It was another busy morning for Team Ireland with strong showings in race walking and golf. Catch up on all you need to know from the overnight action in Tokyo.
The Irish Eye
Brendan Boyce secured a top-10 finish in the men’s 50km walk and Alex Wright was 29th in an event that will not feature at Paris 2024.
Competing at his third Olympics, Boyce was competitive throughout and put in his best performance at the games. The 34-year old crossed the line with a time of 3:53:40. Wright clocked a season’s best of 4:06:20.
The winner was Polish walker Dawid Tomala in a time of 3:50:48.
In the women’s golf, Leona Maguire carded a round of 70 while Stephanie Meadow shot 68 in the third round at the Kasumigaseki Country Club. Meadow is now -7 overall and in medal contention while Maguire lies on -5.
“I hit it really well today it could have been a low one, but I’m just happy I gave myself a lot of opportunities and hopefully I can tie that together tomorrow with making some putts. I’m in with a chance, so that’s all I can ask for,” said Meadow afterwards.
After an impressive start in the modern pentathlon on Thursday, Natalya Coyle clocked 2:13.88 and finished third in her 200m swimming freestyle heat. The final three events take place later today.
Who else is making headlines?
In the women’s beach volleyball final, the US took gold as they overcame Australia this morning.
A dramatic comeback saw Great Britain secure their third consecutive Olympic women’s hockey medal, beating India 4-3.
Your must-see Olympic schedule for today
Coyle is back in action at 7.45am in the individual fencing bonus round. The women’s individual riding showjumping takes place at 9.30am and is followed by the individual laser run at 11.30am.
#ModernPentathlon
— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) August 6, 2021
ℹ️ Explainer
How does it work, we hear you ask? 🤔
After yesterday’s fencing ranking round we move into today’s event, five sports in one day 👏
🏊♀️Swimming
🤺Fencing
🐴 Horse Riding
🏃♀️Running
🔫Shooting (Laser Run)#TeamIreland@Pent_Ireland @Natalyacoyle pic.twitter.com/nqOqnl67eX
Elsewhere, Shannon McCurley and Emily Kay compete in the women’s madison final at 9.15am. The jumping team of Bertram Allen, Shane Sweetnam and Darragh Kenny compete in the equestrian qualifier at 11am.
Later tonight, the women’s marathon gets underway at 11pm. Team Ireland are represented by Fionnuala McCormack and Aoife Cooke.
Outside of the Irish interest, Allyson Felix has two more opportunities to win a medal in Tokyo and become the most decorated woman in Olympic track and field history. The first comes in the women’s 400m final at 1.35pm.
At 11.00am, the Netherlands play Argentina in the gold medal women’s hockey match.
The women’s football final between Canada and Sweden kicks off at 1.00pm.
Highlight of the night
This is the last time the 50km will be at the Olympics. It is set to be a mixed team event in Paris. The race delivered several superb stories. Donegal’s Brendan Boyce put in one of the best performances by an Irish track and field athlete in Tokyo.
Then there was Canadian Evan Dunfee, who took a bronze medal. In 2016, a mid-race collision provided costly and he just missed out on a medal, finishing fourth. An appeal was unsuccessful.
This time in Tokyo, a late surge on the final 2km lap saw him bypass Spain’s Marc Tur and clinch third.
Jesús Ángel García also made history in the same race. The 51-year old competed at his eighth Olympic Games, the most Olympic appearances ever in athletics.
History made!
— Olympics (@Olympics) August 6, 2021
✅ Barcelona 1992
✅ Atlanta 1996
✅ Sydney 2000
✅ Athens 2004
✅ Beijing 2008
✅ London 2012
✅ Rio 2016
✅ Tokyo 2020
By taking part in the 50km race walk, Jesús Ángel García just participated in his 8th Olympic Games, most-ever for an athlete in #Athletics 👏 pic.twitter.com/SovrGyngwG
Some further reading
I’ve Covered Nine Olympics. Nothing Prepared Me for Seeing My Daughter Win a Medal.
After a difficult run-up to the Games, U.S. swimmer Brooke Forde won a silver medal in Tokyo. Her dad, Pat Forde, was there to share in the experience.
Quote of the day
“I worked for the top ten definitely so I’m happy – happy to get that kind of a result in these conditions and back up what I did two years ago in Doha.”
After finishing 6th at the 2019 World Championships, Brendan Boyce was happy to re-enforce his World Class status.
