It’s always a frantic start to the Olympics for Australian fans, with medals galore in the pool, and a few other highlights always popping up across the opening week.
And then the swimming stops. And the Aussies slow down a bit.
But the Aussie contingent at Paris 2024 has given themselves a great shot at making history, with 13 gold medals already in the bag - five more than they won in Rio or London.
The record of 17, seen in Tokyo and Athens, is within reach, along with the 16 won in Sydney. And with 27 medals overall before Monday night, the Aussies will be hoping to get near a half-century, which they haven’t reached since 2004.
THE BOOMERS AND THE OPALS - BASKETBALL
It would take a massive effort for either Aussie team to win gold, given the might of the United States, but the men’s and women’s teams have qualified for the quarter-finals which was the minimum expected of both.
The Boomers finished second in their group on a tiebreaker, landing them a winnable quarter-final against Nikola Jokic’s Serbia, but they would be likely to face the USA in the semis. A bronze feels like the maximum here.
The Opals had higher hopes coming into Paris, and did win two games in the group stage, but weren’t at all convincing until their clutch win over France on Monday morning.
Ironically the Aussie women will also take on Serbia in their quarter-final, and would also be likely to face the USA in the semis, making it difficult to see them winning more than bronze.
Schedule
Men’s Quarterfinal (Australia vs Serbia) - Tuesday August 6 at 10:30pm
Women’s Quarterfinal (Australia vs Serbia) - Wednesday August 7 at 7pm
Men’s Semifinals - Friday August 9 at 1:30am and 5am
Women’s Semifinals - Saturday August 10 at 1:30am and 5am
Men’s Bronze Medal Match - Saturday August 10 at 7pm
Men’s Gold Medal Match - Sunday August 11 at 5:30am
Women’s Bronze Medal Match - Sunday August 11 at 7:30pm
Women’s Gold Medal Match - Sunday August 11 at 11:30pm
MARIAFE ARTACHO DEL SOLAR AND TALIQUA CLANCY - WOMEN’S BEACH VOLLEYBALL
The Tokyo silver medallists took care of business in their opening knockouts game on Monday morning, defeating their in-form Brazilian opponents in straight sets.
At the stunning backdrop of the Eiffel Tower Stadium the Aussies are 3-1, having lost to the Americans in the pool stage, but they cannot face that pairing again until a potential final.
Artacho Del Solar and Clancy will face unbeaten Switzerland in the quarter-finals, and would face either Latvia, Brazil or Japan in the semis.
Schedule
Women’s Beach Volleyball Quarterfinal (Australia vs Switzerland) - Wednesday August 7 at 5am
Women’s Beach Volleyball Semifinals - Friday August 9 at 1am, 2am, 5am and/or 6am
Women’s Beach Volleyball Bronze Medal Match - Saturday August 10 at 5am
Women’s Beach Volleyball Gold Medal Match - Saturday August 10 at 6:30am
MINJEE LEE AND HANNAH GREEN - WOMEN’S GOLF
The Aussie men missed the medals but our superstar women loom as a stronger chance.
Green, currently ranked No.7 in the world, and Lee, ranked No.11, have both won major championships with Green claiming two LPGA titles this year alone.
Schedule
Women’s Golf Rounds 1 to 4 - Wednesday August 7 to Saturday August 10, first tee times 5pm
MATTHEW DENNY - MEN’S DISCUS THROW
After missing bronze in Tokyo by less than 5cm, Denny roared into the final after cruising through the qualification round on Monday evening.
Denny hit 66.83 metres, second behind Lithuania’s Mykolas Alekna, automatically advancing after meeting the qualification standard.
Denny won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and in the 2023 Diamond League suggesting he’s one of the favourites to medal.
Schedule
Men’s Discus Throw Final - Thursday August 8 from 4:25am
NINA KENNEDY - WOMEN’S POLE VAULT
The final will be a bit more packed than anyone expected after 11 athletes hit 4.55 metres... but the top 12 had to advance, meaning a nine-way tie sent a total of 20 competitors through.
But Kennedy, the joint reigning world champion, will clearly be amongst the medal contenders as one of six to clear 4.55 metres on their first attempt.
Schedule
Women’s Pole Vault Final - Thursday August 8 from 3am
MACKENZIE LITTLE AND KELSEY-LEE BARBER - WOMEN’S JAVELIN THROW
A dual world champion and Tokyo bronze medallist, Barber would’ve been the Australian favourite 12 months ago, but her decline in form has been matched by Little’s rise.
Little, a doctor, is at her second Olympics and in red-hot form having won at the Diamond League in London just days before the Australian pre-Games camp.
Schedule
Women’s Javelin Throw Final - Sunday August 11 from 3:40am
AUSTRALIA - MEN’S AND WOMEN’S WATER POLO
Both the Sharks (men) and Stingers (women) are into the knockout stage, with Australia having not medalled at a Games since the Stingers claimed bronze in 2012.
The women went unbeaten through the group stage, including two penalty shootout wins, beating both the Netherlands and Hungary on route to a quarter-final against Greece.
The men were guaranteed to finish second in their group heading into their final game against winless Japan on Monday night, and will place the third-place team from the other group in their quarter-final. The Sharks have never finished higher than 5th at an Olympics.
Schedule
Women’s Quarterfinal (Australia vs Greece) - Wednesday August 7 at 3am
Men’s Quarterfinals (Australia’s match TBC) - Wednesday August 7 at 10pm and 11:35pm, Thursday August 8 at 3am and 4:35am
Women’s Semifinals - Thursday August 8 at 10:35pm and Friday August 9 at 3:35am
Men’s Semifinals - Friday August 9 at 10:35pm and Saturday August 10 at 3:35am
Women’s Bronze Medal Match - Saturday August 10 at 6:35pm
Women’s Gold Medal Match - Saturday Augut 10 at 11:35pm
Men’s Bronze Medal Match - Sunday August 111 at 6:35pm
Men’s Gold Medal Match - Sunday August 11 at 10pm
MATT WEARN - MEN’S DINGHY SAILING
The Tokyo gold medallist in the men’s one-person laser event, Wearn led the field through eight races with two held over Monday night/Tuesday morning, and was already bound for the medal race.
Schedule
Men’s Dinghy Medal Race - Tuesday August 6 at 11:43pm
JESSICA HULL - WOMEN’S 1500 METRES
Hard to see the Aussie beating Olympic and world champion Faith Kipyegon, but the 27-year-old ran the fifth-fastest time in event history behind the Kenyan a few weeks back at a Diamond League event.
Hull then backed up her career-best form with a world record in the 2000m, which isn’t an Olympic event, saying “the way I have trained this year is to put myself in a position to medal in Paris”.
Schedule
Women’s 1500m Round 1 - Tuesday August 6 at 6:05pm
Women’s 1500m Repechage Round - Wednesday August 7 at 8:45pm
Women’s 1500m Semifinal - Friday August 9 at 3:35am
Women’s 1500m Final - Sunday August 11 at 4:25am
AUSTRALIA AND MATTHEW RICHARDSON - TRACK CYCLING
The Aussies have always found success in the velodrome and Paris should be no different with a few major medal chances.
Richardson is the nation’s best individual hope, aiming at the podium in the Sprint and Keirin, while the Men’s Team Sprint and Team Pursuit crews are also big threats.
Schedule
Men’s Team Sprint, First Round (Australia) - Wednesday August 7 at 2:59am
Men’s Team Pursuit, First Round (Australia) - Wednesday August 7 at 3:14am
Men’s Team Sprint, Finals (Australia) - Wednesday August 7 at 4:07am
Men’s Sprint, Qualifying (Matthew Richardson) - Wednesday August 7 at 8:45pm
Men’s Sprint, 1/32 Finals (Matthew Richardson) - Wednesday August 7 at 10:30pm
Men’s Team Pursuit, Finals (Australia) - Thursday August 8 at 2:33am
Men’s Sprint, 1/16 and 1/8 Finals (Matthew Richardson) - Thursday August 8 at 1:30am and 3:38am
Men’s Sprint, Quarterfinals (Matthew Richardson) - Friday August 9 at 2:01am, 2:47am and 3:18am
Men’s Sprint Semifinals (Matthew Richardson) - Friday August 9 at 10:41pm, 11:29pm and 11:52pm
Men’s Sprint Finals (Matthew Richardson) - Saturday August 10 at 2am, 3:02am and 3:38am
Women’s Madison Final (Australia) - Saturday August 10 at 2:09am
Men’s Keirin First Round and Repechages (Matthew Richardson) - Sunday August 11 at 1:19am and 3:21am
Men’s Keirin Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Final (Matthew Richardson) - Sunday August 11 at 7:29pm, 8:29pm and 9:32pm
MADDISON KEENEY - WOMEN’S 3M SPRINGBOARD DIVING
The Aussie team of Keeney and Anabelle Smith suffered heartbreak in the 3m synchro event very early in the Games when Smith slipped on the final dive, seeing them fall from the bronze medal position to fifth.
Keeney, 28, won bronze in the synchro in Rio and claimed gold in the individual event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Schedule
Women’s 3m Springboard Semifinal - Thursday August 8 at 6pm
Women’s 3m Springboard Final - Friday August 9 at 11pm
KEEGAN PALMER - MEN’S PARK SKATEBOARDING
It hasn’t been a great start for our Aussie skaters, but Palmer won the inaugural Men’s Park event in Tokyo and is a genuine chance to repeat the feat.
Schedule
Men’s Park Prelims - Wednesday August 7 at 8:30pm
Men’s Park Final - Thursday August 8 at 1:30am
CHARLIE SENIOR AND CAITLIN PARKER - MEN’S AND WOMEN’S BOXING
Australia hadn’t won an Olympic boxing medal in 33 years before Harry Garside’s Tokyo breakthrough; now they’ve won three across two Olympiads.
Both Senior and Parker are into the semi-finals, where even the losers are guaranteed bronze medals, with 75kg hope Parker to become the first Aussie woman to win an Olympic boxing medal once her tournament ends. (Women’s boxing has only been an event since 2012.)
She faces China’s Li Qian on Thursday morning, with Senior fighting Uzbekistan’s Abdumalik Khalokov just 30 minutes earlier in the 57kg semi-finals.
Schedule
Men’s 57kg Semifinal (Charlie Senior) - Friday August 9 at 5:30am
Women’s 75kg Semifinal (Caitlin Parker) - Friday August 9 at 6:02am
Men’s 57kg Final (Charlie Senior?) - Sunday August 11 at 5:47am
Women’s 75kg Final (Caitlin Parker) - Sunday August 11 at 6:34am
JEAN VAN DER WESTHUYZEN AND TOM GREEN - CANOE SPRINT MEN’S KAYAK DOUBLE
Perhaps the Australian team’s least-heralded reigning gold medallists, Green and van der Westhuyzen will combine again in the K2 500 metres - half the distance of the Tokyo event where they won gold.
Green is also in action in the single 1000-metre event.
Schedule
Men’s Kayak Double 500m Heats - Tuesday August 6 from 7:30pm
Men’s Kayak Double 500m Quarterfinals - Tuesday August 6 from 10:30pm
Men’s Kayak Double 500m Semifinals - Friday August 9 from 7:10pm
Men’s Kayak Double 500m Final A - Friday August 9 from 9:30pm
CASSIEL ROUSSEAU - MEN’S 10M PLATFORM DIVING
A former Australia’s Got Talent finalist, Rousseau won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2023 world championships, the first Aussie to win the men’s 10m platform world title.
He combined with Domonic Bedggood to finish 6th in the synchronised 10m platform final but looms as a true podium chance in the individual event.
Schedule
Men’s 10m Platform Semifinal - Saturday August 10 from 6pm
Men’s 10m Platform Final - Saturday August 10 from 11pm
Max Laughton from Fox Sports
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