Paris Olympics day four: Boomers clash with Canada as Jess Fox returns for more gold

From basketball to canoeing, here's what to watch out for as Australia strives to keep its gold medal dreams kicking.

Jock Landale, of Australia, gets a basket on a dunk in front of Lorenzo Brown, of Spain, in a men's basketball game at the Paris Olympics.

Australia's men's basketball team will face off against Canada on day four of the Paris Olympics kicks off. Source: AP / Mark J. Terrill

With the fourth day of the Paris Olympics kicking off, Australia's hopes to add to its gold medal tally turn to the water, with much-anticipated canoeing and swimming events.

Meanwhile, Australia's men's basketball, women's rugby sevens and men's hockey teams are also preparing for competition, hoping to keep their dreams for a medal intact.

Here's what you'll want to watch out for on day four.

Boomers hoping to bounce their way into the next round

After a successful start to the tournament in which they defeated Spain, Australia's men's basketball team will want to double their wins and ensure qualification to the quarter-finals.

But the Boomers, captained by Patty Mills, will have their work cut out for them as they go up against Canada, who also won their first game against Greece.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, of Canada, drives past Thomas Walkup, of Greece, during a men's basketball game at the Paris Olympics.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (right) leads Canada's Olympic men's basketball team. Source: AP / Mark J. Terrill
Led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Canadians possess a roster full of players with years of experience in the NBA, such as Dwight Powell and RJ Barrett.

A win for Australia will bring coach Brian Goorjian's team a stone's throw away from sealing first place, while a loss could complicate things ahead of their third and final game in the group stage against Greece.

Australia's match against Canada starts at 9:30pm AEST, 9pm ACST and 7:30pm AWST.

Jess Fox in search of second gold medal

Having already won an elusive gold in the K1 slalom event, Australian canoeist Jessica Fox will try to double her medal tally in this year's Olympics as she goes into the heats of the C1 women's slalom. That starts at 11pm AEST, 10:30pm ACST and 9pm AWST.
Fox will be hoping her good momentum can carry her forward as she tries to win two gold medals in the sport, a feat that has never been accomplished by an Australian athlete before.

Fox won the gold medal in the women's C1 canoe slalom at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

More to come from swimming

After an incredible one-two performance by Mollie O'Callaghan and Ariarne Titmus, team Australia will be hoping for more from its swimming contingent.

Kaylee McKeown will be the first to compete for a medal in the women's 100m backstroke final, with Elijah Winnington jumping into the pool a short while later to try out for a place on the podium in the men's 800m freestyle final.

The women's 100m backstroke will be at 4:56am AEST, 4:26AM ACST and 2:56am AWST. The men's 800m freestyle final will be at 5:02am AEST, 4:32am ACST and 3:02am AWST.
The men's and women's 100m freestyle semi-finals and the men's 4x200m freestyle finals are also set to take place on day four.

What else is happening?

Australian fans will also want to keep an eye on the women's rugby sevens, where the Australian team will face Canada for a place in the semi-final. That's at 12am AEST, 11:30pm ACST and 10pm AWST.

In men's hockey, the Kookaburras will take on the other undefeated team of their pool, Belgium, hoping to maintain their clean record. That match is at 3:45am AEST, 3:15am ACST, and 1:45am AWST.

The men's triathlon event was originally scheduled to take place on Tuesday but has been (Wednesday night) due to pollution levels in the River Seine.

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3 min read
Published 30 July 2024 3:28pm
Source: SBS News


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