Stewart McSweyn will race the 5000 metre Olympic final after chaotic scenes in the heats at the Stade de France
The 29-year-old King Islander entered the final straight in the hunt for the top-eight spot he needed when rivals began tumbling in front of him.
Impeded and forced onto the infield, McSweyn still sprinted to the line to finish 12th in 14:12.31 which was three seconds off the prized eighth place. However, a successful protest subsequently saw him added to the final.
“I'm happy I stayed up. A lot of the guys hit the ground, so we'll see what happens,” McSweyn said after the race.
“Obviously that's a risk you take when you're in that spot. I wasn't able to finish the race how I hoped, but I guess we've got to wait and see what the officials make of it.”
Several hours later a note next to McSweyn’s name on the official results read: “Advanced to next round by jury of appeal.” With four other runners advanced by the referee, it means 22 will contest the final at 4am on Sunday.
McSweyn later posted on Instagram: “Olympic final Saturday night”, along with a sunglasses emoji.
His national teammate Morgan McDonald described the situation as “carnage” and “absolute chaos” after even more drama in the second heat when a cameraman wandered onto the track in front of the runners. McDonald finished an agonising ninth and missed qualifying by 0.05 seconds.
Disappointed to exit the 1500m in the repechage having finished seventh in the Tokyo Olympic final, Launceston-born, Melbourne-based McSweyn is ranked 19th in the world over 5000m and set his personal best of 12:56.07 in Los Angeles in May.
Tasmania’s Alanna Smith played a pivotal role as the Opals progressed to the women’s basketball semi-finals
The 27-year-old WNBA star top-scored with 22 points and 13 rebounds in a comprehensive 85-67 quarter-final victory over Serbia to set up a showdown with the United States.
Australia led for all but 83 seconds of the game, putting themselves one win away from a medal.
The Australian Olympic Committee reported: “Alanna was instrumental in Australia running out to a 21-13 lead in the first quarter, amassing seven points, three rebounds, two assists and one block in her first stint on the court.”
However, Smith was quick to praise the contribution of teammate Jade Melbourne whose 14 points put the Opals up 48-32 at the main break.
“It’s so nice to play with someone who has so much heart and love for the game,” she said. “It’s infectious.
“She had a rough start, but she’s responded so well. She’s got so much potential to be one of the greatest Australian players. I’m so proud of her.”
A day after Serbia’s men completed a 24-point comeback to beat the Boomers, their women cut Australia's lead to 11 before a massive 17-0 run set up victory.
Born in Hobart, Smith grew up in Melbourne and has played for Phoenix Mercury, Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA.
Perth cyclist Georgia Baker and her teammates finished seventh in the women’s team pursuit
The Australian team, also featuring Sophie Edwards, Chloe Moran and Maeve Plouffe, qualified in a new national record of 4:08.612 only to see it eclipsed by five other nations.
With Alex Manly coming into the quartet in place of Moran, the team clocked 4:09.975 in round one to finish behind host nation France (4:08.292) at the Saint Quentin En Yvelines velodrome.
The team then recorded a time of 4:11.548 to claim seventh from Canada (4:12.097) as USA (4:04.306) took gold from New Zealand with Great Britain winning the bronze.
Baker, 29, who featured in fifth-place finishes in the event at the last two Olympics, will also race the Madison with Alex Manly on Saturday and the four elements of the omnium on the final night of the Games.
Josh Beltz has given a frank assessment of the Kookaburras’ Olympic campaign
Just a penalty shootout away from a gold medal at the last Games in Tokyo, the team had high hopes in Paris but met The Netherlands in the quarter-finals for the third Olympics in succession and were knocked out 2-0.
“It’s extremely disappointing, and it still feels quite numb to be honest,” Beltz said from the Olympic village.
“I don’t think we got to the level we needed to consistently this tournament, which is tough because I know we had the capability to.”
Recording wins against Argentina (1-0), Ireland (2-1)and New Zealand (5-0), Australia lost to reigning champions Belgium (2-6) and regular adversaries India (2-3) in the pool stages before being eliminated by the Dutch and Beltz said they could have few complaints.
“The Netherlands are a great side, as is anyone we were going to come up against in a quarter-final, and they got the better of us.”
The 29-year-old DiamondBacks product, who played alongside fellow Hobartian and opening ceremony flag-bearer Eddie Ockenden in Paris, said the disappointment was still sinking in.
“I haven’t had the chance to reflect back on the campaign as a whole, or even the last two weeks, but that time will come over the next few months I’m sure.”
However, Beltz said he hoped to be able to continue contributing to the national program.
“I love this team and I still love the game, so I would love to continue playing if the opportunity presents itself,” he added.
Aside from two quarter-final eliminations to the Dutch, the Kookaburras have reached the semi-finals at every Olympic tournament since 1980, winning one gold (2004), two silver (1992 and 2021) and four bronze medals (1996, 2000, 2008 and 2012).
