The Tokyo Diaries – 25th July

By Keith Miller

Day Two started with the new kid on the block.  Well, one of them anyway.  Surfing’s debut got underway, and hopes were high that New Zealand’s Billy Stairmand could progress a long way through the tournament.  However, after a pretty impressive start, he ran out of time on his final run and could only finish third in his heat.  In his repechage, he claimed the final qualifying spot, as Ella Williams went directly through after finishing second in her heat.

In another first, Brazilian Gustavo Felipe became the first skateboarder to hit the circuit at the Olympics, and as a bonus, I found out what a “nolly” is.   There was a fairly entertaining game in the Women’s Volleyball between Italy and the ROC.  After a nail biting first set, won 25-23, the Italians also claimed the next two to win out overall 3-0.

Disappointment for swimmer Lewis Clareburt, who finished seventh in the Men’s 400m Individual Medley.  It was a USA quinella, as Chase Kalisz put in a remarkable leg of Breaststroke to secure the win.  Clareburt’s time was two seconds slower than his heat win, but to swim an Oceania Record time a day earlier at the biggest show on Earth was a fine achievement.  Still only 22, he must fancy his chances of a medal in 2024.  There was a remarkable result in the Men’s 400m Freestyle, where unfancied Tunisian Ahmed Hafnaoui – the slowest qualifier – took out the Gold Medal.   It was just Tunisia’s fifth ever Olympic Gold.

In Rowing, the New Zealand Women’s Quad Sculls finished third in their repechage, placing them in the B Final and out of medal contention.   Emma Twigg dominated her ¼ final in the Single Sculls, cruising at the end, whilst in the Double Sculls, Brooke Donoghue and Hannah Osborne finished second and move on the next round.  Not so much success on the Men’s side.

The Black Sticks Women had a fantastic 3-0 win over one of the favourites for the Gold, Argentina.  They scored three very well worked goals, even though their circle penetrations (hehehe) were far fewer – Argentina dominated that stat 20 to 4.  Thanks also to Grace O’Hanlon, who was solid in goal yet again.

There was an opportunity to watch a bit of the teams’ archery, some women’s handball, as well as the synchronised diving which is an amazing sight.  Being such a dominant presence in the sport, it was no surprise that China took out the Gold, with Canada and Germany on the podium.

In Rowing, the New Zealand Women’s Quad Sculls finished third in their repechage, placing them in the B Final and out of medal contention.   Emma Twigg dominated her ¼ final in the Single Sculls, cruising at the end, whilst in the Double Sculls, Brooke Donoghue and Hannah Osborne finished second and move on the next round.  Not so much success on the Men’s side.

The Black Sticks Women had a fantastic 3-0 win over one of the favourites for the Gold, Argentina.  They scored three very well worked goals, even though their circle penetrations (hehehe) were far fewer – Argentina dominated that stat 20 to 4.  Thanks also to Grace O’Hanlon, who was solid in goal yet again.

There was an opportunity to watch a bit of the teams’ archery, some women’s handball, as well as the synchronised diving which is an amazing sight.  Being such a dominant presence in the sport, it was no surprise that China took out the Gold, with Canada and Germany on the podium.

Then, the football.  Oh dear.  The New Zealanders looked much more positive than they did against South Korea, epitomised by an absolute screamer of a goal from Libby Cacace.  A sloppy effort from Michael Woud in goal allowed the Hondurans to level up, but a couple of minutes in to the second half Chris Wood was able to knock in a beautifully worked team goal.  Then, another two errors late in the game from Woud saw New Zealand snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  It is easy single Woud out, who should have done better, but also should have had more support at the back.  The loss of defensive lynchpin Winston Reid after three minutes had a major effect on the game.

In the fencing, I managed to catch the Women’s Foil Bronze Medal match between Larisa Korobeynikova (ROC) and Alice Volpi (Italy), and it was a cracker.  Volpi got off to a flyer, leading 5-1 after no time, but at the break, Korobeynikova had fought back to lead 12-8.  It was a match that went one way, then the other, before Korobeynikova closed out a tense finish, taking the Bronze Medal 15-14.

Late in the evening, Erika Fairweather swam an incredible New Zealand record and made the 400m Women’s Freestyle Final, beating her previous best by 4 seconds.  The look on her face was priceless – the kind of stuff you love to see at the Olympics.  Bring on another swimming final – and we haven’t had the luxury of saying that for a long time.

The Black Sticks Men finished the night off with a thrilling 4-3 win over Spain.   After losing Hugo Inglis after 5 minutes, a superb opener from Stephen Jenness almost put a hole in the net before Spain equalised.  Off the back of a Penalty Corner, Blair Tarrant scored and it was 2-1 at the long break.  Spain scored twice in quick succession to send Kiwi heads in a spin, but a stunning Kane Russell dragflick and a poke home from Jake Smith meant the night ended on a high.

Follow Keith on Twitter.

You can find more on the Tokyo Diaries, here.