King Island’s Stewart McSweyn finished 18th in the field of 22 in the 5000 metres final, just inside his global ranking in the event of 19th
The 29-year-old was sitting eighth after 1000m, 11th, 12th and 18th after each additional kilometre, finishing in 13:31.38 well outside his personal best of 12:56.07 set three months earlier in Los Angeles.
At a packed Stade de France, Norwegian superstar Jakob Ingebrigtsen won in a season’s best of 13:13.66 as Kenyan Roland Kwemoi (13:15.04) took silver and American Grant Fisher (13:15.13) bronze.
McSweyn had progressed from his heat in dramatic fashion, advanced on appeal after getting impeded by several falls in the finishing straight to finish 12th in 14:12.31.
He finished seventh in his maiden Olympic final over 1500m in Tokyo and bowed out in the repechage in Paris.
Two Tasmanians will be in action on a busy final night of the Paris Games
Perth’s Georgia Baker will wear no.3 as she tackles her third event at the Saint Quentin En Yvelines velodrome.
Competing at her third Olympics, the 29-year-old will draw on all her Tasmanian Christmas Carnivals experience when she represents Australia in the gruelling omnium which consists of four events across three hours.
The program begins at 7pm with the 30-lap scratch race and continues with the tempo (7.57pm), elimination (8.53pm) and points (9.56pm) races.
Baker was part of the Australian quartet which set a national record en route to finishing seventh in the team pursuit, and came ninth with Alex Manly in the madison.
Meanwhile Alanna Smith and her Opals teammates will play the women’s basketball bronze medal match against Belgium at the Bercy Arena at 7.30pm before host nation France take on the US in a repeat of the men’s final.
Smith, 28, is averaging 23.2 minutes of game time across the tournament including 12.3 points per game, 7.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists with percentages of 57 for free throws and 33 for three-pointers.
Born in Hobart, Smith grew up in Melbourne and has played for Phoenix Mercury, Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA.
She top-scored with 22 points and 13 rebounds in a comprehensive 85-67 quarter-final victory over Serbia.
Max Giuliani’s maiden Olympic experience has him champing at the bit to return
The bronze medal-winning freestyle swimmer also revealed several unexpected hurdles encountered in Paris including becoming one of many Aussies struck down by COVID.
Reflecting on his campaign, the Hobart 21-year-old said: “Overall the Games were a really good experience for me. I think it was awesome to get up in an environment like that in front of a massive crowd and put on display the work that I have put in.”
Competing at the vast La Defense Arena, Gold Coast-based Giuliani finished seventh in his maiden Olympic final over 200 metres and swam the opening leg of Australia’s bronze medal-winning 4x200m relay team.
“Unfortunately I didn’t quite do what I know I am capable of. But it is my first open team and to come away with a final in an individual swim is great and the medal in the relay, I can’t really complain – a medal at my first Olympic Games is awesome.”
Giuliani, who swapped Hobart Aquatic Club for the Miami Swimming Club when he moved to Queensland in 2022, said setbacks included transport issues, the village “not being ideal” and dealing with sickness. “We all were a bit crook,” he said. “I had COVID and the common cold so two at once but still managed to get up and do quite well so I am very proud of myself for that.”
Listing French superstar Leon Marchand and Australia’s NBA talent Josh Giddey as the most famous athletes seen in the village, Giuliani said Paris had whetted his appetite for future Games in Los Angeles and Brisbane.
“I am so motivated and ready to get back in the pool and just work my backside off. I know what I have to do now and it’s just so motivating seeing all the other people around you succeed which makes me want it so much more now that I have been here."
“I am really excited for the future. I think I’ve got a very long and fruitful career ahead of me. I can’t wait to just keep representing Australia and doing the best that I can.”
But even one of the planet’s most famous cities could not compete with Giuliani’s home state.
“The city was quite nice … but it’s nothing compared to Tassie. I can’t wait to get back to Tassie.”
