Diving – Aussie divers make a splash at World Cup Super Final 

Ten Aussie divers took to Xi’an, China to compete in the World Aquatics Diving World Cup Super Final. 

Rio 2016 bronze medallists, Maddison Kenney and Anabelle Smith took home gold in the women's 3m synchronised springboard with a final score of 284.67 points, beating the USA’s silver medallists by 0.57 points.

In the women's 3m springboard Maddison won herself an individual bronze medal with a score of 291.15, behind China’s Yiwen Chen and Italy’s Chiara Pellacani. 

2023 men’s 10m platform World Champion Cassiel Rousseau and Rio 2016 Olympian Domonic Bedggood came in a close fourth place in the men’s 10m platform synchronised with a score of 389.76, just behind Germany’s 393.09 scoring pair. 

View all the results here and keep up with Diving Australia.

Cycling – Road – Grace Brown cycles to gold in Belgium 

Grace Brown has become the first Australian woman to win Belgium’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege classic, after twice being a runner-up in 2022 and 2020.

Grace spent hours in the breakway, and matched pace and tactics with some of the world’s best riders to come out victorious in the famous one-day classic.

The 31-year-old played a cool game in the cagey, tactical finale, following the right wheels into the final kilometre, then pounced when Longo Borghini launched the sprint from the front.

The Australian found her slipstream, and, with enough power after 153km and four-and-a-half hours of tough racing, surged ahead to take the win.

Read more here.

Surfing – Jack Robinson wins on home shores

Jack Robinson has taken out the Margaret River Pro for the second time in front of a home crowd in Western Australia, defeating USA’s John John Florence. The highly anticapted final is the second time the two had gone head to head at the Maraget River Pro, with Jack also winning the title in 2022.

Tyler Wright was the best placed Aussie in the women’s competition, making her way through to the semi-finals where she was bested by USA’s Sawyer Lindbald.

Athletics – Australia qualifies for Olympic marathon race walk mixed relay and Diamond League returns

Australia will battle for the first Olympic medals on offer in the marathon race walk mixed relay in Paris, qualifying two teams at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships in Antalya, Turkey overnight.

Already Paris-bound for the individual 20km Race Walk, World Championships silver medallist Jemima Montag and two-time Olympian Rhydian Cowley teamed together, placing sixth overall in a time of 3:00:13, with the pair exchanging a wrist-band as they covered one 12.195km and three 10km legs to add up to the 42.195km marathon distance.

"We came here with a job to do and we ticked that off to lock in two teams for Paris," Rhydian said. "Now it’s back to work and it was a good experience, and now we have an idea of what it’s going to be like. I think we will really benefit from that." 

Rebecca Henderson and Declan Tingay were one of five pairings to qualify a second team for their country, placing 16th in a time of 3:04:57 - despite taking on a three-minute penalty throughout the race. 

Australia’s fastest woman Torrie Lewis has left an indelible mark on the global athletics scene, storming to victory in the women's 200m at the season-opening Diamond League event in Xiamen, China. 

Clinching victory from lane nine, the 19-year-old overtook global sprinting royalty in 100m world champion and her idol, Sha’Carri Richardson (USA) and Tamara Clark (USA) in the final moments of the race for a photo finish.

Clocking 22.96 (-0.4), ahead of Richardson’s season opener of 22.99, Lewis ran the second fastest 200m of her career, edging closer to breaking Raelene Boyle’s 56-year old Australian Under 20 record as well as the Olympic qualifying standard of 22.57. 

Australia’s middle-distance resurgence rolled on as Georgia Griffith and Sarah Billings became the fourth and fifth Australian women in history to shatter the four-minute barrier over 1500m, while Linden Hall added another Olympic qualifying time. 

The men’s 5000m saw Olympic finalist Stewart McSweyn fall agonisingly short of the 13:05.00 qualifying standard for Paris 2024, as the Australian raced to 10th place in a time of 13:05.18 to start his international campaign. 

Read more here.

Triathlon – Willian’s Wollongong World Cup triumph 

A dominant Luke Willian has taken out the World Triathlon Cup in Wollongong on Saturday, crossing the line 24 seconds ahead of his nearest rival. 

The 28-year-old extended his lead over the field with every lap on his run, leaving Jamie Riddle (RSA) and Diego Moya (CHI) to place second and third respectively.

Luke’s ultimate goal is to secure a place on the Paris 2024 Australian Olympic Team. The win signifies a return to form after last winning a World Cup five years ago. 

“Especially after missing out in 2021, that’s been the goal of the last three years,” Luke said. 

“To get back and try and put myself in contention for that spot and today doing it on home soil puts me in good stead.” 

Ellie Hoitink was the best of the Aussies in the women’s race, finishing seventh in what only was her second World Triathlon Cup start. 

The 23-year-old emerged as a front runner during the bike leg and was one of seven athletes in the lead pack out of the transition into the run. 

Read more here. 

Skateboarding – Chloe Covell wins Street Skate League silver

Australian Skateboarder Chloe Covell has taken home second place at the Street League Skateboarding Championship event in San Diego, USA over the weekend.

14-year-old Covell finished the competition with a total of 29.8 points, 4.1 points behind the winner Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Rayssa Leal.

Swimming – Olympians tune up for Paris on the Gold Coast 

Emma McKeon used the final night of the Australian Open Championships to race to gold in the women's 100m butterfly with a personal best time of 56.58.

In the women's 200m it was world-record holder Mollie O'Callaghan who finished first (1:53.57), topping top Ariarne Titmus (1:55.38) and Lani Pallister (1:55.99). 

Kaylee McKeown set national records in the women's 200m and 400m individual medley and also won the women’s 200m backstroke. 

Sam Williamson triumphed in the men's 50m breaststroke in 27.60, Kyle Chalmers took out the men's 100m freestyle in 47.63 seconds and Lani was first in the women's 1500m freestyle (15:57.01). 

Hockey – Hockeyroos open Perth International Festival of Hockey with a win

The Hockeyroos opened their Perth International Festival of Hockey campaign with a last minute match winner by Mariah Williams to claim the 1-0 victory over Japan. 

Following their first match win, the Hockeyroos secured a 2-2 draw against China, after crawling back into the game in the second half with 38” and 52” goals by Greta Hayes and Steph Kershaw, respectively. 

The match marked 200 caps for captain Brooke Peris who first debuted in 2013 in Perth against Japan. 

The Hockeyroos will play against Japan again on Wednesday 24 April and Sunday 28 April. 

Event Coverage: 
Keep up with the Hockeyroos and Hockey Australia.

Tennis – De Minaur’s big win over Rafael Nadal 

Alex de Minaur became the first Australian to defeat Rafael Nadal on his favoured surface, clay, in the second round of the Barcelona Open last week.

The world no.11 took out the 12-time Barcelona champion 7-5 6-1. 

Read more here. 

Shooting – Olympic qualifying shifts from Rio to Doha 

A big week of competition at the ISSF Final Rifle & Pistol Olympic Qualifying Championship in Rio, Brazil has wrapped up with the men’s 50m three position rifle and 25m rapid fire pistol events. 

Sergei Evglevski’s 574 in the 25m rapid fire pistol competition placed 12th overall.

Dane Sampson was Australia’s best in the 50m three position rifle, scoring a total of 582 to finish 42nd. 

The Australian Shotgun Team is in Doha for the ISSF Final Shotgun Olympic Qualifying Championships which got underway on Sunday 21 April. 

Keep up with Shooting Australia. 

Modern Pentathlon – World Cup qualifying in Turkey 

Genevieve Janse van Rensburg was the best of the Aussies in Ankar World Cup qualifying, placing 23rd in women's qualification B. 

Rhys Lanskey finished 31st in men's qualification A, with Tim Oliver finishing 31st in men's qualification C.

Football – Olyroos miss Olympic qualification 

With a 1-0 loss against Indonesia and nil-all draws against Jordan and Qatar, the Olyroos have been eliminated from the U23 Asian Cup group stage in Qatar. 

The Olyroos needed to finish first, second or third at the Asian Cup to grab the last remaining positions to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

Artistic Gymnastics – Bacueti top 5 at Doha World Cup

Australian gymnast James Bacueti finished fifth at the FIG Apparatus World Cup 2024 in Doha. The World Cup series is a qualification pathway for Paris 2024, with the top 2 eligible athletes on each apparatus on ranking at the end of the series earning a quota. 

FIG are still processing results, with outcome and quota allocations expected in the coming week.

Read more here.