The Olympics are starting to wind down, but there are still plenty of New Zealanders chasing medals in Rio on Day 15.
Nick Willis, 33, will attempt to defy father time and win a second 1500m Olympic medal, following his silver in Beijing in 2008. He has qualified for his third consecutive 1500m final and ran conservatively and calmly in his qualifying rounds.
In the 2012 final in London, Willis was ninth and he chided himself later for not being more aggressive in his tactics. It will be interesting to see how he runs the final.
New Zealand has two competitors in the women’s triathlon, Andrea Hewitt and Nicky Samuels. Hewitt is 34 and Samuels 33, so this might well be their last shot at Olympic glory.
The New Zealand men found the triathlon course extremely tough a couple of days ago, and with Rio’s weather warming up, the women’s race will certainly be testing.
The women’s K4 500 kayakers line up for their final, buoyed by the confidence of having won their semi-final in decisive fashion. The four – Jaimee Lovett, Kayla Imrie, Aimee Fisher and Caitlin Ryan – looked like a really cohesive combination in their semi and if they can recapture that sort of rhythm, anything is possible.
Finally, golfer Lydia Ko goes for gold tomorrow. After her sizzling round of 65, she has surged up the leaderboard into second-equal position, chasing former world No 1 Inbee Park of South Korea.
Ko has already won two Majors, even though he is only 19, but she has made no secret of how much success at the Olympics would mean to her.
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