Australia's women's softball and men's basketball teams face important matches in Beijing today, but both are likely to be overshadowed by Usain Bolt's attempt to secure the sprint double.
Bolt won the 100m gold in a stunning world record time of 9.69 seconds earlier in the meet and has qualified with ease for the final of the 200m.
That race is scheduled for just after midnight tonight, AEST.
"I like to enjoy what I do," said the lanky Bolt, who breezed through his 200m semi-final, playing up to TV cameras and taking a look round at competitors during the race.
"You can't be too serious in your job."
Bolt, who runs the 200m final the day before his 22nd birthday, faces a tough challenge though to beat Michael Johnson's 12-year-old world record of 19.32 seconds.
The Jamaican's best is 19.67. If he wins the race he will be the first man to win the 100m-200m sprint double since American Carl Lewis in 1984.
Crunch time for Spirit, Boomers
Aussie Spirit pitcher Melanie Roche says there's a positive feeling in the Australian camp ahead of this afternoon's softball semi-final against Canada.
"We've just got the mongrel in us at the moment and we've just got to take that mongrel feeling into the big games," Roche said.
Boomers forward Matt Nielsen says his side will be ready for its biggest challenge of the Olympics when it takes on the US Dream Team in tonight's men's basketball quarter-final.
"We feel confident, we feel pretty confident of where we're at right now," Nielsen said.
"We're in good form, and we're going to have a crack at the big dogs. That is what it is and we're fine with that."
Elsewhere today, Craig Mottram runs in the heats of the 5,000 metres tonight, while fellow Australian Steve Hooker will compete in the qualifying round for the men's pole vault.
They will be hoping to draw inspiration from the efforts of Sally McLellan, who won Australia's first athletics medal with silver in the 100m hurdles last night.
In early action, Melissa Gorman will compete in the women's 10km open water race, at event being held for the first time at an Olympics.
Semi-finals will also be held in the flat water canoe and kayak events at the Shunyi Olympic Park.
- ABC/Reuters
No comments:
Post a Comment