Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan stormed home to claim gold in the women’s 200m freestyle final ahead of teammate Ariarne Titmus on Tuesday morning at the Paris La Defense Arena.
In doing so, O’Callaghan denied her Titmus’ bid to become the first swimmer at Olympic level to successfully defend both 200m and 400m freestyle titles.
The 20-year-old, who grew up in the southern suburbs of Brisbane, began strongly from lane five, although her compatriot and Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey were both also within range.
Ultimately, the race came down to O’Callaghan’s brilliant turn entering the final 50m – with this buffer proving telling in the dying seconds.
Italy’s success in the pool also continued, with Thomas Ceccon becoming the first Italian man to claim the 100m backstroke title.
In a frenetic finish, all three swimmers which finished on the podium – Ceccon, China’s Xu Jiayu and American Ryan Murphy – all raffled the lead in the final lap.
Murphy appeared to have taken control with about 25m to go, however Ceccon had other ideas and got the job done in 52 seconds flat.
Heading into the women’s 100m breastroke final, the pursuit of gold appeared to be a race in two between top qualifier Tatyana Smith of South Africa and event world record holder Lilly King of the US.
Chinese swimmer Tang Qianting clearly wasn’t briefed on this script and stunned her rivals from out wide in lane one.
In the dying seconds amid a congested field, Smith managed to dig deep and find an extra gear, pipping Qianting for gold, while Ireland’s Mona McSharry – a 23-year old who starred on the University of Tennessee’s swimming team – claimed bronze.
King finished equal fourth alongside Italian Benedetta Pilato.
Overall Medal tally (Monday, 6am WST)
Japan (six gold, two silver and four bronze) leads the Olympic medal table, with France and China rounding out the top three.
Australia is in fourth – with five gold and four silver medals.
Basketball
Australia’s hopes of a women’s medal took an early hit, after the Opals were defeated 75-62 by Nigeria on Monday afternoon in their Pool B opener.
Ranked third in the world, the Opals were left stunned by the fiercely determined Nigerians, which recorded their first Olympic win in 20 years.
Aside from being burnt by an 11-0 offensive run in the dying stages of the first half, the Opals struggled with ball retention, committing 26 turnovers, and also shot 8/18 (44.4 per cent) from the free-throw line.
Their remaining pool matches are against France and Canada, with little room for error.
Elsewhere, the US – perennial gold medal favourites – kickstarted their campaign with a convincing 102-76 win over Japan, with A’Ja Wilson finishing with 24 points.
In an ominous sign for their rivals, the Americans could have won by more, as they finished 4/20 from three-point land.
Hockey
The Hockeyroos remained unbeaten on top of Pool B in the women’s competition, after seeing off Great Britain 4-0. Their next game is against the US on Wednesday night.
In the men’s competition, Australia also remained unbeaten, defeating Ireland 2-1 ahead of their game against tournament favourites Belgium on Wednesday.
Aside from victory, Tim Brand also won his 100th cap for the Kookaburras.
Rugby Sevens
It was a case of double trouble for Ireland in their women’s rugby sevens quarter final against Australia at the Stade de France, with sisters Maddison and Teagan Levi running riot for the green and gold.
Australia oozed class and control throughout their 40-7 victory, with Maddison scoring a hattrick of tries in the first half, courtesy of multiple piercing breaks through the Irish line.
Despite trailing 26-0 at the interval, Ireland fought the game out until the final whistle, with fan favourite Stacey Flood crossing over for a late consolation try.
Moments prior to this clash, French hearts were left broken on the field and in the stands, after Canada stunned the host nation 19-14.
With less than a minute to play in the second half with the game tied, Chloe Daniels boldly scampered down the right flank to score a late try.
On its final posession, France began strongly, attempting to travel 85m and force the game into extra time – however a forward pass ultimately ended their hopes of a medal.
Post-game, it was evident how much this defeat had impacted the French players, with many of them crouched near their bench in tears.
Earlier in the evening, New Zealand and the US also booked their places into the semifinals, defeating China 55-5 and Great Britain 17-7 respectively.
Australia’s semifinal against Canada will get under way at 10pm on Tuesday night, with the NZ-US clash half an hour earlier.
