The Gangurrus were lighting it up at the 3x3 Basketball World Cup and won bronze for their efforts in Austria and a 20-year-old Victorian has defeated a world no.1 in taekwondo on his way to a world champs medal to highlight the weekend in sport.
Basketball - 3x3
The Gangurrus are now World Cup medallists for the first time in 11 years, having won bronze at the 2023 FIBA 3×3 World Cup in Vienna, Austria.
Anneli Maley, Marena Whittle, Alex Wilson and Lauren Mansfield entered the tournament for Australia as the 19th seed, causing a bunch of upsets on their way to the podium. They defeated higher seeds Egypt (no.15), Poland (no.10), Spain (no.9), Japan (no.6) and then China (no.4) in the crucial bronze medal match.
With the game against China hanging in the balance, Australia behind 20-19 in the first to 21 format, Marena stepped up to make the game-winning field goal. The 70 points she scored during the tournament were the most of any player.
The podium-finish gives the Gangurrus a spot in the Paris 2024 Olympic qualifying event early next year.
Taekwondo
Australia has come away from the 2023 World Takewondo Championships with a monumental achievement, as 20-year-old Leon Sejranvoic claimed a bronze medal in Baku, Azerbaijan.
He is the first Australian to win a medal at the able-bodied world championships in 10 years, since triple-Olympian Carmen Marton’s gold medal in Mexico.
Competing in a field of 64 competitors in the -74kg division, Leon won his first two matches to set up a clash with world number one and defending champion, Daniel Quesada Barrera (ESP), in the round of 16.
He beat the Spaniard 7-6 0-7 11-9, then won his quarter-final against Jasurbek Jaysunov (UZB) and lost in the semi-finals to the eventual champion Marko Golubic (CRO).
Equestrian – Eventing
The Australian eventing team have secured a spot for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in winning the FEI Eventing Nations Cup at Millstreet, Ireland on the weekend.
The Olympic qualifier event provided two teams the opportunity to win their way into the Games, as Australia (100.8 points) and China (122.1 points) outperformed Japan (125.7 points), New Zealand (147.4 points) and South Africa (229.9 points) across the dressage, cross country and show jumping disciplines.
Australia's Shenae Lowings and Olympians Kevin McNab, Shane Rose and Andrew Hoy delivered the win.
Athletics
Jess Hull has used the Diamond Leauge in Florence to set an Oceania record in the women’s 1500m.
In a race of historic proportions, Jess (3:57.29) finished third behind Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon – who became the first woman to run 1500m in under 3:50.00 (3:49.11) – and Great Britain’s Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir (3:57.09).
Jess’ time was more than 1.5 seconds faster than her previous Australian record (3:58.81), set at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
In the women's pole vault Nina Kennedy secured her first podium placing of the Diamond League season, placing third with a 4.61m vault, as she continues her return from a major back injury.
Canoe - Slalom
Reigning C1 Olympic champion Jess Fox stamped her authority on the women’s canoe field in Augsburg, Germany, claiming gold at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup with a phenomenal performance.
Jess put down a near-perfect run in the final, attracting no penalties and finishing 6.51s ahead of France’s Angele Hug.
It was a strong bounce back for Jess, having missed a gate in the kayak (K1) semi-finals on Friday which denied her the opportunity to race for gold in that event.
“It was a tough day on the water yesterday in the kayak and I was really frustrated, so I just wanted to come back today and put down some good paddling,” Jess said.
“The first step was making that final, so there was relief there, but then in the final, last to start, and putting out a really good run, I was so happy. It was a really tricky course from start to finish.
Basketball
Triple Olympian Penny Taylor has been announced as a FIBA 2023 Hall of Fame induction member to acknowledge her wonderful career.
A two-time silver medallist with the Opals at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, she had a 19-year career that included title wins in Australia, USA, Italy, Russia, Turkey and China. Most notably she became a world champion with the Opals at the 2006 World Cup and was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
The induction will take place during the FIBA Men’s World Cup in the Phillipines in August.
