An emotional Jessica Fox has realised a dream in winning an elusive K1 Olympic gold medal with the champion paddler taking out the Paris final in commanding fashion.
The reigning Olympic title-holder in the C1 and world champion in the K1, Fox had won three medals in the kayak in her three previous Games but her best result was a silver medal in London in 2012.
Her Paris gold didn’t come easy with the world champion only qualifying for the final with the eighth-fastest time.
That meant Fox was fifth down the course rather than last which is reserved for the quickest in the 12-athlete field — Tokyo Games champion Ricarda Funk from Germany.
But the 30-year-old Australian absorbed the pressure and laid down a superb error-free run on the tricky course on Sunday at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.
The Australian flag bearer is chasing an unprecedented three gold medals at the Paris Games, with the slalom kayak her first event in the whitewater program.
Matildas fight back from the claws of defeat
The Matildas came dangerously close to bidding an early farewell to the Olympics as they found themselves down 4-2 to Zambia at halftime.
A potential loss, followed by the 3-0 defeat at the hands of Germany in the opening game, would’ve meant Tony Gustavsson’s team would have very little to play for in their third and final game against the United States.
Thankfully, they pulled off a counter-attack for the record books. Scoring four goals in less than 20 minutes of play, the Matildas turned a three-goal deficit into a victory and will now go into their final game against the four-time Olympic champions with their hopes for qualification intact.
Steph Catley was the star of the match, scoring two of Australia’s goals, including the crucial equaliser.
Australia’s Alanna Kennedy and her teammates celebrate scoring the opening goal against Zambia. Source: AP / Julio Cortez
Chloe Covell loses history-making bid for gold
Chloe Covell’s bid for Australian Olympic history ended in tears as her shot at the women’s street skateboarding gold medal unravelled.
The 14-year-old did not land any of her five tricks in the medal round and finished last of the eight finalists.
Had she won, she would have become Australia’s youngest Olympic gold medallist.
Commentator fired for sexist remark about Australian swimmers
Broadcaster Eurosport removed a commentator from its coverage after he made a sexist remark about Australia’s swimmers after they won the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay gold on Saturday
In a clip that went viral on social media, Bob Ballard said: “Well, the women just finishing up. You know what women are like… hanging around, doing their make-up.”
Ballard’s co-commentator Lizzie Simmonds called the remark “outrageous”.
“During a segment of Eurosport’s coverage last night, commentator Bob Ballard made an inappropriate comment,” Eurosport said in a statement.
“To that end, he has been removed from our commentary roster with immediate effect.”
There was no immediate reaction from Ballard.
What else happened?
Australian rowers Jess Morrison and Annabelle McIntyre posted the fastest time of the women’s pair rowing heats, just ahead of Dutch world champions Ymkje Clevering and Veronique Meester, who also won their heat.
Mollie O’Callaghan and Ariarne Titmus cruised through the heats of the women’s 200m freestyle, with O’Callaghan the top qualifier for the semi-finals and Titmus third quickest.
But Australia’s hopes for a medal in the women’s 100m butterfly were dashed when Emma McKeon finished sixth in the final.
Alexei Popyrin will be Australia’s only tennis singles entry in the second round after Ajla Tomljanovic, Olivia Gadecki, Matthew Ebden, and Rinky Hijikata all lost their respective matches. Alex De Minaur, the fifth seed, pulled out of singles after failing to overcome a hip complaint.
Australians Jess Morrison and Annabelle McIntyre posted the fastest time of the women’s pair rowing heats. Source: AAP / Steve McArthur
Australia’s rugby sevens “cheat code” Maddison Levi is on track to break records after a magnificent seven-try haul in two wins to begin the side’s Paris campaign.
The Hockeyroos avoided a South African ambush in a 2-1 Olympic opening win.
Chris Burton, onboard Shadow Man, remains in the bronze medal position after the cross-country section of the individual eventing competition.
Australia’s hopes of securing yet another medal in team eventing ended in unfortunate fashion when Kevin NcNab was forced to retire his injured mount Don Quidam.
Molly Picklum survived a run-in with the reef but not her Olympics surfing heat, exiting the competition in the second round at Teahupo’o.
European champions Spain proved too strong for Australia in the men’s water polo, beating the Sharks 9-5.
Key quotes from day two
“It was just the perfect day for me — it didn’t start well but it finished really well, and it was just magical.” — Jess Fox after winning her first K1 Olympic gold medal.
“It was very hard work to get here … I just have to come back better and stronger for the next time.” — Chloe Covell after coming last in her final.
