The end of the Sailing World Championships is near with Aussies in medal contention, plus the Athletics World Championships begin on Saturday to start a big weekend of sport.
Sailing - World Championships
The business end of the 2023 Sailing World Championships has arrived and several Australians find themselves at the right end of the leaderboard with medals and Paris 2024 quotas within reach.
Olympic ILCA 7 champion Matt Wearn managed to avoid the current-induced carnage at the top mark of his first race.
He continued to narrow the gap on British sailor Micky Beckett who sits atop of the standings, nine points ahead of Matt with two more gold fleet races to come on the weekend.
Grae Morris moved up to fourth in the men's iQFOiL after posting four top six finishes from Thursday's five races. He will be looking to finish the qualifying series in the top three, which would automatically qualify him for the semi-finals.
One team who would like to add a medal to the Paris 2024 nation quota they have already secured for Australia is the 49erFX team of Olivia Price and Evie Haseldine. They enjoyed a rest day today before their double-points medal race on Saturday, which they will enter in third place just four points behind van Aaholt and Duetz from The Netherlands.
Event Coverage:
There will be a live broadcast of the 49erFX and 49er Medal Races on the Olympic Channel at 3pm local time (11pm AEST/9pm AWST).
Visit the event website for more details and see the full results here. Keep up to date with Australian Sailing.
Football - FIFA Women's World Cup
After a history-making world cup campaign, the Matildas were defeated 3-1 in their semi-final against England on Wednesday night.
The Lionesses took the lead just ahead of half time, before Sam Kerr scored a phenomenal goal in the 63rd minute to equalise. Unfortunately, the Australian side weren't able to continue their momentum with England scoring another two goals shortly after to secure the win.
Event Coverage:
Keep up to date with Football Australia.
Athletics - World Championships
The World Athletics Championships kicks off this Saturday 19 August in Budapest, Hungary, with a 66-strong Australian team ready to make history on the world stage and earn valuable World Ranking points to go towards Paris 2024 qualification.
Declan Tingay, Kyle Swan, and Rhydian Cowley are the first Australians to compete with the men's 20km race walk final on Saturday morning at 7.15am local time. On Sunday, Aussies continue to be in action, vying for medals across the women's 20km race walk, women's long jump, and men's 100m final.
Event Coverage:
Keep up to date with all the action at Athletics Australia, the full Australian team list can be found here, and the Australian competition schedule here.
Shooting - World Championships
The Australian Shooting team is currently competing at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Four Paris 2024 quota spots are available in each discipline on the programme.
The skeet and pistol events began on Thursday 17 August, when Aislin Jones came in 41st place after shooting a 69/75 in the women's skeet qualifying. Joshua Bell is in 114th place after shooting 44/50 in the men's skeet qualifying.
The rifle competition begins on Friday 18 August and the trap starts on Wednesday 23 August.
Event Coverage:
Keep up to date with Shooting Australia.
Archery - World Cup & Olympic Test Event
The Archery World Cup has entered its fourth stage taking place at the Esplanade des Invalides in Paris - the same venue which will host Archery at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Serving as an Olympic Test Event between 15-20 August this year, ahead of Paris 2024, our Aussie archers are hoping to finetune their targets at the future Olympic venue.
Event Coverage:
Keep up to date with Archery Australia.
Modern Pentathlon - Laser Run World Championships
Thirteen Aussie modern pentathletes have arrived in Bath, England to compete at the Laser Run World Championships from Saturday 19 August through - Monday 21 August.
The Australian team is made up of mostly younger athletes who are striving for the Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games. The event will serve as instrumental experience for competing at an international level.
The Oceania Continental Championships, held from 29 September - 2 October in Cairo, Egypt, will be the most important event of the year for athletes vying for quota spots on the Paris 2024 Olympic Team.
Event Coverage:
Keep up to date with Modern Pentathlon Australia.
Rhythmic Gymnastics - World Championships
The FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships commences in Valencia, Spain next week from Wednesday 23 August.
Alex Kiroi-Bogatyreva will compete in the individual event, while Ainsley Barker, Angelina Boland, Laura Gosling, Ashleigh Law, Tahlya Smith and Charlotte Wong will form our senior premier group.
This is the second last chance for athletes to earn quota spots for Paris, with a maximum of two quota spots per country. The top 14 from all-around and the top 5 countries from group ranking results of all-around qualifications will secure their spots at next year's Olympic Games.
Event Coverage:
Keep up with Gymnastics Australia.
Canoe Sprint - World Championships
From Wednesday 23 August Australia's best canoe sprint athletes will take on the world at the World Championships in Duisburg, Germany.
Paris 2024 Olympic quota spots will be up for grabs at the competition for the first time, with Australian athletes looking to book their tickets to Paris.
The Australian team will be spearheaded by Olympic gold medallists Tom Green and Jean van der Westhuyzen and reigning world champions Aly Bull and Jackson Collins.
Olympic quota spots are available across three female and four male events, with the top six boats in the women's K1 500, men's K1 1000, men's K2 500 and women's K2 500 earning a spot on the start line in Paris.
Extra chances to qualify will be available in the K4 500, with the top 10 men's boats and top 10 women's boats booking their spots in Paris. Five boats in each of the C1 categories will also qualify, with Australian Ben Manning contesting the C1 1000.
Event Coverage:
Watch the live stream here and keep up with Paddle Australia.
Basketball - FIBA World Cup
The Australian Boomers have completed their three World Cup warm up matches at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne and are now bound for Japan.
They beat Venezuela (97-41) and South Sudan (88-67), while losing in a tight one to Brazil (86-90).
Australia starts their World Cup campaign on Friday 25 August at 6pm AEST against Finland in Okinawa, Japan.
Then they'll face Germany on Sunday 27 August at 6:30pm AEST and their last pool game will be against the host nation on Tuesday 29 August at 9:10pm AEST.
The top finishing team from Oceania at the World Cup will qualify for Paris 2024.
Event Coverage:
Keep up to date with Basketball Australia.
Cycling - Mountain Bike - World Cup
The UCI Mountain Biking World Cup is being held in Pal Arinsal, Andorra from 25-27 August.
The event is vital for athletes to gain points at each World Cup to allow them to enter the World Championships. The event features all three formats; cross-country Olympic, cross-country short track and downhill.
Event coverage:
Keep up to date with Aus Cycling.
Fencing - Australian Fencing Circuit
The third round of the Australian Fencing Circuit sees the Foil and Sabre events competing and held at the Australian Institute of Sport between 18-19 August.
Event coverage:
The event will be streamed here. Keep up to date with the Australian Fencing Federation.
