Olympic Updates (July 31): Triathlon Relay, Hurdlers Advance, Men's Hoops
7/31/2021 10:46:00 AM | Olympics
• Tokyo Olympics Site | U-M Olympics Coverage
Triathlon
Triathlon Mixed Relay
Former U-M women's swimmer Val Barthelemy competed for Belgium in the first Olympic triathlon mixed relay Saturday morning (July 31) at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at Odaiba Marine Park. The Belgian quartet finished fifth (1:24:36), two seconds behind the Netherlands (1:24:34).
The triathlon mixed relay consists of two men and two women from each country and requires each athlete to swim 300 meters, cycle for eight kilometers, and run for two kilometers before tapping the hand of their teammate to pass the relay.
Barthelemy completed the third leg of the relay and helped the Belgians move up a spot from sixth to fifth with her 22:08 time that was the fourth fastest of her segment. She logged the fastest swim time of the leg at 4:17, finished the bike portion of the race in 10:24, and completed the run in 6:20 to cap her first Olympic experience.
Great Britain (1:23:41) won the inaugural Olympic event, finishing 14 seconds ahead of the United States (1:23:55) and 23 seconds ahead of France (1:24:04).
• Triathlon Mixed Relay: 5. Belgium (1:24:36)
• Results and Video (NBCOlympics.com)
Cindy Sember (USATSI)
Women's Track and Field
The journey to a second consecutive Olympic 100-meter hurdles final for sisters Tiffany (Ofili) Porter and Cindy (Ofili) Sember got off to a good start Saturday morning (July 31) at Olympic Stadium as both women advanced from the opening round through to the semifinals.
Though her 13.00-second clocking in the first of five heats was not her sharpest effort of what has been one of the best years of her career, Sember was fast enough to earn a fourth-place finish in the heat to secure an automatic berth to the semifinals Sunday (Aug. 1) at 7:45 p.m. local time (6:45 a.m. EDT).
In the fifth and final heat, Porter also clinched an automatic semifinals berth with a 12.85-second run for fourth place in her heat. Overall, Porter was the 13th-fastest woman in the first round, while Sember was 22nd.
• Cindy Sember (100-meter Hurdles, Round 1): 4th, heat 1 (13:00) -- qualified for semifinals
• Tiffany Porter (100-meter Hurdles, Round 1): 4th, heat 5 (12:85) -- qualified for semifinals
• Results and Video (NBCOlympics.com)
Moritz Wagner (USATSI)
Men's Basketball
Australia 89, Germany 76
Italy 80, Nigeria 71
Moritz Wagner scored six points and grabbed three rebounds as the German National Team fell to Australia, 89-76, in its final Group B preliminary game Saturday afternon (July 31) at Saitama Super Arena. Meanwhile, Ekpe Udoh did not play in Nigeria's final game of the Olympics, an 80-71 loss to Italy that dropped the Nigerians to 0-3.
With the first and second teams in each group advancing to the knockout bracket, the two best third-place teams will also qualify. Currently, the Germans (1-2) and Czech Republic (1-2) hold those two spots with Group C still having its final games to play Sunday (Aug. 1) in Japan. Quarterfinal play will begin Tuesday (Aug. 3).
After quickly falling behind 5-0, Wagner and Germany rallied to take an 11-10 lead midway through the first quarter. Continuing to focus on scoring down low, Germany held a seven-point advantage before a last-second three-pointer from Australia's Jack Landle cut the deficit, and the Germans finished the quarter up 22-18. A 12-6 second-quarter start by Australia, aided by German turnovers, helped the Aussies cut Germany's lead to just one, 31-30, with under four minutes left in the half.
Following a Dante Exum (Houston Rockets) triple, Australia reclaimed the lead, 33-31, and never relinquished it again, though the Germans tied the game, 50-50, midway through the third quarter. Australia used 19 points off 18 total Germany turnovers, as the Aussies went on to claim the 89-76 victory. Australia's Patty Mills (San Antonio Spurs) led all scorers with 24 points and six assists, while Germany's Andreas Obst's five three-pointers yielded a team-best 17 points.
• Moritz Wagner (Germany): 6 points, 3 rebounds, 14 minutes
• Ekpe Udoh (Nigeria): Did not play
• Results and Video: Germany | Nigeria (NBCOlympics.com)
Women's Swimming
Two-time silver medalist Siobhán Haughey withdrew from Saturday morning's (July 31) 50-meter freestyle semifinals due to a hip injury, according to her coach, former U-M assistant Rick Bishop. She had qualified with the 15th-fastest time in the preliminary heats. In her second Olympic Games, Haughey collected silver medals in the 200-meter freestyle and 100-meter freestyle, becoming Hong Kong's first Olympic swimming medalist.
