ATHLETICS

Australian race walker Jared Tallent has delivered an exceptional performance in the 50km walk at the Rio Olympic Games to win silver in the dramatic and gruelling race.

The medal takes Tallent's Olympic medal tally to one gold, two silver and one bronze from three Olympics. He has now won more medals than any other Australian male athletics competitor at the Olympics.

Tallent took the lead at the 39km mark and led by as much as 24 seconds with five kilometres to walk, and it looked like he could defend his crown from London 2012.

Yet Slovakian Matej Toth who had always been in the lead group had other ideas. In the final stages of the gruelling race the World Champion made his move and passed Tallent with two kilometres remaining.

Toth won in three hours 40 minutes and 58 seconds as Tallent fought on bravely to hang on for the silver in a season best 3:41.16. 

In the women's 20km walk, Regan Lamble achieved a top-10 finish as 50km silver medallist Jared Tallent worked the drinks station.

The Aussie trio of Lamble, Tanya Holliday and Rachel Tallent gave it all they had in hot and windy conditions. Lamble crossed the line in ninth in a time of one hour, 30 minutes and 28 seconds. Holliday was 26th in 1:34.22 and Tallent 40th in 1:37.08.

BMX

Finals day at the Olympic BMX Centre in Deodoro promised so much for the Australian Team but ended in bitter disappointment.

Caroline Buchanan and Lauren Reynolds didn't progress to the medal race after crashes in their semi-final runs left them without the points required. Colombian Mariana Pajon went on to defend her Olympic title.

In the men's semi-finals Sam Willoughby and Anthony Dean won all six races between them and seemed destined for success, and better luck, but it wasn't to be in a sport were anything can happen. Willoughby finishing sixth and Dean was ranked eighth, after he failed to finish, as Connor Fields of the USA won gold.

EQUESTRIAN

Edwina Tops-Alexander has finished equal ninth at the individual show jumping after knocking one rail in the final round of competition at the Olympic Equestrian Centre.

The 42 year-old triple Olympian and her 13 year-old mare Lintea Tequila, were looking good until they knocked down a rail  - just two fences from the finish.

It was Tops-Alexander's equal best Olympic result after also finishing ninth in Beijing. She finished 20th in London.

Ending in a high-pressure six round jump-off, it was the British combination of Nick Skelton and Big Star which took the gold.

GOLF

Su Oh carded an impressive 66 to keep Australia's hopes of a first Olympic golf medal alive, joining compatriot Minjee Lee five shots off bronze going into the final round.

In increasingly gusty conditions at the Olympic Golf Course in Barra de Tijuca, the 20-year-old holed six birdies in the first half of the third round to rocket up the women's leaderboard before playing solidly in the back nine to register seven consecutive pars.

Minjee Lee, who started the day four shots off the leaders, endured a horror start. After a fine birdie on the first, Lee bogeyed the second and then found the water twice in two shots on her way to a triple bogey at the third. A bogey on the fourth hole meant that she had dropped five shots in three holes to fall to two under.

Lee recovered to fire back-to-back birdies on five and six before 12 consecutive pars steadied the ship for the Perth native to finish alongside Oh on -4.

Korea's Inbee Park leads the field on -11 with world number one Lydia Ko from New Zealand - who struck a hole in one on the par three 8th - two shots back tied with Gerina Piller (USA).

Australia is in tenth position on the medal tally with seven gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze.