This was published 4 years ago
Australia have upset the No.1 Canadians in the beach volleyball. Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy are celebrating after winning their quarter-final over Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana Paredes. The Aussies took the first set and battled hard only to lose the second. However, they burst out of the blocks in the deciding set and never looked back. They are now a huge step closer to Australia’s first beach volleyball gold since the Sydney Games in 2000.
Good night, everyone.
All times below are AEST:
Swimming | Marathon swimming | 7.30am
Start your day by cheering on Kareena Lee in the women’s 10km marathon swim.
Golf | first round | 8.30am
Australian golfers Minjee Lee and Hannah Green will take on the world’s best in the first round of the women’s golf.
The stunning equipment failure that sent Olympic track cyclist Alex Porter face-planting onto the Olympic velodrome boards will come under AusCycling investigation.
Melbourne-based company Bastion Cycles, which supplies components to the Australian cycling team, has confirmed one of its handlebar units caused the crash.
“Our team is working with the Australian Olympic Team to understand the cause behind the failure of one of our handlebar units,” the company said in an Instagram post.
“We give our assurances that we are using all means available to investigate why this occurred.“
Porter was left with friction burns on his nose, chin and arms after the integrated handlebar and stem of his high-tech bike snapped off at 65km/h, sending him sprawling onto the wooden track.
Australian beach volleyball pair Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy are level at one-set-all in their quarter-final against Canadians Melissa Humana Paredes and Sarah Pavan. The Canadians are the No.1 seeds.
Artacho del Solar and Clancy will take a huge step towards securing Australia’s first gold medal in women’s beach volleyball since Sydney 2000 if they can upset the Canadians, trying to become the first team from their country to win a medal in this event.
Artacho del Solar and Clancy eased into the quarter-finals with a 22-20, 21-13 win over lower-ranked Chinese rivals in the round of 16, prompting Clancy to claim “this is where the tournament starts”.
Australia has a narrow lead in the third and deciding set.
Banned from running the 400 metres, Namibian sprinter Christine Mboma stormed home to take silver in the women’s 200 metres Olympic final.
Elaine Thompson-Herah won the 100-metre and 200-metre gold double, running 21.53 seconds to hold out Mboma and American Gabrielle Thomas in bronze.
Mboma and her countrywoman Beatrice Masilingi, who finished sixth, are athletes of different sexual development.
The Boomers are into the semi-finals and they have made a statement while doing it.
You never see a team beat Argentina in that fashion but Australia was far too athletic and far too good defensively winning 97-59.
Now they play USA on Thursday afternoon and if they can defend at this level again, they will be a chance of taking down Kevin Durant and his men.
Patty Mills led the Boomers with 18 points while six players had eight points or more.
Matisse Thybulle had 12 points and three steals while Dante Exum had his best game yet in Boomers colours with nine points, five rebounds and three assists and the Boomers were +31 when he was on the court.
The gold medal is two wins away.
Lovely farewell for 41-year-old Luis Scola, even in a near empty stadium.
The Argentinians took him off with 51 seconds to play and all the players paused and gave him a standing ovation.
Five Olympics and a 2004 gold medalist for his nation. Now the tears are flowing for the big man.
All the Australians stood for him. He is much respected beyond his country.