David Nyika takes on Youness Baalla of Morocco at the Tokyo Olympics today. Photo / AIBA
David Nyika takes on Youness Baalla of Morocco at the Tokyo Olympics today. Photo / AIBA
With 15,000km of coastline, it's probably logical that Kiwis in sport do so well on the water. As fans we were buoyed by the brilliant effort of Hayden Wilde's bronze in the triathlon, and the heart touching emotion he showed after the race.
Fingers crossed that Luuka Jones will haveus shouting with glee today, and that Peter Burling and Blair Tuke lay down the gauntlet on the waters of Enoshima.
1) She won't be stared down
Luuka Jones - Women's K1 slalom semifinal, 6.03pm. Final, 9.15pm.
Jones faces off against a white water star in Australia's French born Jessica Fox, who has told Aussie media her goal at Tokyo is simple. Two gold medals. But it's unlikely the occasion, or Fox's confidence, will unsettle Jones. This is her fourth Olympics, and with a silver medal from Rio tucked away, she's poised to get to the podium again.
Live updates: nzherald.co.nz. Live commentary: Newstalk ZB. Watch live: SKY Channel 59, TVNZ.
Full Kiwi schedule below. Click on a name to see athlete's bio, upcoming events, past Games performance and medal chance.
2) Not walking on water, flying over it
Peter Burling and Blair Tuke - Men's yachting, 49ers first heat, 5.50pm
It isn't just that every time they get on a yacht Burling and Tuke beat the world. It's that the intensity of the spotlight leaves them so unaffected. It may be that that the secret is how much they actually love what they do. After all, when they wanted a break between America's Cups, what did they do? They both signed on for a round the world race, which involves no glamour, but sometimes being wet and freezing cold in the Southern Ocean, bouncing around on what PJ Montgomery so brilliantly described as "the liquid Himalayas."
Live updates: nzherald.co.nz. Live commentary: Newstalk ZB. Watch live: SKY Channel 601, TVNZ.
3) From school stars to the Games
Ainsley Thorpe and Nicole van der Kaay - Women's triathlon, 9.30am
After the heroics of Hayden Wilde yesterday, it's hard to not be drawn to the women's triathlon today. Thorpe and her older brother Trent, who's a reserve for the men's squad in Tokyo, once cleaned up everything that could be won in sport at Howick College. Van der Kaay started triathlons at intermediate school in Taupo. Thorpe's just 23, and van der Kaay 25, so Paris in 2024 may be when they peak. But then Wilde was considered to be warming up for Paris too.
Live updates: nzherald.co.nz. Live commentary: Newstalk ZB. Watch live: SKY Channel 54, TVNZ.
4) A lovely boy until the gloves are on
David Nyika v Youness Baalla of Morocco - Boxing heavyweights, 3.51pm
As is weirdly the case with many boxers, Nyika is a deeply likeable man. His sister Ruby wrote one of the great sports profiles after Nyika won gold at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in 2018. She explained that their mother was forever hopeful David would take up a "nice, normal" sport, but the problem was that "he's good at beating people up."
Live updates: nzherald.co.nz. Live commentary: Newstalk ZB. Watch live: SKY Channel 603, TVNZ.
"They're hurting," said Australian sevens coach, Tim Walsh, after Australia was tipped up 29-19 by Argentina yesterday. Nothing would salve the pain more than a win over the All Black sevens, who by contrast beat Argentina, 35-14. With a core of vastly experienced players like Tim Mikkelson, whose first game for the team was way back in 2008, and Scott Curry, my money's on New Zealand.
Live updates: nzherald.co.nz. Live commentary: Newstalk ZB. Watch live: SKY Channel 55, TVNZ.
