Team GB in Tokyo: Historic canoeing silver and shooting bronze

Tokyo 2020 29 Jul 21

Team GB’s Mallory Franklin won silver in the first ever Olympic Women’s C1 canoeing event while Matt Coward-Holley kept the medal tally rising with men’s trap bronze. Here’s what happened today at Tokyo 2020.

  • Franklin takes silver in inaugural Women’s C1 race

  • Trap shooting bronze for Coward-Holley

  • Glover finishes fourth with Swann on return to rowing final

  • Guaranteed medal for Wilson in sailing with others on track

  • Best of the rest: Men’s hockey make quarters while golf underway

  • Coming up on Day Seven: Athletics begins, rowing and swimming

Franklin paddles onto podium

Mallory Franklin delivered a nerveless run to canoe slalom silver in Tokyo in the very first Women's C1 event to be contested at the Olympic Games.

The 27-year-old opened up an early 0.90s lead on the field and despite dropping into trouble and touching the 15th gate, posted 108.68 which was more than enough for a medal.

Franklin, fastest in the heats, finished 3.64s behind Australia’s gold medallist Jessica Fox, who was the last to race, and 2.45 in front of Germany’s Andrea Herzog in bronze medal position, winning Team GB's 18th medal of Tokyo 2020.

Franklin said: “I don’t think I’ve really comprehended it. I don’t know when I will.

“For me personally, I’ve had some struggles with my finals this year so to put down a run of that quality, even with the touch, was amazing for me and that’s mainly what I take away.

“It’s really cool to have the medal and I think it can mean so much for people. I hope that people see Women's C1 as an event that is really high-class with some amazing paddling out there.”

Franklin scoops silver in inaugural Women's C1

Coward-Holley fires his way to bronze

Just minutes previously, Matt Coward-Holley held his nerve to win an Olympic bronze in the men's trap shooting final.

The world and European champion was forced to give up a promising schoolboy rugby career after twice breaking his back.

He travelled to Rio as a reserve but two years ago became the first Briton to win a world title in an individual Olympic shotgun discipline.

It's the same medal won by Team GB's Edward Ling in Rio five years ago.

Coward-Holley struck 33 of 40 targets in the final, as Czech pair Jiri Liptak and David Kostelecky claimed gold and silver.

Coward-Holley, who will now team up with Kirsty Hegarty in the mixed pairs event on Saturday, said: “To come away with a medal, to be European and world champion, and now Olympic bronze medallist is a little bit surreal.

“We all come here fighting for gold but, at the end of the day, it’s the Olympics and any medal is phenomenal.”

Coward-Holley fires himself onto shooting podium

Glover’s incredible journey ends with fourth

Double gold medallist Helen Glover made history by becoming the first woman to compete in rowing for Team GB at the Olympics after giving birth.

But the dream finale was tantalisingly out of reach, settling for fourth place in the women’s pair final alongside Polly Swann.

Further history could have been made at the Sea Forest Waterway on Thursday, with no British woman having ever won Olympic gold at three separate Games and Glover already sitting on women’s pair titles from London 2012 and Rio 2016.

But a fourth-place finish marked an impressive return for Glover, who returned to the sport after four years away, and Swann, who spent much of the past year supporting the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic.

“My ambition for my kids to take home from this would be, in the future – take the risks, take the chances with no fear of failure,” said Glover.

“Just have excitement – yes, there are the results, but it’s the journey.”

Glover revels in fairytale journey

Wilson bags guaranteed medal in sailing

Great Britain are ruling the Olympic waves with a staggering seven sailing crews in medal positions at the midpoint of the regatta.

With high winds and Typhoon Nepartak no less hitting Tokyo, conditions have favoured Team GB as they seek to heavily extend their lead as the most successful nation in the sport at the Games.

Windsurfer Emma Wilson, 22, the youngest team member, was the first to guarantee a medal and will go for gold in Saturday's double points medal race.

Elsewhere, defending Finn champion Giles Scott recovered from a nightmare opening day to win four races on the spin.

Britain hold top spot in both skiff classes and flagbearer Hannah Mills’ attempt to become Britain’s most decorated female Olympic sailor is on track after she and 470 partner Eilidh McIntyre won the final race to keep pace with Poland.

Seven British sailers sit in medal places

Steady progress across the board

Both of Team GB's BMX racers qualified for the semi-finals with Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte comfortably coming through their three-run heats.

Meanwhile, Sam Ward’s late brace preserved a precious men's Olympic hockey draw with Netherlands, seeing them through to the quarter-finals.

Team GB went Double Dutch as the women's hockey side also faced off against the Netherlands in a rematch of the 2016 Olympic final in Rio at the Oi Hockey Stadium.

Frederique Matla converted a penalty stroke after a foul from Team GB captain Hollie Pearne-Webb in the first quarter as the Brits suffered a 1-0 defeat.

But their title defence is still alive, however, with Mark Hager's side are in a good position to go through as one of the qualifying teams from Pool A.

The golf got underway and Paul Casey shot a round of four-under par to cap a day that started with his opening Olympic tee shot, something he described as “the coolest thing I’ve ever done in golf.”

Casey is four shots adrift of early leader Austrian Sepp Straka, while teammate Tommy Fleetwood signed for an opening round of one-under to leave him three shots further back.

Men's hockey make quarters with women on track

Athletics begins on Day Seven

The athletics finally gets underway at Tokyo 2020 with Dina Asher-Smith set to take to the track in the women’s 100m.

Team GB’s men’s eight will go for gold in the rowing final while Vicky Thornley competes in the women’s single sculls final.

Swimmer Duncan Scott is going for his third medal of the week in the 200m individual medley final and Luke Greenbank swims in the men’s 200m backstroke final after qualifying second-fastest.

After Mallory Franklin’s paddling success, Bradley Forbes-Cryans is up in the canoe slalom K1.

Sarah Adlington makes her debut in the judo and boxers Pat McCormack, a big gold medal hope for Team GB, and Ben Whittaker fight in their respective quarter-finals.

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