As the sun rises on day nine of the Paris Olympics, Australia sits comfortably in fourth place on the medal board – tied with France for the gold tally and romping it in with the highest number of women’s medals with 10!
But the men are holding their own. Australia scored its first gold in Men’s Doubles since 1996.
A fairytale ending for Matt Ebden and John Peers, after Ebden selected close mate Peers over higher-ranked players.
“We’ve both been a bit speechless, still trying to soak it in, sink in. I don’t really know what we've done, but I know it’s good,” Edben said of the win.
Grae Morris claimed second spot in the windsurfing final, and Ariarne Titmus took out the silver against U.S. powerhouse Katie Ledecky in the women’s 800-metre freestyle.
There were some absolute nail-biters. Kaylee McKeown picked up Bronze in the individual medley after an opponent was disqualified.
A split decision guaranteed boxer Charlie Senior either a silver or bronze with the announcement causing him to jump with joy.
But the weekend’s most emotional victory came from Saya Sakakibara.
Four years after her brother’s life-changing brain injury at the World Cup, three years after her crash in Tokyo, days after a positive COVID test, Sakakibara became the first Aussie BMX rider to take home the Gold.
The week ahead promises more fierce battles, with The Sharks’ 9-8 victory against Hungary making them the first Aussie men’s water polo team to reach the quarter-finals since 2012.
