The Matildas are on the lookout for a new head coach after Football Australia (FA) ended months of speculation and confirmed Tony Gustavsson’s contract would not be extended.
Gustavsson’s four-year tenure came to an end after the Swede failed to steer the Matildas out of the group stage at the Paris Olympics.
FA said in a statement the decision to not extend Gustavsson’s up-and-down reign was mutual.
“It has been a great honour and privilege to have been able to be the head coach of the Matildas over the past four years,” Gustavsson said in a statement.
“This journey with the team has had many incredible moments and memories that I will forever treasure.”
After conceding 10 goals in three games and defeating Zambia but losing to Germany and the USA, Australia failed to make it to the knockout stage of the Games for the first time in 24 years.
Elsewhere on day five of the Paris Olympics, there were many other smiling Australian faces.
Gold medallist Jessica Fox of Team Australia celebrates with the Australian flag following the Women’s Canoe Slalom Single medal ceremony on day five of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Vaires-Sur-Marne Nautical Stadium. Source: Getty / Alex Davidson
Fox makes history
Champion paddler Jessica Fox can scarcely believe she is being named alongside her nation’s all-time great Olympians after creating her own piece of Australian Games history with a stunning gold in the C1.
It could hardly be more deserving.
, Fox stormed to another commanding win at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium whitewater course.
Fox became the first Australian athlete to win six individual Olympic medals, overtaking swimmers Shane Gould, Ian Thorpe and Leisel Jones, sprinter Shirley Strickland and current chef de mission, cyclist Anna Meares, who each have five.
Ariarne Titmus also recently joined this elite group, winning her fifth individual in Paris.
Kyle Chalmers and Zac Stubblety-Cook bring in the silver from the pool
As expected, there was more success to come from the Australian swim team in the early morning hours.
In the men’s 100m freestyle, Kyle Chalmers repeated his feat from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning the silver medal.
Chalmers completed his lap in Wednesday’s final with a time of 47.48, sitting only behind China’s Pan Zhanle who set a world record with 46.40 seconds.
Zac Subblety-Cook added another silver medal to the Aussie tally, finishing second in the men’s 200m breaststroke, 0.94 seconds behind French favourite Leon Marchand.
Natalya Diehm rides to third in BMX freestyle, Logan Martin fails to win a medal
Logan Martin has been dethroned as the king of Olympic freestyle cycling – but Australia can salute a new BMX star in shock women’s bronze medallist Natalya Diehm.
Diehm was beside herself with joy after delivering the performances of her life in the precarious high-flying cycling event which has left her with a catalogue of broken bones down the years.
Australia’s Natalya Diehm shows off her bronze medal from the Women’s BMX Freestyle Park Final on Day 5 of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at La Concorde. Source: Getty / DeFodi Images
And despite his disappointment, Martin, the 2021 champion who crashed out on both his runs in the final on Wednesday, was the first to hail his try-try-and-try-again teammate’s historic breakthrough as Diehm became the first Australian woman ever to take a BMX freestyle medal.
“We’ve never medalled at a World Cup event at all. So to do it here on the biggest world stage, that’s going down in history. I’ve written history today. That’s insane,” smiled the 26-year-old Queenslander, whose mum Tamara was at the magnificent La Concorde skate park to give her a congratulatory hug.
What else is happening?
Penny Smith won Australia’s first shooting medal at the Paris Games on Wednesday when she claimed bronze at Chateauroux.
Going back to swimming, Mollie O’Callaghan and Shayna Jack have just barely missed out on the medals in the women’s 100m freestyle, finish fourth and fifth respectively, while Moesha Johnson had the sixth best time in the women’s 1500m freestyle final.
The Matildas gave it their all in the final minutes but against four-time gold-medallist USA, in a game that was marked by an outburst of Tillies coach Tony Gustavsson, who received a yellow card for expressing his frustration over a decision by the referee.
Hayley Raso looks up in frustration following Australia’s loss to the United States during the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de Marseille. Source: Getty / Alex Livesey
The loss means the team are now out of the Paris Olympics, following Canada’s 1-0 win over Colombia and Brazil’s 2-0 defeat by Spain.
The women’s hockey team had better luck against the USA, beating them 3-0 and maintaining their unbeaten record. The win means the Hockeyroos have secured their place in the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics.
In rowing, Jess Morrison and Annabelle McIntyre secured a place in Friday’s final after finishing first in the semis with a time of 7:14.14.
And in Judo, Australia’s Aoife Coughlan made it to the round of 16 where she was eliminated by eventual silver-medallist, Germany’s Miriam Butkereit.
