The second-last day of swimming at the Rio 2016 Olympics sees gold medal contender Belinda Hocking in the women’s 200m backstroke final and the Campbell sisters in the 50m freestyle semi-final. Join The Roar for all the action from 11am (AEST).
First up is the women’s 200-metre backstroke final, with Australia’s Hocking chasing a gold medal.
Out to spoil the party is world number three Katinka Hosszu, from Hungary, and American Maya DiRado.
In the men’s 100-metre butterfly final, we have David Morgan and Grant Irvine, who would do well to figure in a field which includes Laszlo Cseh and one Michael Phelps, now with 22 gold medals in the Olympics, of the United States of America.
When it comes to the 800-metre freestyle, you can pretty much send off the gold medal to the engraver, as Katie Ledecky from the USA is streets ahead. Australia’s Jessica Ashwood should figure in the minor medals, although Boglarka Kapas and the second American entrant, Leah Smith, will have something to say about that.
The men’s 50-metre freestyle is a little harder to predict. While you would have said before the Games with some confidence that McEvoy will medal, that is now a forgotten dream. Expect the two Americans, Frenchman Florent Manaudou, and Russian Vladimir Morozov to provide strong challenges. Can the local hope, Bruno Fratus, pull off something special in front of his home crowd?
Finally, the women get their chance to stake a claim for the medals on the final night in the 50-metre freestyle semi-finals. At least one of the Campbell sisters will easily be in the top half of the field, with the likes of Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Fran Halsall, Sarah Sjostrom and the two Americans there as well.
This session could easily add two gold and a couple of minor medals to our tally.
Will Belinda Hocking take home gold in the 200 backstroke? Join The Roar from 11am (AEST) for live updates and debate in our blog.
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
The second last night of competition from the Olympic Aquatics Stadium has drawn to a close and gee was it a notable one. We had Joseph Schooling breaking through for a gold medal for Singapore (their first ever medal in the pool) in the 100m butterfly, over Michael Phelps who finished second, along with Laszlo Cseh and Chad le Clos. Just as astonishing was Katie Ledecky's performance in the 800m freestyle final, where she broke her own world record by a couple of seconds, with a huge win. Finishing second in that race was Jazmin Carlin, with Boglarka Kapas third. Jess Ashwood showed she can be around the medals in 2020, finishing a strong 5th. In the 50m freestyle, sixteen years after his first win in the event, we saw Anthony Ervin touch out France's Florent Manaudou, with 100m freestyle silver medalist, Nathan Adrian, winning the bronze medal. In the first event of the night, the women's 200m backstroke, it was a closely fought win for Maya Dirado over Katinka Hosszu, with Hilary Caldwell 3rd. Bindy Hocking of Australia finished 5th among what was a tough field. Closing out the night was the women's 50m freestyle semi-finals, with the Campbell sisters back in action after their 100m freestyle disappointment. Both responded well, with Cate Campbell second fastest going into the final, behind Denmark's Pernille Blume and Bronte 5th fastest, just behind 100m freestyle gold medalist, Simone Manuel. Join us again at The Roar for the final day of competition from the Olympic Aquatics stadium tomorrow, commencing at 11am AEST. The Campbell sisters, Mack Horton and our men's and women's 4x100m medley relay teams will be in action, swimming for the final medals on offer at the pool.
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
Campbell sisters right in the hunt for medals, with Cate Campbell finishing 2nd fastest going into the final and Bronte 5th fastest. Either capable of gold tomorrow. Campbell looks relaxed again in the post-race interview.
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
not a great start from Campbell off the blocks but Campbell came up first. Blume touched first however, with Campbell 2nd and Kromowidjojo 3rd.
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
What can our Cate Campbell do from lane 6? Blume, Weitzeil, Kromowidjojo and Manuel will challenge. Women’s 50m Freestyle Semi-Final 2 1 - Inge Dekker - Netherlands 2 - Ranomi Kromowidjojo - Netherlands 3 - Abbey Weitzeil - United States of America 4 - Pernille Blume - Denmark 5 - Aliaksandra Herasimenia - Belarus 6 - Cate Campbell - Australia 7 - Simone Manuel - United States of America 8 - Dorothea Brandt - Germany
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
They're off in the first semi. Pretty even start. Halsall a touch ahead from the start and Halsall finished first. Our Bronte Campbell had a great finish to be 2nd in her semi and the local hope, Medeiros from Brazil (not Brazi as I had in a previous comment), was 3rd.
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
At the blocks now.
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
Swimmers being introduced for semi-final 1 now
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
The start list for the first semi-final of the 50m freestyle for women sees Bronte Campbell in the second fastest lane in this race, swimming for a finals spot from lane 5. Sjostrom and Halsall will be her main competition here - but what can the 38 year old veteran, Therese Alshammar, do? Women’s 50m Freestyle Semi-Final 1 1 - Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace - Bahamas 2 - Sarah Sjostrom - Sweden 3 - Jeanette Ottesen - Denmark 4 - Francesca Halsall - Great Britain 5 - Bronte Campbell - Australia 6 - Chantal Van Landeghem - Canada 7 - Therese Alshammar - Sweden 8 - Etiene Medeiros - Brazi
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
As can often happen at the end of a big schedule, the tears are flowing from Katie Ledecky.
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
In the meantime, 800m star and breaker of her own world record, Katie Ledecky, about to receive her gold medal. In that event Boglarka Kapas took the bronze and Jazmin Carlin from Great Britain, the silver. Our own Jess Ashwood was a valiant 5th.
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
The Campbell sisters about to get their chance to swim their way into the final of the 50m freestyle final for another shot at a medal. Plenty of competition in this, and no time for nerves again.
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
Medal ceremony time for the men's 100m butterfly. As mentioned earlier, a special moment for Singapore with their first medal ever from the pool going to Joseph Schooling. And it's a gold medal in a field where Phelps was gunning for him. Incredibly, Phelps had to settle for an unbelievable joint silver with le Clos from South Africa and Laszlo Cseh of Hungary. That is something that will not be seen again for a very, very long time. Mind blowing.
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
Men's 50m Freestyle Final Gold: Anthony Ervin Silver: Florent Manaudou Bronze: Nathan Adrian
Tom Bridge
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Ervin gets the gold 16 years after his first win in the event! Manaudou second and Adrian 3rd
Tom Bridge
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Can the local hope Bruno Fratus nab a medal? It's a real possibility.
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
Competitors being introduced for the 2nd last event of the night - the men's 50m free final. Think Manaudou has this, but don't rule out just about any of them, especially Adrian, Proud and Govorov. Men’s 50m Freestyle 1 - Simonas Bilis - Lithuania 2 - Benjamin Proud - Great Britain 3 - Anthony Ervin - United States of America 4 - Florent Manaudou - France 5 - Andriy Govorov - Ukraine 6 - Nathan Adrian - United States of America 7 - Bruno Fratus - Brazil 8 - Brad Tandy - South Africa
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
Wonderful emotion on display from Maya Dirado as she does the rounds of the pool after receiving her gold medal from the 200m backstroke
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
Coming up is the men's 50m freestyle final dash, with no Australians in the field
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
Gold: Katie Ledecky Silver: Jazmin Carlin Bronze: Boglarka Kapas Jess Ashwood of Australia finishes a good 5th.
Tom Bridge
Roar Pro
Ledecky takes the gold beating the world record!