Estonians in Rio, Day 9: 'Trio to Rio' make Olympic history, badminton player places 14th, sailor 20th
While hip pain prevented one of them from completing the race, Estonians Liina, Lily and Leila Luik nonetheless made history as the first set of triplets to compete in an Olympics together. Meanwhile, badminton player Kati Tolmoff ended up in second place in her group and 14th overall, while Finn-class sailor Deniss Karpak ended his competition in 20th place.
Athletics: Women's marathon
Estonian identical triplets Liina, Lily and Leila Luik made Olympic history by becoming the first triplets to compete in an Olympic Games together. Of the three, Lily broke the top 100 and the Estonian Olympic record for the women's marathon, finishing 97th overall with a time of 2:48:29 (+24.25), while Leila came in 114th place with a time of 2:54:38 (+30.34).
Liina Luik, however, did not complete the marathon, as pain in her hips which set in after the 15-kilometer (9.3-mile) mark did not subside even after being administered an injection against the pain, causing her to drop out of the race following the 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) mark.
Admitting that races for a title were always emotional, Liina noted that "You want to make it to the finish, but sports is like that, and you have to deal with it." She did, however, get to hitch a ride on a motorbike almost to the end of the marathon, passing her sisters on the way. "It was very nice that they took me to the finish and that I got to see my sisters," she added.
For the first time in history, Kenya took home the women's marathon gold after Jemima Jelagat Summgong came in first place with a time of 2:24:04. Silver went to Bahraini Eunice Jepirui Kirwa, whose earned medal, won with a time of 2:24:13, was the country's first in the Olympic marathon. Bronze went to defending World Champion Mare Dibaba of Ethiopia, who finished with a time of 2:24:30.
A total of 156 women began the Olympic marathon, of which 133 eventually crossed the finish line.
Sailing: Men's Finn-class
Following his final two races, in which he placed 18th and 22nd, respectively, Estonian sailor Deniss Karpak came in 20th place overall in the men's Finn class.
While the medal race has yet to be run, Giles Scott from the UK has already secured his gold medal due an impossible-to-close gap between himself and the currently-second place Slovenian Vasilij Žbogar.
Badminton: Women's singles
While Estonian badminton player Kati Tolmoff herself did not compete on Sunday, groupmates Ratchanok Intanon from Thailand, against whom Tolmoff lost 18:21, 12:21 last Wednesday, and Yip Pui Yin from Hong Kong, whom the Estonian badminton player beat 5:21, 21:13, 21:19 on Friday, faced off against each other to determine the winner of their group, who would advance to the next round in the tournament.
As Yin lost 18:21, 12:21 to Ratchanok, the latter came in first in the group and advanced onto the next round, meaning that Tolmoff came in second place in their group, tying for 14th place overall.
"All in all this was a super tournament for me, and I am very satisfied," Tolmoff said, summing up her Olympic experience in Rio.
Six Estonians to compete in Rio on Monday
Estonians Rasmus Mägi, Jaak-Heinrich Jagor and Kaur Kivistik will enter into athletics competition on Monday, while sailors Kätlin Tammiste and Anna Maria Sepp continue competing in the women's 49er FX (skiff) class.
Wrestler Heiki Nabi is set to face two-time Olympic champion Cuban Mijaín Lopez in the opening match of the 130-kg category of Greco-Roman wrestling. Lopez will be a familiar face to Nabi; the former managed to best the Estonian wrestler in the final round at the 2012 London Games.
MONDAY, AUGUST 15*
*Note: All times listed in Eastern European Summer Time (EEST) +0300 UTC.
time | event | channel |
08:30 | Rio 2016: Olympic Day Overview | ETV |
08:45 | Olympics Day 9 in Rio (repeat) | ETV |
15:30 | Rio 2016: Olympic Day Preview | ETV |
15:55 | Wrestling: Men's Greco-Roman 85 kg qualifications, 130 kg qualifications; Sailing: Laser-class medal race | ETV |
16:25 | Athletics: 3000m steeplechase | Vikerraadio |
17:30 | Athletics: 400m hurdles | Vikerraadio |
20:05 | Basketball: Nigeria-Brazil | ETV2 |
22:00 | Wrestling: Men's Greco-Roman 85 kg finals, 130 kg finals | ETV2 |
23:00 | Olympics Day 10 in Rio | ETV |
23:00 | Equestrian: Individual dressage Grand Prix freestyle | ETV2 |
00:50 | Basketball: Spain-Argentina | ETV |
04:20 | Basketbal: Lithuania-Croatia | ETV |
Editor: Editor: Aili Sarapik