WELCOME TO YOUR ONE-STOP SHOP FOR BALLARAT’S OLYMPIC JOURNEY.
WE WILL BRING YOU ALL THE LATEST NEWS AND INSIDE INFORMATION FROM BALLARAT’S ATHLETES FROM RIO RIGHT HERE. WE WILL ADD INFORMATION TO THIS PAGE AS THE GAMES PROGRESS.
GO TEAM BALLARAT!
SATURDAY, AUGUST 20
Rachel Tallent made her Olympic debut in the 20km walk – finishing 40th.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 19
What a day for Ballarat.
Silver to Jared Tallent in the 50km walk and a career-best sixth for Kathryn Mitchell in the javelin.
Tallent – Australia’s track and field captain in Rio – became Australia’s most decorated Olympic male track and field athlete of all time with his stellar performance.
His silver, goes with a 50km gold medal at the 2012 London Olympic and 50km silver and 20km bronze medals in Beijing in 2008.
Tallent took the lead 10km to go, but was overtaken by world champion Matek Toth from Slovakia 2km from the line.
“I really wanted the gold, but I'm really happy with silver,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Kathryn Mitchell narrowly missed out on a mideal with a sixth in the women’s javelin.
She was second after her second throw. but could not improve on the effort and was gradually overtaken by rivals in the six-round event.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17
Kathryn Mitchell overcame the emotion of seeing teammate Kim Mickle again suffer a competition-ending shoulder injury to qualify for the final.
She threw 62.61m with her last throw to finish fifth in her group and qualify 12th for the 12-strong final line-up for Friday.
Selma Kajan finished seventh in her 800m heat, but this was enough to advance.
Brett Robinson qualified for the 5000m final with a ninth in 13:22.81 in his heat.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 16
The Australian Opals are out of the medal race.
Serbia shocked Australia 73-71 in a quarter final.
Serbia is ranked 14th ranked, while the Opals were ranked two.
The loss ends Australia’s hopes of winning a medal for the sixth consecutive Olympics.
The Opals featured former Ballarat Miners coach Brendan Joyce as head coach, and former Ballarat Lady Miners Rachel Jarry and Cayla George (nee Francis).
Ryan Gregson qualified for the men’s 1500m semi-finals with an impressive second in a heat.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 14
Australian Opals rounded out their group games with a 74-66 win over Belarus.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13
Victoria Mitchell made her appearance in a 3000m steeplechase heat.
She finished 10th in 9:39.40, but unfortunately did not qualify for the final.
Teammate Madeline Hills finished fifth in the same heat, enough to progress.
Another Australian Genevieve LaCaze was second in a heat to also advance.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 12
The Opals remain on target for a shot at gold in the women’s basketball tournament.
Australia had to fight hard though to fend off Japan 92-86 to bring up its fourth win in as many games.
Rachel Jarry was given only 4:46 on court, while another former Ballarat Lady Miner Cayla Francis did not play.
The Opals play their next group game against Belarus on Sunday at 1.15pm (AEST).
THURSDAY, AUGUST 11
Lucy Stephan’s Olympic campaign came to an end when the women’s rowing eight finish fifth of five in a repechage.
The crew needed to finish in the top four to advance to the final.
The eight was always up against it, given it had received a late invite to Rio after the Russians were banned from the regatta.
Australia had initially missed qualification.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 9
Former Ballarat Grammar School rower Lucy Stephan got her first taste of the water in the women’s eight rowing overnight, with the Australians finishing fourth in the heat behind the USA, Romania and the Netherlands.
The Australian crew will get another chance to qualify for the final when they take part in the repechage on Wednesday night.
The Australian Opals continue on their winning way, defeating France 89-71.
Former Lady Miners Rachel Jarry (7:38 court time) and Cayla George (4:00) played support roles.
In the men’s basketball Maryborough export Matthew Dellavedova put on a masterclass as Australia overcame a tough opponent in Serbia, shooting 23 points alongside 13 assists as the Boomers romped home 95-80.
MONDAY, AUGUST 8
The Brendan Joyce-coached Australian Opals remain unbeaten after two games in the women’s basketball tournament.
They edged home over Turkey 61-56, with former Ballarat Lady Miners players Rachel Jarry and Cayla George again being part of the winning combination.
Another Opal Tessa Lavery is from Swan Hill, but did spend a short time as a youngster playing in the Ballarat Basketball Association.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7
FORMER Ballarat Lady Miners players Rachel Jarry and Cayla George (nee Francis) have helped the Australian Opals to an impressive first-up win in the women’s basketball tournament.
The Opals defeated host national 84-66.
Jarry had 22 minutes on court, shooting six points.
Coach Brendan Joyce, who is a former Ballarat Miners head coach, gave George 11 minutes in the fray. She shots nine points.
Ballarat has been breeding ground for leading coaches over the years.
Australian Boomers head coach Andrej Lemanis is a former Ballarat Lady Miners assistant coach.
The Boomers won their opening game in Rio – defeating France 87-66.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 6
JARED Tallent has withdrawn from the 20km walk on August 13 owing to a slight hamstring soreness to ensure he remains fit for the 50km six days later.
See full story here.
Click on the photo to below to view the best photos from day one.
ATHLETE PROFILES
Jared Tallent (racewalking, 50km)
Arguably Ballarat’s strongest medal chance.
Tallent has shot to prominence in the national spotlight in the last 12 months with his strong stance against Russian drug cheats.
However, his journey started far earlier and we were there every step of the way.
You can read his story and view his evolution by clicking on the photo above or following this link.
Rachel Tallent (racewalking, 20km)
Emerging Australian race walker Rachel Tallent will be walking out of her older brother Jared’s shadow at her Olympic debut in Rio.
The 23-year-old racewalker will be chasing Olympic glory after she was one of only five to qualify for the women’s 20km race.
It will be the first taste of an Olympic games for Rachel.
Like her brother, we have followed her progress since she was a child. You can read all about her by clicking the photo above or by following this link.
Kathryn Mitchell (javelin)
As a teenager, Kathryn Mitchell ran the boundary line for senior football to keep fit.
The Olympic javelin thrower grew up in Casterton before moving to Ballarat for year 12 in 2000.
A year after the move, she set the Australian under-20s record with a 54-metre throw.
You can read her story in full here.
Victoria Mitchell (Steeplechase, 3000m)
Veteran steeplechaser Victoria Mitchell is experiencing a career resurgence.
One of the Australian athletics team’s oldest competitor missed out on qualifying for London.
That disappointment drove the fierce competitor to move interstate and train hard and faster to secure her place in what could be her last Olympic opportunity.
Lucy Stephan (rowing)
All eyes will be on former Ballarat Grammar rower Lucy Stephan on Monday night.
The 24-year-old will line up as part of the Australian women’s eight rowing squad for the first heat at Rio’s Olympic Games, with the race scheduled for 11.30pm.
The race is a culmination of a whirlwind few weeks for the Nhill product, who was locked in for the world’s sporting pinnacle after a sensational last-minute decision to ban more Russian drug cheats in late July.
