SEN Superstar, Gerard Whateley, joined Scott Cummings and Tim Gossage to update us with the latest from the Paris Games where he has his boots on the ground.
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SEN WA Breakfast
Gerard Whateley - Paris Games Update (31/07/2024)
I don't want to fall but I want to fall but I want to fall but I want to fall but I want to fall. Well, we know of Jeopard! Jeopard! We've got Gerard, wedlee. He's over there in Paris for the games. Jared, another golden morning for Australia in the pool. Goss, Scotty. Fantastic win in the backstroke. I feel like Kaylee McEwen probably has lived in the shadow of a couple of our either more glamorous or decorated but she gets her moment here. Thrilling win in the backstroke where she's been the dominant force since the pandemic. The trick was that Regan Smith, the American rival had broken her world record a month ago and had been faster than Kaylee in the semi-finals and the heats so she was up against it and she's a champion racer. I do think the turn at half way where she went through in fourth absolutely nailed the turn and I reckon five strokes later. I think she was in front with 25 to go and the sheer quality of what she was able to achieve was magnificent. I want to give you the historic context of what's been achieved by her and actually a little more broadly because these are storied times, individual gold medals, Australians through history that have won three, Betty Cuthbert, Murray Rose, Dawn Fraser, Shane Gould and Thorpe in the past four days. Ernie Armpitmus and Kaylee McEwen have joined the absolute royalty of Australian sport and Jess Fox has that opportunity tomorrow. Oh it's phenomenal isn't we are so blessed we've got absolute superstars, Cole Charmis, can he win the 100 freestyle tomorrow Jared? I so hope he can. Third straight final in the 100m freestyle, the blue rebound event, one of it as a teenager, silver and Tokyo. He what is semi final in trademark style, he looks in really good shape up over the top in the last four, five meters or so. He sagely said in the aftermath there's now three men in the field who have faster PB's than him. So that gives you the context is he's not the dominant force as he might once have been and he'll do it against the odds if he's able to do it but this is a pool where it's not about times it's about racing. And Kaylee's got so much in common with with Kyle Charmis so I hope he can and I reckon all certainly all of South Australia but really all of the country that have that's followed his career since that breakthrough women Rio will will ride with him tomorrow. Yeah come on the king I tell you what Zach's double be cool I know he's in the final but he gave us a little bit of a heart attack in the in the heats where he was just he was just going for allegedly swimming the breaststroke and then decided halfway. Or I better put my finger out here but he's up against you know the French favorite in the on my Sean who's going to try and do something pretty amazing. Oh this this is going to be an incredible night of swimming so my Sean is going to attempt the butterfly breaststroke double on the same night so they're two hours apart only one swimmer in history has had a go at at this double but not over the same distances mind you that that was in 1956 Mary sees was bronze in one and seventh in the other my Sean commands that crowd or you'd be able to feel that through the telly so what a race. Doublety cooks going to be a part of it's it'll be one of the historic markers of Paris and doublety cook gets him second so that the order works for the Australian but I just wonder if the Frenchman might be an unstoppable force by then it what that was funny the heat though. If he got as if he got the message hey mate there's a rush on. It's the game it's the game it's the Olympics and he figured it out just in time it sort of makes you love him even more doesn't it just came home like a train. Certainly does that interesting up to you and just a lesson for anyone who's listening to the show today you know how I'm a grammar grammar police right. Did you know said Jerrod about 90 seconds ago throughout the word words blue rebound I just like to clarify it's like the champion of the beat it's like get one fell swoop it's blue rebound it's not blue ribbon. No it's an ice cream. Just so we know when the wordsmith gets it right I just rejoice and say we're slowly winning the battle. You just sit back when you listen to Jerrod you sit back just with a nice smile on your face he's not going to get one. He's the best he gets stuff wrong but not often. I'd like you to list those things. I will get back to you. I expect you're getting it wrong they've got it wrong for the triathlon. What's the alternative what's happening here what's happening here with the the sun the sun what the river. So it's leading the news services here where I'm just a fraction behind is I don't understand what they're saying but I get the visuals the visuals no good. So there's one more chance on Friday and they are rather horrifyingly talking about the triathlon becoming a duathlon. That is just not acceptable and there's so much that Paris is doing right but this stands as a black mark because it was foreseeable. So they were hoping and they had they'd spent the money but you cannot reduce a triathlon to a duathlon and think that that's okay. So I feel desperately for all of the athletes who are caught up in this. This is this is the culmination and will usually four but three years work for what should have been today for the men and the women tomorrow. And now they they go to bed tonight wondering whether they're going to get a bastard eyes version of their event and which is that's terrible. So no good and I don't I can't understand how the water quality would sufficiently improve from Tuesday to Friday to make it possible and I worry that I worry that they're going to say well we're going to stage this and you can pull out if you want to. That wouldn't be okay. Yeah I don't know if that's a little black market more like a skid mark with what all the pictures I'd be saying. Maybe you get half the French to stop popping in it will be okay. Jerry if you had a choice you had a choice right now would you prefer to swim in the River Sen or the Yarra. Oh see this is a phrase I never imagined I would say out loud but you can swim in the Yarra for sure. Wow that is bad. In fact you drink out of the Yarra. I did my own water inspection today and thought no you're not getting in there. Actually it led to the the Omen bed of the year was was tonight given all that's going on when Daniel Wiffen won the gold medal for the Irish. A couple of quick lines you went to the footy at Princess Park last night the rugby sevens. Yes what was that like. So that was the soccer so they sort of the home ground of Paris Saint-Germain and it's called Park the Princess. I thought oh well we have to go to Princess Park and watch the footy. I saw Dominican Republic and Uzbekistan but it was really just more being there. I can there were 45,000 people there. It was a terrific atmosphere and you could actually you could sit there and go okay. So when it's a full house for for the local team that would be really an intimidating atmosphere in which to play. But the strength to think was it was it's a bit like the suburban grounds of the of the 80s. It's a little bit rundown for all the money that they spend on the players. I'm they don't worried about a liquor paint in about 20 years I reckon. For a part I might just to finish off to boomers went down in Canada was even up and down sort of game. They've got to play Greece next and they've got to win that to go to one and progress through. Yeah I worry about that a little bit. They didn't lose any admirers today the boomers are heavy underdogs in that game. Actually Canada declared war on us and we sort of didn't know until it was all over as they ruined the rugby sevens. It was a stunner of a result and Australia ended up going medalist there and dominated the first two days. The boomers were competitive but lost and then the three by three women's basketball got beaten by Canada as well. So it was a nasty little set of events but they've been guzzumped by Belgium at the end of the night because Belgium gave the cook a burrows a hiding six two. It's been a sour day for our teams other than our men's water polo team who beat Serbia 8-3 in one of the most unexpected results of the games. They'd lost 17 in a rota Serbia who are the white hot favourites. They've been a mate three so I was salute to the shark. Yeah no doubt about that. It's just salt in water. It's just a salt. It's pretty brutal. Hey Jared, appreciate it. We lost our key set of photo just through his head back and just smacked the opponent in the face. She's a bit rough out there. Certainly. Jared, appreciate your time mate and get some rest. Terrific guys. Thanks. Good on you, Scotty. Jared Whiteley over there in Patti for the game. So just repeating Kaylee McEwan, the 100 backstroke final. A unbelievable event in a new Olympic record. Scotty and Gus, breakfast, S-E-N-W-A.