05 Aug 2021

It’s been a hot minute (a week) since I last wrote my Olympic weekly wrap up and wowza, a lot happened since then! Our legendary athletes have secured another eight gold, bringing the tally to 17 gold. 

At this moment, Australia are fourth on the medal table and we currently have 41 medals in total - we haven’t had that many medals since the 2008 Summer Olympics, so clearly, we’re bloody killing it. 

And by we, I mean our amazing athletes. I claim no win, nothing has changed - I’m still a couch potato but as a nation, we’re all so proud of our country’s athletes and with another couple of days left to go, there’s still an opportunity to score some wins.

Let’s have a look back on the week from where we left off, shall we?

Saturday 31 July

Kaylee McKeown scored her second individual Olympic gold on Saturday by smashing the 200m backstroke - coming second on the first three legs, she stepped up to first place, winning by 0.74 seconds. While there were no F bombs this time round, she was still just as stoked.

Emily Seebohm, competing at her fourth and final Olympics won bronze in the same race, placed Kaylee’s medal around her neck on the podium and stood side-by-side while the stadium played out the anthem.

How it started vs. how it’s going. I’m not crying, you are.

 

Sunday 1 August

There was no other way to enjoy my Sunday off - this day was huuuuge. Golf in the morning, swimming at midday, athletics at night - I was spoilt for choice and boy, did we have some big wins? And all within a space of two hours? There was a lot goin’ on.

Emma McKeon did it again, winning gold in the women’s 50m freestyle and setting the Olympic record all in one race. Sweden competitor Sarah Sjoestroem was right on her tail being 0.26 seconds behind but Emma surged through.

Kaylee McKeown, Chelsea Hodges, Emma McKeon, Cate Campbell won the 4 x 100m medley final and beat the Olympic record - bringing Emma’s medal tally to seven, the second woman ever to win seven medals at one Olympic games.

To end the swimming reins, here is a wholesome photo of the greats:

 

Going into the afternoon, we had Logan Martin win the men’s final in BMX freestyle on the first of his two runs, with a total of 93.30 points. Nicole Kidman posted a photo on Instagram congratulating Logan for his first Olympic gold and well, we've come full Australian circle, haven't we?

 

Aussie sailor since five-years-old, Matt Wearn won gold in the men’s laser event - all he had to do was finish the final race as he had a maaajor lead compared to his competitors. Smashed it, bruvva! 

Matt’s win gave Australia a four gold medal haul on day nine - Australia’s best day in Olympic history! A big cheehoo 🎉

 

Wednesday 4 August

Australian sailing duo Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan won gold in the men’s 470 event - as the fleet were in a tussle, all they needed to do was avoid disqualification to win in the final race. But this wasn’t no Steven Bradbury move - they took the lead midway and soared to the finish!

Thursday 4 August

Australia won its first gold ever in the Olympic men’s K2 1000m race, thanks to Jean van der Westhuyzen and Thomas Green. Never competing together internationally before, the 22-year-old pair secured the gold by 0.3 of a second - we’ve only seen three Australian bronzes from 1984, 1988 and 2016 so this win was a mammoth achievement!

 

18-year-old skateboarder Keegan Palmer scores a MASSIVE 95.83 points to take out the first-ever men’s skateboarding Olympic title - the youngest Australian at the Olympics to win a gold medal! Skating alongside 17-year-old Kieran Woolley, the pair were the two youngest competitors in the men’s park final. Absolutely insane stuff!

Honourable mentions

  • Emma McKeon had a six minute turnover between her 50m freestyle semi-final and the mixed medley final last Saturday… She’s a freakin’ machine!
  • Rohan Browning’s semi-final incredible run and his mullet. You didn’t win but you sure won over the hearts of every second girl in Australia.
  • The Kookaburras (men’s hockey team) won silver!
  • Brandon Starc jumping 2.35 metres, recording the highest jump Australia has had at the Olympics!
  • Ash Barty wins bronze with John Peers in the mixed doubles.
  • Peter Bol broke the record to become the first Australian in the final of the 800m final since 1968!

To watch on day 14 - Friday 6 August

  • Women’s beach volleyball gold medal final against the US - 12:30pm AEST
  • Sam Fricker and Cassiel Rousseau competing in the preliminary round of 10m platform diving - 4:00pm AEST. Tom Daley too but who’s checkin’.
  • Jessica Hull and Linden Hall are contending for a medal in the women’s 1500m final - 10:50pm AEST.