Rowers add more medals with Murray to come on day six
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Team GB missed out on the rowing gold they craved but added three more medals on Thursday to take their tally for the Olympic Games in Paris to 20 so far.
It keeps GB on track to better the haul of Tokyo three years ago, where they had 18 by the same stage on day six.
Helen Glover, Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten took silver in a thrilling women’s four race after being edged out by just 0.18 seconds by the Netherlands.
Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne and Becky Wilde earlier clinched bronze in the women’s doubles sculls, while Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson also claimed bronze in the men’s four.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray will look to fend off retirement for another day when he bids to reach the men’s doubles semi-finals alongside Dan Evans later.
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Glover agonisingly misses out on third gold
Glover’s bid to become the first woman to win three Olympic gold medals for GB came up agonisingly short as the women’s four were pipped to the title by the Netherlands.
At 38, and having twice previously retired from the sport, mother-of-three Glover’s legacy as a GB Olympic great was already cemented following gold-medal success at London 2012 and in Rio four years later.
But there was a sense that the quartet of Glover, Booth, Redgrave and Shorten were the favourites for this event in Paris.
Instead, it proved almost a reverse of Wednesday’s dramatic finish in the water, when GB women’s quadruple scullers edged the Dutch to gold right at the finish.
“We put it all out there,” said Glover. “We raced the plan we wanted to race, we raced together. We raced with so much heart and I think there can’t be regret at looking back and not thinking you did all you can.”
Glover, whose journey in rowing began late when she was picked up as a 21-year-old by UK Sport’s Sporting Giants programme, designed to unearth potential stars in the run-up to London, was the first mother to row for Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
She has paved the way for others, including Hodgkins-Byrne, who produced a stirring performance alongside Wilde to take bronze in the women’s doubles sculls.
Hodgkins-Byrne took time away after Tokyo 2020 to give birth to son Freddie, while Wilde has an inspiring story of her own having started out as a swimmer who only switched sports in 2017.
The Olympics is just her third international event after needing surgery on her forearms last September, but just 10 months on, and having only recently teamed up with Hodgkins-Byrne, the pair earned a surprise spot on the podium behind champions New Zealand and silver medallists Romania.
“I wasn’t meant to be riding this Olympiad and I did and I’ve loved every minute of it,” said Hodgkins-Byrne, adding that two-year-old Freddie has already tried to pinch her medal.
“It’s just so many years of hard work,” continued Wilde. “I’ve dreamed of coming to the Olympics and winning medals for as long as I can remember, it’s so special.”
The men’s four of Wilkes, Ambler, Aldridge and Davidson followed up with another bronze to bring GB’s total to four rowing medals in Paris, already one more than they managed at Tokyo 2020.
Team Ireland’s Daire Lynch and Philip Doyle also won bronze in the men’s double sculls.
From storms to ‘Siuuu!’
Early morning thunderstorms may have delayed the start to the 20km walking races but nothing could dampen Brian Daniel Pintado’s day as he pulled away to win men’s gold and claim Ecuador’s first medal in Paris.
With much-improved conditions and temperatures reaching 22 degrees during the race, the 29-year-old completed a course that looped under the Eiffel Tower with an iced-towel wrapped around his neck in one hour, 18 minutes and 55 seconds.
Pintado still had enough energy to mark his victory with footballer Cristiano Ronaldo’s famous ‘Siuuu!’ celebration.
Brazil’s Caio Bonfim, 14 seconds behind the leader, claimed silver while Spain’s Alvaro Martin took bronze, with Great Britain’s Callum Wilkinson crossing the line in 16th place.
China’s Yang Jiayu then dominated the women’s race to take gold in a time of one hour, 25 minutes and 54 seconds.
The world record holder kicked early and lead for more than half the race, beating Spain’s Maria Perez in silver by 25 seconds, with Jemima Montag of Australia taking bronze.
More Murray mania?
Andy Murray has produced the most Andy Murray of performances so far at Roland Garros, reaching the quarter-finals alongside partner Dan Evans in the men’s doubles.
The 37-year-old is set to call time on his illustrious career at the end of the Games and it has twice looked like the two-time Olympic singles gold medallist’s time was up.
Murray and Evans first fought back from five match points down in a first-to-10 deciding set against Japan’s Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori to keep their doubles dream alive and just two days later saved another two match points to beat Belgium’s Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen.
There were joyous scenes between Murray and Evans after that one and now they must go again against American duo Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul – the third seeds who are yet to drop a set this tournament.
It will be the final match on Court Suzanne Lenglen on Thursday, which could get under way about 16:30 BST.
How else have GB fared on day six?
It was revealed today that Tokyo bronze medallist skateboarder Sky Brown dislocated her shoulder on Sunday.
The 16-year-old is being looked after by Team GB doctors and physios and still has every intention to compete next week in the Women’s Park Skateboarding.
This latest injury comes off the back of her tearing her MCL in her knee in May.
In the pool, GB’s Duncan Scott beat French swimming sensation Leon Marchand in heat three of the men’s 200m individual medley – home favourite Marchand already has three gold medals at the Games.
Meanwhile, Emma Reid became the fifth and final Team GB judoka to be knocked out in Paris after losing in the women’s 78kg category to South Korea’s Yoon Hyunji.
The Briton, a World Championship bronze medallist, received three penalties and was eventually beaten by ippon.
“It’s a frustrating way to lose, especially when I know I could give much more,” she told BBC Sport.
And there was defeat for Bryony Pitman in the women’s individual archery, losing 6-0 to China’s Li Jiaman.
Fleetwood’s thoughts with Southport families
Tommy Fleetwood’s Olympic campaign is under way at Le Golf National, where the British golfer helped Europe to Ryder Cup success in 2018.
But given the tragic events in his hometown of Southport, where three young girls died after a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed event on Monday, the 33-year-old’s thoughts this week have been with the families and those affected.
“When one of you gets hurt, you feel like all of you do. That’s just what home is,” he said.
“Everybody is feeling it, for sure, but nobody as much as the families that are involved and that’s what comes first.
“We all follow our dreams, whatever it is, and that’s obviously a huge part of life but for those kids that won’t have the chance and those families that have got to deal with it, it massively puts things into perspective.”
Fleetwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick are representing GB in Paris, while Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are competing for Ireland.
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