The Australian women were impressive on the first evening session at Stade de France, but devastatingly for decathlete Ash Moloney, injury forced him to withdraw from the decathlon.
Women’s 5,000m – Rose qualifies for final and Izzi just misses
Rose Davies has qualified for the Women’s 5000m Final with a fantastic run to finish fourth in heat 2, clocking 15:00.86. Teammate Izzi Batt-Doyle also had a superb run but just missed progressing to the final by one place finishing ninth in 15:03:19.
Rose, the Australian Record Holder, is competing at her second Olympics and looked comfortable sitting near the front of the pack throughout. She backed her kick in the final lap and was determined to make the final after missing by one spot at the 2023 World Championships.
“I've been running really well all season, so I just thought the Olympic Games is like any other race. I just came in here with that mindset and it paid off,” Rose said.
“I backed my kick and I know I have a strong last lap, so that's what I've been doing all year.”
Izzi was brave and didn’t leave anything to chance, controlling the pace at the front of the field from halfway until the final lap.
But when the big kick came at the bell she couldn’t quite match the pace to snatch a top eight finish.
“I had confidence that I could run fast in the last kilometer but I know at this level, it's just a whole other game,” Izzi said.
Lauren Ryan ran in heat 1, finishing 13th in a time of 15:29.35.
Women’s 800m – Hollingsworth into semis, Caldwell and Bissett not done yet
Claudia Hollingsworth finished second in the final 800m heat, clocking a near personal best of 1:58.77, to progress to the Olympic semi-final.
The 19-year-old ran brilliantly to position herself well early and she managed to hold second place throughout. When the pressure and kicks came hard in the final 250 meters, she stayed and was clearly desperate to qualify and ran superbly.
““I don't know how to feel. That was insane,” Claudia said.
“It's probably the most relaxed I've been on a start line. Craig (Mottram, coach) just said, ’when you're out there, just look up, take a deep breath, and that's all. Don't look at it anymore!”
Abbey Caldwell was also impressive and came very close to progressing to the semi-finals, when she ran a season best 1:58.49 to finish fifth in heat five. She’ll get another chance to progress in the repechage at 7:15pm AEST on Saturday.
“Ultimately, I wanted to be straight into that semi-final and that's not the case, but I'm certainly not disappointed,” Abby said.
“I'm certainly going to give it my all tomorrow and I'm certainly not done yet.
Catriona Bissett was seventh in heat 4, with a time of 2:01.60, and will also now race the repechage. The Australian Record Holder was in a good front position early but got checked a few times and lost some position at a time when the pace kept winding up.
“It was just really pushing and shoving, and I feel like I probably drew the hardest heat,” Catriona said.
Men’s Decathlon – Injury forced out Moloney as Golubovic loving the struggle
In disappointing news, Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Ash Moloney has withdrawn from the decathlon with a suspected adductor injury. Moloney withdrew ahead of the high jump after completing the 100m, long jump and shot put events earlier today.
Daniel Golubovic is placed 20th after five events with 3,771 points. He finished Day One with 1.93 meters in the high jump, just off his season best, and a 50.79s for the one lap of the track.
“This is one of the roughest decathlons I've had in the past five or six years, since first putting on the green and gold jersey,” Daniel said.
“But I'm absolutely loving every second of it. It’s the Olympic energy, the Olympic crowd. There's something different about it and it's absolutely just fantastic.”
Women’s Discus – Gollshewsky throws big Bundaberg best on Olympic debut
After breaking her leg in the lead-up and missing the Tokyo Olympics, Bundaberg’s Taryn Gollshewsky has finally made her Olympic debut in Paris – her 10th Australian team appearance.
In Paris, she made the most of her Olympic opportunity, nailing a significant personal best of 62.36m on her second attempt in the qualifying rounds, and narrowly missed progression to the final by just 27 centimeters.
“I feel ecstatic,” Taryn said.
“Obviously, it's a high pressure situation, so the nerves are a factor coming into that. My first throw was a little bit shaky, but I just really had to put some relaxation techniques in to play and then. Yeah, second throw, PB, which is awesome.”
Andrew Reid and David Tarbotton
