Sport / Olympics 2024

Olympics 2024: What to watch on day 12 of the Paris Games

14:02 pm on 7 August 2024

Eliza McCartney competes in the pole vault during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Photo: Simon Stacpoole / www.photosport.nz

Lydia Ko, golf, from 7pm

Ko is preparing herself for her third Olympic golf tournament in Paris with two medals already in the trophy cabinet.

She won silver in Rio in 2016 and bronze in Tokyo three years ago.

A gold medal in Paris would mean she would become just the sixth New Zealander to have won a medal of every colour at a summer Olympics.

"It would be the Cinderella story if I win gold here," Ko told RNZ previously.

This will be the first round.

Dame Lisa Carrington and rival Aimee Fisher, kayak sprints, from 7.30pm

It's been a while since New Zealand has had two athletes contending for the gold medal in the same event at an Olympics.

Just three times in Olympic history have two New Zealanders stood on different levels of the podium for the same event.

Two world-class athletes could be about to do it again in Paris with Dame Lisa Carrington and Aimee Fisher both lining up in the Canoe Sprint K1 500.

After taking a break from the sport Fisher returned to the international stage with a vengeance.

She beat Carrington in two World Cup races earlier this year and their third meeting should be in the K1 500 final in Paris.

Heats begin at 7.30pm, with the quarter-finals at 11.30pm.

Athletics from 8.05pm, pole vault final

Olivia McTaggart (L), Imogen Ayris (C) and Eliza McCartney celebrate together after qualifying for the Women's Pole Vault Final at Stade de France during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Photo: Simon Stacpoole / www.photosport.nz

All eyes will be on the women's pole vault final which will see Rio bronze medallist Eliza McCartney, Olivia McTaggart and Imogen Ayris compete for a podium finish.

It will be a final like no other, with 20 athletes competing instead of the traditional 12 athletes.

The final has a new start time of 4.30am on Thursday.

The medals are expected to be decided 3 hours and 15 minutes later at 7.30am NZT.

Ethan Olivier will also be competing in the triple jump at 5.15am on Thursday.

Meanwhile, athletics action will start at 8.05pm on Wednesday night, with Hamish Kerr taking on the men's high jump, Tori Peeters taking on the women's javelin at 8.25pm, and James Preston taking on the men's 800 metres at 9.55pm.

Sailing from 10pm, diving

Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson are in the medal race for the mixed multihull narca after a third place finish on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Justina Kitchen and Lukas Walton-Keim continue in the women's and men's kit surfing.

And in other water-related sports, Lizzie Roussel competes in the preliminary rounds for the 3m springboard diving from 1am on Thursday.

Cycling from 10.45pm

After nabbing silver in the three-woman cycling sprint relay on Tuesday, Ellesse Andrews and Rebecca Petch return to the Veldrome for the women's keirin.

They start at 11.46pm, while fellow Kiwi Sam Dakin competes from 10.45pm in the men's sprint.

Depending on where they place, they could be in the repechages later or advance to the next round.

Nicole Shields, Ally Wollaston, Emily Shearman, and Bryony Botha will face Italy in the women's team pursuit at 11.52pm on Wednesday night, and depending on the result, they could be in the bronze or gold race at 5.17am and 5.28am respectively on Thursday NZ time.

Keegan Hornblow, Tom Sexton, Campbell Stewart and Aaron Gate compete in the 4000m men's team pursuit from 4:13am, racing for 5th or sixth place.