Sydney at Rio - Wed 10 August
Stay in touch with all the latest action featuring our athletes in Rio.
Sydney at Rio Tuesday 9 August
Australia’s women basketball team, the Opals, continue to power forward at Rio, beating the world’s fourth-ranked team France, 89-71.
Sydney’s Katie Ebzery was among the action, typically nailing a number of free throws, while every one of the 12-strong squad saw court time during the latest victory.
Captain, Penny Taylor, starred for the Opals with a whopping 31 points. Liz Cambage was second-highest scorer with 16 points but encountered foul trouble, spurring Taylor and the other Opal guards to fill the breach and more in a masterful display.
After three victories from three outings, the Aussies are currently top of their pool and looking good for the quarter-finals, with matches against Japan and Belarus still to come. The tough and long Olympic preparation the Opals had, with multiple camps and overseas games, seems to have them in the form of their life.
The Opals enjoy a day-off before facing Japan scheduled for Friday at 6:45am, August 12, AEST.
Jessica Fox
Jess Fox was the second-fastest qualifier in the heats to advance to Thursday’s semi-final in the K1 canoe slalom at the Whitewater Stadium. In a slightly nervous first run, where she admitted making some mistakes near the bottom of the course, Fox stopped the clock at 107.88 to be in 8th position.
The second run was a big improvement with a time of 99.51, leaving only Italian, Stephanie Horn going quicker with 99.07. Among the field, only Horn and Fox, managed to go under 100 seconds after time-penalty adjustments.
Between heats Fox analysed video of her first run and how other competitors handled certain gates on the course and then applied that learning successfully in her second heat.
Fox’s semi-final is scheduled to start at 2.15am Friday August 12, AEST. The top 10 from the semi-final progress to the final, which will take place at 4am AEST.
Isobel Bishop, Hannah Buckling, Keesja Gofers, Lea Yanitsas and Nicola Zagame
The Aussie Stingers water polo team have made an emphatic start to their Olympic campaign with a dominant 14-4 win over Russia, at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre.
The Stingers really aimed up in their defensive structures and were ready for anything the Russians threw at them, keeping them scoreless till after halftime. Lea Yanitsas proved her worth in goal saving four shots.
The team’s five Sydney representatives all saw plenty of game time with drivers, Keesja Gofers snaring three goals and Isobel Bishop netting one. Dual Olympian Ash Southern top scored for the Aussies with a haul of four goals.
The Stingers now prepare full of confidence for their second preliminary round against the strong Italian team scheduled for 11:20pm Thursday, August 11, AEST.
Chloe Dalton
Australia vs Canada
Australia was too classy for Canada in the semi-final match of the women’s rugby sevens. Chloe Dalton (#8) was influential during the match, and found herself on the end of a natural 4 on 3 overlap, combined with some slick ball movement, which saw her cross for a try mid-way through the second half, creating a 17-point buffer. Canada ran in a consolation try with less than a minute remaining to add to the full time score. Australia defeated Canada 17-5.
Australia vs New Zealand
Australia made rugby history by defeating New Zealand in the women’s rugby sevens final. New Zealand struck first through Kayla McAlister (#12) who barged over two Australian defenders to open the scoring affair. Australia hit back twice as hard, running in two tries in quick succession thanks to Emma Tonegato (#5) and Evania Pelite (#6), respectively, to put the team in front 10-5 at oranges.
Chloe Dalton made a textbook one-on-one tackle which shutdown a New Zealand counter attack in the early stages of the second half. This saw Dalton awarded a penalty for New Zealand not releasing the ball. Beaming with confidence, Australia capitalised, choosing to take the tap rather than a kick at goal despite being only 10 metres out, and in line with the right upright. It paid dividends, Charlotte Caslick (#7) scored from the tap using her speed and a handy left-foot step to catch a napping New Zealand defense. Dalton converted with a drop kick to give Australia a 24-5 lead. The full time score was settled at 24-17 when New Zealand had the last say with a try after the siren.
Ed Jenkins, Pat McCutcheon and Tom Kingston (Shadow)
The Australians suffered a setback in losing their opening Olympic Sevens match, going down to France 31-14, however they bounced back strongly with a solid 26-12 victory over Spain in their second game.
The French Captain, Terry Bouhraoua was the destroyer for Australia scoring three tries and 24 of his sides 31 points. For Australia, Captain, Ed Jenkins never stopped trying, including picking up one of the two Aussie tries.
The win over Spain was a boost and keeps the Aussies in the mix for the last eight if they can defeat the traditionally tough South Africa, their final Pool opponent tomorrow. South Africa is ranked second at this history making Olympic Sevens tournament.
Jenkins and Pat McCutcheon, off the bench, impressed in the win over Spain. Shadow player, Tom Kingston, remains on standby.
Wednesday, 10 August
Katie Ebzery: Basketball, Women
Wednesday, August 10: Group Phase, Australia v. France, 1:15am AEST | Opals defeat France 89-71.
Alexander (Sasha) Belonogoff and Cameron Girdlestone: Rowing, Men’s Quadruple Scull
Wednesday, August 10: M4x Final (A), 11:22pm AEST.
Ed Jenkins, Pat McCutcheon & Tom Kingston (Shadow): Rugby Sevens, Men’s Competition
Wednesday, August 10: Australia v. France, Pool Match, Kick off 12am AEST | France defeat Australia 31-14.
Wednesday, August 10: Australia v. Spain, Pool Match, Kick off 5am AEST | Australia defeat Spain 26-12.
John (Johnno) Cotterill: Water Polo, Men’s Competition
Wednesday, August 10: Australia v. Japan, Prelim. Rd starting 10pm AEST.
Thursday, 11 August
Georgie Morgan: Women’s Hockey
Thursday, August 11: Australia v India, Pool B, starts 12:00am AEST
Sally Kehoe: Rowing, Women’s Double Scull
Thursday, August 11: W2x Final (B), 9:40pm AEST.
Ed Jenkins, Pat McCutcheon & Tom Kingston (Shadow): Rugby Sevens, Men’s Competition
Thursday, August 11: Australia v. South Africa, Pool Match, Kick off 12:30am AEST.
Thursday, August 11: Medal Quarter Finals, from 6am AEST.
Jaime Ryan: Sailing
Thursday, August 11: Women's 470, heat, 2am-6:30am AEST.
William (Will) Ryan: Sailing
Thursday, August 11: Men's 470, heat, 2am-6:30am AEST.
Isobel Bishop; Hannah Buckling; Keesja Gofers; Lea Yanitsas & Nicola Zagame: Water Polo: Women’s Competition
Thursday, August 11: Australia v. Italy, Prelim. Rd., 11:20pm AEST.
Related articles
Ready, set, Rio: Sydney cohort heads to the Games
As more than 3.5 billion people around the world turn their sights towards Rio this week, 30 athletes from our community are getting ready to take their place on the globe’s biggest sporting stage.
Science student makes greatest self-discovery at the University
'Leave your comfort zone' is Kevin Gatdula’s motto in life. With an emphasis on continual personal development, the 20-year-old Bachelor of Commerce and Science student believes that this is the only way to cultivate a journey of personal growth.
Learning never stops - but it starts at Open Day
Like so many high school students in their final year, Denise Ong had a head full of questions. Little did she know at the time that one question she asked would later lead to a major turning point in her story.