New Zealand also went medal-less for the first three days at London 2012, before finishing with 13 medals in total. Fans had a bigger wait in 2000: it took a whole week until Sir Mark Todd claimed the first medal in Sydney, with a bronze in the equestrian eventing.
There’s a very strong chance the wait ends for New Zealand either tonight or tomorrow morning. Here’s our best medal chances over the next few days.
Black Ferns Sevens – gold medal match, 5.45am tomorrow
The defending champions play the USA in the semifinals at 1.30am tomorrow. A win and New Zealand is guaranteed a medal as they’ll advance to the gold medal match. Australia play Canada in the other semifinal. If New Zealand lose the semifinal, they’ll still be favourites in the bronze medal game, which starts at 5am.
Hayden Wilde – men’s triathlon, 8.45pm tomorrow
New Zealand had to wait two days before Wilde claimed bronze in Tokyo and it could well have been Wilde who won New Zealand’s first medal in Paris. The race was originally scheduled for tonight, but was postponed due to the water quality in the River Seine. It will now be held tomorrow, after the women’s race. Wilde will line up alongside teammate Dylan McCullough, starting with a swim in the not-exactly-clean river. Wilde and Great Britain’s Alex Yee are co-favourites for the event and we could see a similar showdown to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham two years ago, when Yee beat the Kiwi.
Lucy Spoors and Brooke Francis – double sculls women’s final 9.18pm, Thursday
The pair won their heat but still have a semifinal to race, which will be a better judge of where they sit against the field. But they remain a medal chance. Both are former world champions and Olympic medallists. Spoors was in the women’s eight in Tokyo, while Francis won silver in the women’s double. They were fifth at last year’s World Championships, after both returning from breaks to start families.
49er crew Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie, 12.43am, Friday
Everything seems to be going to plan for Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie in Marseille, with another great day. They lead the field halfway through the regatta with two more victories overnight. They have just 14 net points, five clear of the Irish crew in second and 14 ahead of the third-placed crew from Spain. They have six more races before the medal race. A few more wins tomorrow and they could almost have a medal secured before the final medal race, much like Peter Burling and Blair Tuke in 2016.
Dan Williamson and Phillip Wilson – men’s pair final, 9.30pm, Friday
Williamson and Wilson finished second in their heat to reach the semis so are yet to qualify for the final. But they are a medal chance. The duo were in the men’s eight that won gold in Tokyo three years ago and now have the opportunity to continue New Zealand’s outstanding record in the men’s coxless pair, following Bond and Murray. Williamson and Wilson claimed bronze at a recent World Cup regatta in Poland.
Jackie Kiddle and Shannon Cox – lightweight double scull women’s final, 10.22pm, Friday
Won their heat and still have a semifinal to come to advance to the medal decider. Won the most recent World Cup event in Poland but that race didn’t feature British world champions Emily Craig and Imogen Grant, who beat the Kiwis by three seconds in the second World Cup event this year.
Dylan Schmidt – trampoline men’s final, 5.45am, Saturday
A world champion in 2022, he has a strong chance to improve on his bronze in Tokyo. The biggest threat is likely to be the Chinese duo of Yan Langyu, who won the World Championships in 2021 and last year, and Wang Zisai, who is a regular World Cup event winner.
Emma Twigg women’s single sculls final, 8.18pm Saturday
Twigg is the defending Olympic champion and is competing at her fifth Olympic Games. She won her heat here and returns in the quarter-finals tonight. She won silver at last year’s World Championships behind Karolien Florijn of Netherlands, who has won two titles since switching from the fours. They have squared off at one World Cup event this year, with Florijn winning.
Tom Mackintosh – men’s single sculls final, 8.30pm Saturday
Mackintosh looked good in the heats with a victory but still has a quarter-final and a semifinal to come. He claimed bronze at the World Championships last year. Won the most recent World Cup event last month in Poland, however current world champion Oliver Zeidler was not in the final.
Hear it as it happens with live commentary of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on GOLD SPORT & iHeartRadio, plus comprehensive coverage on Newstalk ZB.
