Paris Olympics Day 5 wrap: Jess Fox, Kyle Chalmers and Penny Smith dominate the best bits out of Paris
1. Fox makes history
“It’s the most remarkable thing that she’s ever done.”
Jess Fox has a long list of accolades but few would argue with the sentiment of Richard Fox following Jess Fox’s stunning canoe slalom final.
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She had been solid in the heats and qualified second fastest for what looked like was going to be an incredibly tight final with the top three separated by less than a second.
But Fox, having learnt from the heartbreaks of Olympics past saved her best for last.
German Elena Lilik had posted a time that was three seconds faster than anyone had gone at these Olympics.
Fox bettered it by more than two seconds and not even a borderline penalty was going to deny her etching her name in Olympic history.
2. Chalmers bombshell
Kyle Chalmers is not going anywhere just yet.
The Aussie powerhouse has his eyes on the Los Angeles Games in four years’ time, declaring he is “not retiring any time soon” after coming hard late to claim back-to-back silver medals in the blue riband men’s 100m freestyle.
Chalmers was pipped by China’s Pan Zhanle, who broke the first world record of these Olympics, and later went in to bat for his rival, telling reporters he believes he is drug-free.
3. Tillies done
The Matildas have been bundled out of the Olympics at the group stage after losing 2-1 to the United States and suffering through a nervous wait for other results.
Australia finished third in their group, but watched Canada defeat Colombia, which meant the Canadians snuck through as one of the two strongest third-ranked teams.
It turns a fierce spotlight on out-of-contract coach Tony Gustavsson, who has come under fire for defensive tactics early in the US defeat on Thursday morning.
Canada managed to qualify despite having had six points stripped from them after being caught using drones to spy on a New Zealand training session last week.
4. Aussies miss out
Shayna Jack and our new golden girl Mollie O’Callaghan were touted as medal fancies in the women’s 100m freestyle, but both missed out in a thrilling finish.
It was 30-year-old Swedish stalwart Sarah Sjoestroem who claimed victory, with the Aussie girls forced to settle for fourth and fifth.
The race was Jack’s first individual final at an Olympics, five years after she was slapped with a two-year doping ban that ruled her out in Tokyo.
5. Highs and lows at BMX
It was a mixed bag at the BMX Freestyle course, with Natalya Diehm making history to claim Australia’s first ever female BMX medal before defending champion Logan Martin crashed out with two stacks in the final in the men’s competition.
Diehm finished fifth in Tokyo having worked her way back from a horror ACL injury and almost quitting the sport, but in Paris, her perseverance was rewarded with bronze.
“After Tokyo, I didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Diehm said.
“I just had to keep pushing forward. The one thing I knew for certain, that’s not the way I wanted to go out.
“I wanted this so bad, to be the first Aussie female rider to get a medal at an Olympic Games.
“I’m hoping we’ll get some funding and continue to grow the sport in Australia for females, as well as males, and the kids to inspire them.”
Martin lamented the fact he hadn’t been able to produce his best form when it mattered most.
“I wasn’t able to pull my runs, which is super disappointing to me. It’s not the fact that I’m not walking away with a medal, it’s the fact that I couldn’t land a run,” he said.
6. Smith scraps her way to bronze
There are few sports that would tear at the nerves more than trap shooting.
There’s plenty of time between each shot to dwell on each missed opportunity as you watch others hit their targets.
So you can imagine the thoughts running through Penny Smith’s mind when she had to enter a three-way shoot-off to qualify for the final.
But she kept her cool to keep her hopes alive, and then as more fancied competitors faltered under the pressure of the final, Smith hung tough to come away with bronze.
Having held it together, her emotions came pouring out once the smoke had settled.
“My parents always say to me to keep strong and keep going forward and I had to do it the hard way but to come away with the bronze is just phenomenal,” a teary Smith said. “Everyone who stuck by me, it means a lot and I love you all.”
7. Stingers win it at the death
There a few worse ways to start a water polo match than conceding in the opening 45 seconds against a side as good as world No.2 the Netherlands.
But our Aussie Stingers managed to recover in an enthralling match as the teams traded goals, with nothing to separate them at the final buzzer.
A marathon shoot-out followed before the Australian women ultimately prevailed, thanks to the heroics of WA goalkeeper Genevieve Longman, as the Stingers made it two from two to start their Olympic campaign.
8. Hockeyroos go 3-0
The Hockeyroos have not won an Olympic medal since they stood on top of the world at Sydney 2000. But they have continued their perfect start in Paris completing a hat-trick of wins with a 3-0 victory over the USA.
A goal inside the opening minutes settled the nerves but they were made to work but their less-fancied opponents in stifling conditions.
However, they were a class above inside the D both in defence and attack to put them in touching distance of the quarter-final.
9. Yee-haw after stunning triathlon finish
After numerous delays and questions about water quality, the Olympic triathlon got underway with Great Britain’s Alex Yee producing one of the great Olympic triathlon comebacks.
New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde looked like he was going to cruise toward gold, only for Yee to come storming past with less than 300m to go to clinch the gold medal.
He looked like he was in a sprint such was the gear he found, while Australia’s Matt Hauser put forward a strong running leg to recover from a fall on the bike to finish seventh.
10. Ebden closes in on medal dream
After being no match for Novak Djokovic in the singles, Matt Ebden is looking far more comfortable alongside John Peers in the doubles.
The Aussie pair were made to work by their German opponents but prevailed 7-6, 7-6 to move into the semi-finals.
One more win and Ebden will have secured a medal on Olympic debut - and continue his quest for gold.
