Our Aussies had a golden weekend around the world with many athletes showing their true sporting potential against their compeititors.
Triathlon – Hauser strikes first gold in Montreal
Matthew Hauser won his first ever World Triathlon Championship Series gold, taking out the sprint event in Montreal.
Hauser delivered an impressive performance, taking out the 750m swim almost 40 seconds ahead of his competitors. His swim ultimately put him in a great position to win the race in a time of 0:53:47, 11 seconds ahead of second place, Manoel Messias from Brazil.
“I’ve just been building my momentum. After Yokohama, where I finished in second place, I knew I had a better lead-up in prep. I felt good out there and got the job done,” Hauser said after the race.
Cycling – Sakakibara shows immense courage winning emotional World Cup gold and silver
Saya Sakakibara has taken the gold medal in stage 3 and the silver medal in stage 4 of the Women’s Elite ICU BMX Racing World Cup in Papendal, Netherlands.
Sakakibara took time off last year to recover from a string of concussions, including one she suffered at the same track in Papendal. With a total score of 1345, she’s placed second overall leading into stage 5 of the 10-stage series.
“This win means so much more than just a World Cup win,” an emotional Sakakibara said after crossing the line to take gold. “This track has good memories but also a lot of bad. Dealing with all those emotions, aside from the stresses of racing, is a lot – I just can’t believe it.”
Skateboarding – Chloe Covell wins silver in Rome
13-year-old Chloe Covell won silver in World Skate’s Street World Tour in Rome, earning crucial ranking points that determine qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. With a total score of 261.43, Chloe was positioned in first place until the last run of the competition which saw Japan’s Liz Akama put down a 90.07 to gain a 2.47 point lead.
Earlier in the Street event in Rome, Australia's Haylie Powell and Shane O'Neill both narrowly missed out on advancing to the 8-skater finals, both placing 10th in the women's and men's semi-finals respectively.
Meanwhile in Salt Lake City, 13-year-old Arisa Trew became the first female to land a 720, winning the Tony Hawk Vert Alert event.
Volleyball – Aussie gold guaranteed as two teams set to face off in Asian Championships final
Our Men’s Beach Volleyballers have secured a doubled-sided Aussie gold medal match in the 2023 Asian Senior Beach Championships held in Fuzhou, China.
After both Australian men’s beach volleyball teams won their semi-finals, the Aussies have locked in a gold and silver medal. The teams of Chris McHugh/Paul Burnett and Tom Hodges/Zac Schubert will face off in the grand final today, Monday 26 June at 6pm AEST.
Hodges and Schubert’s path to the final included knocking out the Tokyo Olympic bronze medallists Cherif and Ahmed from Qatar 27-25, 21-19 in the quarter-finals and Iran in the semis, while McHugh and Burnett defeated Aussie par Nicolaides and Carragher in the quarter-finals and Thailand in the semis to reach the gold medal match.
Tennis – de Minaur and Peers both claim silverware in electric Wimbledon warm ups
Alex de Minaur’s stunning run at the prestigious Queen’s Club tournament in London finished with a tight 6-4 6-4 loss to Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
Although disappointed, world No.18 de Minaur was proud to have reached the biggest grass-court final of his career and claim the runner’s up trophy.
“I’m very happy with the week all up,” said the 24-year-old Australian. “(It was a) very positive week for me to get a lot of matches on the grass, get the confidence up.”
Meanwhile in Germany, Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist, John Peers, won the Terra Wortman Open doubles title in Halle, with Brazilian partner Marcelo Melo. “A great effort from us as a team and I think hopefully it leaves us in good stead going forward,” reflected Peers.
Golf – Grace Kim achieves best major finish
Australian, Grace Kim, secured her best finish in a major with her tie for 14th at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship today at Baltusrol.
The 22-year-old and 2018 Youth Olympic gold medallist backed up her strong Saturday round, shooting another 2-under 69 in the final round.
Judo – Haecker and Coughlan earn top 8 Grand Slam finishes
Australia’s judokas were in action in Mongolia, at the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam. Tokyo Olympians, Katharina Haecker and Aoife Coughlan, were the highest placed Australians, both finishing seventh in the 63kg and 70kg weight classes respectively.
Surfing – Aussies in action at Rio Pro
The top surfers are hitting the Rio de Janeiro swell at the latest stop on the World Surf League Championship Tour.
Tyler Wright has progressed to the quarter-finals on the women’s side, with Molly Picklum facing off with France’s Johanne Defay to try to join her in the final eight. On the men’s side, Jack Robinson, Callum Robson and Connor O’Leary have all progressed from the Opening Round to the final 16. The contest continues through the week.
Hockey – Kookaburras end European Tour with victory over France
The Kookaburras have ended their European tour with a 3-1 victory over France in their test match in Paris.
Goals from Jeremy Hayward and Jake Whetton in the final ten minutes ensured the Kookaburras will return home on a winning note after France’s Timothee Clemente cancelled out Blake Govers’ 5th minute opener.
The match was the Kookaburras’ last international before the Oceania Cup in August and the last chance for players to impress for selection for the best-of-three series against New Zealand which doubles as Olympic qualifiers.
Olympic Day - Having a go at Olympic Sports
Olympic Day was widely celebrated on Friday June 23 by Olympians, National Federations, schools, and sports clubs across the country, with many sharing the AOC’s message of “Have A Go” across social media.
Channel 9 announced their partnership with the AOC with a segment surrounding Olympic Day, which saw Today Show presenters, Sarah Abo Tim Davies and Brooke Boney, having a go at Olympic Sports.
