Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Golden duo go down in history
Meopham’s Kate French and Orpington’s Joe Choong made Olympic history.
The duo won gold in the women’s and men’s modern pentathlon - the first time any country has won both men’s and women’s events at the same Games.
French, already a World Cup gold and silver medallist in 2021, dominated the last of five events - the 3,200m laser run - to win by 15 seconds and claim the biggest title of them all.
She was flirting with the medal positions for much of the day after the swim, fencing and an impressive show jump - her strongest suit.
But her laser-run finale, where athletes complete four laps of an 800m circuit and stop to hit a target five times with a pistol at the end of each one, was a breathtaking display of speed and composure.
“Winning Olympic gold has been on my mind for a long time,” French said. “It has always been a dream and I cannot believe it has come true.
“I just thought I cannot believe I have done it when I crossed the line.
“I really tried to stick to my plan and stay focused. I knew I could be in contention but I tried not to think too much about getting a medal.”
Choong’s gold was the first time Team GB have triumphed in the men’s modern pentathlon with a personal-best 1,482 points a day after French’s triumph.
Bromley & Blackheath Harriers’ Dina-asher Smith was fit enough to help Team GB win bronze in the 4x100m relay, but Dartford’s Adam Gemili saw his Olympics end in the 200m heats when he pulled up with a hamstring injury.
Another medal hopeful, Tonbridge AC’S Tom Bosworth, finished 25th in the men’s 20km walk. He was sixth in 2016, but finished five minutes down on his Rio time.
Canterbury’s Susannah Townsend added a bronze to her Rio 2016 gold alongside clubmate Grace Balsdon as the women’s hockey team beat India 4-3. Balsdon scored the winner, a drag flick from a penalty corner.
Maidstone’s James Hall was eighth in the men’s gymnastics all-round final, swimmerturned-rower Sara Parfett, from Rochester, narrowly missed out on qualifying as part of the women’s eight repechage with fifth place after finishing fourth in the heats, and in canoeing, Tunbridge Wells’ Emily Lewis was denied a semi-final spot. Fourth in her 500m sprint quarter-final, she was a place away in the 200m sprint, missing the semis after finishing third.
Farnborough’s Emily Muskett, Britain’s first European Senior Weightlifting champion in 26 years, finished seventh in the women’s 76kg with a total lift of 222kg. She competed under her maiden name of Godley.
Gillingham’s League 1 season began with a 1-1 draw at home to Lincoln. They were spot-on three days later in the Carabao Cup, teenage defender Harvey Lintott scoring the winning kick on his first senior appearance as Gills beat Crawley 10-9 on penalties.
Dover’s pandemic troubles continued. Already hit with a 12-point deduction for failing to fulfil fixtures in February, their opener at home to Solihull Moors was postponed due to a
Covid outbreak within Whites’ squad.
Kent booked their place at T20 Blast Finals Day for the first time since 2008 with a quarterfinal win over Birmingham.
A sellout crowd of 4,000 roared the Spitfires to victory at Canterbury after half-centuries from Daniel Bell-drummond and skipper Sam Billings set them on their way to a 21-run win.
The Paralympics got under way in Tokyo with a medal for Tunbridge Wells’ Will Bayley. Bayley, a gold medallist in 2016, won table tennis class 7 individual silver.