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That’s right, I went there. I pointed out the fact that Michael Phelps has more gold medals than you.
He also has more gold medals than me, and Thomas Fraser-Holmes, and everyone else who exists, or has previously existed, on the planet.
With 21 gold medals, thanks to today’s 4x200m freestyle relay and 200m butterfly, this absolute beast of a human casually took home his second and third gold medals of the meet.
Can. Swim. And apparently his kid’s name is Boomer. I guess when you’ve got more gold medals than I’ve got in dollars in my wallet, you can do whatever it is you please.
Anyway, let’s talk about Olympics stuff.
Alright. No gold, but the Aussies were well and truly bronzed.
I am no horse whisperer, but knowing that our equestrian team had our backs and got home in the team eventing to come third was good. They were even in the gold medal position coming into the final day, but couldn’t quite get the finish they wanted. The final ride cost them just enough time to make it into third spot – still an amazing effort.
Our other bronzed Aussie came from the pool, as the very affable Emma McKeon stormed home in the extraordinarily competitive 200m freestyle event.
Sarah Sjostrom. Katie Ledecky. If those two names mean nothing to you then you haven’t been paying close enough attention. This was a terrific swim, and McKeon is a deserving and graceful medallist.
In other news, our men’s sevens team struggled a bit, losing to France and beating Spain to sit in third in their group with a crucial game against South Africa coming up.
Our Kookaburras also didn’t manage to get a win, going down 1-0 to a strong Belgian side. They will need some good performances from here if they are going factor in the Medal count.
The Opals kept on winning, getting up 89-71 over France. Liz Cambage is a verified weapon. The Matildas got it together to thrash Zimbabwe 6-1. Here’s hoping for big things for those two teams coming up.
It was really sad to see Alicia Coutts so distressed after her 200m individual medley event where she wasn’t among the placings, but I would say that everyone in Australia loves what you’re doing.
The Boomers are back on tomorrow, taking on the USA. If you’re not watching that game then don’t bother with the Olympics. While we’re not a realistic chance, Dellavedova, Bogut, Mills and Baynes have been taking teams apart. 8am tomrorow. Be there for that.
But while we might lose that game, it’s merely an appetiser for what’s to come at 11am. James McEvoy and Kyle Chalmers are both huge chances in the biggest swimming event of them all – the 100m freestyle. They’ve qualified second (Chalmers) and third (McEvoy) after the USA’s Nathan Adrian.
McEvoy seems to be saving himself for this, and will be able to keep a close eye on Adrian from lane 3.
Then comes Madison Groves in the women’s 200m butterfly. She qualified fastest there, and has great speed right off the blocks.
Two huge chances for gold on a day that will also see Cate and Bronte Campbell feature in the women’s 100m freestyle semi-finals.
Don’t forget that late tonight is the men’s and women’s road cycling time trial, and the men’s gymnastics final which I’ll be all around.
The Kookaburras and Hockeyroos, both strong medal favourites before the Games kicked off, have both lost two matches in a row.
It’s a bit of a shock, but elite hockey is a very competitive arena, with European and Asian nations in particular very strong competitors.
So look… I’m going to go out on a limb and back BOTH of these teams to be among the medals by the time this all wraps up.
There will be epic comebacks, tales of ‘we woz robbed’, but I’m still going to back our hockey teams to get the business done.
The Hockeyroos have been hit hard by yellow cards, meaning they’ve spent long periods of games with critical players off the field. I don’t expect them to replicate that tomorrow against India.
Similarly, the Kookaburras have been largely ineffective in converting their opportunities – but I think that’s all about to chance.
Go on you two teams. Please prove me right!
What did you watch that really got your goat, or made you jump off the couch and yell ‘yippee!’