Athletics - Wins and Tokyo qualifying times for Batt-Doyle and Davies and success for Hull

There was plenty to celebrate for the Aussies in Athletics over the weekend.

Nijmegen, Netherlands hosted the Next Generation Athletics Event, where two more Australian women have achieved Tokyo qualifiers in the 5000m.

Izzi Batt-Doyle and Rose Davies placed first and fourth, producing times of 15 minutes 04.10 seconds and 15:08.48 respectively.

Having secured her ticket to Tokyo last year for the women’s 5000m event, Jessica Hull has improved her position amongst contenders with a win in her event at the Portland Track Classic hosted at the Bowerman Track Club on Saturday, producing a time of 14:57:00.

The 24-year-old Olympic debutant was a successful NCAA champion during her time at Oregon University and in 2020, broke an 18-year-old Australian 5000m record in a time of 14:43.80.

Sentinel Trans-Tasman Hockey Series

The Sentinel Trans-Tasman Hockey Series kicked off on Thursday, with the Kookaburras and Hockeyroos going head-to-head with the Men’s and Women’s Black Sticks at the Massey University Hockey Turf in Palmerston North, New Zealand. It is the first international event either side has played since March 2020. 

The Kookaburras led the Kiwi’s 3-0 in matches, with convincing performances from Australia’s men to take the matches 3-1, 3-0 and 4-2. While New Zealand’s Kane Russell and midfielder Findlay put up a fight, top goal scorers Trent Mitton, Jeremy Hayward, Blake Govers and Nathan Ephraums proved too strong for their opponents.

The Women’s Black Sticks are proving tougher opponents for the Hockeyroos, with the past three matches ending in draws. The last match of the series is scheduled for Tuesday, where Australia will search for their first win in the tournament. 

3x3 Basketball Heartbreak

Australia’s Women’s 3x3 Basketball team suffered a heartbreaking loss to Spain in the quarterfinals of the FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Graz, Austria, over the weekend. Despite being in strong form throughout the season, Australia’s 14-12 loss means that they have been knocked out of contention for a place in the Tokyo field. 

The top three ranking teams from the event were awarded qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games commencing next month, with those places granted to the Women’s Teams from the USA, France and Japan.

Aussies at Roland Garros

The French Open took off over the weekend, with six men and four women set to take to the clay at Roland Garros. World number 76 Ajla Tomljanovic cruised into the second round in Paris with a 6-2 6-4 win over Ukraine’s Kateryna Kozlova, and faces seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova next. Barty begins her campaign for a second Roland Garros title this week, taking on the USA’s Bernarda Pera on Tuesday. 

On the men’s side of the draw, John Millman, Christopher O’Connell and Jordan Thompson are due to begin their campaigns on Monday. Youngster Alexei Popyrin was dealt perhaps the toughest draw in the field, scheduled to play 13-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal for the second time this month. Alex Deminaur will also descend upon the clay in the singles this week, as well as the doubles alongside Aussie Matt Reid.

Table Tennis TTA Tour

The Table Tennis TTA Tour event took place in Sydney Olympic Park over the weekend, with Rio 2016 Olympian Xin Chris Yan taking out the title. First-seeded Yan didn’t drop a set until the semi-finals, where he came back from a two-set deficit to make it into the final, where he again, overcame a two-set deficit to win the event. His resilient performance puts him in a strong position coming into Tokyo, after securing his place on the Australian Team after winning the Australian Qualification Tournament, where he defeated fellow Rio veteran and Tokyo 2020's David Powell.