The Paris Olympics continued to thrill on day six as New Zealand’s athletes competed for medals.
New Zealand Rowing:
New Zealand rowers aimed for the podium at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium on Thursday night (NZT). Four Kiwi boats raced for medals: the women’s and men’s double sculls and the women’s and men’s coxless fours.
The first race for gold featured the women’s double sculls team, Lucy Spoors and Brooke Francis, who were motivated by their toddlers cheering from the stands. The Pair won gold. The men’s coxless four, consisting of Matt Macdonald, Tom Murray, Logan Ullrich, and Oliver Maclean, also had high hopes for gold after their strong performance in the heats, finishing two seconds ahead of Great Britain. The Four Men had a battle out with USA who gold the gold, them grabbing the Silver. Additionally, The women’s coxless fours scored a bronze medal in their final race.
Sailing:
New Zealand’s medal opportunities continued in Marseille, where sailors Isaac McHardie and Will McKenzie, ranked third in the 49er men’s fleet, prepared for the double points medal race. They were three points behind the Irish team and eight points behind Spanish leaders Diego Botin and Florian Trittel.
Canoe Slalom and Golf:
Elsewhere, Finn Butcher advanced to the canoe slalom semifinals after qualifying seventh-fastest. Meanwhile, golfers Ryan Fox and Daniel Hillier teed off at Le Golf National in the men’s 72-hole tournament alongside the world’s top-ranked players: Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Rory McIlroy.
BMX Racing:
In BMX racing, Rico Bearman advanced to the semifinals after a strong run in the men’s last chance race, while Leila Walker narrowly missed qualifying for the semis.
Other Olympic Highlights:
- The New Zealand Women’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay team finished eighth in the final with a time of 7:55.89.
- Lewis Clareburt placed seventh in his Men’s 200m Individual Medley semifinal, with a time of 2:00.06, and did not advance to the final.
- New Zealand’s men’s hockey team lost 5-0 to Australia, ending their chances of reaching the quarterfinals.
- In judo, Moira de Villiers was defeated 10-0 by Guinea’s Marie Branser in the Round of 32.
