IT’S NO SECRET that Australia’s strengths lie primarily in the pool, with seven of the nation’s 12 gold medals so far being won in swimming, Now that swimming events at the 2024 Paris Olympics have concluded, we can no longer expect to wake up each morning to the news of another Aussie victory, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth watching anymore. There’s still one week to go in Paris, and Australia hasn’t finished climbing the medal table.
Athletics events have only just begun, track cycling and canoe sprint – which are both historical Australian strengths – are right around the corner, sailing is about to have its medal races, team sports are entering the knockout stages, and breaking is still yet to make its Olympic debut. As you can see, there’s a lot on. But the Olympic schedule was clearly not catered to Australian time zones. For that reason, selecting which events you’re going to watch is an important task. You don’t want to commit to staying up past 12am or waking up at 4am unless it’s going to be worth it, but you also don’t want to risk missing out on a magical moment.
To put your mind at ease, we’ve hand-picked this week’s highlights, so you can focus on the events that matter. All dates and times are in AEST.
Monday night, August 5th
Triathlon, mixed relay – 4:00pm
Women’s field hockey quarterfinals, Australia vs China – 6:00pm
The Hockeyroos went undefeated in the pool stage, with a gold medal starting to look like a real possibility.
Men’s water polo, Australia vs Japan – 9:35pm
The Sharks currently sit second in their pool. With this being the last match before the knockout stages, placement is everything.
Tuesday morning, August 6th
Women’s kayak cross final – 12:43am
Golden girl Jess Fox may have been eliminated, but her sister Noemie is still in contention.
Men’s kayak cross final – 12:48am
Athletics, men’s pole vault final – 3:00am
Sweden’s Armand Duplantis is about as close as you can get to a sure thing for gold, but Australia’s Kurtis Marschall is the fourth highest ranked vaulter remaining and could come away with a medal.
Surfing, men’s semifinals – 3:00am
Jack Robinson has eliminated world number one John John Florence and his own countryman Ethan Ewing so far and now three-time world champion Gabriel Medina stands in his way.
Cycling, women’s team sprint final – 3:59am
Athletics, women’s 5,000m final – 5:15am
Athletics, women’s 800m final – 5:47am
Surfing, men’s gold medal match – 6:46am
If Robinson defeats Medina, he’ll surf for gold here.
INSTAGRAM | @kurtismarschall
Tuesday night, August 6th
Men’s basketball quarterfinals, Australia vs Serbia – 10:30pm
Since the Boomers won their opening game against Spain, faith in the team has plummeted following two straight losses. Still, there’s optimism that Serbia is beatable.
Sailing, women’s dinghy medal race – 10:43pm
Diving, women’s 10m platform final – 11:00pm
Melissa Wu goes for a medal at her fifth Olympics.
Sailing, men’s dinghy medal race – 11:43pm
Australian Matt Wearn won gold in this event in Tokyo and is currently in position to repeat, sitting in first place after eight out of 11 races.
INSTAGRAM | @mattwearn1995
Wednesday morning, August 7th
Skateboarding, women’s park final – 1:30am
Fourteen-year-old Australian skater Arisa Trew could become one of the nation’s youngest ever medallists here.
Women’s water polo quarterfinals, Australia vs Greece – 3:00am
The Aussie water polo men have been good, but the women have been even better. The Stingrays won their pool, going undefeated in the preliminary games. Australia haven’t won gold in water polo since 2000, or a medal since 2012 but hopefully that streak ends soon.
Cycling, men’s team sprint final – 4:10am
With Matthew Glaetzer and Matthew Richardson leading the way, Australia will challenge for gold.
Athletics, men’s long jump final – 4:15am
Athletics, men’s 1,500m final – 4:50am
Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr’s fiery rivalry will come to a head on the biggest stage.
Women’s beach volleyball quarterfinals, Australia vs Switzerland – 5:00am
The Australian duo of Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar pulled off a shock upset in the round of 16 and now they’ll face another of the tournament favourites. They won silver via a similar route to the final in Tokyo 2020, can they do it again?
Athletics, women’s 200m final – 5:40am
INSTAGRAM | @jakobing
Wednesday night, August 7th
Women’s basketball quarterfinals, Australia vs Serbia – 7:00pm
Trending in the opposite direction as the men’s team, the Opals opened their Olympic campaign with a shocking loss to Nigeria, but have since pulled off a pair of big wins to finish second in their group. Now they’ll face Serbia in the quarterfinals, with a medal in their sights.
Thursday morning, August 8th
Skateboarding, men’s park final – 1:30am
Keegan Palmer won gold in this event in Tokyo. This time around he’ll once again face stiff competition, and although they say lightning doesn’t strike in the same place twice, we wouldn’t rule out another surprise victory.
Cycling, men’s team pursuit final – 2:33am
Athletics, women’s pole vault final – 3:00am
Nina Kennedy is one of Australia’s best remaining chances of a gold medal, after she tied for the world championship last year.
Cycling, women’s team pursuit final – 3:28am
Athletics, men’s discus final – 4:25am
Athletics, men’s 400m final – 5:20am
INSTAGRAM | @keeganpalmer
Thursday night, August 8th
Swimming, women’s 10km – 3:30pm
Women’s canoe sprint, kayak four 500m final – 9:40pm
Men’s canoe sprint, kayak four 500m final – 9:50pm
Friday morning, August 9th
Cycling, women’s keirin final – 3:11am
Cycling men’s omnium final race – 3:27am
Athletics, women’s long jump final – 4:00am
Athletics, men’s javelin final – 4:25am
Athletics, men’s 200m final – 4:30am
After taking out the 100 metres, can Noah Lyles do the double?
Athletics, women’s 400m hurdles final – 5:25am
Athletics, men’s 110m hurdles final – 5:45am
Boxing, women’s 75kg semi final – 6:02am
Caitlin Parker is already assured of a medal, as boxing doesn’t have a third-place playoff and instead awards both semi final losers with bronze, but a win here puts her within reach of gold.
INSTAGRAM | @nojo18
Friday night, August 9th
Swimming, men’s 10km – 3:30pm
Canoe sprint, women’s kayak double 500m final – 9:10pm
Aussie duo Aly Bull and Ella Beere will fancy themselves a chance at a medal here.
Canoe sprint, men’s kayak double 500m final – 9:50pm
Tom Green and Jean van der Westhuyzen, gold medal winners in Tokyo, look to win another Olympic title, albeit over a different distance.
Diving, women’s 3m springboard final – 11:00pm
Related:
Full Olympic predictions: every Australian we think will win a medal in Paris
