Live updates: Tokyo Olympics, July 25 - Clareburt races for gold, surfers debut, OlyWhites face Honduras

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1:17am - Hockey: And that's the final siren and NZ hold no to beat Spain 4-3 in a pulsating game. That result elevates them to third in Pool A after two games, with four teams to progress.

They next face hosts Japan on Tuesday.

1:11am - Hockey: GOAL to Smith

And there's the winer perhaps. A scramble in the Spanish goalmouth is eventually smashed home by the Kiwis.

Spain protest and it's reviewed, but they lose their appeal. They pull the goalkeeper in an effort to find another goal with time running down, NZ 4-3

1am - Hockey: GOAL to Russell

New Zealand appeal for a penalty stroke, but have it rejected and lose their referral. Instead they have a penalty corner and Russell's sweep finds its mark to level the scores, 3-3

12:54pm - Hockey: Into the final quarter now, with New Zealand desperately searching for an equaliser.

12:44am - Hockey: Goal to Bolto

Another penalty corner and although Quemada's shot is deflected away, it lands for Bolto, who slots it on an angle to take the lead, SPA 3-2

12:34am - Hockey: Goal to Quemada

Just seconds into the third quarter, Spain earn a penalty corner, which is expertly trapped and Quemada's roket strike is simply unstoppable, sneaking inside the left post, 2-2

12:21am - Football: News from the OlyWhites camp suggest captain Winston Reid is out for the rest of the tournament with a knee injury that forced him off early against Honduras.

Hockey: At halftime, NZ lead Spain 2-1.

12:19am - Hockey: GOAL to Black Sticks

Immediately, NZ lay seige on the Spanish goal and from a penalty corner, Tarrant's shot is deflected a couple of times by Spanish defenders, before findings its way past the keeper.

Somewhat fortunate, but we'll take it, NZ 2-1

12:15am - Hockey: GOAL to Gonzalez

The second quarter has seen Spain camped at the NZ end of the pitch and Gonzalez lifts a shot past Kiwi keeper Hayward to leve the socres, 1-1

11:59pm - Hockey: GOAL to Jenness

Jenness received the ball to the left of goal and dribbles into the circle, firing a stunner past hapless keeper Cortes, NZ 1-0

11:46pm - Swimming: More on Fairweather's performance in the 400m freestyle - that puts her into tomorrow's final, ranked fourth on heat times. Superb result.

Hockey: Meanwhile, the Black Sticks men have just begun their hockey clash with Spain.

11:30pm - Swimming: Only four swimmers in that first heat went faster than Fairweather's best, so if she can produce something close, she may be in with a shot. 

Fairweather is second fastest over the opening 50m, but it's early days yet. She's 58.40s through 100m and still second.

The Kiwi is still second at halfway, but the field is closing up. Still second at 250m, but Tang from China has reeled her in with 100m left.

Fairweather retakes second with 50m remaining and is actually closing on Aussie Titmus at the end. She finishes second with 4m 02.28s, breaking Lauren Boyle's national record and hacking four seconds off her previous time.

11:26pm - Swimming: World champion and world recordholder Katie Ledecky paces herself through heat three of the 400m freestyle in 4:00.45s, setting the standard for the rest of the field.

11:13pm - Swimming: Erika Fairweather is due in the pool soon for her 400m frestyle heat. She's in the fourth of four heats, with a fastest time of 4m 06.54s.

Fastest eight times progress to the final tomorrow - she's ranked 15th.

10:46pm - Tennis: Another matchpoint to NZ, with Daniell serving. Venus is at the net to cut off the service return and dispatch it for victory, 6-3 7-6.

They will now face eight-seeded Dutchmen Koolhof and Rojer in the second round tomorrow.

10:45pm - Tennis: Matchpoint to the Kiwis, but Belarus serving. Daniell's return is just long.

10:37pm - Tennis: Belarus hold serve for 6-5 in the second set and have a chance to take the set if they can break Daniell's serve. They can't, so we're into a tiebreak.

Taekwondo: Kiwi Tom Burns is now eliminated from the -68kg division, losing 23-8 to Turk Hakan Recber in a repechage.

10:27pm - Tennis: The Kiwis squander a couple of break points at 4-4 in the second set against Belarus, who hold serve.

10:17pm - Swimming: Galyer officially eliminated from the 100m backstroke, with 1m 00.04s the slowest time to progress to the semis. Galyer clocked 1m 02.65s, more than a second slower than her best, and was 33rd fastest from 41 starters.

Erika Fairweather is next up in the 400m freestyle heats at 11:24pm NZ.

10:15pm - Tennis: Second set going with service so far, with Venus serving for the Kiwis at 2-3. He holds for 3-3.

10:04pm - Swimming: Galyer is the fastest in this heat, but she's slower out of the blocks.

She finishes third in 1m 02.65s, a second slower than Sulcatan from Moldova. That likely won't see her through to the semis.

10:02pm - Swimming: At the Tokyo Aqautics Centre, Kiwi Ali Galyer is about to contest 100m backstroke heats. She's in heat two with a best time of 1m 01.64s.

Heat one has been won by Zimbabwe's Katai in a personal best of 1m 02.73s.

9:56pm - Tennis: Venus and Daniell have taken the first set 6-3 against Belarus, with just one break of serve.

9:51pm - Football: That's the final whistle and heartbreak for the Kiwis, after leading most of the match, but conceding the winner to Honduras just a few minutes from fulltime. That leaves Group B very finely balanced, with NZ, Honduras and Romania all winning, but the Europeans due to face Korea next.

9:49pm - Football: Bell puts a lofted ball into the box, but it somehow eludes two OlyWhites attackers, including Wood, for a goal-kick.

9:47pm - Tennis: Meanwhile, Venus and Daniell are cruising in their doubles opener against Belarus, ahead 4-2 in the first set.

9:43pm - Football: GOAL to Rivas

Honduras break quickly upfield, and Rivas sprints into the box and fires, taking a deflection off Stanger past Woud, who looks forlorn, HON 3-2

9:42pm - Football: Stamenic is booked for a crude challenge on Pineda, lucky not to see red. Joe Champness comes on for Just.

9:40pm - Football: Rivas is open in front of goal, but Woud smothers it superbly. Pineda attempts an overhead bicycle kick, but it drifts just over the bar. 

9:36pm - Football: Just draws a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area. Decas has already been booked earlier, but escapes a red.

Wood curls the free-kick past the wall and Guity has to bat it past the far post for a corner.

9:34pm - Football: GOAL to Honduras - disaster!

Woud's goal-kick comes back to him quickly, and both he and Stanger leave the ball for one another. Obregon nips in between them and nudge the ball into the net, 2-2

9:31pm - Football: Ingham chases a long ball down the right at full speed, but his cross is palmed away for a corner. The kick finds Wood in front of goal, but he can't control it behind him.

Waine is booked for a foul, as Honduras steam downfield.

9:26pm - Football: Wood wins a free-kick just out the penalty artea, but the kick is lofted toward goal and Wood's header is easily controlled by Guity.

9:21pm - Football: Coach Danny Hay responds, bringing on Stamenic for Lewis and Waine for McCowatt.

9:19pm - Football: Honduras making three substitutions in an effort to turn the game.

9:11pm - Football: Melendez fires a cross from the right, Woud dives, but doesn't really connect and Palma headers over the bar. Another escape for the Kiwis.

9:09pm - Football: Honduras immediately respond with a shot on goal by Martinez, beating Woud, but finding woodowork.

9:06pm - Football: GOAL to Wood!

Fine run down the left by Just, who crosses to Wood in front of goal and a striker of his class doesn't miss those! NZ 2-1

9:03pm - Football: Second half has kicked off and Woud is forced into conceding a corner immediately, as he smothers an attempted cross by Palma.

8:47pm - Football: Halftime arrives with the two teams deadlocked. 

8:45pm - Football: GOAL to Palma

Honduras put a superb ball across goal and Palma is on the far post, nodding the ball past Woud to equalise on the stroke of halftime, 1-1

8:43pm - Golf: News breaking that world No.1 John Rahm has contracted COVID-19 AGAIN and will withdraw from the Olympics.

Football: Honduras miss another chance on goal, when Palma spins in the area, but has his shot deflected by the advancing Woud. Lucky escape for the OlyWhites.

8:41pm - Football: Cacace fires a ball into the box, but Guity cuts it off, before any advancing Kiwi can latch onto it.

8:39pm - Football: Rodriguez unleashes from long range for Honduras, but it's hopeful and high.

8:36pm - Football: Honduras defender Decas is booked for a sloppy foul on Just. 

8:33pm - Football: Dangerous ball into the NZ area, but Stensness does just enough to keep it away from Martinez, who wants a penalty, but doesn't get it.

8:26pm - Football: Just draws a free-kick just outside the Honduras penalty area, but Lewis' left-foot effort towards the box is cleared.

Just crosses the ball to Wood in front of goal and he lays off to McCowatt, who draws a save from keeper Guity. The OlyWhites look far more assured than they did against Korea.

8:22pm - Football: Loose pass back from Lewis sees Hondura threaten on the edge of the area and earn a free-kick. This will be a test for the NZ defence...

Palma's direct kick is palmed away from Woud and the follow from Benguche is headed wide. Big chance for the equaliser.

8:19pm - Football: Ingham has a shot deflected out for a corner and Lewis' kick across goal is easily cleared.

8:14pm - Football: Chris Wood is one-on-one with the Honduras keeper, but loses control of the ball in the area and can't unleash.

8:09pm - Football: GOAL to Cacace!

McCowatt takes a corner for NZ and the ball is bobbled out of the penalty area, but Cacace is there to meet it first time, left foot to open the scoring, NZ 1-0

8:06pm - Canoe Slalom: Luuka Jones slips to third after the kayak heats with 101.72s, beaten by Aussie Jessica Fox (98.46s) and German Ricarda Funk (101.56s). Still, a medal contender heading into semi-finals on Tuesday.

8:03pm - Football: Reid is struggling already and is removing his armband. That's a big blow to the NZ side and hopefully they will have his services against Romania in a couple of days.

That also means the OlyWhites are without two of their three overage players - Chris Wood takes the captaincy and George Stanger replaces Reid.

7:55pm - Football: OlyWhites are out on the field to start their clash with Honduras. In the other match underway, Egypt and Argentina are still scoreless midway through the first half.

NZ captain Winston Reid wearing a little skull cap, after opening a head cut in the Korean encounter.

7:50pm - Canoe Slalom: Luuka Jones is now on the course for her second heat run, currently sitting 10th after the opening round.

She's within a half second of the fastest time so far today at split two and has the fastest final time of the day with 101.72s, about nine seconds faster the she managed earlier today. That stamps her as a medal prospect, but there are still five athletes to come.

7:32pm - Football: Here's the NZ line-up to take on Honduras...

OlyWhites: 1-Michael Woud (gk), 2-Winston Reid, 3-Liberato Cacace, 4-Nando Pijnaker, 6-Clayton Lewis, 7-Elija Just, 8-Joe Bell, 9-Chris Wood, 12-Callum McCowatt, 15-Dane Ingham, 16-Gianni Stensness

Substitutes: 10-Marko Stamenic, 11-Joe Champness, 13-Jamie Searle (gk), 14-George Stanger, 17-Callan Elliot, 18-Ben Waine, 20-Sam Sutton

7:25pm - Welcome to the evening shift, here's what we have coming up over the next few hours...

  • Luuka Jones has her second heat run in slalom canoeing at 7:50pm NZ - she lies 10th after the first, with 24 moving into the next round
  • OlyWhites kick off against Honduras at 8pm, hoping to build on their opening win over South Korea
  • Ali Galyer and Erika Fairweather are in swimming action, with Galyer first up in 100m backstroke heats at 10:04pm
  • Black Sticks men take on Spain at 11:45pm
  • Somewhere amongst all that, Michael Venus and Marcus Daniell take on Belarus in the opening round of tennis doubles

7:19pm - Sailing: Around the final mark and then a final short push to the finsh and the race is well won by Frenchman Jean Baptiste Bernaz - Kiwi Sam Meech comes home in 24th spot. Nine more fleet races to go and then a medal race. 

7:08pm - Sailing: Rounding the third mark and Meech is now back in 27th - well over a minute behind the leader. 

6:54pm - Sailing: Around the second mark goes the sea of little boats - Meech has dropped to 18th with two legs to go. 

6:44pm - Sailing: Sam Meech is underway in the laser class - he's back in 16th at the first mark

5:58pm - Women's canoe slalom: Heat one - Luuka Jones
The Kiwi paddler is 10th after the first of two runs in the heat - nearly 10 second back from the leader - German Ricarda Funk. Top 24 go through to the semi-finals. 

5:53pm - Skeet shooting: Not looking good for shooter Chloe Tipple - she is 28th and last through three of five rounds. Top six qualify for the final.

5:49pm - Women's canoe slalom: Heat one - Luuka Jones 
The Kiwi finishes her run in sixth place, but there are still six to go behind her. Four penalty points in her run leaving her with a 110.22 - five seconds back from the leader, but the top 24 after two runs will go through to the semi-finals.

5:44pm - Luuka Jones is in action in the canoe slalom heats. She is struggling halfway down her run.

5:12pm - The lineup for the next couple of hours:
Sam Meech - Men's laser, race one: 5:35pm 
Luuka Jones - Women's Canoe Slalom: 5:45pm

5:11pm - Surfing: Billy Stairmand is through to the knockout stages, finishing third in his round two heat. 

5:09pm - Surfing: Just over a minute left and Stairmand is third - which is where he needs to be to qualify for the next round. 

4:49pm - Surfing: Bill Stairmand is second in his round two heat - the top three go through to the third round. 20 minutes to go.

4:43 - Hockey: Women's Black Sticks v Argentina  -  Final score - 3-0
All over and what a stunning upset for the Kiwi side against a very good Argentinian side, ranked No.2 in the world.

Hockey: Women's Black Sticks v Argentina - Goal NZ (3-0)
That should be it. Holly Pearson with a screamer from about 10 yards. Cracking shot to put the game to bed. 

4:31pm - Surfing: Ella Williams is through to round three of her event. The Kiwi scored a second place finish in heat 5, earning 9.70 points - enough to pip Costa Rica's Leilani McGongale. The heat was won by American Caroline Marks. 

4:25pm - A couple of internatinal headline doing the rounds.....
- Australia's tennis world No.1 Ash Barty has been beaten in the first round, losing to Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-4 6-3.
- Golf's World No.6 Bryson DeChambeau has tested positive for COVID-19 before his departure for the Tokyo and will be replaced in the United States men's team by Patrick Reed.
- Britain's defending Olympic champion Andy Murray pulled out of the  men's singles tournament  ahead of his first-round match.

4:22pm - Three quarter time in the hockey. New Zealand has a 2-0 lead over the second ranked Argentina.

4:19pm - Surfing: Ella Williams is halfway through her heat. She is third after a couple of runs, but needs to finish in the top two to earn automatic entry into the round three. 

Hockey: Women's Black Sticks v Argentina - Goal NZ (2-0)
A second for the Kiwis. Again from a penalty corner - a nice move as the ball is flicked to Hope Ralph to the left of the goal and she squeezes the ball past the keeper. 

Hockey: Women's Black Sticks v Argentina - Goal NZ (1-0)
The Kiwis break the deadlock. Kelsey Smith scores after a nice save from Argentina's keeper from a penalty corner. Smith is there on the rebound and lifts the ball into the net.

Taekwondo: Men's 68kg division - Tom Burns has been eliminated, losing 53-8 in his round of 16 bout against Brit Bradly Sinden. 

Hockey: Women's Black Sticks v Argentina - 0-0 at halftime. Very open game, but no clear chances for either side.

3:49pm - Not a great afternoon for our rowing crews. The women's quad and men's double sculls are out of contention and so is men's single sculler Jordan Parry. Emma Twigg coasted to victory in her quarterfinal as did the women's double sculls in their semi-final.

Rowing: Men's double sculls semifinal - Chris Harris and Jack Lopas
Result: Harris & Lopas finish fourth and are eliminated from medal contention.

Finish - A fast finish for the Kiwis but not good enough and the finish in fourth behind the Brits, Poles and France and are out of medal contention.

1500m - France leads Poland and Great Britain - the Kiwis well off the pace on fifth.

1000m - The Kiwis are still fifth - about a second off a top three spot but not looking good.

500m - Poland leads France, Great Britain, Germany and New Zealand - close race.

Start - The Kiwi pair will need to finish inside the top three to make the final.

3:31pm - Tom Burns up shortly in the 68kg Taekwondo against Bradly Sinden from Great Britain.

3:29pm - Hockey: Women's Black Sticks v Argentina: Underway. Midway through the first quarter it's locked up at 0-0.

Rowing: Women's double sculls semi-final - Brroke Donoghue & Hannah Osborne 
Result: Donoghue & Osborne finish second to book spot in final

Finish - The Romanian crew powers home to stretch their lead but a solid result for Osbourne and Donoghue who take their spot in the final.

1500m - Half a boat length the lead for the Romanian crew as we head into the final 500m, but the Kiwis looking good for a spot in the final. 

1000m - The Kiwi crew up to second spot now and making in-roads on the Romanians at the front. 

500m - The Kiwi crew is third at the first marker which is where they need to finish to qualify.

Rowing: Men's single sculls quarterfinals - Jordan Parry 
Result: Jordan Parry finishes fourth and is eliminated from medal contention

Finish - Parry leaves his run way to late and is eliminated from medal contention and into the B bracket. 

1500m - Parry looks done. He's four boat lengths back on third spot. Not good for the Kiwi.

1000m - Parry still fourth - three second behind third place and a spot in the final 12. 

500m - Slow start from Parry - he's well off the pace - five seconds back from third spot. 

Start - Top three go through to the semi-finals. Parry will look for an improvement on his heat run.

3:01pm - Breaking News alert: Golf's World No.6 Bryson DeChambeau has tested positive for COVID-19 before his departure for the Tokyo Olympics and will be replaced in the United States men's team by Patrick Reed.

2:39pm - Jordan Parry up next at 3:10pm in his quarterfinal of the men's single sculls.

Rowing: Women's single sculls quarterfinals - Emma Twigg
Result:
Twigg wins quarterfinal to qualify for semi-finals with fastest time.

Finish - Twigg coasts home under no pressure to win her quarterfinal and book a spot in the final 12 with the fastest time of the quarters. Gmelin from Switzerland second and Iran's Malaei from Iran getting the final spot. 

1500m - The Kiwi is flying - fastest so far through 1500m as she hits the three-quarter marker. She could go half pace from here and still win. She has a four-boat length lead from Gmelin and Malaei. 

1000m - Twigg is rolling into the semi-finals as she crosses the halfway mark with a three boat length lead from Gmelin and Malaei.

500m - Twigg out to a great start through the first quarter of the race. She has a half-a-boat lead from Iran's Malaei and Switzerland's Gmelin.

Start: Underway - a top three finish all Twigg needs to advance.

2:25pm - Looks like Marcus Daniell and Michael Venus' doubles match won't be until later tonight. They are scheduled up fourth on court seven and they are only halfway through the first match.

2:22pm - A gutted Lewis Clareburt following his swim in the final.

2:20pm - Not too far away from Emma Twigg's quarterfinal run in the women's single sculls. 

2:13pm - So a pretty jam-packed afternoon for the NZ team this afternoon.
Emma Twigg, Jordan Parry and he men's double skulls crew of Chris Harris and Jack Lopas in action at the rowing.
The women's Black Sticks open their campaign against Argentina from 3:15pm.
Tom Burns is in action in the Taekwando.
Ella Williams will surf in her heat from 4pm.
Sam Meech (sailing) and Luuka Jones (canoe slalom) are competing and Michael Venus and Marcus Daniell are almost on court for their first round match. 

2:02pm - Kiwis Michael Venus and Marcus Daniell are set to begin their campaign in the men's doubles tennis against Belarus' Ilya Ivashka and Egor Gerasimov.

1:57pm - The Kiwi women's quad sculls crew has missed out in their repechage, coming in third. They'll have one more outing on the water in the fairly meaningless 'B' final.

Men's 400m individual medley final - Lewis Clareburt

RESULT: Lewis Clareburt finishes seventh.

TOKYO, JAPAN - JULY 24: Lewis Clareburt of New Zealand competes in the heats of the Men's 400m IM on day one of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 24, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Photo credit: Getty Images

1:42pm - Heartbreak for the Wellingtonian, who finishes with a time of 4:11.22s - two seconds slower than his qualifying time from Saturday night, which would have had him in line for silver in the final.

American Chase Kalisz claims gold - the first for the US at these Games - with a time of 4:09.42.

Silver goes to the US' Jay Litherland (4:10.28) and bronze to Aussie's Brandon Smith (4:10.38)

The 25-year drought continues....

1:38pm - No medal for the Kiwi! It's all over. Just unable to accelerate through the final freestyle leg and he falls to seventh.

1:37pm - Still in second in the freestyle, about to turn again.

1:36pm - Clareburt turns into second as the American streaks ahead in the breaststroke.

1:35pm - Clareburt pacing himself, moves into first place as the breatstroke begins.

1:34pm - Into backstroke, Clareburt surges into second.

1:33pm - Into the butterfly, Clareburt middle of the pack at the first turn.

And we are off!

1:30pm - Clareburt looking calm and composed as he acknowledges the 'crowd' during introductions, headphones in tow.

1:28pm - Clareburt makes his walk to the blocks. He'll race through the middle of the pool in lane five.

1:25pm - We're live at the pool now. Clareburt's final will kick off today's schedule.

1:14pm - The countdown is on for the Wellingtonian, as he prepares for his bid for gold. Anyone else nervous?

11:31am - The next Kiwi in action today is swimmer Lewis Clareburt in his big 400m individual medley final, which starts at 1:30pm, followed by the women's quad rowers in the repechage at 1:50pm, and Michael Venus and Marcus Daniell in the tennis men's doubles at 2pm.

Click here for today's full schedule of Kiwis in action.

Surfing: New Zealand's Billy Stairmand in action in heat two.

RESULT: Stairman finishes third in heat, advances to repechage round two.

11:10am - And that elusive winning wave evades Stairmand, who pounds the water in frustration as the hooter sounds. 

Only the top two from each sudden-death heat advance, meaning Stairmand moves into the repechage in round two, missing out on the chance to move directly to round three.

He'll be back on the water at 4:40pm, when he'll have another chance to progress.

Japan's Kanoa Igarashi finsihed top of the heat with 12.77, followed by Peru's Miguel Tudela (10.67), Stairmand (9.97) and  France's Jeremy Flores (7.63)

11:07am - Two minutes left, Stairmand needs a clutch wave here to advance.

11:02am - Stairmand on to another wave, it's another brief ride but does score. Igarashi clear in No. 1 with 12.77, followed by Tudela (10.67) and the Kiwi (9.97).

Five minutes left in the heat.

Plenty of support on the shore for the Raglan rider.

10:57am - Stairmand waiting patiently for the ideal wave to use his No. 1 priority. Here he goes, can't get the speed he needs on the wave and the ride ends promptly.

Only the top two advance in the sudden death heats. Tudela with another impressive wave to widen the gap to Stairmand in third.

10:53am - Peru's Tudela bumps Stairmand out of the lead with a superb ride. Igarashi scores as well, and Stairmand has dropped to third. 14 mins left.

10:49am - Stairmand's 8.83 still leads, with Japan's Igarahasi in second with 7.80. 19 minutes left in the heat.

10:47am - Igarashi gets up for a long wave, putting his local knowledge to good use. Huge air to finish, but may not have been enough for the judges to deem it complete.

10:44am - Stairmand nabs another left-hander, some big turns at the crest of the wave. There we go, 8.83 score to sit at the top of the heat. The best two wave combines for the scoring total.

10:42am - Stairmand up on his first wave, a trio of impressive backhand turns, that should score for him.

10:40am - Stairmand joins Igarashi and Flores on the right edge, awaiting that first swell to come off the bank.

10:38am - All of the surfers are now in the water and seated on their boards, awaiting the starting hooter. Countdown is on, and we are underway.

10:36am - Stairmand looking relaxed as he sits at water's edge, big smile on his face as he soaks it all in.

10:34am - Here we go, Stairmand lines up alongside his competitors, as they prepare to hit the water for heat two.

He'll be up against Japan's Igarashi, France's Flores, and Peru's Tudelu.

10:31am - Ferreira makes his way back to shore with board tucked under arm, having locked up first place in the heat and a spot in the semi-finals.

Japan's Hiroto Ohhara is second, followed by Italy's Leonardo Fioravanti and Argentina's Leandro Usuna.

10:27am - Brazil's Ferreira currently in the lead in the opening heat ahead of the Japan, Italy and Argentina riders.

10am - NZ's Stairmand is due in the water at 10:40am, where the waves look to be a little better than forecast, some decent two-to-three footers out there.

9:55am - First up for the NZ team this morning will be Billy Stairmand, who'll take to the waves to become the first Kiwi surfer in Olympics history. 

Heat one is about to get underway at Tsurigasaki Surfing Beach where the waves are...  rather small. Not ideal conditions for the event's Olympic debut.

9:45am - Morena, sport fans, and welcome to another busy day of Olympics action from Nippon.

The big event to circle today will be the final of the men's 400m individual medley at 1:30pm, where Kiwi Lewis Clareburt looms as a hot favourite for gold, after a superb qualifying swim on Saturday night.

For more details on what's to come NZ-related, be sure to scroll down.

***

Kia ora, good morning and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Tokyo Olympics, with day two offering Kiwi action across a wide array of sports.

First up, surfing will make its Games debut, with Billy Stairmand and Ella Williams carrying NZ hopes.

Rio 2016 silver medallist Luuka Jones opens her account in canoe slalom, our rowing scullers try to advance closer to medal races, while Laser specialist Sam Meech is the first Kiwi sailor on the water.

Both hockey teams take to the turf, with our women opening their account against the second-ranked Argentinians.

Later tonight, the OlyWhites seek to build on their historic opening win against South Korea, when the face Rio semi-finalists Honduras.

Sunday, July 25

CANOEING

Women's K1 slalom heats - Luuka Jones 5:42pm & 7:50pm NZ

FOOTBALL

Men's first round - OlyWhites v Honduras 8pm NZ

HOCKEY

Women's Pool B - Black Sticks v Argentina 3:15pm NZ

Men's Pool A - Black Sticks v Spain 11:45pm NZ

ROWING

Women's quad sculls repechage - Olivia Loe, Eve MacFarlane, Georgia Nugent-O'Leary & Ruby Tew 3:50pm NZ

Women's single sculls quarter-finals - Emma Twigg 2:30pm NZ

Men's single sculls quarter-finals - Jordan Parry 3:10pm NZ

Women's double sculls semi-finals - Brooke Donoghue & Hannah Osborne 3:20pm NZ

Men's doubles sculls semi-finals - Chris Harris & Jack Lopas 3:40pm NZ

SAILING

Men’s Laser - Sam Meech 5:35pm NZ

SHOOTING

Women's skeet qualifying 1 - Chloe Tipple noon NZ

SURFING

Men's Round 1 & 2 - Billy Stairmand 10am & 4:40pm NZ

Women's Round 1 & 2 - Ella Williams 1:20pm & 6pm NZ

SWIMMING

Men's 400m individual medley final - Lewis Clareburt 1:30pm NZ

Men's 400m freestyle final - Zac Reid 1:52pm NZ

Women's 100m backstroke heats - Ali Galyer 10:04pm NZ

Women's 400m freestyle heats - Erika Fairweather 11:24pm NZ

TAEKWONDO

Men's -68kg Round of 16 - Tom Burns v Bradly Sinden (Great Britain) 3:34pm NZ

TENNIS

Men's doubles first round - Marcus Daniell & Michael Venus v Gerasimov/Ivashka (Belarus) 2pm NZ

 

Kiwi swimmer Clareburt shows medley medal quality

 

 

Kiwi medley specialist Lewis Clareburt has lived up to his billing as an Olympic medal chance, with a thrilling heat win over 400m at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

Racing in the third of four heats, the Wellingtonian clocked 4m 09.49s - a national and Oceania record - finishing second fastest of the eight qualifiers for Sunday's final.

He was surpassed by Australian Brendon Smith's 4m 09.27s in the fourth heat, but now looms as a very real hope of breaking the 25-year Kiwi medal drought in the pool. The last Olympics success for NZ swimming was Danyon Loaders freestyle double at Atlanta 1996.

Clareburt drew an ideal lane next to former world champion and Rio 2016 silver medallist Chase Kalisz, and those two duelled throughout the journey, swapping the lead several times.

The Kiwi fell behind over the breastroke leg, but roared back over the final 100m of freestyle to finish 0.16s clear of his rival. 

Lewis Clareburt in action during 400m medley heats
Lewis Clareburt in action during 400m medley heats. Photo credit: Photosport

The next race began at world record pace, with Japanese Daiya Seto leading the way, but Smith charged home over the final length of freestyle, as Seto faded to fifth and out of the final.

Clareburt's medal chance will come at 1:20pm NZ Sunday.

Countryman Zac Reid was well off the pace over 400m freestyle, clocking 3m 49.85s and finishing 23rd from a field of 36. 

Menawhile, the Football Ferns had little response for the world champion USA women, slumping to a 6-1 defeat that included two own goals and several other goals disallowed for offside.

The Kiwis did well to hold their much-vaunted opponents to one goal with halftime in sight, but conceded another seconds before the break and could not stem the tide in the second half.

Their only consolation came in the 73rd minute, when Paige Stachell pounced on a defensive error from the Americans, drew the keeper and delivered a pinpoint cross to Betsy Hassett, who slotted the Ferns' only goal.

That brought them to 3-1 down, but three more goals in the final moments provided USA with a morale-boosting margin, after a shock 3-0 loss to Sweden in their tournament opener.