This weekend, Australia's Olympians and Tokyo 2020 hopefuls collected Aussie records and new PB's on the cycling and athletics tracks, while Tokyo 2020 selected shooters dominated the podium at the Victorian Shooting Championships and Olympic hopeful Alexei Popyrin nabbed his maiden ATP tour title in Singapore.
Cycling – National Champions crowned, Aussie record and Ewan wins in Abu Dhabi
Track riders Leigh Howard, Sam Welsford, Ash Ankudinoff and Alexandra Manly were crowned national Madison champions, with Tokyo-bound Maeve Plouffe also breaking the Australian individual pursuit record at the Adelaide Superdrome over the weekend.
In an extremely close-fought race, the pair of Howard and Welsford edged out Tokyo teammates Cam Meyer and Kell O'Brien by a single point, while reigning champion Ankudinoff and 2020 silver medallist Manly won the women’s title ahead of Georgia Baker and Annette Edmondson.
Maeve Plouffe, selected to make her Olympic debut in Tokyo, broke the individual 3000m pursuit national record, setting a blistering 3.25.44 to break Ash Ankudinoff’s record set in 2019.
Find out more HERE
Aussie cyclists also tasted success on the road, with sprinter Caleb Ewan winning the final stage of the UAE Tour in Abu Dhabi.
Athletics – Records broken and new PB's
Jack Rayner and Genevieve Gregson won Hobart’s Run the bridge 10km in record-breaking time, while Tokyo 2020 selected race walker Jemima Montag set a blistering PB and moved into second all-time on the Australian records with a 5km time of 18.56.77 in Melbourne.
High Jumper Nicola McDermott also capped a successful return to competition, winning the Super Summer Series event in Canberra with a 1.96m jump.
Catch all the weekend results HERE
Shooting - Sampson and Hoberg win gold at Victorian State Champs
Queensland’s Dane Sampson continued his dominance in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions event, with the Tokyo 2020 selected shooter capturing the gold medal at the Target Rifle Victoria State Championships Performance Series Final.
Finishing with a total of 455.3 points, Sampson was joined on the podium by South Australian siblings Jack Rossiter (451.6 points) and Tori Rossiter (436.6 points).
In the 10m Air Rifle, Tokyo bound Alex Hoberg held his nerve to snatch a last shot victory, jumping Tokyo-bound teammate Katarina Kowplos by 0.5 points on the 24th and final shot.
Find out more HERE
Tennis – Popyrin’s maiden title and Hewitt Hall of Fame
Alexei Popyrin won his first ATP tour title, defeating world No.46 Alexander Bublik in the Singapore Tennis Open final 4-6 6-0 6-2.
After dropping the opening set, Popyrin produced flawless tennis in the second set. He did not lose a point on serve, taking it 6-0.
The Australian continued this unstoppable momentum in the deciding set, losing only one point on serve to close out victory after one hour and 24 minutes on court.
Read about Alexei’s win HERE
Aussie tennis great and triple Olympian Lleyton Hewitt was also inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame.
To: Lleyton
— Tennis Hall of Fame (@TennisHalloFame) February 26, 2021
Love: Australia 🇦🇺
Welcome to a distinguished group, @lleytonhewitt 🤩@tennisaustralia | @toddwoodbridge | @MarkWoodforde | @rodlaver | @letsrolltennis pic.twitter.com/iVurRsgtSr
Winter – Cross Country Skiing World Championships
The Australian men’s team of Phil Bellingham and Seve De Campo finished 17th in the Men's Team Sprint at the Oberstdorf 2021 Nordic Ski World Championships.
Triathlon – Emma Jeffcoat and Matt Hauser claim emphatic wins at the Australian Elite Sprint Triathlon Championships
In cool and breezy conditions in Devonport, both athletes let their experience and expertise shine as they dominated their respective races from start to finish to claim the Australian titles.
Find out more HERE
