Alanna Smith became the third Tasmanian to medal in Paris when the Opals won the women’s bronze medal match on the final night of the Games
The 190-centimetre forward contributed 13 points and 12 rebounds in the 85-81 victory over Belgium which delivered the Opals’ first Olympic medal since 2012.
After 15 lead changes at the Bercy Arena, Tess Madgen went to the free throw line with a five-point lead and six seconds left on the clock and the Opals began to celebrate.
Averaging 22.7 minutes across her six games in the tournament, 27-year-old Smith also averaged 11.5 points, eight rebounds and 2.2 assists with percentages of 63 for free throws and 42 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.
Perth’s Georgia Baker finished fifth in the women’s omnium having sat in a podium position for the majority of the competition
Tackling her third event at the Saint Quentin En Yvelines velodrome at her third Olympic Games, the 29-year-old was a key player in the gruelling event which consists of four races across three hours.
Having come third, fourth and second to sit in the silver medal position, Baker could not make an impact in the final race as she dropped three places.
“I’m pretty upset,” she said. “I’m proud of how I rode and the three events prior."
“I was really happy with being consistent, and I can’t be disappointed because I didn’t leave anything out on the track. I gave it my all, but I still am disappointed because my goal was to get on the podium and I knew it was possible."
“I was just running out of legs, there were moments I wanted to go and there were some moments I was up high on the fence and a move went and I needed to be in it, but the wrong position at the wrong time. I just didn’t quite have the little bit that I needed.”
Baker made an excellent start in the scratch race. Rarely far from the front in the 30-lap contest, she maintained a strong position as the slow, tactical race heated up over the final laps.
With the entire field bunched together at the bell, Baker stood firm to edge out Maike van der Duin, of The Netherlands, to take third place and 36 points behind US winner Jennifer Valente and Maggie Coles-Lyster, of Canada.
In the tempo race, also over 30 laps, Baker picked up four sprint points as she joined a three-rider breakaway, ultimately finishing fourth as Ireland’s Lara Gillespie took a lap to win comfortably. This left Baker sitting second overall, eight points behind Valente and 10 clear of Coles-Lyster.
A thrilling elimination race was dominated by the overall leaders with Baker surviving a couple of close calls before edging out Coles-Lyster to finish second behind Valente.
The American cemented her dominance in the 80-lap points race to retain her Olympic title with 144 points as Baker could not add to her 108 and was overtaken by Poland’s Daria Pikulik, who won silver with 131, New Zealand’s bronze medallist Ally Wollaston (125) and Belgian Lotte Kopecky (116).
A triple gold medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Baker came fifth in the team pursuit at the Olympic Games in Rio and Tokyo, where she also added a seventh place finish in the madison with Annette Edmondson. The 2022 Tasmanian Athlete of the Year was part of the Australian quartet which set a national record en route to finishing seventh in the team pursuit in Paris, and came ninth with Alex Manly in the madison.
Earlier on Sunday, Baker had become one of six new members elected to the Australian Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission, along with Sally Fitzgibbons (surfing) Joshua Hicks (rowing), Henry Hutchison (rugby), Annabelle Smith (diving) and Alyce Wood (canoe sprint).
Tasmanian athletes finished with six medals at the Paris Olympics after Alanna Smith claimed bronze with the Opals on the final day
For the second Games running, Ariarne Titmus dominated the Tasmanian medal haul. The Launceston-born swimmer added two golds and two silvers to the two gold, one silver and one bronze she won in Tokyo.
Bronze medals for Smith and Max Giuliani (4x200m relay) completed the haul of the nine Tasmanians in Paris after seven medals were claimed by the state’s 12-strong representation three years ago.
In addition to the medals, Tasmanians achieved five more top-10 finishes through cyclist Georgia Baker (ninth, seventh and fifth in her three events), rower Sarah Hawe (fourth in the women’s eights) and Giuliani (seventh in the 200m freestyle).
In athletics, Stewart McSweyn graced a second consecutive Olympic final while Jacob Despard helped break an Australian record dating back nearly three decades.
Hockey players Eddie Ockenden, Josh Beltz and Maddison Brooks all reached quarter-finals after Ockenden had the honour of carrying the flag at the opening ceremony of his fifth Olympics.