slipped through to this morning’s semi-final comfortably – finishing in eighth place yesterday.
The semi-final will start at 11am – just the top 12 divers will compete in the final at 4pm.
Staff Reporters10.50am:Cruelty debate flares at Games
A row over cruelty to animals has erupted over confronting images from the women’s pentathlon.
Germany’s Annika Schleu saw her dreams left in tatters as her horse Saint Boy refused to jump.
Schleu, 31, had gone into the show jumping leg of the event in first place but her chances of a medal swiftly evaporated, when Saint Boy wouldn’t jump.
An issue was first apparent when coverage appeared to show Schleu in floods of tears before the ride had even started.
She desperately tried to get her horse to co-operate. Eventually she managed to get Saint Boy to enter the arena.
The horse did clear four sets of hurdles when the ride finally got going.
But after colliding with the fifth, Saint Boy had evidently had enough.
Tearful Schleu had another go at getting around the course, but Saint Boy again refused and became visibly more distressed.
Where things took a turn was the overuse of her whip, incessant kicking and tightening of the reins causing the animal to appear even more panicked.
According to reports, her coach could be heard screaming “kick it more” from the sideline before vision showed her punching the animal on the hind leg.
Former Olympic silver medallist Sam Murray said the issue was all down to rider error.
“When she got on the horse she was stressed and that transcends into the horse, the horse can’t see you they can only feel you,” Murray told the BBC.
Scott Gullan 10.20am:Diver digs deep in marathon
Sinead Diver, a 44-year-old mother of two from Melbourne, has become just the second Australian to finish Top 10 in the Olympic marathon.
The oldest member of the athletics team stormed home over the final stages to finish 10th, joining Lisa Ondieki in the history books.
Ondieki finished seventh in Los Angeles in 1984 and then won the silver medal in the marathon at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Kenya produced a historic quinella becoming the first country in 112 years to finish first and second with Peres Jepchirchir (2hr27min20sec) outsprinting world record holder Brigid Kosgei over the final couple of kilometres to win by 16 seconds.
American Molly Seidel was just a further 10 seconds away in the bronze medal position.
Organisers brought forward the start of the marathon by an hour to 6am given the extreme heat and humidity in Sapporo.
After running conservatively early in the race Diver was 20th at the 30km mark before launching an inspired charge moving to 11th at the 40km mark and then sprinting hard over the final 400m to grab 10th (2:31.14sec).
“I’m that happy, I didn’t expect to come top 10. That was something I really wanted before the race so I’m absolutely stoked that I fought for that spot at the end,” Diver said.
“I had to sprint to get past the girl in front of me so I’m so happy that I managed to do that
“My coach Nic (Bideau) said to me before the race that the first 90 minutes you have to feel relatively comfortable, the race doesn’t start until after that and I just kept reminding myself of that.
“I kept pulling back a bit and then I just gave it everything from about 32km, it is still a long way to go and it is really hot out there. I’m just so relieved I was able to stay strong until the end.”
An emotional Diver, who moved to Australia in 2002 and didn’t start running until she was 33, gave a shout-out to her children back home in Melbourne afterwards and to her parents who still live in Ireland.
“My Dad is probably the proudest man on the planet right now,” she said.
Fellow Olympic debutant Ellie Pashley from Torquay finished 23rd (2:33.39sec) with Lisa Weightman coming 26th (2:34.19sec) in her fourth Olympic Games.
Tom Crystal9.35am:Aussie runner in the top 10
Irish-born Australian Sinead Diver, 44, has put in a brave run, finishing 10th in the women’s marathon in a time of 2hr31min14sec, 3min54sec behind winner Peres Jepchirchir. Fellow Australian Ellie Pashley (2:33.39) is 23rd, while Lisa Weightman (2:34.19) is 26th.
Channel 7 commentator Bruce McAvaney describes the race, run in steamy conditions in excess of 30C by the finish, as “a war of attrition”.
Tom Crystal9.27am:Kenya finish 1-2
With about 1km left, Peres Jepchirchir goes for home, kicking clear of compatriot Brigid Kosgei. The 27-year-old two-time half marathon world champion bounds to the finish line and finishes in a time 2hr27min20sec, 16 seconds clear of Kosgei, with the US’s Molly Seidel in third place, 26 seconds behind the winner.
Jepchirchir succeeds fellow Kenyan Jemima Sumgong, who won in 2016 in Rio.
Tom Crystal9.15am:Kenyans make their move
It looks now like a race in two for gold in the women’s marathon, as Kenyan pair Peres Jepchirchir and Brigid Kosgei break away.
Israeli runner Lonah Chemtai Salpeter is in the hunt for a bronze with US runnerMolly Seidel, just behind the leading pair, with about 15 minutes to the finish when she pulls up and out of the race.
Tom Crystal9am:And then there were five
A few runners have been burnt off the main pack of the women’s marathon with less than 10km to go.
Kenyan runners Peres Jepchirchir and Brigid Kosgei are still there, along with the US’s Molly Seidel, Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter and Bahrain’s Eunice Chebichii Chumba. It’s hard to believe the pace has picked up in this stifling heat, but that’s been the case in the past few minutes.
Tom Crystal8.45am:Marathon leaders push through the pain
With about 12km left to go, we have a leading pack of right runners, which features Kenyans Peres Jepchirchir and Brigid Kosgei, US runner Molly Seidel, and Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter.
Daniel Sankey7.55am:Women feeling the heat in marathon
With the temperature creeping up towards 30 degrees, the women’s marathon is shaping as a war of attrition for the field of more than 80 runners.
All the top contenders — including Kenyan duo Brigid Kosgei and Ruth Chepngetich — were in the leading pack as the field went through 15km in 53:47.
Leading the way for Australia is Sinead Diver, who’s at the back of the main pack just a couple of seconds from the leaders. Lisa Weightman is in a chasing pack a further 30 seconds from the lead, with Ellie Pashley another 15 seconds back.
Brent Read7.30am:McDermott’s secret weapon in high jump final
The world championships in London four years ago were a bitter disappointment for Nicola McDermott, but they may have inadvertently and fortuitously provided the catalyst for her assault on Olympic gold.
At that event, McDermott’s coach Matt Horsnell met Italian strength and conditioning guru Carlo Buzzichelli, forging a relationship that has helped transform McDermott into one of the favourites for the gold medal in Tokyo.
Buzzichelli is a disciple of Tudor Bompa, a sports science legend and the pioneer of periodisation training, the groundbreaking theories that some claim have revolutionised Western training methods.
Horsnell has provided Buzzichelli with high jump training tips. Buzzichelli has returned the favour by suggesting ways McDermott could hone her training to become a more efficient athlete.
The results have been clear for all to see. Earlier this year, McDermott became the first Australian woman to clear 2m at the national championships and she heads into the finals of the high jump on Saturday as second favourite behind Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh. McDermott’s teammate Eleanor Patterson will also fly the flag for Australia in tonight’s final, which starts at 8.35pm AEST.
Bang. Nicola McDermott and Eleanor Patterson have no troubles advancing to Saturday’s high jump final, both looking immaculate on their way to 1.95m clearances 💚💛 #TokyoTogether#ThisIsAthletics#Olympicspic.twitter.com/hjFCYU6u8i
— Athletics Australia (@AthsAust) August 5, 2021
Read the full story here.
Callum Dick6.40am:Medal looms for Green, but which colour?
On Wednesday she played her worst golf in recent memory; Thursday, the charge began.
By the end of Friday’s third round, Hannah Green is in the box seat to claim Australia’s first-ever Olympic golfing medal – but which colour?
The West Australian will go to the tee this morning in a four-way tie for third, five strokes behind world number one Nelly Korda, who only a day earlier looked to be in a league of her own following an Olympic-record round of 62.
But the American proved mortal yesterday and her closest rivals, Green included, bridged the gap to set up a fascinating final day of play from Kasumigaseki Country Club.
“She’s the one that probably has the most pressure. She’s been leading the tournament for the last couple of days and obviously had a great round (Thursday), but it is hard to back it up,” Green said of Korda.
“I’m just really happy that I managed to shoot under par again and hopefully I can keep the momentum into one more round.”
But the Aussie is not the only player queuing up to take gold from Korda’s grasp.
India’s Aditi Ashok sits in outright second at 12-under par, just three shots back from the world number one.
Rio silver medallist Lydia Ko of New Zealand shot a round’s-best 66 to move alongside Green and into equal fourth at 10-under par, where they are joined by Emily Pedersen (DEN) and Mone Inami (JPN).
With the threat of late-afternoon rain on Saturday, organisers have pushed tee times forward to 7.30am AEST to hopefully get the full 72-hole slate away successfully.
Green tees off at 8.54am, while fellow Aussie Minjee Lee (tied for 34th at -1) tees off at 7.54am.
Read more on the golf here.
Daniel Sankey6.30am:Aussie trio chasing women’s marathon medal
Australia’s Sinead Diver, Ellie Pashley, Lisa Weightman are preparing for what could be the toughest 42.2km of their lives, with blistering heat predicted for today’s women’s marathon.
The start time for the race has been brought forward to 6am local time (7am AEST) in a bid to avoid as much of the day’s heat as possible. But already in Sapporo, where the marathon will start, the temperature is 25 degrees with a maximum of 34 degrees expected.
The gold medal favourite is 27-year-old Kenyan world record holder Brigid Kosgei, the winner of back-to-back London marathons in 2019 and 2020. She set her world record of 2:14.04 in winning the Chicago marathon in 2019.
Scott Gullan6.15am:McSweyn’s tactics switch ahead of 1500m final
Australia’s Stewart McSweyn is considering a shock change of tactics as he prepares to take on the world’s best middle distance runners in tonight’s men’s 1500m final.
McSweyn, ranked no. 5 in the world and one of the medal favourites heading into the Tokyo Games, led the field a merry dance in his semi-final on Thursday, kicking for home 600m out and leading by as much as 10m. However, as he rounded the final bend, McSweyn looked in danger of missing the top five as his rivals bridged the gap.
The Aussie was able to lift again to finish fifth in 3:32.54 and secure a spot in tonight’s (9.40pm AEST) final, in which he’ll be joined by teammate Oliver Hoare.
McSweyn, 26, admitted afterwards he would review his frontrunning tactics ahead of the final.
“I won’t want to go to the front as early, I’m happy following the guys,” he said.
“It’s a good tactic in the first two rounds but in the final, times don’t matter – it’s about competing. Hoping I can cling on the back of (Timothy) Cheruiyot and be right there on the bell.
“Strange things can happen in an Olympics so if I’m there in the mix, anything could happen.”
Read more on the men’s 1500m final here.
Additional reporting: Daniel Sankey, Agencies
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