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What you need to know...
New Zealand began Thursday's competition with three medals to its name, with the All Blacks Sevens, and double scullers Brooke Donoghue and Hannah Osborne all taking silver medals yesterday. They joined a medal count that already featured Hayden Wilde's triathlon bronze from Monday.
Today, rowers Kerri Gowler and Grace Prendergast added a gold medal in the pair, while single sculler Emma Twigg continue her domination, with a big semi-final win. The Black Ferns Sevens opened their campagin wiht victory against Kenya, swimmer Lewis Clareburt progressed to the 200m individual medley final, while Daniell & Venus fell to Croatia in their tennis semi, but will now play for the doubles bronze medal.
Latest updates
1:30am - Hockey: And that's it - Australia win 1-0 and NZ now face an intriguing battle to qualify for the quarter-finals with one game remaining against China.
1:06am - Hockey: GOAL to Chalker
Finally Australia break the deadlock from general play, slotting the ball into the circle, where Chalker deflects it past Sticks keeper O'Hanlon, into the net, AUS 1-0
12:51am - Hockey: Halftime sees the score between NZ and Australia still deadlocked at 0-0. Pretty intense contest, with both teams having their chances, but unable to take advantage.
12:16am - Hockey: For anyone still awake, NZ v Australia has just begun and we'll keep you up to date with any scoring action.
12:03am - Hockey: NZ will field a starting line-up of Shannon, Merry, Davies, Ralph, Gunson, Chalrton (gk), O'Hanlon, Thompson, Hull, Keddell & Smith.
11:17pm - Swimming: Three more have gone faster in the third heat,so plenty of opportunity for Galyer here, if she can get close to her best.
Galyer is seventh after the opening length of the pool and maintains that halfway through.
The Kiwi might be falling off the pace here and trails at the final turn.
Yep, faded badly and well outside her best, so Galyer won't progress to the next stage, clocking 2m 15.16s.
We're now an hour away from the Black Sticks women taking on Australia in a crucial hockey pool match.
11:13pm - Swimming: Now Ali Galyer's 200m backstroke heat...
She's in lane one of the fourth and final heat with a best time of 2m 09.98s. Three swimmers have gone faster than that in the first two heats, with 16 progressing to the semi-finals.
10:31pm - Swimming: All the swimmers in the third heat faster than Thomas, so no place for her in the final, but still a great swim. Next up, Ali Galyer in the 200m backstroke heats at 11:16pm.
10:22pm - Swimming: Four swimmers faster than Thomas in the second heat.
10:02pm - Swimming: Thomas is fourth after the first length, but quickly slips a spot at the 100m.
At the 250m, she's moved up to third and catching the leader, Fain from Slovenia.
Kobrich of Chile takes the lead with Fain and Thomas behind her, but there's now little between them.
Halfway through, Fain has faded, and Thomas and Kobrich are clearing out.
Kobrich has finished fourth twice at the world championships, but Thomas is still on her shoulder in adjacent lanes. Junblut of Brazil is third.
Thomas is a second behind with 200m remaining. Who has the finish?
Thomas seems to be gaining with the bell sounding, she's still 1.02s behind, but on course for a personal best.
The Kiwi is going faster and is closing, but does she have enough pool left? They're shoulder to shoulder - Thomas just gets there by 0.07s in 8m 32.51s.
Let's see where that gets her...
9:59pm - Sevens: Quote of the Games so far from NZ star Ruby Tui - "There is not enough hand sanitiser in all of Japan to clean that up."
Swimming: Next up for NZ, Eve Thomas takes on the 880m freestyle heats. She's in the first of four heats, with eight fastest to progress to the final.
9:49pm - Sevens: Time is up and Nathan-Wong kicks deep. GB control the ball, but NZ tie it up and that's the end.
Huge comeback for NZ to win 26-21!
9:47pm - Sevens: TRY to Blyde
Joyce is shown yellow for offside and NZ have a chance to steal the win.
They work the ball around and eventually throw a long pass to Blyde, who has too much gas, NZ 26-21
9:46pm - Sevens: Two minutes to go and Brits taking their time to restart play.
NZ disrupt the British scrum and win a penalty. Broughton makes ground up the guts.
9:45pm - Sevens: GB lose the ball in a tackle and NZ have a chance to take their first lead.
Untidy scrum and GB win a penalty.
9:43pm - Sevens: TRY to Nathan-Wong
NZ have a penalty and TNW takes a tap on halfway, then scythes through the defence to score, GB 21-19
9:41pm - Sevens: GB taking their time with this lineout, not needing to hurry with the lead on their side.
NZ penalised and GB take the scrum, but NZ get a penalty from it.
9:40pm - Sevens: NZ probably need to keep their opponents scoreless in the second half, if they are to escape this predicament...
They kick off and Britain have possession.
9:38pm - Sevens: TRY to Blyde
From the kickoff, GB spill the ball and NZ have possession. They simply give Blyde space on the left and she scores in the corner, with the conversion hitting the post, GB 21-12
Halftime arrives and we've already seen five tries.
9:37pm - Sevens: TRY to Blyde
NZ respond quickly from the kickoff, with Blyde receiving the ball deep in her own half and outsprinting her marker down the left touchline, GB 21-7
9:36pm - Sevens: TRY to Joyce
Hirini can't control the kickoff and GB take advantage with their third answered try. Woodman misses that tackle and Joyce scores next to the posts, GB 21-0
9:34pm - Sevens: TRY to Jones
From the scrum, Jones runs an angle and Fitzpatrick misses the tackle... terrible start for the Black Ferns, GB 14-0
9:33pm - Sevens: NZ take the kickoff, but Woodman makes a mistake and the British have another chance here.
9:32pm - Sevens: TRY to Rowland
From the scrum, GB work a planned move and Rowland brushes off a couple of tackles to score first, GB 7-0
9:30pm - Sevens: Both teams take knee before the kickoff and GB kick long, taken by Fitzpatrick. Tui drops a pass, giving GB good attacking position.
9:28pm - Sevens: The British team is drawn from the various national teams that contest the world series, so stronger on paper, but needing to form combinations quickly. They should be tough though...
9:21pm - Sevens: USA have just defeated Japan 17-7 to set up their top-of-the-pool clash against Australia tomorrow. Next up, the Black Ferns Sevens face Great Britain.
The Kiwis will field Tui, Fluhler, Hirini, Blyde, Nathan-Wong, Fitzpatrick and Woodman to start.
8:52pm - Sevens: Defending champions Australia have just beaten China 26-10 to stay unbeaten in their pool - they will face USA in their last preliminary tomorrow.
USA take on Japan now, with NZ v Great Britain afterwards. GB beat Russian Olympic Committee 14-12 earlier today.
8:20pm - Sailing: Out on the water, Josh Junior and the NZ 470 crew have wrapped up their racing for the day, with Junior finishing fifth and improving to seventh overall after six races.
Paul Snow-Hansen and Dan Willcox have added a couple of seventh placings to their account, and now lurk in medal contention - they sat third before their latest outing, but may slip back a little afterwards.
7:36pm - Good evening citizens, next Kiwis up tonight will be the Black Ferns Sevens, who take on Great Britain in their second pool outing of the tournament at 9:30pm NZ.
Swimmers Eve Thomas and Ali Galyer face heats in the pool from 10pm, while the Black Sticks women take on Australia just after midnight. Meanwhile, we still have a couple of sailing crews out on the water...
Brew up some coffee, it's going to be a late one.
7:31pm - That's Brad Lewis done for the afternoon. Will hand you over to the very capable Grant Chapman for the night shift.
Tennis: Men's Doubles Semi-Final
New Zealand (Venus/Daniell) v Croatia (Cilic/Dodig) 2-6, 2-6
Result: Croatia win in straight sets. New Zealand to play for bronze medal on Friday.
7:26pm - And the Croatians advance through to the final with comfort .... 6-2, 6-2. Too good for the Kiwis.
7:25pm - Match point for Croatia.
7:24pm -Another break-point saved by Dodig.
7:23pm - Enormous serve saves the break. Duece.
7:22pm - New Zealand have their first break point of the match.
7:21pm - Two big serves get's Croatia back to 30-all.
7:18pm - 0-30 on Dodig's serve.
7:15pm - Daniell holds to love as the Kiwis continue to fight.
7:12pm - Cilic holds as Venus crashes his return into the net. Daniell serving to keep the Kiwis in the match.
7:11pm - Crucial game in progress. Cilic serving at 30-all.
7:05pm - Tennis: Venus holds and the Kiwi pair has a little hope.
7:01pm - Tennis: Hold for Dodig and Croatia are two games away now.
6:56pm - Tennis: Croatia break to love. 0-3 against the Kiwis now and this is almost over.
6:54pm - Tennis: Easy hold for Cilic - this is getting ugly.
6:51pm - Tennis: Venus double-faults on break point and Croatia have the early break.
6:45pm - Tennis: First set to Croatia. The Kiwi pair look a little flat. They need to hold serve here or it will slip away quick.
6:41pm - Tennis: Daniell can't hold and Croatia will serve for the first set. Five double-faults for the Kiwis and they haven't hit a winner yet, serving a 57 percent and only won 11 of 17 first serve points.
6:37pm - Tennis: Cilic holds with comfort. Daniell must hold here.
6:34pm - Sailing: Josh Junior records an 8th place finish in Race 5 of the Finn class. The Kiwi is 7th midway through the regatta.
6:32pm - Tennis: Double-fault from the Kiwi and Croatia have a first-set break of serve.
6:30pm - Tennis: Another big serve from the Kiwi saves break-point.
6:29pm - Tennis: Venus saves a break-point with a big ace and follows it with another.
6:23pm - Tennis: The Kiwi pair got to 30-all on Dodig's serve but he held.
6:19pm - Tennis: Daniell holds with ease.
6:16pm - Tennis: Comfortable hold for Cilic.
6:12pm - Tennis: Venus holds serve after a couple shaky moments.
6:00pm - Okay - almost set to go for the doubles semi-final. The Kiwi pair a win away from guaranteeing a medal.
5:55pm - Sailing: Sam Meech records a 13th place finish in Race 8 of the Laser class. That will drop him out of medal contention with just two races and a final to come.
5:54pm - Sailing: The Nacra 17 crew, Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson, have finished 12th in Race 6. They remain 12th overall halfway through the regatta amd almost out of the medal hunt.
5:49pm - Golf: Raining at the golf, but Ryan Fox has finished his round. One-under for the Kiwi, good enough for a tie for 30th - seven shots off leader Sepp Straka.
Canoe Slalom C1 semi-finals: Luuka Jones
Result: Luuka Jones eliminated (13th place finish)
5:58pm - Luuka Jones is eliminated from the C2 Canoe Slalom. She will finish outside the top 10.
5:45pm - Jones is on the bubble with three paddlers to go.
5:42pm - Luuka Jones down to ninth now - four paddlers to go.
5:35pm - Another paddler down and Luuka stays on seventh spot.
5:32pm - Jones down to seventh now with seven paddlers to go.
5:28pm - Jones still in fifth spot. The Italian paddler had a shocking run. Still in the hunt the Kiwi.
5:25pm - Still 10 paddlers to run, so Jones is in a tough spot and it would take some serious mishaps from her fellow competitors to advance to the final.
Finish - Luuka Jones - 130.39 - More than likely, that won't be enough to advance.
5:20pm - Jones ready to go - needs a top ten finish to progress. Anythng around 120 seconds should be fine.
5:18pm - One more paddler and then Luuka is up. Best time so far is Majorie Delassus with a 117.71 second run.
5:15pm - 18 paddlers in action - top ten qualify for the final later tonight.
5:13pm - Luuka Jones coming up in the C2 Canoe Slalom semi-finals.
4:36pm - Sailing: Nice job by Sam Meech in the Laser class. The Kiwi has finished 2nd in Race 7 and has jumped up to 10th spot. Needs a couple more good results to get in the hunt for a medal.
4:34pm - Sailing: Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson score an 8th place finish in Race 5 of the Nacra 17 Mixed. They stay in 12th spot.
4:28pm - Sailing: Great result for Pete Burling and Blair Tuke in the 49er class. After a 12th place finish earlier today in Race 5, they have finished 2nd in Race 6 and are back in the medal hunt, in fourth spot overall, halfway through the regatta.
4:19pm - Lewis Clareburt delighted to be in another final. Says being drawn in such a quick heat was the reason for his advancement through to the final - it was the the second fastest time he has ever recorded in the 200m individual medley.
"[Being behind those guys] that last 50 reallly mattered," Clareburt tells Sky Sport.
"I'm still a long way behind those guys in terms of speed, but this is pretty awesome.
"Hopefully I can fire in the morning and put in my best race."
4:14pm - Shooting: Rio 2016 silver medallist Natalie Rooney is out of the women's trap. The Kiwi has finished 11th - three points back from the top six and a place in the final.
4:04pm - Golf: Ryan Fox has dropped a shot and is now even par through 16 holes. Austria's Sepp Straska is the clubhouse leader at eight-under. The Kiwi now tied for 49th.
3:56pm - So an update on a couple of big things coming up this afternoon
Luuka Jones competes in the Canoe Slalom C1 semi-finals from 5:21pm.
Michael Venus and Marcus Daniell play their tennis doubles semi from 6pm.
3:45pm - Sailing: Nacra crew Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson have finished 11th in race 4. They sit 12th overall and need to string together some top three results or their medal hopes will end by tomorrow.
3:43pm - Sailing: Sam Meech is seventh at the first mark in Race 7 of the Laser class. He needs some really good results in the next three races to be in the hunt for the medal race.
3:40pm - Sailing: Peter Burling and Blair Tuke off to a shocker today. 12th place finish in Race 5 of the 49er class. The started the day in fouth spot, but that result has dropped them to sixth spot overall.
3:35pm - Sailing is underway. Will just do a bit of strolling to find out how the Kiwi crews are going.
3:33pm - What an awesome result from the young Kiwi and he is into a second Olympic final. Outstanding. That race set to go at 2:15pm on Friday.
Swimming: Men's 200m individual medley semi-final - Lewis Clareburt
Result: Lewis Clareburt records 1.57.55 for seventh fastest time and qualifies for final.
Finish - Clareburt finished 4th and with 1.57.55 he has done enough to make the final in seventh spot!
100m - Clareburt in 5th after butterfly and backstoke. 100m to go - quick time so far.
Semi-final 2 - Clareburt set the third fastest time in the heats, and will need to match that here - the good news is he will have the world's best outside him in Michael Andrew who was super quick in the heats - so that's his marker.
Semi-final 1 - Fastest time was a 1:56:69, but the mark for Clareburt will be around 1:57:60 to earm automatic entry.
The Kiwi is up in the second heat - top eight times across both semis qualify for the final.
3:06pm - Golf: Ryan Fox tied for 25th on one-under through 12 holes. The leader is still Austrian Sepp Straka at eight-under.
Other notables: Paul Casey -3, Xander Schauffele -2, Hideki Matsuyama -2, Patrick Reed -2, Colin Morikawa -2 and Rory McIlroy -1.
3:02pm - BMX: Petch is through to the semis! Second spot in the final run and she goes through as the third best rider from her group. Great comeback after a fall in her first race.
3:01pm - Rebecca Petch almost set to go in the final heat - 12 riders have alraedy confirmed their semi-final spots .... another four to be decided here.
2:57pm - Kiwi rower Jordan Parry has won his C semi-final in the rowing. He advances to the C Final which could see him finish as high as 13th overall in the regatta.
2:53pm - Rebecca Petch up shortly in het final BMX heat. A top three finish in the race will be good enough for her to advance to the semi-finals.
Rugby Sevens: Final score - New Zealand 29 v Kenya 7
Fulltime - The Kiwis can't add to their score. Full credit to Kenya who defended well.
Try NZ - Gayle Broughton: Superb. Broughton in a 2v2 situation skins her marker and the covering defender to score from 30m. NZ 29-7
Try NZ - Blyde: Too easy. Brazier with a quick tap and goes wide to Woodman who steps back inside and flings a pass to Nathan-Wing....three passes later and Blyde is running away to score. NZ 24-7
2nd-half - Underway for the second spell... great final couple minutes there for the Kenyans.
Try Kenya - Christabel Lindo: Great patience from Kenya and eventually Lindo bounces off a Woodman tackle and runs away to score. NZ 17-7
7min - Good period for Kenya - they have kept hold of the ball for several minutes as time winds down - they are 30m out from the NZ line.
Try NZ - Portia Woodman - Lineout noverthrown by Kenya, Tui flings the ball right...good tackle in defence but the Black Ferns come back the other way and Woodman to the outside and she scores in the corner. NZ 17-0
Try NZ - Michaela Blyde: Repeat the does - NZ gets possession 20m out and Blyde finds space and runs in to score in the corner. NZ 12-0
Try NZ - Stacey Fluhler: Just like that the Kiwis on the board. They go one way then another and Blyde fires out to Fluhler on the right and she runs it in to score. NZ 5-0
Kick-off - Underway. Black Ferns at full-strength.
2:25pm - Closing in on kick-off for the Black Ferns Sevens side in Tokyo. Set to go at 2:30pm. Reminder at 3:08pm - Lewis Clareburt swims in the semi-finals of the 200m medley.
2:16pm - BMX: Rebecca Petch bounces back from a fall in her first race to finish third in the second. The Kiwi is tied for third after two of three races. Top four go through to the semis.
2:13pm - Golf: Ryan Fox is tied for 18th through the front nine at one-under. The leader is Austrian Sepp Straka who is seven-under through 16 holes.
2:10pm - Hello folks and welcome to the afternoon shift. Brad Lewishere and I'll be taking you through the next six hours or so.
Coming up this afternoon
BMX - Rebecca Petch continues in the quarterfinals
Sailing - 49ers, Laser, Nacra, 470 and Finn crews all in action
Sevens Rugby - Black Ferns play Kenya at 2:30pm
Canoe Slalom - Luuka Jones in the C1 semi-final
Tennis - Michael Venus and Marcus Daniell in their semi-final
Golf - Ryan Fox continues his first round
Swimming - Lewis Clareburt swims in the 200m individual medley semi-finals.
Rowing - Emma Twigg cruises into single sculls final
Twigg makes it look easy, as she coasts to a dominant win to lock in her spot in Friday's final.
Her time of 7m 20.70s makes her the fastest qualifier overall, three seconds ahead of her closest rival.
I mean, I don't want to say she's a lock for gold, but....
We're off!
The Napier native streaking away for victory, comfortable as you like.
Three second lead for Twigg at the 1500m mark. Light work.
Boat length lead for the Kiwi, as they hit 1250m.
Crosses the halfway mark with a ever-growing lead. She looks in third gear, max.
Twigg with her bow in the lead, 750m in.
Holding a close second, as they hit the 500m mark.
Twigg in lane four, settles into third place early.
1:47pm
Twigg is in the water, all set to go in her bid for a spot in the finals. I'm calling it now, it's a lock.
1:36pm
Rebecca Petch has crashed in her opening run in the women's BMX, tumbling from her bike after a jump on the second straight. She dusted herself off to finish fifth.
1:34pm
At the Kasumigaseki Country Club, Ryan Fox is one-under, tied for 14th, four shots off the pace through seven holes.
1:11pm
Next up in the water we have another hot prospect for gold, with Emma Twigg rowing in the single sculls semi-final at 1:50pm.
Rowing - Womens' pair Grace Prendergast and Kerri Gowler win gold!
12:58pm
Word of the day for our golden Kiwi ladies - "Stoked".
"I can't believe it," says a stunned Kerri Gowler.
"We crossed the line and I started yelling 'have we done it', but yeah It's amazing - I'm so glad."
Fantastic row by the Kiwis, who chased down the fast-starting Canadians, held off the fast-finishing Russians*, and ultimately powered over the line to claim a commanding win, sealing New Zealand's first gold of the Games.
We are off the mark, people.
Kerri Gowler and Grace Prendergast understandably emotional, as they soak in their achievement.
We're off!
Kiwis a little slow out of the blocks, tracking in fourth early.
Stroke rate right up there for the Kiwis, edging into second at the 500m mark.
Canada's lead starting to shrivel, NZ has them in their sights, half a boat length now.
Neck and neck at the halfway mark, 1000m done. Canada and the Kiwis jostling for first.
Kiwis have their noses in front now, but Canada are holding strong.
Up to the 1500m, slight lead for the Kiwis. The Russians putting the foot down too.
NZ still holding off Canada and the fast-finishing Russians, here come the turbos! Line in sight!
GOLD IT IS!
12:29pm
The teams line up on the water. Butterflies brewing.
12:22pm
Croatia wins the men's pair final. Just eight minutes and we are underway with the Kiwi women's pair.
11:46am
Kiwi golfer Ryan Fox teeing off shortly for the opening round of his Olympics campaign.
Tee time is 12:51pm.
11:37am
Rough campaign for Kiwi men's pair Jones and Robertson, who cross last in the 'B' final.
Those Bond and Murray shoes take some serious filling.
11:34am
Jones and Robertson sitting a close fifth at the halfway stage.
11:30am
To start us off we have Kiwis Stephen Jones and Brook Robertson in the men's pair 'B' Final.
We're an hour away from the women's pair's bid for gold.
11:25am
Kia ora, good morning and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Tokyo Olympics, where our rowers are again our best chance of adding to New Zealand's medal tally today.
After losing their world record - then regaining it on Wednesday - world champions Kerri Gowler and Grace Prendergast will now race their archrivals from Greece for the pair gold medal at Sea Forest Waterway.
At the start of the day, the Kiwis held the record at 6m 49.08s, set at Poznan in 2017, but watched the Greeks eclipse that, with a 6m 48.70s performance in perfect tailwind conditions on the course in the opening semi-final.
Moments later, Gowler and Prendergast hurtled down the 2000m straight in 6m 47.41s to reclaim the mark, throwing down a gauntlet to their opponents in the final - Canada, Great Britain, Greece, Russia and Spain.
With shooter Natalie Rooney seemingly out of contention - 18th after three of five rounds in trap qualifying - the only other Kiwi capable of mounting the podium today would be Luuka Jones, who is 10th fastest into canoe slalom semi-finals, with the top 10 progressing to the final.
But rower Emma Twigg will hope to continue her scintillating form in single sculls semis, the Black Ferns Sevens open their account against Kenya and Great Britain, Lewis Clareburt will shoot for the 200m IM final, Daniell and Venus chase a tennis medal, while the Black Sticks women seek to bounce back from yesterday's loss against Australia.
Today's schedule looks like this...
Thursday, July 29
BMX
Women's racing quarter-finals - Rebecca Petch 1:21pm NZ
CANOEING
Women's C1 slalom semis & final - Luuka Jones 5:21pm & 6:55pm NZ
GOLF
Men's individual stroke play, round 1 - Ryan Fox 11:52am NZ
HOCKEY
Women's Pool B - Black Sticks v Australia 12:15am (July 30) NZ
ROWING
Men's pair final B - Brook Robertson & Stephen Jones 11:30am NZ
Women's pair final A - Grace Prendergast & Kerri Gowler 12:30pm NZ
Women's single sculls semi-finals A/B - Emma Twigg 1:50pm NZ
Men's single sculls semi-final C/D - Jordan Parry 2:50pm NZ
SAILING
Men's Laser, Races 7 & 8 - Sam Meech 3:05pm NZ
Mixed Nacra 17, Races 4, 5, & 6 - Erica Dawson & Micah Wilkinson 3:05pm NZ
Men's 49er, Races 5 & 6 - Peter Burling & Blair Tuke 3:05pm NZ
Men's Finn, Races 5 & 6 - Josh Junior 5:35pm NZ
Men's 470, Races 3 & 4 - Paul Snow-Hansen & Daniel Willcox 6:05pm NZ
SEVENS RUGBY
Women's pool round - Black Ferns Sevens v Kenya 2:30pm NZ
Women's pool round - Black Ferns Sevens v Great Britain 9:30pm NZ
SHOOTING
Women's trap qualifying 2 & finals - Natalie Rooney noon & 5:30pm NZ
SWIMMING
Men's 200m individual semi-finals - Lewis Clareburt 3:08pm NZ
Women's 800m freestyle heats - Eve Thomas 10pm NZ
Women's 200m backstroke heats - Ali Galyer 11:16pm NZ
TENNIS
Men's doubles semi-finals - Marcus Daniell & Michael Venus v Cilic/Dodig (Croatia) 6pm NZ
Silver! All Blacks Sevens bow to champions Fiji in Olympics final
Five years after leaving Rio empty-handed, the All Blacks Sevens have bowed to defending champions Fiji 27-12 to capture the silver medal in their Tokyo Olympics final.
The NZ men reached the gold-medal game with a clinical 29-7 victory over Great Britain, running in four unaswered tries, while denying their opponents the possession they needed to stage a comeback.
Fiji were in trouble, trailling Argentina 14-12 at halftime of their semi, but also kept the South Americans scoreless over the second half, running away 26-14 winners to book a showdown with their sevens archrivals.
But the Pacific Islanders were immediately on top of the final, ripping the ball from NZ captain Scott Curry for Meli Derenalagi to rumble over in the corner.
The Fijians quickly added another, when the kicked ahead and Andrew Knewstubb failed to secure the loose ball behind the tryline, with Sireli Maqala forcing for the try.
New Zealand needed to score next and they did, when they held the ball for a period of time and built phases, before Curry outpaced his marker to score in the corner.
Jiuta Wainiqolo ran from his own half, brushing off tackler down the right touchline to restore the Fijian advantage, but Sione Molia struck after the halftime siren to keep the All Blacks Sevens within striking distance at the break.
Desperately need the next score to level up, the Kiwis threw everything at their rivals, but could not find that answer.
Eventually, Asaeli Tuivuaka finished off Fijian raid to put the seal on the game and then slotted a penalty to kill the final seconds, before they celebrated a successful Olympic defence.
"We came out to win a gold medal for New Zealand and we fell at the last hurdle," says Curry. "We're really disappointed, but as time goes on, we'll reflect and by proud of our effort.
"The bounce of the ball in sevens is huge. A couple went their way early and they scored tries - they got their tails up and it's tough to come back from that."
The NZ women will begin their sevens campaign tomorrow, when the Black Ferns take on Kenya and Great Britain in pool play.
