The Newsroom reviews day 11 of the 2016 Rio Olympics, with Aussie sailors dominating the murky seas of Rio.
Australian sailors win gold & silver
Tom Burton tamed some hefty competition to claim the gold medal in the laser (dinghy) event. Burton won with the least amount of points, finishing with 73. Tonči Stipanović from Croatia claimed silver while New Zealander Sam Meech took home the bronze. In the Mixed Nacra 17 (multihull) event, Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin won the silver medal, falling one point behind the Argentinian team who claimed gold.
Irish boxer claims he was cheated
Irish Bantamweight boxer Michael Conlon has accused the judges and sport officials of fixing his qualifying fight against Russian Vladimir Nikitin. The result ended with a unanimous decision but the people in the attendance thought otherwise. Conlon angrily told media “They’re known for being cheats, and they’ll always be cheats.
“Amateur boxing stinks, from the core right to the top,” Conlan said.
Murray misses out
Simone Biles win another gold
American gymnast Simone Biles claimed her fourth gold medal of this Olympics with an impressive routine in the floor exercise. She showed great poise, patience and her flips and twists impressed the judges. Biles finished with a score of 15.966 ahead of fellow American Aly Raisman, who collected the silver medal with a score of 15.500.
Michelle Jenneke fails in the hurdles
In her first Olympics, Michelle Jenneke finished sixth in the first round of the 100m hurdles. She started the race with her trademark jiggle of the hips but that wasn’t enough as she couldn’t find her stride. The 23-year-old told media that she has been battling injury. “I have been struggling with a bit of nerve pain down my right side for the last two weeks. I felt it grab on hurdle two and I tried to push past it but I couldn’t get the same drive that I wanted to with that leg. It set me up badly for the rest of that race.”
Kim Mickle dislocates shoulder
Australian Javelin thrower Kim Mickle pushed herself too far in her qualifying round, dislocating her shoulder in her last attempt. Mickle missed out on a finals birth and will now need surgery.
Amazing sportswomanship shown in the 5000m
New Zealand runner Nikki Hamblin and Abbey D’Agostino from the USA collided in a crash in the late stages of the 5000m race. D’Agostino suffered an ankle injury, and Hamblin remained by her side while she received medical attention. The girls embraced on the track as D’Agostino left in a wheel chair. Hamblin expressed her gratitude towards D’Agostino.
“That girl is the Olympic spirit right there,” Hamblin said. “I went down, and I was like, ‘What’s happening? Why am I on the ground?’ Then suddenly this hand on my shoulder, like ‘Get up, get up, we have to finish this’ and I was like, ‘Yup, yup, you’re right. This is the Olympic Games. We have to finish this’.”
Australian Eloise Welling’s qualified for the final on Saturday. – Jesse Mullens.
Top photo of the Olympic rings from the Olympic organisation’s twitter page.
Medal Tally as it stands:
Screenshot of the Olympic medal tally from the Rio 2016 website.
About the author
I am the sports editor for the Macleay Newsroom. I enjoy cooking and watching sport intently.
