History was made yesterday as our triumphant Tokyo team claimed more gold medals for Australia in a single day than ever before. There were 4 of ‘em across swimming, BMX (go Logan Martin from Logan…), and sailing (with Matt Wearn winning the men’s laser) on what was a super-splendid Sunday that took us to 4th on the medal tally. That sound you could hear last night was a big oi oi oi coming from Japan…

WHO AM I SENDING A HEROGRAM TO?
The entire Aussie team, obviously. But our most talked about athlete yesterday was Emma McKeon, who finished up with 7 medals from these Olympic Games – 4 gold and 3 bronze. That’s the most gold won by an Aussie athlete at a single Games, and if she was a country, she would be coming 13th on the medal tally… Add those to her 4 medals from Rio, and she is Australia’s most decorated Olympian of all time. Going into Tokyo, that title was jointly owned by swimmers Ian Thorpe and Liesel Jones with 9 medals each. And for some much-deserved sugar on the top of that sweet, sweet achievement – she also became the equal record-holder with the most medals won at a single Games by any woman in any sport in Olympic history. McKeon levelled with Soviet gymnast Maria Gorokhovskaya who claimed two golds and five silvers at the 1952 Helsinki Games. “It’s going to take a little bit to sink in. I’m very proud of myself,” the golden girl said yesterday.

AND WHAT ARE OUR CHANCES FOR MORE?
Getting greedy, eh? We’ve already surpassed the bookies’ expectations, but there are plenty of chances with a week to go. The Hockeyroos (women) and Kookaburras (men) are chances for hockey glory. The Boomers (men’s basketball) and Matildas (women’s soccer) are defying history to put themselves into medal contention. Things are about the heat up in the velodrome in the team cycling events. Our equestrian eventing team is poised for silver today if they deliver near-perfect showjumping rounds. And Peter Bol (800m), Kelsey-Lee Barber (women’s javelin) and Stewart McSweyn (men’s 1,500m) are world-class track and field competitors. So you never know…

Image source: AFP