Silver lining for Magnussen

Day five of Olympic competition saw a medal awarded to an NSWIS for the first time at the 2012 Games, with James Magnussen winning silver in the men’s 100m freestyle.

In one of the closest freestyle finals ever seen at the Olympics, Magnussen finished in a time of 47.53 seconds, just 0.01 seconds outside American Nathan Adrian, who had to clock a new personal best to win. The silver is Magnussen’s first Olympic medal, and with the men’s 50m freestyle and 4x100m medley relay still to come in London he is in line to achieve even more success at his debut Games.

Also in the pool were NSWIS athletes Jayden Hadler and Daniel Tranter, competing in the men’s 200m individual medley. Hadler unfortunately failed to progress beyond the heats, however Tranter secured a semi-final berth before finishing 14th overall.

Several more NSWIS athletes were also in the mix for medals on day five, with the first of the rowing finals taking place at Eton Dorney. The Australian women’s quad, featuring NSWIS athlete Amy Clay, finished fourth in their event, while the Australian men’s eight, including NSWIS athletes Toby Lister, Francis Hegerty, Sam Loch, Nicholas Purnell and Matthew Ryan finished sixth in their final. The rowing action also saw Dan Noonan and the Australian men’s quad scull make their way into Friday night’s final, while Rod Chisholm and the Australian men’s lightweight double scull will contest the C final of that event.

In Weymouth, NSWIS sailors continued to perform strongly as their regatta continued. Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen sit in first position overall in the men’s 49er; Tom Slingsby is in second place overall in the men’s laser; the women’s RS:X class sees Jessica Crisp in 14th place, while the women’s match racing trio of Olivia Price, NIna Curtis and Lucinda Whitty maintained their unbeaten streak to lead their event.

The Australian men’s hockey team and women’s water polo teams continued to impress in the early stages of their respective competitions, with each securing another win. The hockey team accounted for Spain 5-0, with NSWIS athletes Matthew Butturini and Simon Orchard each scoring a goal, while the water polo team made light work of hosts Great Britain to win 16-3. NSWIS athlete Nicola Zagame chipped in with a goal for the team.

Three NSWIS athletes are in line for medals on day six of the Games; Kaarle McCulloch lines up in the women’s team sprint track cycling; Jessica Fox competes in the semi-final of the women’s K1, aiming for the final, and Tess Gerrand goes for gold in the women’s eight rowing.