Paris Olympics 2024: WA athletes in action on day three including Iona Anderson, Sami Whitcomb and more

Iona Anderson (100m backstroke) Iona Anderson, welcome to the big time. It was a case of double delight for the Duncraig backstroker as she fought her way into the semifinals, before punching her ticket for the final with an impressive swim. In her debut Olympics, Anderson looked like she well and truly belonged, qualifying seventh-fastest for the semis and then fourth-fastest for the final. A medal at her first Games is not out of the question as she tailed defending champion and Australian star Kaylee McKeown well in their semifinal Sami Whitcomb, Amy Atwell (women’s basketball) The Opals suffered a shock defeat in their Games opener, falling to Nigeria by 13 points. The heavy favourites were outgunned in the second period and forced to play catch-up for the rest of the match. Although they were able to peg the margin back at times, some horrific turnovers and a swag of missed free throws prevented the Opals from taking charge in the 75-62 boliver. Whitcomb had 13 points and three rebounds, but shot at just 36 per cent from the field, while Atwell did not get on the floor. Aran Zalewski, Jake Harvie, and Tom Wickham (men’s hockey) The Kookaburras maintained their winning ways, defeating Ireland 2-1 early on day three. Corey Weyer got the side off to a good start, putting through a goal from a penalty corner to give them the lead at quarter time. Ireland turned up the pressure in the second, with Lee Cole levelling the scores. Blake Govers was able to score for the Aussies soon after, and were able to shut down their opposition to maintain their unbeaten run. Wickham wasn’t able to convert his one shot on goal, but the WA squad members were solid throughout the match. Karri Somerville and Penny Squibb (women’s hockey) The Hockeyroos continued their strong start to the Games, with a big win over the old enemy. Australia brought high pressure from the start, and maintained it throughout in their 4-0 win over Great Britain. The side was put through their paces at times against Team GB, but the Hockeyroos’ defence, featuring Somerville and Squibb, held strong throughout. Bronwyn Cox, Giorgia Patten, and Jacqui Swick (women’s rowing eights) The women’s eights will have to go through the repechage to qualify for the final, after recording the third-fastest time of the heats. Competing in the first heat, the team crossed the line with a time of 6:18.61, more than two seconds behind Great Britain, while Romania were able to qualify in the second heat. Patten and Cox were a part of the Aussie’s fifth-placed finish in Tokyo, while Paris is Swick’s Olympic debut. Josh Hicks (men’s rowing eights) The Aussie men’s eights will also compete in the repechage, after finishing their heat in second. The USA and Great Britain were the two countries to qualify for the final, with Australia finishing almost five seconds off the pace of the British. Hicks competed in the pairs at Tokyo, but shifted his focus to the eights for Paris. Jack Robinson (surfing) Robinson kept his medal hopes alive, performing strongly as he downed world number one Jean Jean Florence to reach the quarters. The Margaret River man booked his spot in the quarter-finals as he took down the American, scoring 13.94 to Florence’s 9.07. He will return in the final eight early on Wednesday morning to face another Australian in Ethan Ewing, and is the highest-ranked WSL competitor left in the draw, following the exits of Florence and world number two Griffin Capilano. Matt Ebden (tennis - mixed doubles) After going down to Novak Djokovic in the first round of the men’s singles, and fighting his way through to the second round of the men’s doubles with John Peers, the 36-year-old featured in his third event of the tournament: The mixed doubles alongside Ellen Perez. The duo took on Spanish pair Marcel Granollers and Sara Sorribes and the second-seeded Ebden and Perez quickly dispatched their opponenets. They took 79 minutes to earn their straight sets victory, prevailing 6-3 6-4.