Paris Olympics: Aussies in action on Day 9 and Day 8 results

August 4, 2024 BY

Australian tennis players John Peers and Matthew Ebden came from a set down to win gold in the men's doubles. Photo: DAN HIMBRECHTS/AAP IMAGE

AUSTRALIA – 12 gold, 8 silver, 7 bronze (fourth overall)

What’s on tonight?

MAJOR AUSTRALIAN MEDAL HOPES

Australia has two genuine gold medal hopes in the women’s high jump in Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson.

Time trial Olympic champion Grace Brown is back in action in the women’s road race along with Lauretta Hanson and Ruby Roseman-Gannon.

Caitlin Parker has the opportunity to become the first female Australian boxer to win an Olympic medal with a quarter-final battle against Khadija Mardi of Morocco.

Speed queens Shayna Jack and Meg Harris will try to match Cameron McEvoy’s gold medal effort in the 50m freestyle.

Another gold medal is the target for the women’s 4 x 100m medley relay while the men have also reached the final but must stop the prince of Paris Leon Marchand to win gold.

OTHER AUSTRALIANS IN ACTION

The Kookaburras face a tough quarter-final clash with the Netherlands to keep alive their gold medal dream.

The roof is expected to rise at Stade Pierre-Mauroy when the Australian women’s basketball team take on France looking to knock off the home side to top the pool.

Tokyo beach volleyball silver medallists Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy take on unbeaten Brazilian big guns Carolina Solberg Salgado and Barbara Seixas De Freitas in the round of 16.

At the track Reece Holder, 21, is up in the men’s 400m while fellow young guns Claudia Hollingsworth and Abbey Caldwell will represent in women’s 800m.

Now 10th, Jason Day has some work to do to catch the medal favourites in the final round of the men’s golf.

The kayak cross continues with the Fox sisters, two-time Paris gold medallist Jessica, and Olympic debutant Noemie, the stars of the show.

Tokyo champion Matt Wearne is the current leader in the men’s ILCA 7 class in Marseille while Breiana Whitehead kicks off her campaign in the women’s kitesurfing.

Australia’s women’s water-polo team continue their medal quest in their final pool match against Hungary.

WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING

The gold is up for grabs in the men’s 100m final, with American world champion Noah Lyles the hot favourite.

Sweden’s Truls Moregard will look to stop China’s dominance of table tennis, the first player from another country to appear in the men’s singles final since 2008.

Likely playing in his last Olympics Novak Djokovic will take on Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s singles gold medal match.

How the Aussies fared on Day 8

GOLD

John Peers and Matthew Ebden – (tennis – men’s doubles) – There will be few more popular – or unexpected – Australian gold medallists in Paris than the tennis journeymen, who downed Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram in the title match.

SILVER

Grae Morris (sailing – men’s windsurfing) – The 20-year-old Sydneysider won Australia’s first Olympic windsurfing medal in 32 years – and the first for the 2024 sailing squad in Marseille at the 2024 Games.

Ariarne Titmus (swimming – 800m freestyle) – The Australian had to bow to Katie Ledecky on this occasion, having got the better of the legendary American in the 400m freestyle earlier in the Games.

BRONZE

Kaylee McKeown (swimming – 200m individual medley) – The peerless backstroker added a bronze to her burgeoning Olympic haul.

Kaylee McKeown, Josh Yong, Matt Temple and Mollie O’Callaghan – (swimming – mixed 4x100m medley relay) – Yet another medal for McKeown and O’Callaghan.

OTHER HEADLINE GOLD MEDALLISTS

Julien Alfred won a first-ever Olympic gold for the tiny Caribbean nation of St Lucia in the women’s 100m, with US superstar Sha’Carri Richardson claiming silver.

Simone Biles pocketed her seventh Olympic gymnastics gold medal in the vault, thrilling the crowd with her signature Yurchenko double pike and Cheng vaults.

Belgian cycling ace Remco Evenepoel overcame an untimely puncture 4km from the finish line to win the men’s road race.

WHAT ELSE HAPPENED

World championships bronze medallist Kurtis Marschall made light of a sore left ankle to soar into Monday’s final.

Jason Day improved to a tie for 10th with one round to play in the men’s golf tournament, but the gold medal race looks like being a heavyweight battle between Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm.

The world’s most decorated female sprinter, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce from Jamaica, withdrew from the 100m semi-finals in mysterious circumstances.

– WITH AAP