D’hoore wins bronze, as Red Lions roar into final
Belgium racks up another medal at Rio – and one from Beijing eight years ago – while men’s hockey make the finals
Five medals and counting
Four-time gold-medallist Laura Trott of the UK won the gold in the competition (230 points), followed by American Sarah Hammer (206 points).
It is Belgium’s fifth medal of the games after Greg Van Avermaet’s gold in the road race, Dirk Van Tichelt’s bronze in the judo, Nafissatou Thiam’s gold in the heptathlon and Pieter Timmers’ silver in the 100m freestyle.
Another medal is on the way as Belgium’s field hockey team made the final, ensuring either gold or silver. The Red Lions beat the world’s second-ranked team, the Netherlands, 3-1 to reach their first ever Olympic hockey final. “It’s an historical night. It was a great game,” said John-John Dohmen, responsible for one of the goals. “I don’t think we’ve ever beaten the Dutch in an official tournament. Now it’s at the right moment, at the Olympics.”
They will face an in-form Argentina side tomorrow. Neither the Red Lions nor Argentina’s Los Leones have ever reached an Olympic or World Cup final.
In other Olympic news, Thiam has announced that she will not take part in the high jump because she is “mentally and physically exhausted”. The announcement ends speculation about her participation in the high jump that followed her gold-medal performance in the heptathlon.
Evi Van Acker just missed a medal, maintaining her fourth position in Laser Radial class sailing. She had fought a serious intestinal infection in July during training – largely believed to have been caused by Rio’s polluted waters – and was penalised by the jury early in the race, which meant she had to start last.
Sailors are often penalised for interfering with the trajectory of opponents. “I had a great start,” Van Acker told Sporza, “but was immediately penalised. I still don’t know why because I was alone on the water. It was questionable.”
Finally, Belgium has won another gold medal – eight years after the fact. After a re-analysis of 2008 blood samples, Russian sprinter Yuliya Chermoshanskaya was found to have tested positive for banned substances, meaning that the entire Russian gold-medal 100m relay team has been disqualified. The gold will now go to the Belgians, who had won silver in Beijing: Kim Gevaert, Olivia Borlée, Hanna Mariën, and Élodie Ouédraogo.
Photo: Jolien D’hoore celebrates a bronze in cycling’s toughest indoor competition
©Yuzuru Sunada/Belga
