DAY 9 PREVIEW
AUGUST 4-5
Olympics Daily hosted by Tara Rushton - Now Streaming
Paris Preview hosted by Adam Peacock - Now Streaming
Experts: Stephanie Rice, Ash Barty, Nick Green, Craig Foster, Stuart O'Grady and Geoff Ogilvy with Nick Green and John Steffensen in Paris.
Highlights & expert opinions from today's shows:
John Steffensen gives his predictions for the upcoming Men's 100m Semi-Finals and Final.
"I watched the heats with Usain [Bolt] on FaceTime, and he was really impressed with Kishane Thompson and felt it was Kishane’s race to lose and I do agree with him. I think it will come down to how he races the rounds and in the big moment whether he can do, like Julien Alfred today, when he gets out front, can he hold on and not tighten up. The last 20 is so important in the 100m and that’s where races are won and lost. Oblique Seville – last year he was very green, I think he can have a lot more confidence coming in to the Olympic Games and even from lane 7 or 8 I think he can sneak through for Silver or Gold."
"I think it will be tight for second and third and maybe Noah Lyles will be in there for that."
John Steffensen looks back on the superstar line-up in the Women's 100m Final and St Lucia's Julien Alfred storming through for the Gold Medal.
"Julien Alfred was magnificent; she did everything she had to do to win that race. We saw in the Semi-Final, I just thought she got into the head of Sha’Carri, I thought she handled the moment brilliantly. She did what a champion needs to do, get better every round and do a personal best in the Final and that’s the way you become Olympic Champion."
"St Lucia have never had a medal at the Olympics, first Gold Medal. It's magnificent and for her this catapults her, she is now in rarefied atmosphere. This is what the Olympics is about."
"I said the start was going to be Sha'Carri's biggest weakness and that's where she could lose the race. You just can't catch someone of the calibre of Julien. Sha'Carri was in the boondocks halfway through that race and she came through for second so she should be proud - if that's the worst result she could get that's a very good one."
Grant Hackett previews the Women's 50m Freestyle Final tomorrow morning with Aussies Shayna Jack and Meg Harris up against World Record Holder Sarah Sjöström.
"There is light and day between Sjöström and the rest of the field and the world record is under threat in this race. In the last 15 metres [in the Semi] she was pulling away from the rest of the field and it is a classy field that she is up against. When you talk about Katie Ledecky being the greatest of all time, this is a very close second. What we have seen Sarah Sjostrom do at the Europeans, the World Championships and the Olympic Games and all the Gold Medals she’s now collected, she is one of the greatest of all time.
Stephanie Rice on the dominance of American Katie Ledecky and Ariarne Titmus' fight to win the Silver in the 800m Freestyle.
"No woman has ever won the 800 four years in a row. It just shows the class above of everyone she is. I have so much respect for someone that can be at the top of their game, fastest in the world, for so long."
"Ariarne is such a racer. It’s so typical for an Aussie to want to come home fast but she knew she had to go out hard with Katie and she did a really brave race and put it all on the line and that’s all you can ask of yourself at an Olympics. She did a PB as well and can walk away and think that’s the best I’ve ever done."
Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 1500m Gold Medallist Grant Hackett on Katie Ledecky's reign as the Queen of distance swimming.
"The training - what you put your body through every four years to get yourself here and get into such good shape to be the Gold Medallist again is quite incredible, but she has such a relaxed way about her which seems to keep her ticking over. I was there in London 2012 when I watched her first Gold Medal in the 800 and she was 14 and I was like how incredible is this girl. She is going further and further with world records galore and here we are today talking about the greatest female athlete of all time in the sport of swimming."
Stephanie Rice on the turn that dropped American Alex Walsh out of the medals and Australia's Kaylee McKeown into Bronze position in the 200 Individual Medley.
"Medley swimming is very technical and the back to breast turn is one of the ones you have to be the most careful of. You must touch the wall either on your back or your side and she’s just rotated over on to her stomach which is illegal. A lot of people think how could you do it an Olympics but to me that’s something that I think she’s been sloppy on in training, too casual in training. I feel like I can anticipate her conversation with her coach after, 'this is why I tell you every day to not do that'. You don’t just do a poor skill in a competition like the Olympics if you haven’t been doing it already because you do switch into autopilot. Incredibly disappointing for her."
Sydney 100m Gold Medallist American Maurice Greene looks back to his experience in 2000 and how he sees the Men's 1500m at Paris playing out.
(Clip here)
"It felt like a movie especially when I crossed the line [in Sydney]. It seemed like every picture, every thing that I had been through went through my mind and at the end you see me finishing and accomplishing it all. It felt like an out of body experience."
"You can be confident and have all the personality you want but none of that goes well if you’re not winning. [Noah Lyles] is able to produce best times and he’s winning so it’s tough to overcome that if you’re someone else. I think it will be a close race, if [Oblique] Seville can overcome the things he’s had in the past, he’s always run well in the rounds but when you get to the Final he hasn’t shown up. He’s been running very fast this year so let’s see if he can produce that in the Final here."
Ash Barty on Matt Ebden and John Peers producing a stunning comeback to secure the Gold Medal in the Men's Doubles at Roland Garros.
(Clip here)
"They were a set and a break down, it was a really tightly contested first set and then they lost the momentum, but they did such a good job of being able to wrestle it back in the second [set] and then really ran away with it. It’s a fickle scoring system in tennis. They did such an amazing job in staying positive and keeping the hope and dream alive. Sometimes it’s more attitude than anything else. They were exceptional."
"At the moment Matt is top ten in the world and when you’re top ten you get to choose who you play with and he chose to play with John who is someone who has the status already in Olympic doubles. They are such great mates, they gel perfectly together, their games complement each other really well. They both work hard, and they were so driven to contribute to Australia’s medal tally. I was so invested and involved in that match; I am so happy for them."
Ash Barty previews the Final we've all been waiting for in the Men's Singles - Novak Djokovic v Carlos Alcaraz.
"I would say that Novak would give a couple of [Grand] Slams back to have the opportunity to win a Gold Olympic Medal. This is the Final that every tennis fan craved, everyone wanted to see this showdown."
"Conditions will play a big part. I think if it’s hot and bouncy and it’s lively, it will definitely suit Carlos more. He grew up in Spain in those quick conditions. For Novak, if he is able to control the baseline, if he can find the ball more often in his hip pocket and can control the court that will work in his favour. We know with Novak in big moments he is a mental beast, he loves the big occasions. This is the match he’s been eyeing off in his calendar since Tokyo.
12-time PGA winner Geoff Ogilvy looks ahead to the final day of the Men's Golf.
"Jason Day was playing well; he had a couple of late bogeys like most of the field because the last four holes are really tough so he’s still in with a medal, probably a long way back to win but you never know because there was a 62 yesterday there’s probably a 62 out there tomorrow. It will be an incredible last round."
"John Rahm is the guy who thrives in the big moments and the Spanish they’re very patriotic, they thrive under team circumstances so it will be a big day for John Rahm. He’s proven time and time again and in the biggest moments that he’s got what it takes."
Dual Gold-Medallist and 'Oarsome Foursome' member Nick Green on the disappointing results for the Australian rowing team at Paris 2024.
"The regatta didn’t turn out the way the Australian rowers and public and the rowing fraternity thought it was going to. We have ended up with one Medal, the Bronze Medal for Women’s Pair and I have been looking back at the history of success and I think since probably 1984 that’s probably worst results in terms of medals we’ve had for quite some time. So, there will be a bit of reflection – what we did right and what can be improved. The Australian rowers are hard workers. They rowed hard and to their capacity but they did not row smart and they weren't rowing fast at this regatta."
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DAY 9: AUGUST 4-5
Golf
5:00pm AEST - Men's Individual Stroke Play Round 4
Equestrian
6:00pm AEST - Dressage Individual Grand Prix Freestyle
Tennis - LIVE in 4K
8:00pm AEST - First match on court
Women's Doubles Bronze Medal Match
Men's Singles Gold Medal Match
- Stars to watch: Novak Djokovic (SRB) v Carlos Alcaraz (ESP)
Women's Doubles Gold Medal Match
Cycling
10:00pm AEST - Women's Road Race
- Aussies to watch: Grace Brown & Lauretta Hanson
Gymnastics
11:00pm AEST - Men's Rings Final
11:40pm AEST - Women's Uneven Bars Final
12:24am AEST - Men's Vault Final
Swimming - LIVE in 4K
2:30am AEST - Women's 50m Freestyle Final
2:37am AEST - Men's 1500m Freestyle Final
3:10am AEST - Men's 4 x 100m Medley Relay Final
3:32am AEST - Women's 4 x 100m Medley Relay Final
Athletics - LIVE in 4K
3:55am AEST - Women's High Jump Final
4:30am AEST - Men's Hammer Throw Final
4:05am AEST - Men's 100m Semi-Final
5:50am AEST - Men's 100m Final
DAY 9: AUGUST 4-5
Hockey
1:30am AEST - Men's Quarter-Final: Australia v Netherlands
Athletics - 1500m
5:10am AEST - Men's Semi-Final
Athletics - 3000m Steeplechase
6:05pm AEST - Women's Round 1
- Aussies to watch: Amy Cashin & Cara Fein-Ryan
Athletics - Hammer Throw
6:20pm AEST - Women's Qualifications
7:45pm AEST - Women's Qualifications
Athletics - 200m
6.55pm AEST - Women's Round 1
- Aussies to watch: Torrie Lewis & Mia Cross
Athletics - Long Jump
7:00pm AEST - Men's Qualification
- Aussies to watch: Christopher Mitrevski & Liam Adcock
Athletics - 110m Hurdles
7:50pm AEST - Men's Round 1
Athletics - 400m Hurdles
8:35pm AEST - Women's Round 1
- Aussies to watch: Alana Yukich, Sarah Carli
3:05am AEST - Men's Round 1
Water Polo
10:00pm AEST - Women's Pool Game: Australia v Hungary
Canoe Slalom
11:30pm AEST - Men's Kayak Cross Heats
12:45am AEST - Women's Kayak Cross Heats
Basketball
1:15am AEST - Women's Group Match: USA v Germany
5:00am AEST - Women's Group Match: Australia v France
VIEW FULL SCHEDULE HERE
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August 4, 2024