Rio Olympics 2016: Australian wins fans for refreshingly honest interview

Winning a medal at the Olympic Games is an outstanding achievement.
All the years of training can often come down to the finest of margins, and to be in the top three of the world at your chosen discipline is something that is absolutely worth celebrating.
But given the fact she missed out on gold by three-hundredths of a second in the women’s 200m butterfly final on Thursday, Australian Madeline Groves could have been forgiven for being downcast post-race.
After all, she was so close to winning gold.
But Groves chose to keep a positive outlook, and her enthusiasm was infectious.
“That’s a personal best [for me], it’s a bloody awesome time,” Groves told the Seven Network.
“I could have come last in that race, it doesn’t matter – I’m happy [with a personal best].
“I’ve had so much fun … I have so much respect for [gold medalist] Mireia [Belmonte], I knew she would be there in the last 100.”
Groves’ silver medal is even more remarkable given she quit the sport four years ago, aged 17, after falling out of love with the rigorous training demands.
Now 21, Groves – who is nicknamed “Mad Dog” – is an Olympic silver medalist. Well played, Madeline.
Sculls silver
The quadruple sculls gold medal proved a stroke too far for the pre-final favourite Australians, as Germany successfully defended its Olympic title in a thrilling finish.
Despite a strong finish in the last 500 metres, the Australian four of Cameron Girdlestone, Sasha Belonogoff, James McRae and Karsten Forsterling had to settle for silver.
Estonia claimed the bronze medal in third place.
Kate, is that you?
Olympics fans have been left scratching their heads after spotting French cyclist Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, who bears a striking resemblance to Kate Middleton.
The 24-year-old, who came in 26th place in the women’s road race event, might have long blonde hair but she shares the Duchess of Cambridge’s bright blue eyes and dimpled smile.
It is, however, highly unlikely you’ll ever catch the Duchess looking like this.
That’s a selfie Ferrand-Prevot shared after she suffered a nasty crash five weeks ago at the UCI World Championships in London.
Country boy Chalmers
He’s 18, hasn’t finished school and had just won Olympic gold for Australia – in a big shock.
Given the circumstances, it would not have surprised anyone had Kyle Chalmers let his emotions get the better of him.
But Chalmers’ manner – like he was off to the shops for some milk and bread – was incredibly calm and collected. Why so relaxed, the Seven Network’s Nathan Templeton asked?
“I like to think of myself as a country boy. That’s where I grew up,” he said.
“Country people are really relaxed the whole time … I feel like I’ve got that.”
Kyle sends his school wild
The students at Immanuel College in South Australia – where Chalmers went to school before studying from home in Year 12 – were far from relaxed during his race.
And, as you can see, they went absolutely nuts at the finish. How good?
The moment Kyle Chalmers' school mates at Immanuel College watched him win Gold for 100m Freestyle. #Rio2016 https://t.co/rJnZeh5IGO
— 7NEWS Adelaide (@7NewsAdelaide) August 11, 2016
Another pool goes green
Viewers were left perplexed on Wednesday when a diving pool turned green – but the water polo pool next to it stayed classic blue.
However both were green by the time Thursday’s action rolled around, with organisers blaming heavy rain diluting the chemicals in the water.
Officials confirmed there was “absolutely no risk whatsoever” for athletes – and none withdrew. We wonder what colour the pools will be tomorrow …
If you can stomach it…
Then you should watch this video.
Armenian weightlifter Andranik Karapetyan suffered a horrifying elbow dislocation during competition on Thursday (AEST).
Warning: it is graphic.
Oh no!!! Armenian weightlifter #AndranikKarapetyan suffers #graphic #injury at #Rio2016!! https://t.co/gXUgGJVVAjhttps://t.co/pefdHYhThi
— Perez (@ThePerezHilton) August 11, 2016
Olympics question of the day
Well, can he?
What to watch on Friday
Jess Fox is in action early as she aims to go one better than the silver medal she won in London.
She’s had to deal with a lot of expectation and things didn’t go her way in the heats – will the tide turn?
Despite a lack of Australian involvement, the men’s Rugby Sevens medal matches will be worth watching. And then there’s the swimming.
We’ve got the favourites in the men’s 200m backstroke (11.26am AEST) in Mitch Larkin, and the women’s 100m freestyle (12.18pm) in Cate Campbell.
Campbell smashed the Olympic record twice on Thursday, setting the expectation for her final.
The pick of the bunch:
4am – Canoe Slalom – women’s kayak single
6.45am – Basketball – Australia v Japan (women)
7am – Hockey – Australia v Argentina (women)
7.30am – Rugby Sevens – men’s bronze medal match
8am – Rugby Sevens – men’s gold medal match
10.30am – Table Tennis – men’s singles gold medal match
11.17am – Swimming – women’s 200m breaststroke
11.26am – Swimming – men’s 200m backstroke
12.01pm – Swimming – men’s 200m individual medley
12.18pm – Swimming – women’s 100m freestyle
The Rio Report will be published every day of the 2016 Olympic Games.