Australia’s record Olympic haul after medal blitz
Australia’s Olympic team has made history with its most successful gold medal haul ever in another incredible day in Paris.
Aussie athletes clinched four gold medals on day 12 in pole vault, skating, sailing and cycling, taking Australia’s total gold medal count to 18.
The gold rush pushed Australia’s tally past the previous most successful Games in Athens in 2004 and Tokyo three years ago.
Australia is sitting third on the overall tally on Thursday morning (AEDT) behind the USA in first and China in second.
The Australians have 18 gold, 12 silver and 11 bronze.
Pole vaulter Nina Kennedy propelled herself to new heights on Thursday morning (AEDT) to cap off a stunning six hours for Australia.
Kennedy cleared 4.90m as she became the first woman to win gold for Australia in a field event.
Earlier, skateboard king Keegan Palmer, 21, clinched his second Olympic gold medal, becoming the first skateboarder in history to win back-to-back park Olympic gold medals.
Super sailor Matt Wearn also claimed a history-making second Olympic gold medal in a dramatic men’s dinghy final.
And the world record-breaking men’s pursuit team beat fierce rivals Great Britain to win the Olympic gold medal for the first time in 20 years.
Australia also won bronze in the marathon race walk, with Jemima Montag and teammate Rhydian Cowley, and bronze in discus with Matt Denny making history with our first discus medal.
Pole vault queen
World Champion Nina Kennedy has added an Olympic gold medal to her collection with a jump of 4.90m at the Stade de France.
“I’m a gold medalist — that is so sick,” she told Channel Nine.
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“I couldn’t be prouder of myself and my team.”
Kennedy said she was going for her own gold. At last year’s World Championships she shared first with American Katie Moon.
This time she out-jumped Moon.
“I was very open to the media about it, I was very vulnerable, I said from the start I wanted to win the gold medal and it’s scary, it’s vulnerable but I did it.
Pursuit of gold
Australia has broken a 20-year drought in mens team pursuit by winning their first gold since Athens in 2004.
The combination of Olympic medallists Sam Welsford and Kelland O’Brien, plus debutants Oliver Bleddyn and Conor Leahy, out-paced fierce rivals Great Britain.
The Aussies had earlier broken the world record on Tuesday (Paris time) in round one with 3:40.730 to qualify fastest.
They clocked 3:42.067 to win Wednesday night’s decider — not as quick as their world record time, but enough for gold and a place in Olympic history.
“Obviously I’m super happy. I’m just really proud of the team and it’s an awesome battle (with) Great Britain obviously — really happy to be on top,” O’Brien said.
The British foursome of Ethan Hayter, Daniel Bigham, Charlie Tanfield and Oliver Wood were within around two tenths of a second at the start of the last lap.
But their race ended in dramatic fashion, nearly crashing on the last lap as they tried to snatch the win.
This is Australia’s first gold medal in Olympic track cycling since Anna Meares, now the team chef de mission, beat her British rival Victoria Pendleton in the sprint at the 2012 London Games.
The Australian cycling campaign in Paris now boasts three gold medals and two bronze, the second-best Olympics since the six gold won at the Athens Games.
It is also a massive turnaround from Tokyo, when a sole bronze in the men’s team pursuit was the worst Australian haul at the Olympic velodrome since Moscow 1980.
Golden skateboard double
Australian skateboard king Keegan Palmer has won his second Olympic gold medal at the age of just 21, becoming the first skateboarder in history to win back-to-back park Olympic gold medals.
After Arisa Trew had made winning park gold seem like child’s play at just 14, Palmer, a grizzled veteran, followed up 24 hours later at La Concorde with his second Olympic title in the park event in three years.
He produced a series of dazzling performances, securing the best qualifying score in the morning on Wednesday (Paris time) before leading in the final from his outstanding opening run.
“It’s a wild, crazy feeling, dude, to be able to say I’m a two-time Olympian, let alone two-time Olympic gold medallist, it’s a crazy, crazy feeling like I literally can’t believe it,” beamed Palmer.
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“I’m speechless, to be able to back up Arisa from yesterday is a dream come true. We grew up skating the same park together, Elanora in the Gold Coast. Elanora’s holding it down right now! A hundred per cent, Arisa’s gold was an inspiration for me.”
Palmer’s opening run in the final scored him 93.11 points — three clear of the rest of the field after the first round, even if not as high as his 93.78 in the prelims.
Palmer then bailed out on his second run, while his American best friend Tom Schaar, the eventual silver medallist, got ominously close with his second-round run, scoring 92.23.
But none of his pursuers were able to match the US-based star third time out, as they crashed out while trying to match his score.
After Schaar tumbled, Palmer, the last to skate, got on his knees to celebrate and was able to to enjoy what, effectively, was a lap of honour with his last run.
But though he failed to finish it, taking a tumble, he was able to rise gingerly to his feet, hold his skateboard aloft and salute the packed, cheering crowd which included superstar rapper Snoop Dogg.
“He gave me a little like dance on the deck, but I’m not representing America, so he probably doesn’t like me too much,” laughed Palmer of his close encounter with the Snoop.
It was the perfect follow-up for Palmer to trail in the wheeltracks of Trew, who had become Australia’s youngest ever Olympic gold medallist.
“We’re the king and queen of skateboarding park right now and we both grew up in the same town. So Gold Coast is holding it down right now,” he beamed.
Wearn sails to gold
Matt Wearn has won a history-making second Olympic gold medal in a dramatic men’s dinghy final.
The 28-year-old West Australian became the first ever back-to-back Olympic champion in the event and extended Australia’s golden run in the class.
Australia has claimed four consecutive titles, with Wearn’s two medals following Tom Burton in Rio 2016 and Tom Slingsby’s triumph at London 2012.
“It’s just pure excitement; it’s something no one’s done before, going back to back in the ILCA (dinghy), or the laser as it was before,” Wearn said.
“That was a massive goal and I’ve made it happen so it’s pretty special.”
He said he had doubts he could again reach the top after battling long COVID in 2022.
“That was tough,” Wearn said.
“There was obviously that moment there where I thought that I wouldn’t be competing again and that I certainly wouldn’t be as strong as I am now.”
He had to work for his triumph, with shifting winds in Marseille on Wednesday (Paris time) doing him no favours.
Wearn was forced to race the ILCA 7 medal decider twice after it was initially abandoned close to the finish.
Already delayed by a day, Wearn was minutes from collecting gold when the first race was called off due to failing wind, with just one leg left to complete.
Heading into the double-point medal decider, Wearn’s 14 -point lead meant had already locked up a silver medal and could only be overtaken by Pavlos Kontides, of Cyprus.
Wearn made no mistake when the race was re-run about 30 minutes later, crossing the finish line in first place.
Kontides was second in the ILCA 7 medal race, confirming his silver, while Peruvian Stefano Peschiera was third overall.
– with AAP
