Darmanin and Waterhouse Sail Into Top Spot

NSWIS sailors Lisa Darmanin and Jason Waterhouse have enjoyed a memorable day on the water in Rio, taking the overall lead in the Mixed Nacra 17 class.

The Australian duo sit just in front of Great Britain in the standings, with both teams well clear of the chasing pack.

They started the day in style, winning race five following a tight tussle with the team from Brazil.

They then finished fifth in race six to move into the lead at the halfway stage of the competition.

It is the first Olympics for the cousins from Sydney, but they arrived in Brazil as one of the genuine medal contenders after winning the Rio test event and finishing second at the world championships.

Tom Burton resumes his campaign this evening in the Laser class. He sits in 5^th after six races.

The Australian women’s team pursuit cyclists qualified fastest for the next round on Sunday morning (AEST).

NSWIS rider Ashlee Ankudinoff did not ride but watched her teammates set a new Olympic record.

It defied the odds given the nasty crash that injured four of the team’s riders just two days ago.

Australia’s women’s water polo team suffered an agonizing defeat in their second game of the tournament against Italy.

NSWIS players Bronwen Knox, Hannah Buckling, Holly Lincoln-Smith, Isobel Bishop, Keesja Gofers, Lea Yanitsas and Nicola Zagame were all in action for the Stingers.

With scores locked at 7-all the Italians nailed the match-winner in the final seconds.

Knox and Bishop both landed goals for the Australians.

There was relief for the Kookaburras as they returned to the winners list with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain.

In a re-match of their London Games bronze medal match, it took until the 50-minute mark for the deadlock to be broken.

After scoreless losses to Spain and Belgium, the Kookaburras had gone 207 minutes with a goal.

NSWIS stars Blake Govers, Matthew Dawson and Simon Orchard will be back in action tomorrow morning against the lowly-ranked hosts Brazil and will need a win to keep their quarter-final hopes alive.

In the pool, sprint hope Matt Abood ended his debut Olympics campaign in the 50m freestyle heats.

Abood clocked a 22.47 to finish 33^rd overall and miss out on qualifying for the semi-finals.