Gold and Silver: The Paris Dossier – Day 10

The Kiwi women cyclists sprint team of Ellesse Andrews, Rebecca Petch and Shaane Fulton storm onto the medal table with a remarkable silver medal, only being outpointed by a Great Britain team who broke the Kiwis’ world record in the process.
In a rare Olympics feat for New Zealand, three Kiwis will compete in the women’s pole vault final on Thursday night (NZT) after a nine-way tie for the 12th position in qualifying. Eliza McCartney had already vaulted into the final but Olivia McTaggart and Imogen Ayris were beneficiaries of the mass progression when what looked like an elimination height was suddenly everything.
And the Kiwi multihull crew of Erica Dawson and Micah Wilkinson are in a strong position to win a medal on the water in Marseille – poised to break a 36-year drought.

The Kiwi team of Ellesse Andrews, Rebecca Petch and Shaane Fulton won the silver medal in the women’s team sprint, narrowly edged by the British team’s new world record in the final.
The Kiwi trio flew into the final after beating Poland in a new world record time, and were leading early in the gold medal race. But the British poured the power on an especially fast track to break the world record for the second time in the day.
New Zealand were 0.473s behind at the finish line, but they described the silver medal as “pretty amazing”.
“It’s just so special to have all of our friends and family here watching as well,” said Andrews, who won silver in the keirin at the last Olympics in Tokyo. “We can really feel them in the crowd.”
Her dad, 1992 Olympic cyclist Jon Andrews, is their coach, and was able to hug his daughter on the track after the final.
“It’s pretty amazing to share that with your daughter,” he told Sky Sport. “We have a week of this to go yet, so we’re really happy, but we’re keeping a lid on it. We’ve got two jobs to do.
“They’re just an amazing group of women. We’ve done some awesome things in training with the girls, but the difference is they executed it on the night. To beat the world champions, in Germany, go really close to beating the British team is awesome.”
Petch, who switched from BMX after making the semifinal at the last Olympics, told Sky Sport: “It’s just absolutely amazing. The journey to here has been insane and to actually put it down on the day is just so special.”
Fulton overcame a serious hip injury in 2021, but returned to elite cycling last year.

Eliza McCartney had one glitch at the 4.55m bar in the pole vault qualifying rounds at Stade de France, but sailed over it spectacularly with her second attempt to join those at the top of the field, and, as it turned out, not need to make the anticipated progression height of 4.70m.
“I felt really good out there,” she said after. “I was really in control; my body felt good. It was a good chance to get some jumps done. I definitely expected to have to jump 4.70m to qualify today, but I’m very happy with how it turned out.”
“It means poor dad is the only one without an Olympic medal.“
– Australian paddler Jessica Fox on Channel 9 when asked what it means to the family after sister Noemie Fox joined her as an Olympic gold medallist in the kayak slalom cross event. Ironically Noemie knocked Jessica out of the qualifying when they crashed into each other. 
Mother and coach, Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi, won a K1 bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, while father Richard – commentating for Channel 9 – was a paddler himself, winning 10 world championships between 1979 and 1993. He also competed in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where he finished fourth. Aunt Rachel Crosbee was a world championship silver medallist, too.
The women’s sprint silver came late this morning but was a sensational start to the cycling programme at the velodrome.
Our three women pole vaulters making a final together must make some form of Olympic history for New Zealand at least, and offers a lifeline for Oliva McTaggart and Imogen Ayris with the chance to put in bigger vaults towards their personal bests when they line up again onThursday night.
“I knew a lot of girls had missed at 4.55m and that a lot of us were tied. I wasn’t sure how many, but then I saw my coach up in the stands with his arms in the air and I knew we were in!” Ayris said.
McTaggart had mixed emotions. “I’m disappointed with how I was jumping, but to go through to the final, we have another chance. I’ll put absolutely everything into the final and take the opportunity. I know I have a lot more in me.”
In sailing from Marseilles, Erica Dawson and Micah Wilkinson are in a strong medal position, now second equal in the mixed multihull with three races to go.
The Nacra 17 pair finished second, fourth and ninth on Day 10, tied for second with Argentina, on 28 points. Italy are strongly placed on 14 points and it looks like NZ and Argentina will be sailing now for the silver and bronze.
“We had another solid day, even though we had much lighter winds which made racing a lot tighter. There were quite a few critical decision-making moments out there, and I felt like we got most of them right,” Dawson said.“In the last race, we were able to make up a few places after a mistake, which was pleasing. We’re happy to just keep chipping away as the Italians are always fast, and we know the Argentinians are very good in these light conditions.”

If Dawson and Wilkinson make the podium, they will be the first New Zealand catamaran crew to win an Olympic medal since Rex Sellers and Chris Timms won silver in Seoul in 1988.
“We’re not thinking that far ahead because there is still a lot of racing to be done,” Dawson said. “A lot can still happen over the next few days, and we’ll just keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
Five -time Olympian Luuka Jones was hurting after finishing fifth overall in the new kayak cross event after being handed a penalty disqualifying her in the semifinal.
“It’s brutal. I felt really strong out there. The kayak cross is my thing and to not put it down and to make a small mistake that was really costly, I’ll be kicking myself for a long time,” the Rio silver medallist told Sky Sport.
“It’s definitely my last Olympics. It’s time for someone else to carry the torch.”
But she was thrilled fellow Kiwi Finn Butcher collected gold in the men’s final. “It’s huge for the future of the sport. I hope it becomes New Zealand’s new favourite sport,” she said.
The well-regarded Kiwi mixed triathlon four of Hayden Wilde, Nicole van der Kaay, Dylan McCullough and Ainsley Thorpe were the final finishers after a crash sent Wilde to the back of the field in the opening bike leg or the first phase. “It wasn’t meant to be,” Wilde said. “Crashes happen within the race, so apologies to the team. We fought hard in a very difficult and tough position. I feel that was on me. You can’t control crashes.”
Wrestler Tayla Ford has been defeated 6-0 by French favourite Koumba Larrouque in the women’s freestyle 68kg 1/8 final.
Sarah Tetzlaff missed making the women’s speed climbing final after being beaten in her elimination heat. Her best time, however, was an Oceania record and personal best.

A golden day for besieged Ukraine, winning two gold medals just hours apart. Ukraine’s women’s saber fencing team won the country’s first gold medal in Paris defeating South Korea 45-42 in the finals. Team member Olga Kharlan passed countrywoman Yana Klochkova (swimming, four medals) as Ukraine’s most prolific Olympic medallist with six. Kharlan won her second gold medal and a first since Beijing in 2008.
As expected, Yaroslava Mahuchikh won gold in the women’s high jump. At the 2023 world championships in Budapest, Mahuchikh broke a 36-year-old world record en route to the title. Her Olympics victory was much tighter edging Australian Nicola Olyslagers on a countback at 2m. Remarkably, Iryna Gerashchenko (Ukraine) and Eleanor Patterson (Australia) tied for the bronze medal.
Mahuchikh was seen lying in a sleeping bag between jumps, meditating and conserving energy. Days after fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mahuchikh won the 2022 world indoor championship in Belgrade. She had to undertake a three-day journey of 2000 km by car from Ukraine to Serbia to compete. Mahuchikh has trained in half a dozen countries since the outbreak of war but has managed to win 22 international competitions. The Ukraine athletics team has shrunk from 44 competitors in Tokyo to 25 in Paris.

“There are great expectations for the New Zealand women’s team pursuit, who begin their Olympic campaign on the Vélodrome de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines overnight,” says LockerRoom writer Sarah Cowley Ross, on the ground in Paris. 
“New Zealand are the No.1 ranked nation at these Games, and the four-woman team of Bryony Botha, Ally Wollaston, Nicole Shields and Emily Shearman have been training hard in Grenchen, Switzerland, fine tuning for this event.
“If you haven’t heard the story of Shields’ harrowing, but remarkable, journey to get to Paris, listen on the SASS Talk podcast here.”
Canoe kayaker Finn Butcher has paddled his way to the gold medal in the men’s kayak cross after an unbelievable paddle in the final, leading from start to finish.
World No.1 Joe Clarke of Great Britain was favoured for the final, but Butcher was away like a rocket and before Clarke had really found himself, the New Zealander was belting off down the course. He negotiated the gates superbly, showing deft technique to go with his raw power.
Butcher won by a considerable margin from Clarke and Noah Hegge of Germany.
To finish in front was “insane” he said afterwards. “I just couldn’t believe it. I’m so stoked. Just a kid from Alex on top of the world! It feels special to bring it home.
“I knew I had to execute the last upstream and then it would be as good as gold. All the way down the course, the New Zealanders were running beside me, screaming. so loud – they pushed me to the end.”
He said it was hard to believe he’d found himself alone in front. “When I realised that, I had a massive adrenalin dump. I looked back and realised I was actually winning this thing.”
At the athletics track, Kiwi George Beamish fell back on the final lap of the 3000m steeplechase and finished seventh, too low to progress to the next round.
In discus, Connor Bell’s qualifying round throw of 62.88 saw him just eliminated, tying with Samoa’s Alex Rose but being denied because Rose’s second best throw of 60.94m was ahead of Bell’s 59.76m.
Canoe/Kayak – Dame Lisa Carrington, Alicia Hoskin, Olivia Brett, Tara Vaughn, K-4 – 500m, Heat, 8:00pm; Aimee Fisher, Lucy Matehaere & Dame Lisa Carrington, Alicia Hoskin, (K-2-500 m) Heat, 10:10 pm, Quarter Final 12:10 am
Athletics – Maia Ramsden, (1500m) Heat, 8:05 pm
Wrestling – Tayla Ford, (Freestyle 68kg) Repechage, 9:00 pm, 6:50-7:15 am
Sailing – Erica Dawson, Micah Wilkinson, (Nacra – Mixed), Races 10-12, 10:00 pm; Justina Kitchen (Kite Surf) Races 9-12, 10:13 pm; Greta Pilkington (1-person Dinghy), Medal Race, 12:43 am
Cycling – Bryony Botha, Emily Shearman, Nicole Shields, Ally Wollaston (Track, Team Pursuit), 1:30 am
To see the full schedule of when New Zealand athletes are competing on Sky Sport, go to https://www.sky.co.nz/discover/sky-sport/olympics#schedule
To watch in New Zealand go to Sky Sport, stream on Sky Sport Now, or watch free-to-air on Sky Open (Freeview Channel 15 or stream free via Sky Go).