Athletics

The Diamond League has returned to get the international athletics season underway, with Doha hosting the first of 14 meets this year.

Matthew Denny launched a discus 64.42m to place fourth in the men’s competition, his second-best placing in a Diamond League event. The throw was three centimetres better than Matthew’s previous season best set at the Adelaide Invitational in February.

Middle distance runners Jess Hull and Abbey Caldwell finished top five in the women's 1500m, bringing their hot form out of the Australian season to Qatar. Jess finished fourth (4:00.90) and Abbey fifth (4:01.15) with both comfortably at world championships qualifying standard.

In the women's 100m hurdles Michelle Jenneke had a clean race to place seventh - 13.00 (+1.1) - and Nina Kennedy also finished seventh on her return from injury in the women's pole vault (4.45m).

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Gymnastics

Two Australian teams will be flying to Antwerp this year for the Artistic World Championships, following victories for both the MAG and WAG teams in the 2023 Oceanic Continental Championships on Saturday.

Australia secured their positions for the second consecutive year, defeating the visiting New Zealand sides in an impressive display of gymnastics.

Australia’s women’s team secured a comfortable win, scoring 156.261, against a strong New Zealand squad who scored 139.929. Experienced gymnasts Kate McDonald and Breanna Scott led the group, which also featured emerging stars Macy Pegoli, Ruby Pass and Kate Sayer, who impressed in their Continental Championships debut.

The men’s competition went down to the wire, with the horizontal bar in rotation six deciding the victor. An enthusiastic Gold Coast crowd cheered home the Aussies, who triumphed by the narrowest of margins, scoring 237.960 to New Zealand’s 237.428.

Established leaders Clay Mason Stephens, Heath Thorpe and Mitchell Morgans led from the front. Debutants David Tanner and James Hardy contributed solid scores to help Australia home.

“It’s hard to describe how proud I am of each of the boys,” Heath said.

“It was a nail biter, but the grit, spirit and fight we showed tonight got us over the line.”

A number of injured Aussie stars including James Bacueti, Tyson Bull and Georgia Godwin cheered on their teammates from the stands, as they continue their recovery process prior to the 2023 Australian Gymnastics Championships – starting Thursday 11 May.

Basketball - 3x3

The Gangurrus, a month after winning gold at the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup, have gone undefeated in World Cup qualifying over the weekend to secure their place at the 2023 FIBA 3x3 World Cup.

Competing in Isreal this weekend the Australian team beat Madagascar (21-9), the Czech Republic (18-16) and the hosts (21-11) to sit at the top of the standings.

They were one of the final six teams to secure qualifying, making Australia one of 40 nations to compete at the upcoming World Cup. The World Cup begins in Vienna, Austria on 30th May to the 4th of June – where the men’s Australian team will also compete.

Basketball

The Australian Boomers have named their extended 18-man squad ahead of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, featuring 10 Olympic bronze medallists and a record number of NBA players.

For the first time, the Boomers have 10 current NBA players in their squad including Patty Mills, Matisse Thybulle, Joe Ingles, Jock Landale, Josh Green, Matthew Dellavedova, Xavier Cooks, Jack White, Dyson Daniels and Josh Giddey.

One of the youngest members, Josh Giddey, recently capped off a successful second season for Oklahoma City in the NBA averaging 16.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists (pictured below). Point guard Dyson Daniels just finished his first season with the New Orleans Pelicans.

The extended squad will take part in a training camp in Cairns in the lead up to the World Cup, before the final roster of 12 is named ahead of the team’s opening game in Japan on August 25.

The Boomers will take on host nation Japan, as well as Finland and Germany in the first group stage.

Co-hosted between three nations - the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia - the 2023 FIBA World Cup will run from 25 August to 10 September.

The Australian Boomers extended 18-man squad:

Xavier Cooks
Dyson Daniels
Matthew Dellavedova
Dante Exum
Sam Froling
Josh Giddey
Chris Goulding
Josh Green
Joe Ingles
Nick Kay
Jock Landale
Thon Maker
Will McDowell-White
Patty Mills
Keanu Pinder
Duop Reath
Matisse Thybulle
Jack White

Bold – denotes Olympian.

Golf

Australia has achieved its best-ever result at the LPGA International Crown team’s event, finishing runner-up to Thailand at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, USA on Monday morning.

This global team match-play event crowns the best women’s golfing nation in the world, where the Australian team of Minjee Lee, Hannah Green, Steph Kyriacou and Sarah Kemp entered as the no.7 seed.

The Aussies beat Korea, Japan and Sweden to make the final against Thailand, who they also lost to in the round-robin stage. It was an improvement on their last showing at the International Crown in 2018, where Australia finished sixth.

Read more here.

Badminton

Bendigo was the scene for a big week of badminton in Australia, with the 2023 Ede Clendinnen Shield and National Championships unfolding.

Recently returned from retirement, Tokyo 2020 Olympian Setyana Mapasa paired up with Rizky Hidayat Ismail to win the mixed doubles title – defeating 2022 national champions Gronya Somerville and Kenneth Choo in the final (21-14, 21-11).

2023 National Champions

Tiffany Ho (NSW) - women's singles
Ricky Tang (NSW) - men's singles
Sylvinna Kurniawan/Setyana Mapasa (NSW) - women's doubles
Rizky Ismail/Frengky Wijaya Putra (NSW) - men's doubles
Setyana Mapasa/Rizky Ismail (NSW) - mixed doubles

Read more here.