Chef de Mission Anna Meares could scarcely contain herself amid the excitement late on Australia’s greatest day at the Olympic Games as gold medals came in a flurry in France.
After Keegan Palmer’s skateboard stunner, Matt Wearn’s smooth sailing success and the awesome foursome’s victory at the velodrome, Mears was bamboozled by the brilliance of a new generation of Australian Olympic heroes.
“I feel like I’m going to lose my sh*t if we win one more (gold). We have already done something great here,” Meares said.
It is hoped there was a toilet nearby and that Meares, a dual-Olympic gold medallist, had a Euro handy to use it, because soon after Nina Kennedy soared high into the sky on her pole vault to win Australia its fourth gold medal on a historic day.
Aussie walks us through chaotic GOLD win | 08:06
Australia will never forget Wednesday, August 7, 2024 in Paris, for it is unparalleled in the nation’s decorated Olympic history dating back to the first Games in Greece in 1896.
Australia has won four gold medals in a day before, but the addition of two bronze elevated it to the best ever. That the historic day occurred away from the swimming pool, where almost half of our gold medals have been won in the past, is extraordinary as well.
Eleven days after Grace Brown’s women’s time-trial triumph through the streets of Paris, Australia now has 18 gold medals, a new standard that moves the nation beyond the remarkable deeds in Athens in 2004 and Tokyo three years ago when 17 golds were won.
Australia sits in third position overall with 41 medals – 18 gold, a dozen silver medals and 11 bronze as well – behind the United States and China and is now five golds in front of hosts France. Oh, and we are beating Great Britain as well. You bloody beauty.
Almost a half-century on from a barren Olympics in Montreal, and after winning only eight gold medals in London in 2012 and in Rio de Janeiro four years later, Australia is on track to stand with the two superpowers on the overall podium with five days remaining.
Australia’s athletes will continue to strive to be faster, higher and stronger – the English translation of the original Olympic motto of “Citius, Altius, Fortius” coined by Pierre de Coubertin in 1894 – for the remainder of this Olympics in France.
But already Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised a heroes welcome for the team, saying on Thursday the Olympians have “given Australians a great measure of pride” in an “uplifting” performance.
“They deserve absolutely every accolade we can give them,” he said.
Girt by sea, Australia has always punched beyond its weight in the pool, with the nation’s Dolphins winning 221 of the 557 Olympic medals the nation had won leading into Paris.
When it comes to ultimate success, 71 of the 167 gold medals prior to Paris had been won in the pool. This Olympics is no different, with our superfish swimming superbly in the 33rd summer Olympics.
The golden generation of female swimmers – Emma McKeon, Ariarne Titmus, Kaylee McKeown and Mollie O’Callaghan – along with Cam McEvoy drove Australia to seven golds at Paris La Defense Arena.
But Australia is winning them everywhere in 2024, from the streets of Paris to the red dirt of Roland Garros and down to the sailing on smooth waters in the south in Marseille, among other golden destinations in France.
Be it on a bike, on a board or in a boat, with a pole or discus, or racquet in hand, the medals are flowing. And there is more still to come.
Brown won on wheels on the road. Saya Sakakibara produced one of the most emotional moments of the Olympics on her BMX.
The fabulous Fox sisters Jessica and Noemie tamed the white water rapids just outside of Paris. Matt Ebden and John Peers paired for Australia’s second ever gold medal in tennis at Roland Garros, while Arisa Trew produced a miracle on the board at the stake park.
Then came the gold rush on Day 12 of the Olympics.
World Record holders Oliver Bleddlyn, Sam Welsford, Conor Leahy and Kelland O’Brien tore around the velodrome in a thrilling men’s team pursuit on Wednesday to edge Great Britain.
Wearn effectively had to win twice in the men’s dinghy after the wind dropped in Marseille when he was within reach the first time around, but he managed to defend his Tokyo gold.
If Trew is the Queen of the skatepark, Palmer is its King after claiming his second successive gold medal in skateboarding with a dazzling display of tricks and speed.
And Kennedy gave her hometown of Busselton reason to roar when hurtling down the runway and up into the sky with a phenomenal performance in the women’s pole vault.
Lest we forget, but Australia’s most successful day could not have occurred without Rhydian Cowley and Jemima Montag earning a bronze in the Olympic marathon race walk, nor Matt Denny’s fabulous third-placed finish in the men’s discus throw.
HELLO SAILOR — GOLD MEDAL NO.15
There was a period two years ago when Matt Wearn was couch-ridden, unable to stand up for long-enough to breath in the sea air due to Long Covid and Chronic Fatigue syndrome.
The 28-year-old was almost unrecognisable from the champion sailor who won gold in the dinghy in 2021 in Tokyo after dropping 10kg while struggling to walk, let alone head to the ocean for a sail.
“I struggled to pick myself up and get up and do stuff. I had to rest. I was literally on the couch doing nothing for months,” he told the Herald Sun.
Now an Olympic great, the Western Australian is considered a masterful tactician on the water, with his attention to detail among his greatest strengths. But patience might well be his best. Certainly it has come to the fore over the past few days in the south of France.
Amid a lull in the Mediterranean Sea, competitors had been forced to wait for the wind to arrive, with the race at the Marseille Marina initially scheduled for Tuesday.
When some wind arrived on Wednesday, the Western Australian was in control against Cypriot Pavlos Kontidis after winning a competitive tacking duel, only for the gusts to die off as he was within sight of the line.
As a result, the race was abandoned, but it was worth the wait for Wearn, who truly proved himself the most outstanding sailor with another superb run to win gold in the Gulf of Lyon in the re-run.
“It was stressful, but fun. I was probably feeling a bit more emotional before the race (and) it hasn’t really sunk in,” he said.
“I thought I’d break down pretty quickly but it’s just pure excitement. It’s something that no-one’s done before, going back-to-back. That was a massive goal and I’ve made it happen. It is pretty special.”
It continues an exceptional run for Australia in the dinghy. Tom Slingsby, who contacted Wearn between the waiting on the water, clinched gold for Australia in the men’s dinghy (laser) sailing in London in 2012.
Tom Burton romped home in Rio and now Wearn has gone back-to-back. He is the first Australian skipper to defend an Olympic crown in the sailing since Mal Page went back to back in the 470 class, in Beijing and London, albeit with different crewmates.
SKATEBOARDING ROYALTY — SWEET 16
The Place de La Concorde is a particularly picturesque public square in Paris and Keegan Palmer produced a portrait of perfection on the skateboard to win his second gold medal after his stunning deeds in Tokyo three years ago.
The San Diego-based Australian, whose path to Olympic dominance began when his dad took him to the Elanora skate park on the Gold Coast at the age of two, is a superstar.
The 21-year-old produced a 93.11 with his first run in the event but said later he had more up his sleeve had silver medallist and close mate Tom Schaar managed to better that score.
It has not been the smoothest season for Palmer, who broke his left knee earlier this year and then tore the meniscus in his right, stating: “It’s definitely been a long road.”
But Palmer was fearless as he tore around Place de La Concorde, at one with his board as he turned several mind-boggling tricks to trump his opposition in an awe-inspiring display.
Why Palmer represents Australia not USA | 05:59
Palmer, who took photographs of American rapper Snoop Dog between runs, believes his peak could well come at the Los Angeles Olympics in four years time.
As it stands, Palmer and fellow gold medallist Arisa Trew are skateboarding royalty both in Australia and around the world.
“We’re the king and queen of skateboarding park right now. We both grew up in the same town, so Gold Coast is holding it down right now,” Palmer said.
“Dude, I can’t believe it. I’m literally, like … I’m speechless. I got really lucky. I just can’t believe it, bro. Everyone’s yelling at me. I’m just happy. Come on, Australia. Let’s do this.”
AN ASHES BATTLE ON WHEELS — 17th HEAVEN
Do this, the cyclists did.
The triumph of the gold medal winning pursuit team of Oliver Bleddyn, Sam Welsford, Conor Leahy and Kelland O’Brien at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines National Velodrome was borne from a debacle in Tokyo.
An embarrassing incident involving Alex Porter, who texted the golden quartet within moments of their success in Paris to celebrate a golden turnaround in fortunes, in Tokyo now seems like a lifetime ago but in reality occurred in 2021.
As a reminder, Porter’s handlebars broke in the team pursuit in Tokyo, which prompted a massive review internal review into what had gone wrong with our cyclists as personnel including endurance coach Tim Decker, who is now back, exited for greener pastures.
A split-second caused carnage. But it also provided backbone. Never again would an Australian team be embarrassed on the bike was the vow.
It took three years to find redemption, with the foursome setting a new World Record in the semi-final and then backing up to beat Great Britain in a bruising but brilliant 4000m race in which the riders pushed to the brink and beyond.
“We’ve been to hell and back,” Decker told News Corp Australia, presumably referring to Tokyo and not to his subsequent stint abroad.
In a cat-and-mouse pursuit on wheels, only 0.02 seconds separated the Aussies and their rivals in an absorbing, nerve-racking race.
“It’s pretty crazy to call ourselves Olympic champions now,” Welsford said.
“We probably didn’t have these expectations when we started training together. To come together like we did is was pretty special.”
The Australians seized a 17th gold medal for Australia with a time of 3:42.067, aided at the end when the saddle of Great Britain rider Ethan Hayter’s $100,000 bike slipped near the death of the race as he pushed himself beyond his limits.
“The breaking point has to be somewhere and you saw it,” English rider Dan Bingham told The Guardian.
“It was one of the classic GB-Aussie fightouts that have been a staple of the Olympics. Hayter found the limit. That limit was the end of the saddle and that was the end of our run.
“It was always going to be a tight fight. It’s just frustrating to have it so close and then have it fall away from you in that moment.”
A KENNEDY CRUSHER … AND A NEW OLYMPIC MARK FOR AUSTRALIA
There was an instant where Nina Kennedy, having cleared the 4.90m mark that clinched her Olympic gold, hovered with the angels.
Her right-hand covered in black paste, her midriff contorted and arms and legs positioned perfectly to avoid the bar, Kennedy was flying.
The freeze-frame of that image is one that signals the moment Australia reached new heights as an Olympic nation, for it is the instant Kennedy claimed the nation’s 18th gold medal, even if she had to wait for two more athletes to have a crack before confirmation.
The Western Australian had shared the World Championships gold medal with defending Olympic champion Katie Moon and waited with some nervousness as the American set the bar at 4.95m after Canadian Alysha Newman bowed out of contention.
There would be no settling for equal first this time. Kennedy was the only athlete to clear 4.90m, but Moon was seeking a golden sunset.
It was not to be for the American and Kennedy, who was superb throughout a longer-than-usual final given the elevated number of contenders, was overjoyed as she leapt into the air with excitement, brandishing the Australian flag triumphantly.
She is the first Australian to win gold in the pole vault since Steve Hooker, who was in Paris for the competition, in 2008, and the first Aussie woman to top the podium, bettering the deeds of Tatiana Grigorieva in the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
“I wanted that outright gold medal,” she said later.
“I became really confident in talking to the media (but) it was really scary, really vulnerable, to lay it all out there and say: ‘I want the f—ing outright gold medal. This is what I want.’ That’s really scary (and) I’m just really happy I got the job done.”
