Team GB’s three medals on Thursday all came in the rowing, but there was plenty of action elsewhere.
Equestrian, swimming and BMX racing all saw qualification for tomorrow’s finals, while Team GB’s hockey teams both secured progression to the quarter-finals.
Rowing
Team GB earned three rowing medals in an hour on Thursday, a silver and two bronzes.
Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne and Rebecca Wilde achieved the first, taking a bronze medal in the women’s double sculls, finishing behind New Zealand’s Brooke Donoghue and Lucy Spoors, and Romania’s Nicoleta Ancuta Bodnar and Simona Radis.
Hodgkins-Byrne became the first mother to win a rowing medal for Team GB, after giving birth to her son, Freddie, in 2022.
“We were determined to try and get on the podium,” Hodgkins-Byrne said. “That’s what we’ve done.”
“It’s quite surreal to be honest. I knew we could do it beforehand, but knowing you can do it is very different to actually being able to do it.”
Esme Booth, Rebecca Shorten, Samantha Redgrave and Helen Glover then clinched a silver medal in the women’s four.
They were neck and neck with the Netherlands throughout, finishing just 0.18 seconds behind them.
Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge, and Freddie Davidson finished a successful session with bronze in the men’s four.
“It was incredible. I think this is probably the best races we’ve had all Olympic cycle,” Aldridge said. “From start to finish, it’s probably some of the best stuff we’ve done. We could have dreamed of getting the gold and I think we gave everything we could, but you know, hats off to the other two crews and everyone, every single crew in that final was outstanding.
“I feel incredibly lucky and fortunate that our race was good enough to get us where it was. I’m immensely proud of everyone who’s been part of this journey.”
Swimming
While there were no medals for Team GB in the pool on Thursday night, there were strong qualifying performances that set them up well for tomorrow night.
Chief among those was Ben Proud, who finished as the joint-highest qualifier for the men’s 50m freestyle final as he and world champion Cameron McEvoy shared the win in their semi-final.
“It doesn’t matter at all,” Proud insisted. “Nothing changes for me because I’m in the centre lanes. It’s just about doing it again and not thinking lane four is a guaranteed win.”
Honey Osrin and Katie Shanahan both qualified for Friday’s 200m backstroke final.
Osrin was second in heat two and third overall with 2:07.84, while Shanahan was fourth in the same heat and seventh overall with 2:08.52.
Duncan Scott and Tom Dean were also second and fourth in their semi-final as they qualified third and sixth respectively for the men’s 200m individual medley final.
Laura Stephens finished eighth in the women’s 200m butterfly and Team GB finished fifth in the women’s 4x200m freestyle.
BMX racing
Team GB will have representation in tomorrow’s finals of both men’s and women’s BMX racing after a successful set of quarter-finals.
Defending Olympic champion Beth Shriever won all three of her heats to reach the semi-finals, which take place at 20:00 tomorrow, as the joint-best qualifier.
Kye Whyte, who secured a silver at Tokyo, finished fifth, third and fourth in his three heats to qualify for the men’s semi-finals in tenth overall.
Hockey
Team GB’s hockey teams had a successful day on Thursday, as both the men’s and women’s sides qualified for the quarter-finals.
The men secured a hard-fought come from behind 2-1 win over France to move second in their pool, Zach Wallace and James Albery scoring. They face pool-topping Germany in their final game tomorrow.
And the women’s team got their second win of the campaign with a thumping 5-2 win over the USA.
Two goals from Tess Howard, alongside goals for Sophie Hamilton, Hannah French and Sarah Jones mean Team GB are fourth ahead of their final group game against Argentina.
Equestrian
In equestrian, Ben Maher, Harry Charles and Scott Brash qualified for Friday’s team jumping final with eight combined penalties, finishing third behind Germany and the United States.
“I’m very happy to be getting through, think we’re all very happy with our horses,” said Brash. “I am feeling in good shape and coping with everything well, the heat and the atmosphere. We’re all happy ahead of tomorrow.”
Around the Games
Team GB’s participation in the tennis is over, as Andy Murray and Dan Evans lost their men’s doubles quarter-final 6-2, 6-4 to Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz. Heather Watson and Katie Boulter lost 6-3, 6-1 to Italian pair Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani in the women’s doubles quarter-finals. It was the last tournament of two-time Olympic champion Murray’s career.
In the sailing, Emma Wilson is guaranteed a women’s windsurfing medal going into the medal race as she topped the standings with eight wins out of 14.
Athletics got underway in Paris with the 20km race walk, with Callum Wilkinson finishing 16th in 1:20:31.
Rio gold medallist Joe Clarke finished fifth in the final of the men’s K1 canoe slalom.
Artistic gymnasts Alice Kinsella and Georgia-Mae Fenton finished 12th and 18th respectively in the women’s all-around individual final.
Tommy Fleetwood is sixth after the first round of men’s golf, having shot four under par. Matt Fitzpatrick shot a two over par round.
Team GB’s judo campaign concluded with Emma Reid, who lost to South Korea’s Yoon Hyun-ji in the women’s 78kg round of 32.
Shooter Seonaid McIntosh did not qualify for the women’s 50m rifle three positions final after finishing 12th in qualification.
In archery, Bryony Pitman was eliminated from the women’s individual event in the round of 16 and Penny Healey lost in the round of 32, while Alex Wise lost of the round of 16 of the men’s individual competition.
With thanks to Team GB
