If yesterday was dubbed ‘Super Saturday’ at the Tokyo Games because of the number of Australians in action, August 1 will surely go down as ‘Sensational Sunday’ – the most successful day for Australia at an Olympic Games with an incredible 4 gold medals. 

The gold rush started where it has so often in the first week – at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre where Emma McKeon became Australia’s most successful swimmer at an Olympic Games with 7 medals, bringing her tally to 11 overall. She is also now Australia’s most decorated Olympian. 

McKeon started the morning off with a dominant win in the 50 metre freestyle in a new Olympic record time of 23.81, touching clear of World Record Holder Sarah Sjoestroem from Sweden. Cate Campbell was 7th, but just 0.29 seconds from the silver medal, such was the strength of the field. 

Almost immediately, both women then joined Kaylee McKeown and Chelsea Hodges in the 4 x 100 medley relay final – and a superb anchor leg from Campbell saw the 29-year-old secure the gold for Australia, to wrap up our most successful Olympic swimming campaign in history. 

The action then turned to the Ariake Sports Park where Logan Martin was looking to create his own place in history – becoming the first ever gold medallist in BMX freestyle. 

Martin was the leading qualifier heading in to the Final – where the best score out of two runs counts towards medals. Little did he know that his first run on 93.30 would be enough to claim the gold medal, as he watched rider after rider try and better his score, but he was too good. 

Martin had the immense luxury of knowing he had secured the gold medal before his second and final run, a run which was set to be high scoring before a slight pedal slip brought it to a premature end. The 27-year-old Queenslander saluted the crowd and the vocal Australian contingent. 

And if Martin had a relaxing second run, spare a thought for sailor Matt Wearn in the Laser class. He’d known since Friday night he was the Olympic champion, all he had to do was take to the start line in Enoshima to stand on the podium and claim the most special of rare metals on sensational Sunday, a fourth Australian gold.

Damian Kelly