By Lachie Baird
On Wednesday 7th August 2024 in the space of 5 hours, the Australian Olympic Team achieved their greatest result at a Summer Olympic Games ever. They picked up 4 gold and 2 bronze and the whole nation woke up to extraordinary news. It also put Australia 5 gold medals clear of France, putting them on 18 gold and outright 3rd place. The first medal came from Jemima Montag and Rhydian Cowley who took home bronze in the mixed relay race walk marathon. Montag like she did in her individual walk event, entered the final leg in fourth place but sensationally came through with bronze again. This race paved the way for a perfect Australian night.
The first winner was Mat Wearn, who won gold in the men’s Dinghy event in the sailing. This was located outside of Paris and in the southern coastal city of Marseille. He held off Pavlos Kontides of Cyprus, while Stefano Peschiera from Peru received 3rd place and a bronze medal. Matt Wearn won this event at Tokyo though, which made him the back-to-back champion. His race in Marseille was delayed by a day, and then delayed again. He was about to touch gold, but that first race got abandoned with only a leg to go. It didn’t matter however, with Wearn winning another gold medal at the Olympics. As we see above, he was embraced by his teammates after the race and was filled with joy.
A few hours later up in Paris, 21 year old Keegan Palmer defended his title to win the men’s skateboard park final. He’s the only person to win this event as it was introduced at Tokyo 2020. He was ecstatic, saying “”I got really lucky though by everyone kind of falling off on their last two runs, but I had something prepared if need be. I’m speechless though.” Lots of young teenagers and children in Australia and the world are inspired by him, including 14 year old Australian gold medallist Arisa Trew who remarkably won gold at 14 years and 86 days. So as we speak, Keegan Palmer is the owner of the men’s skateboarding park event at the Olympics.
In the National Velodrome of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, the Aussie track cyclists won the 4000 metre team track pursuit, beating Great Britain who were expected to win. The major turning point in the race came 125 metres to go, with one of GB’s cyclists breaking a wheel. As pictured above, the Aussie quartet of Oliver Bleddyn, Conor Leahy, Kelland O’Brien, and Sam Welsford were overcome with emotion knowing they had won this event for the first time since Athens 2004.
And in the early hours of Thursday morning for Australia, Matthew Denny snatched bronze in the men’s discus final, becoming the first Australian to win a medal in this event. He was first after his last throw and looking likely to win gold, but Jamaican Roje Stona broke an Olympic Record to take first place with a score of 70.00 metres.
In a fairy tale finish to Day 12, Nina Kennedy won Australia’s 18th gold of the games, clearing 4.90 metres to beat the American and win the first medal for a female in a field event. It was a memorable medal for her, as she was battling mental health issues previously, and thinking of quitting the sport.
Overall, it was the greatest day for Australia in the Olympics with 4 gold and 2 bronze, coming from a variety of events. Hopefully Australia can improve in Los Angeles 2028.