Tokyo Olympics: Glover and Swann fourth in rowing final, James Wilby sixth in 200m breaststroke

Helen Glover and Polly Swann missed out on a fairytale finish to their story as they finished fourth in the women’s pair on a frustrating morning for Team GB.

Britain’s rowers have now finished fourth in five events at the Sea Forest Waterway.

Elsewhere, two new Olympic records were set in swimming finals, first by Australia’s Izaac Stubblety-Cook in the 200m breaststroke before American Caeleb Dressel in the 100m freestyle.

China held off a late surge by the USA to win the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay in a world-record time of seven minutes 40.33 seconds, beating the record held by Australia by 1:17.

If you’re just waking up, here’s what else you have missed:

• Duncan Scott, fresh from winning relay Olympic gold on Wednesday, qualified second fastest for the 200m individual medley final.
• In hockey, Sam Ward scored twice as GB men came from behind to draw 2-2 with the Netherlands.
• British boxer Frazer Clarke won his opening super heavyweight bout.
• Ireland won their first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics as Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy won the lightweight men’s double sculls.

GB rowers continue medal drought

Glover and Swann only teamed up in the women’s pair earlier this year, after double Olympic champion Glover came back to rowing following a break to have her three children and Swann returned having worked as a doctor during the Covid-19 pandemic.

They were crowned European champions in April but could not add another Olympic medal to their collection, finishing more than two seconds off bronze as New Zealand won gold.

“In Rio I said it was my last one. This time I’m saying ‘no, it’s definitely it’,” said Glover, 35. “Everyone around me keeps going ‘no, no, you’re going to do the single’, but I definitely don’t see myself coming back. It’s definitely not in the pipeline.”

Less than an hour later, it was an agonising result for Craig and Grant as the Netherlands edged out the British pair for the bronze.

Italy pipped France to gold with the four crews separated by just half a second.

So far Great Britain have won only one rowing medal – silver in the men’s quadruple sculls on Wednesday.

GB was the leading rowing nation at Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016, claiming six, nine and five medals respectively at those Games.

Wilby misses out in pool

Commonwealth Games champion Wilby had finished second fastest in the 200m breaststroke semi-finals but faded in Thursday’s final as Zac Stubblety-Cook set a new Olympic record of of 2:06.38 to win the race.

Wilby touched the wall 1.06secs off the bronze medal time, as the Netherlands’ Arno Kamminga and Finland’s Matti Mattsson finished second and third respectively.

“Physically and mentally it hurts,” 27-year-old Wilby told BBC Sport.

“The result is what it is. It is hard, the way I swim it has to be a perfect balancing act and if I am off ever so slightly it really pays off in a bad way.”

Britain’s Alys Thomas finished seventh in the 200m butterfly final but put in an impressive performance as she touched home in 2:07.90, knocking off more than second from her semi-final time.

Scott, who has won two medals so far in Tokyo, eased into the 200m individual medley final while Luke Greenbank qualified quickest for the 200m backstroke final.

Anna Hopkin is into the 100m freestyle final while Molly Renshaw and Abbie Wood both booked their places in the 200m breaststroke final by finishing third and fourth in their respective semi-finals.

American Dressel won his second gold of the Games and remains in contention for a further four meals as he looks to finish this Olympics as one of the most successful swimmers at an individual Games.

Only two swimmers in Olympic history have won more than six medals at a Games – Michael Phelps with eight in Beijing in 2008 and Mark Spitz with seven in Munich in 1972.

What’s coming up?

• Canoe Slalom – Mallory Franklin is in semi-final action in the women’s C1 (06:51 BST).
• Shooting – Britain’s world champion Matt Coward-Holley goes for Olympic gold in the men’s trap final (07:30 BST)
• Badminton – Toby Penty is the last Brit standing and he takes on Denmark’s world number three Anders Antonsen in the last 16 (09:45 BST).
• Rugby Sevens – GB women play New Zealand in their second pool game (10:30 BST).
• Hockey – GB women take on world and European champions the Netherlands in a replay of the Rio 2016 gold medal match (11:00 BST).
• Gymnastics – British twins Jessica and Jennifer Gadirova compete in the women’s all-around final (11:50 BST).
• Boxing – Britain’s Charley Davison faces China’s Yuan Chang in the women’s fly round of 16 (11:54 BST).