Mixed Results in Team Events for NSWIS Athletes

With the Olympics nearing their close, it is timely to look back on the performances of NSWIS athletes.

A number of our athletes competed in teams events in Rio.

The expectations were high but the results mixed.

Cameron Girdlestone was part of the men’s quadruple sculls rowing crew which won silver.

It came following two victories in the World Rowing Cup series earlier in the year, but the Australian crew of Girdlestone, Karsten Forsterling, Alexander Belonogoff and James McRae were faced with a German team which defied the form guide, rebounding through the repechage and made it back-to-back gold medals in the event.

The Australians gained automatic entry into the final after winning their heat.

In a cliffhanger finish, the Australians took significant water off the Germans but fell just 1.15 seconds short.

“We pegged them back but I guess we came unstuck by maybe one or two strokes at the end there. But we did fight hard,” Girdlestone told Channel 7.

Former 100m freestyle champion James Magnussen had just the one event in Rio but he made it count, winning bronze in the 4 x 100m freestyle relay.

The Missile swam the third leg of Australia’s race and handed over to a flying Cameron McEvoy who powered the team to bronze behind winners USA and defending champions France.

NSWIS teammate Matt Abood picked up a bronze as part of the team which secured a spot in the final through qualifying.

Magnussen and McEvoy were joined by James Roberts and Kyle Chalmers in the final.

“I’m pretty excited. It was a crazy race, Magnussen told the AOC website.

“I think to get a bronze medal at an Olympics, I think for us two (referring to Roberts and himself) who maybe didn’t even expect to be here it is pretty exciting.”

Shane Rose and Stuart Tinney won bronze in the equestrian team’s event in a drama-packed end to the competition.

The Australians led going into the final day but saw it slip through the showjumping phase.

For Tinney, bronze added to the gold he won at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, while Rose was a bronze medallist in Beijing.

Rio was a campaign that didn’t meet the high hopes for Australia’s hockey teams.

The Kookaburras, featuring NSWIS players Blake Govers, Matthew Dawson and Simon Orchard began their tournament with a 2-1 win over New Zealand but then found themselves in the midst of a goal-scoring drought.

They suffered scoreless losses to the lowly-ranked Spain and Belgium before defeating Great Britain to lock in a quarter-final berth, where they were trounced by The Netherlands.

The Hockeyroos scored an impressive 1-nil win over Argentina en route to a quarter-final clash with New Zealand.

But the Trans-Tasman clash was one-sided with New Zealand winning 4-2 in a game where the Hockeyroos failed to convert a number of chances.

It was the first time in 32 years Australia did not win a hockey medal at an Olympic Games.

The Australian women’s water polo team loomed as one of the teams to beat after opening their account with a crushing 14-4 victory over Russia.

With NSWIS stars Bronwen Knox, Hannah Buckling, Holly Lincoln-Smith, Isobel Bishop, Keesja Gofers, Lea Yanitsas and Nicola Zagame leading from the front, a nail-biting loss to Italy saw them finish second in the group stage, setting up a quarter-final against Hungary.

Their exit would come in cruel circumstances with the Stingers beaten in a penalty shoot-out.

They went on to finish sixth in the rankings round.

The Sharks needed to win their final round clash against Greece to give themselves a chance of progressing out of their pool and they turned in their best performance of the Games.

In a team featuring NSWIS players Aidan Roach, Jarrod Gilchrist, Joe Kayes, Joel Dennerley, Johno Cotterill, Mitchell Emery, Tyler Martin and Richie Campbell, the Australians hammered Greece 12-7.

Earlier in the tournament, Australia lost 8-7 to Brazil and drew 9-all with Hungary.

But they needed one more result to go their way – hosts Brazil to defeat Hungary in the final game of the qualifiers.

It didn’t happen, bundling Australia out of the tournament.

The Australian table tennis teams, which incuded NSWIS player Sally (Ziyu) Zhang and Chris (Xin) Yan made early exits against strong competition.

The women were beaten 3-0 by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, while the me lost to Hong Kong.

The hard luck story of the Olympics belonged to NSWIS track cycling star Ashlee Ankudinoff who was involved in an horrific training accident just days before qualifying for the team pursuit was due to start.

Four of the five members of the team were injured in the fall but it was later revealed Ankudinoff was hampered by a shoulder and rib complaint which forced her out of competition until the ride-off for fifth place.

The team easily accounted for Italy to secure fifth and were left to lament what could have been if not for the training incident on the eve of their gold medal attempt.

“I mean it hurt, but not as much as missing out on the Olympics,” Ankudinoff told the AOC website.

“It was definitely playing on my mind but my legs were screaming more than my chest was hurting so I knew I just had to push through it and help these girls get a fifth so it was worthwhile.”

“We’re just happy we got to do a ride and do Australia proud.”

Tomorrow we will review the NSWIS athletes who competed in individual events and reflect on the amazing performances our Rio 2016 Olympic medallists.