Paris Olympics day 12: Australia picks up medals across the field in its best day yet

Team Australia have had their best day yet at the Paris Olympics, picking up four gold medals and two bronze.

Nina Kennedy soared to new heights to become Australia's first-ever women's Olympic champion in a field event. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins

Australia has had its greatest-ever single day at an Olympic Games, raising its medal tally significantly.

On the field

Nina Kennedy has won a record 18th gold medal for Australia at the Paris Olympics, soaring to victory in the women's pole vault.

After an early miss at 4.70m, the 27-year-old Kennedy was flawless at her next three heights, making it over 4.80m, 4.85 and 4.90m on first attempts.

Elsewhere on the field, Australia's Matt Denny has won Australia's first Olympic medal in discus, with the Queenslander bagging Paris bronze behind Jamaica's Roje Stona as the Olympic record was broken twice.

Matt Denny celebrates with pole vaulter Nina Kennedy. Denny won Australia's first medal for discus after missing a podium place in the Tokyo Games by 5cm. Source: AP / Bernat Armangue

In front of 80,000 people at the Stade de France, Denny said he felt a sense of calm as he pictured himself back home in Allora, a town of barely 1,000 people south of Toowoomba.

"At home there's three trees and a cubby house," he said. "That's all I'm seeing."

Inside the velodrome

Australia's men's team pursuit cycling team beat fierce rivals Great Britain in the final to win the Olympic gold medal for the first time in 20 years.

Sam Welsford, Kelland O'Brien, Conor Leahy and Oliver Bleddyn won a dramatic final on Wednesday at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome outside Paris.

Skateboarding

Keegan Palmer declared that Australia can now salute the king and queen of skateboarding after he achieved the prodigious feat of spinning and twisting his way to his second Olympic gold medal at the age of just 21.

Palmer's win at La Concorde came a day after 14-year-old Arisa Trew took home the gold medal in the women's event.

"We're the king and queen of skateboarding park right now — and we both grew up in the same town. So Gold Coast is holding it down right now," Palmer said.

Australia's Keegan Palmer (centre) is a two-time gold medallist after winning men's skateboarding park final. Source: AAP / Abbie Parr/AP

"I was very impressed," said skateboarding great Tony Hawk. "Two Olympic titles at 21. I mean, we've seen skaters not even reaching their peak in performance into their 30s, so Keegan's got a long career ahead of him."

On the water

Matt Wearn dominated the men's dinghy race in Marseille to collect his second Olympic sailing gold medal. He won the same event at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Wearn said winning back-to-back gold is still sinking in and he is planning a special homecoming after the victory.

Marathon race walk relay

Australia's Jemima Montag and Rhydian Cowley have won the bronze medal in the inaugural Olympic mixed marathon race walk relay in Paris.

Montag has joined an elite list of Australian track and field athletes to win two medals at a single Olympics after taking home the bronze in the women's 20km walk last week.

In the pool

Australia's men's water polo team has been knocked out of medal contention in an Olympic heartbreaker.

The Sharks lost in a penalty shootout by one goal against the US team in the quarter-final on Wednesday at the Paris La Defense Arena.