2 Aug 2024

Olympics 2024: Athletes to watch on day seven of the Paris Games

7:09 pm on 2 August 2024
Zoe Hobbs of New Zealand competing in Australia in 2024.

Zoe Hobbs in action. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

After a massive day of competition on Thursday, the Paris Games are back on, with plenty of must-watch contests to kick the weekend off.

Due to the time difference, day seven begins on Friday evening NZT and stretches into Saturday morning.

Here's who to look out for. All times are in NZT.

Zoe Hobbs, women's 100m, 8.35pm and 9.50pm Friday

New Zealand's fastest-ever female 100m sprinter is set to make her Olympic Games debut in Paris.

She's up in the heats at 9.50pm.

In Sydney in March 2023, Hobbs became the first woman in Oceania to crack the 11-second mark for the blue riband event and repeated the feat in Switzerland four months later.

If the 26-year-old can make the final in the Stade de France on 4 August she will become the first Kiwi to reach such a pinnacle in 100 years. The last to do so was Arthur Porritt who won bronze at the Paris Games in 1924.

New Zealand's Shannon Cox (L) and New Zealand's Jackie Kiddle compete in the lightweight women's double sculls semifinal A/B rowing competition at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Centre in Vaires-sur-Marne during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 31, 2024. (Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP)

Shannon Cox, left, and Jackie Kiddle in their lightweight double sculls semifinal earlier this week. Photo: AFP/BERTRAND GUAY

Jackie Kiddle and Shannon Cox, women's lightweight double sculls final, 10.22pm Friday

New Zealand rowers bagged three medals in the space of an hour on Thursday night - can Jackie Kiddle and Shannon Cox add to that haul?

This is both rowers' first Olympics and their performance so far has been impressive.

The pair won their heat, then came second in their semifinal.

Here's hoping for another strong day on the water from the rowers.

Dylan SCHMIDT. New Zealand. Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Trampoline Gymnastics at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre. Tokyo, Japan, Saturday 31 July 2021. Mandatory credit: © Steve McArthur / www.photosport.nz

Dylan Schmidt during his bronze medal-winning performance at the Tokyo Olympics. Photo: www.photosport.nz/ Steve McArthur

Dylan Schmidt, trampoline gymnastics, 4am Saturday

Dylan Schmidt won a bronze medal at Tokyo 2020 - the first medal for a New Zealander in any gymnastics discipline.

He is looking to make that back-to-back medals this time around.

Qualification is at 4am Saturday, with the final at 5.50am.

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