Paris Olympics 2024: Nina Kennedy and Kurtis Marschall highlight WA athletes in action on day 10 of the games

Jack Robinson (surfing) Robinson guaranteed himself a medal with a win over Gabriel Medina in the semifinal, the Brazilian world number eight foiled by some flat waves after Robinson had recorded two decent scores. Unfortunately for Robinson, he soon got a taste of the medicine Medina was subjected to. Trying to chase down Frenchman Kauli Vaast after the Tahiti local pulled out a ripping score of 9.50 first off, Robinson needed a near-perfect run to jump ahead of Vaast. Unfortunately, the waves then decided to die down, Robinson ruefully watching as his dreams of Olympic gold disappeared. Nina Kennedy (pole vault) It was business as usual for the Busselton export, Kennedy was the first athlete to clear the 4.55m mark - doing so in her first attempt. The world number one will look forward on to the finals, and her path to claim a medal has become clearer after Tokyo games bronze medalist Holly Bradshaw was knocked out after failing to clear the 4.40m mark, while fellow Brit and world number three Molly Caudrey crashed out. Kurtis Marschall (pole vault) The adopted West Aussie fell short in the pole vault final, but finished a more-than-respectable sixth with a best jump of 5.85m. After failing to clear 5.80m at first attempt, Marschall took a gamble and skipped ahead to 5.85m, which he cleared straight away. But he was unable to clear 5.90m, and after again skipping ahead to 5.95m — his personal best height — it was a case of close but no cigar for Marschall. However, Marschall should take plenty of his heart from his performance given he was in a moon boot a little over three months ago after dislocating his ankle at the national championships. Alanah Yukich (400m hurdles) In dramatic fashion, Alanah Yukich has qualified through to the 400m hurdles semi-finals. Just two spots were up for grabs in the repechage round, but three runners have made it through after the Gingin product and Belgium’s Naomi Van De Broeck tied for second at 55.11s. It was a person best for Yukich, who embraced the Belgian as they both went through to the semi’s. Both finished just 0.04s behind Italy’s Ayomide Folorunso. She will race in the third semi-final race on Wednesday, August 7 at 2.27am. Karri Somerville, Penny Squibb (hockey) The Hockeyroos are out for the count after a disappointing 3-2 loss to China in their quarter-final match. The ladies follow suit from the men’s exit yesterday after both teams entered the games with high medal expectations, but they go home empty-handed. Entering the match undefeated, the Hockeyroos fail to reach the semi-finals for a sixth straight Olympic Games. Matthew Richardson (cycling) The northern suburbs sprinter was on fire in the men’s sprint, with the Aussie team clocking up the fastest time at one stage with a time of 42.072. They were able to progress through despite Netherlands and Great Britain pipping them, the former stealing the top spot with an Olympic record time. Matt Wearn, Nia Jerwood, Conor Nicholas and Zoe Thomson (sailing) Looking to fight back from a 20th standing entering the day, Zoe Thomson’s finish in the top 14 saw her move up just one spot and with the 10th heat cancelled, her medal hopes came to an end. Gold medal favourite Matt Wearn didn’t get the chance to hit the water after the final two heats in the men’s dinghy race were cancelled due to weather, with the medal race now forthcoming. And dinghy duo Nia Jerwood and Conor Nicholas also have to wait to improve their medal chances with the mixed races being postponed. John Hedges, Luke Pavillard (water polo) The Aussie Sharks fail to improve their seeding after falling 13-14 in a upset loss to Japan. The Australia side went up early, taking a 4-0 lead over a Japan side that were winless until today. They stormed back in the second before eventually taking the lead and holding on late over the Sharks. Kalgoorlie’s Luke Pavillard scored twice in the loss, while John Hedges had some big time stops in goal - but couldn’t come up with the crucial block late. Despite the loss, Australia still finish second in their group and will have their sights set on their quarter finals clash with the US. Margo Joseph-Kuo, Raphaelle Gauthier and Anastasia Kusmawan (artistic swimming) The artistic swimmers finally entered the water, with the WA trio part of an eight-person Australian team. They finished 10th in the technical routine with a score of 235.9071, more than 77 points behind first-placed China. Connor Leahy, Sam Welsford, Oliver Bleddyn (team pursuit cycling) Australia will be in the mix for gold after clocking the fastest time in the team pursuit qualifier, finishing in 3:42.958. It comes in as the fastest time at the venue, and they will now look to claim the nation’s first gold in the event for the first time in 20 years. Denmark and Italy threatened to steal the top spot but couldn’t keep pace with the Aussies, while rivals Great Britian finished 0.283 behind.