The Australian Olympic Team continues to produce great performances at the halfway mark of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Aussies will be in action in 12 sports on Sunday with medals on offer in six of these sports.
Highlights on Sunday Day 9 include
- The Australian Swim Team closes out a remarkable Games contesting 3 finals in the last swimming session
- Matt Wearn can’t be caught for the Laser sailing gold, and will have a victory lap of sorts in the medal race
- Brandon Starc takes centre stage in Men’s High Jump final
- Rohan Browning looks to become the first Australian since 1956 to make the Olympic 100m final
- Logan Martin and Natalya Diehm hunt for the podium in BMX Freestyle
- Cameron Smith chases leaders on the golf course
- Kookaburras take on rivals the Netherlands in hockey.
Athletics
It’s day three of athletics at the Olympic Stadium and Australia has the chance to create history on the track and in the field. There will be 12 Australians in action.
Brandon Starc starts in the men’s high jump final looking to emulate the performances of Tim Forsyth, while Rohan Browning could become the first man since John Treloar in 1952 to make a final in the men’s 100m. And the our male 800m runners and Liz Clay in the 100m hurdles are all gunning for a finals berth.
The morning session starts at 9:40am AEST and the evening session from 8pm.
Beach Volleyball
Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar come into a must win game with China on Sunday in their round of 16 meeting. The Australians won two of their three pool games against Cuba and Italy, but fell to the Russian Olympic Committee in three sets. The Chinese duo of Chen Xue and Xinxin Wang comes into the game with the same record from Olympic play. The first serve will be at 10:00pm (AEST).
Cycling - BMX
The first ever Olympic medals in BMX Freestyle will be awarded on Sunday at Ariake Sports Park and Australians look in fine form to be amongst the awardees. In the Women’s event 23-year-old Natalya Diehm qualified fifth through the seeding rounds behind riders from the Russian Olympic Committee, Japan, Chile and Germany. World Champion Logan Martin stood atop the Men’s standings after two spectacular runs in Saturday’s seeding. Diehm is up first at 11:10am (AEST) with Martin an hour later.
Diving
Two-time Olympian Esther Qin will look to improve on her 6th placing at the Rio 2016 Games after qualifying for the 3m Springboard final on Sunday with a top 12 finish in the semi-final at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on Saturday. The 28-year-old finished eighth in the semi-final with the Chinese divers of Shi Tingmao and Wang Han finishing first and second respectively. Qin’s final will begin at 4:00pm (AEST).
Equestrian
It’s the third day of eventing in equestrian and our horsemen are set for their cross-country component. Through the dressage stage Andrew Hoy is the highest placed Australian in 18th with compatriots Shane Rose and Kevin McNab in 24th and 25th respectively. In the Team event the Aussies are sitting in sixth with Great Britain in the pole position. The Cross-Country is normally a real strength for the Australians and they’ll be looking to move up the Individual, and the resulting Team, rankings. Riding gets underway at 8:45am (AEST) at Sea Forest Cross Country Course.
Golf
At Kasumigaseki Country Club it’s the final day of play for the Australian men in the individual tournament. The only thing more impressive than Cameron Smith’s play to date has been his hairstyle as he comes into the final round in equal 11th, five shots behind the leader Xander Schauffele of the United States. Fellow countryman Marc Leishman has slid to equal 49th after his third round of play. Tee off is set for 8:30am (AEST).
Hockey
It’s the grudge match to beat all grudge matches at Oi Hockey Stadium on Sunday. The Kookaburras take on the Netherlands in their must win quarter-final match scheduled for 1:00pm (AEST). The meeting will be an exact rematch of the Rio 2016 quarter-final where the Netherlands defeated Australia 4-0, but this time around, the Aussies are in fantastic form. Australia finished at the top of Group A without losing a game with a four-win one-draw record, the same record of Belgium who topped Group B. The Netherlands scraped through to the quarter-final with a two-win one-draw two-loss record in group play.
Sailing
One medal race is on the cards at Enoshima on Day 9 with Australia already locked in for a gold medal. Matt Wearn in the Men’s Laser has put himself in an uncatchable lead heading into the final race of the competition. Wearn, will continue the Australian gold medal streak alive in the event that was won by Aussies in 2012 and 2016. This is a remarkable performance given that Wearn had a poor start to the regatta. Racing is set to begin at 1:05pm (AEST).
Shooting
The Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol is the only event in action at Asaka Shooting Range on Sunday with Sergei Evglevski representing for the green and gold. Evglevski will be making his Olympic debut, however the Belarussian born Australian already have a stack of credentials to his name including two Oceania Championship gold. The top six shooters from the two qualification rounds will move through to Monday’s final. Sunday’s qualification begins at 9:30am (AEST).
Swimming
Here it is, the final day of swimming at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. In what has already been a record breaking and history making performance for the Dolphins at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre, the Aussies will look to cap off their campaign with a medal winning Sunday.
Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell take to the blocks for the Women’s 50m Freestyle. If McKeon is to medal, she will become Australia’s greatest Australian medallist of all time. And Campbell won bronze in this event back in 2008. Then the Women’s and Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay will wrap up the Swimming competition at the Games. Australia has a relay qualified in each final with the men swimming from lane seven and the women from land three. The final session of swimming will begin at 11:30am (AEST).
Table Tennis
After a brief hiatus in play for Australian table tennis, the green and gold is back in action at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Sunday. In the Women’s Team round of 16, the Australians Michelle Bromley, Jian Fang Lay and Melissa Tapper come head-to-head with German’s Ying Han, Xiaona Shan and Petrissa Solja. Ying Han knocked out Jian Fang Lay in the round of 16 singles in Tokyo, with the Australian six-time Olympian looking to change the result. The match-up is set for a 3:30pm (AEST) start.
Water Polo
The Stingers dive into their final Group A match as they take on South Africa in the pool on Sunday night. Even with a loss to the South Africans, the Australians will move through to the quarter finals with wins over Canada and the Netherlands. Australia fell to Spain in their most recent outing 15-9, with South Africa yet to win a game in Tokyo. The match is slated for an 8:50pm (AEST) start.
