Bronze BMX brilliance before Tokyo champ crashes out; Fox eyes ...

All Aussie eyes are turning to Jessica Fox’s hopes of a golden double as she bids for a repeat Olympic title in the C1 canoe slalom, first competing in the semi-finals.

It was a mixed bag in the BMX Freestyle for the Aussies with Natalya Diehm defying the odds to win bronze, but Tokyo champion Logan Martin crashing out of the men’s final.

The 26-year-old Diehm, who has undergone five knee reconstructions, registered a score of 88.80 in her first run at La Concorde, joining China’s Yawen Deng (92.60) and America’s Perris Benegas (90.70) on the podium.

Having placed eighth in the preliminary rounds with a score of 83.89, Diehm was not expected to push for a medal, but her impressive first run was headlined by a “no-footed can can”, a backflip with a 180-degree turn and some tyre grabs.

The Queenslander started her second run with a frontflip, which prompted loud gasps from the Paris crowd, but she failed to improve on her score after missing a flare.

Earlier this week, Britain’s Charlotte Worthington and Switzerland’s Nikita Ducarroz, the defending gold and bronze medallists respectively, failed to qualify for the finals, while a disappointing run from American star Hannah Roberts, who suffered a fall and botched tricks, opened the door for Diehm’s surprise podium finish.

Australia's Natalya Diehm. Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFPSource: AFP

Diehm, who placed fifth at Tokyo three years ago, considered quitting the sport due to lack of funding and injury setbacks, but she was rewarded for her resilience in Paris this week.

“I have dreamt of this moment for so long,” Diehm told Channel 9.

“I wanted this so bad.

“I can’t believe this, honestly. This is the first medal I’ve ever gotten in an international competition.

“I am so excited, I am beside myself.”

REIGNING GOLD MEDALLIST CRASHES OUT

Australian Logan Martin has failed to defend his Olympic title in Paris, with Argentina’s José Torres Gil winning gold in the BMX freestyle men’s park final on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old, who won gold in Tokyo three years ago, crashed out with seconds remaining in his first run, notching a score of 64.40.

Needing a score in the nineties to push for a medal, Martin attempted a quadruple tailwhip before slipping and calling off his second run.

He qualified for the final as the third-highest qualifier, but he finished last out of nine riders after botching both attempts.

STINGERS WIN TENSE SHOOTOUT

The Stingers have won a topsy-turvy contest against the Netherlands in Paris, winning a shootout 8-7 to remain undefeated in the Paris Olympics.

The Dutch were leading 4-3 at half-time, but the Australians scored three goals in the third quarter to edge ahead.

However, scored were tied at 7-7 when the final siren sounded at the Aquatics Centre, forcing a shootout.

Nothing could separate the two teams after nine penalty throws, but a clutch save from Stringers goalkeeper Gen Longman secured a thrilling win for Australia.

UNDEFEATED HOCKEYROOS QUALIFY FOR QUARTERS

The undefeated Hockeyroos has qualified for the women’s hockey quarterfinals after cruising towards a 3-0 victory over Team USA on Wednesday.

Renee Taylor scored in the opening minutes before Alice Arnott and Maddison Brooks extended Australia’s lead with goals in the second and fourth quarters respectively.

The Hockeyroos, who have now won three straight games, move to top spot on the Pool B standings.

AUSSIE PAIR INTO ROWING FINAL

Australia duo Jess Morrison and Annabelle McIntyre have qualified for the rowing women’s pairs final after winning their semi-final on Wednesday.

After cruising past America’s Azja Czajkowski and Jess Thoennes with about 300m remaining, the Australians registered a time of 7:14.14.

However, in the other semi-final, the world champion Dutch pair of Ymkje Clevering and Veronique Meester notched the fastest time with 7:10.16.

The final takes place on Friday at 6.54pm AEST.

Jess Morrison and Annabelle McIntyre of Team Australia. Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

AUSSIE NO. 1 SEED SUFFERS SHOCK LOSS

Australian boxer Shannan Davey has suffered a unanimous decision loss to Bulgaria’s Rami Mofid Kiwan in the men’s 71 kilogram round of 16 at North Paris Arena.

The No. 1 seed’s Olympic campaign is over after losing 30-27 on all five cards.

Davey is the sixth Australian boxer to be knocked out of the Paris Games, joining the likes of Tokyo medallist Harry Garside.

Super heavyweight Teremoana Teremoana Jnr remains the only Australian to have registered a win in Paris this week.

Later on Wednesday, Australian boxing captain Caitlin Parker qualified for the women’s 75kg quarter-finals after a unanimous points victory over Mexico’s Citlalli Vanes Ortiz.

Shannan Davey of Team Australia punches Rami Mofid Kiwan of Team Bulgaria. Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

DAY 5 PREVIEW

There’s plenty of potential Aussie success in tonight’s Olympics action, with paddler Jess Fox looking to add more gold to her cabinet, BMX Freestyle rider Logan Martin hoping to defend his crown and the Matilda’s back in action against the United States.

Australian golden girl Jess Fox is set to try and add another medal to her cabinet when she looks to defend her C1 canoe slalom crown.

Fox, who carried the Australian flag at the Opening Ceremony, cruised into the semi-final of the C1 with the second-fastest time in qualifying, despite an error in her second heat run.

Gate seven was where she made a minor error, but she was still only 0.61 seconds behind Czechia’s Gabriela Satkova.

Her father Richard said on Channel 9 that it was “a good run” that “she’ll have enjoyed”.

Fox finally won her first K1 title after medalling in the past three Olympic campaigns.

Australian BMX Freestyle rider Logan Martin is looking to defend his Tokyo title later tonight after another superb qualifying performance, finishing third.

He posted an average score of 89.39 from his two runs, narrowly qualifying behind Brit Kieran Reilly and American Marcus Christopher.

“I’m definitely stoked, the main goal today was to pull two runs and make it through to tomorrow where it’s only one run counts, so I’m pretty happy with the way I rode,” Martin said.

“This day I probably have more nerves because it’s two runs and two count.

“You don’t really get that safety run, although tomorrow I have to step up my tricks.

“I do enjoy the heat and riding in the heat, I enjoy sweating and all that sort of stuff. It’s very warm but I can manage OK. Just trying to stay in the shade to be honest, drinking lots of water, and stay out of the sun.”

The Matildas are looking to keep their Olympic dream alive when they take on global football powerhouse the United States from 3am AEST.

The Matildas have beaten America just once in 33 attempts, with the USA winning four of the seven gold medals since women’s football joined the Olympics in ‘96 and beating Australia in the bronze medal match in Tokyo.

The Tillies were torched by Germany in their opening game 3-0, before coming from the clouds to edge out Zambia 6-5 in their recent clash.

It means the Matildas sit third in their group on three points, behind the USA (6 points), Germany (3, but with better goal difference than Aus), and ahead of Zambia (0).

Tony Gustavsson’s side will be hoping to put in a solid performance and there’s a variety of different scenarios that can play out depending on the result.

 It’s set to be another bumper day for the Aussies in the pool as well, with plenty of medal hopefuls set to do their thing.

Kyle Chalmers, Mollie O’Callaghan and Zac Stubblety-Cook headline our best medal hopes.

NOTABLE AUSSIE EVENTS SCHEDULE (All times AEST)

18:45 Men’s Triathlon [Medal Event] (Luke William and Matthew Hauser)

21:10 Cycling BMX Freestyle Women’s Park Final [Medal Event] (Natalya Diehm)

21:15 Women’s Hockey AUSTRALIA vs USA

22:00 Women’s Water Polo Netherlands vs AUSTRALIA

22:45 Cycling BMX Freestyle Men’s Park Final [Medal Event] (Logan Martin)

23:30 Canoe Slalom Women’s Canoe Single Semifinal (Jessica Fox)

23:30 Shooting Trap Women’s Final [Medal Event] (Catherine Skinner, Penny Smith TBC)

01:25 Canoe Slalom Women’s Canoe Single Final [Medal Event] (Jessica Fox)

01:30 Women’s Basketball 3x3 AUSTRALIA vs Germany

01:30 Artistic Gymnastics Men’s All-Around Final [Medal Event] (Jesse Moore)

03:00 Women’s Football AUSTRALIA vs United States