Welcome back as day 13 looms in Rio, the prospect of Usain Bolt looms over the 200m final, and question marks – a lot of question marks – loom over safety in the Olympic city.
The big picture
Away from the official evening action, reports that a member of the British Olympic team in Rio was held up at gunpoint have prompted an official warning to Team GB members that it is “not worth the risk” of leaving the athletes village.
Perching awkwardly alongside that is news that Brazilian police detained two US swimmers at the airport over their allegations that they were robbed on a night out in Rio. Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz were later released but will be back for a chat with the authorities today. The headliner in this murky story, gold medallist Ryan Lochte, is already back on American soil, where he’s now backstroked on his claims that a gun was put to his head.
Back on track, Elaine Thompson propelled her way to the front of the women’s 200m field and to the history books: Jamaica’s first woman to take the Olympic sprint double (somebody called Usain Bolt has managed it for the men). She ran a season’s best of 21.78, squeezing out an apparently distraught Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands. American Tori Bowie (pronounced Bowie, not Bowie or Bowie) came third.
Can Bolt match his teammate as he goes for the 100m-200m double today? I mean, probably, yes. He was the quickest qualifier in the semi-finals on 19.78, pushed harder than he’d like by Canada’s Andre De Grasse to his fastest ever semi-final time.
I was asking him, what is he doing? He said, oh, I had to put on some pressure and I’m, like, why? It’s the semi-finals!
He’s young, so … ¯\_(ツ)_/¯*
[*artist’s impression]
Pressure presumably has a different meaning for Bolt: he and De Grasse were relaxed enough to grin each other over the line while their rivals strained for those last milliseconds.
You should also know
Out went Russia’s sole track and field athlete. Long jumper Darya Klishina, cleared for Rio, then banned, then unbanned, reached 6.63m in the final but it wasn’t enough to take her to the last eight. America’s Tianna Bartoletta ran – and then threw herself 7.17m – away with that gold.
And it seems only fair to mention – given Chinese media fury at what it’s been labelling its “worst Olympics flop” – that China has called bingo! in the table tennis, taking four of the four golds. There were two silvers, too, from those two China v China finals. Now level-pegging Team GB with 19 golds, China remains third in the overall medal table with four fewer silvers. Bring on the diving!
- Neymar and Jesus march Brazil into men’s football final with Germany.
- Six boxing judges sent home from Rio 2016 after outrage over results.
- Irish Olympic head Pat Hickey arrested in alleged ticket touting inquiry.
- How to train like an Olympian – eat loads of peanut butter and listen to robots.
Team GB roundup
The jolliest of hockey sticks for the women’s team, who are guaranteed a silver at worst after beating New Zealand 3-0 to march on to the final. That’ll be against the Netherlands at 9pm BST on Friday. The Dutch are the world number ones and gold medallists in 2012 and 2008, but the BBC One is moving the 10 o’clock news for this, so great things are expected.
Overall it was a quieter day, but let’s blame the weather for that one, because it’s the British Way and also true. Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark practically have the gold medal nailed to their mast in the women’s 470 sailing but have to wait for some wind to clinch it. And there’s plenty to look forward to on day 13, with the Brothers Brownlee restoking their 2012 fire for the triathlon, and 2012 gold winner Jade Jones in taekwondo.
Adam Gemili qualified as a fastest loser for the 200m finals; teammates Danny Talbot and Nathaneel Mitchell-Blake won’t be there alongside him. Rajiv Ouseph stumbled in the men’s badminton quarter-final to Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen; but Marcus Ellis and Chris Longridge play for bronze in the men’s doubles later today.
- Boxer Savannah Marshall frustrated to find no way past her Dutch nemesis.
- GB gymnasts have rivalry between men and women, says coach Van Hoof.
- GB women’s football team could have won Rio gold, says England coach.
- Were Team GB’s cycling rivals right to question their Olympic success?
Team USA roundup
New long jump gold medallist Tianna Bartoletta (she already has a sprint relay gold from 2012) called it the “awesome hour” and I’m going to concede that one to her. Six medals fell to the Americans in a little over 60 minutes: Bartoletta’s gold medal came with a silver version for teammate Brittney Reese, just as Tori Bowie took bronze in that explosive women’s 200m final.
The real triple whammy came in the women’s 100m hurdles, the day’s finale in the athletics stadium, in which Brianna Rollins, Nia Ali and Kristi Castlin took an unprecedented first, second and third places for Team USA. Here they are in gold, bronze, silver formation for their celebratory lap. They’ll figure out the order for the podium.
The sole male medallist in the athletics stadium was Evan Jager, who won America’s first medal since 1984 in the 3,000m steeplechase, a silver one. Justin Gatlin failed to qualify for the 200m final – but expect to see him back in the 4x100m relay rounds today. Also back on track will be Bowie and the multitasking Bartoletta.
In the men’s basketball quarter-finals there were no surprises as the Americans knocked out Argentina 105-78. Next up: Spain in the semis.
And after her first-ever Olympic defeat, Kerri Walsh Jennings and partner April Ross recovered to take bronze in the women’s beach volleyball. Their vanquishers in the semi-finals, Brazil’s Bárbara and Ágatha, lost gold to Germany in a midnight match on Copacabana.
Australia team roundup
Success in the men’s basketball as the Boomers (look, it could have been worse) crunched world no 3 Lithuania 90-64. The Australian men now progress to the semifinals against Serbia, to be held at the friendlier-to-this-side-of-the-world time of Friday 7pm local, Saturday 8am AEST.
Progress of a different kind for javelin-thrower Kim Mickle, whose shoulder is now no longer dislocated following surgery. She won’t make the final but has shrugged – OK, maybe not shrugged – off the disappointment: “I’m glad I had a go and I did everything I could.” Teammate Kathryn Mitchell qualified 12th and will now carry Australian hopes into the final (Friday 10.10am AEST).
The BMX cycling sparked into life, with Caroline Buchanan sitting in second spot after the women’s seeding run, behind Colombia’s Mariana Pajon. In the men’s seeding, Sam Willoughby took third and will now ride again in the quarter-finals, overnight tonight Aus time. The women skip straight to semi-finals the day after.
No new medals on day 12 but some watery contenders for day 13 – Lachlan Tame and Ken Wallace in the kayak; Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan in sailing; Melissa Wu in diving. Check the diary below to set your watches.
- Boomers emerge as Australia’s favourite team in their quest for Rio gold.
- Team Australia day 12 roundup.
Diary
All times below are local to Rio: here’s the full timetable tweaked for wherever you are. Or add four hours for UK, add 13 hours for eastern Australia; subtract one hour for east-coast US and four for west coast.
We’ll see 25 golds dished out, providing the wind gets up for the delayed women’s 470 and men’s 470 sailing finals.
- A busy day for canoeing: finals in the men’s kayak double 1,000m at 9.08am (Australia’s Lachlan Tame and Ken Wallace are in this one); the men’s canoe single 200m at 9.23am; the men’s kayak double 200m at 9.47am (Team GB’s Liam Heath and Jon Schofield paddle up); and the women’s kayak single 500m at 10.11am.
- The men’s triathlon is at 11am and it’s Brownlee v Brownlee again as British brothers Alistair and Jonathan battle it out.
- Six track and field finals in the athletics stadium, with deciders in the men’s 400m hurdles at midday, the men’s shot put at 8.30pm, the women’s javelin at 9.10pm, the men’s decathlon at 9.45pm, and at 10.15pm the women’s 400m hurdles final (Eilidh Doyle runs for Team GB but America’s Dalilah Muhammad is the favourite). Oh, and the men’s 200m is at 10.30pm. Perhaps Bolt and De Grasse can dance a jig over the line.
- The 4x100m relay heats, women’s and men’s, start from 11.20am.
- Golds in the women’s doubles badminton is decided at 12.30pm; it’s Japan v Denmark. British fans might want to cheer on Marcus Ellis and Chris Longridge in the men’s doubles match for bronze at 10.10am.
- Should the sailing get going, there will be four finals: the held-over women’s 470 at 1.05pm (Britain’s Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark should clinch gold) and the men’s 470 at 1.50pm (Australia’s Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan remain in medal contention).
- The men’s 49er – in which New Zealand currently leads German, Australian and British pairs – follows at 2.35pm and the women’s 49er FX at 3.20pm.
- At 3.30pm it’s the men’s light heavyweight boxing final: Cuba’s Julio Cesar La Cruz v Kazakhstan’s Adilbek Niyazymbetov.
- In diving, the women’s 10m platform final is at 4pm; the semifinals at 10am will decide if medal hopes Jessica Parratto (US), Melissa Wu (Aus) and Tonia Couch (GB) go through, though China dominated the preliminary rounds.
- The men’s hockey final between Belgium and Argentina is at 5pm; the bronze-medal bout between the Netherlands and Germany precedes it at noon.
- In taekwondo the women’s -57kg gold bout comes at 10pm and the men’s -68kg at 10.15pm. Britain’s Jade Jones begins her title defence at 10.30am.
- And there are three more wrestling golds: in the women’s freestyle 53kg, 63kg and 75kg.
- Finishing the day off, it’s the men’s final in the beach volleyball as Italy take on home heroes Brazil at 11.59pm (not a typo).
Underdog of the day
India has its first medal in Rio, Sakshi Malik grappling a bronze in the women’s freestyle 58kg wrestling. Malik is the first woman from her country (population 1.25bn but Olympic Games make underdogs of the strangest candidates) to nab an Olympic wrestling medal, and labelled it the “best moment of my life”.
Tweet of the day
Not quite the Ryan Lochte update we were hoping for:
My hair is going back to its normal color tomorrow 🙏
— Ryan Lochte (@RyanLochte) August 16, 2016
If today were a crime caper
It would be Ocean’s 11. But in a pool. And with only four of them.
And another thing
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