Aussie athletes have been taking on the world and each other across a long weekend packed with international events and national championships.
WEEKEND WRAP: Aussie athletes have been taking on the world and each other across a long weekend packed with international events and national championships.
Ash Barty became the first Australian French Open singles champion since Margaret Court in 1973, defeating Czech Marketa Vondrousova 6-1 6-3 in Paris.
The win, Australia’s first singles Grand Slam win since Sam Stosur won the US Open in 2011, takes the 23-year-old to a career high world ranking of #2. Check out how the Olympic community celebrated Ash’s incredible win HERE.
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Triathlete Jake Birtwhistle claimed his maiden World Triathlon Series victory at Leeds on Sunday, taking the win in a star-studded field that included Olympic, ITU and Commonwealth champions. Find out more HERE.
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Sailors Mat Belcher and Will Ryan won their 10th 470-class World Series gold medal at the World Cup Series Final in Marseilles, capping off a great week of racing. Entering the medal race with a commanding lead, the pair held their nerve to claim the win ahead of Spain and France. Find out more HERE.
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The Hockeyroos and Kookaburras were in action at the FIH Pro League, taking on Great Britain in London. The Hockeyroos, on the back of 3 goals in a frantic 5 minute first-half stretch, claimed a valuable 4-2 win to stay in 3rd place on the FIH table. The the Kookaburras went down in a penalty shootout after being locked 2-2 at full time. Check out the highlights HERE.
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Australia’s best swimmers are in action in Brisbane at the World Championship selection trials. Racing not only their Australian compatriots but the clock as well to secure a World Championships qualifying time, the first two nights of racing has brought out some exceptional performances.
Ariarne Titmus continues her impressive form, breaking her own Commonwealth record in the 400m freestyle in a sizzling 3.59.35.
Rio 2016 100m champion Kyle Chalmers also showed his growing confidence at the 200m distance, taking out an exhilarating final by just 0.12. The South Australian touched in 1.45.76 ahead of Clyde Lewis, Alex Graham and Mack Horton.
Mitch Larkin clocked the second fastest time in the world this year in the 100m backstroke, touching in an impressive 52.38. Find out more HERE.
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Australia’s divers were also looking to book their spot for the South Korea World Championships at the national diving championships. Three-time Olympian Melissa Wu won the Women’s Platform, while Maddi Keeney took gold in both the 3m springboard and 3m springboard synchro with partner Anabelle Smith.
Rio 2016 medallist Esther Qin won gold in the 1m springboard as well as silver in both the 3m individual and synchro with Georgia Sheehan.
On the Men’s side, Dom Bedggood and Declan Stacey took out the 10m synchro, Matthew Carter won the 3m springboard with Cassiel Rousseau winning the Men’s Platform.
A team of 12 divers has been named to take on the world at July’s FINA World Championships in South Korea from 12-28 July.
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The Matildas kicked off their 2019 World Cup campaign against Italy in Valenciennes, going down 2-1 on the back of a heartbreaking injury-time goal.
After Sam Kerr opened the scoring with a rebound from a penalty, the Aussies were unable to maintain their advantage. With Brazil up next on Friday (AEST), the team will need to dig deep to get a win against the South Americans and give themselves the best possible chance to progress from the group stage.
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BMX racer Saya Sakakibara finished 5th in the final of 2019 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup at the St-Quentin-En-Yvelines track in France, with brother Kai Sakakibara finishing 13th overall after being knocked out of contention in the semi-final. Dual Olympian Lauren Reynolds finished 19th.
The Aussie contingent will look to finetune their preparation ahead of the 2019 ICI BMX World Championships in Belgium late July.
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BMX Freestyler Logan Martin continued his impressive run of form, winning the Pannonian Challenge in Croatia. Check out his winning run below.
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Australia’s volleyballers won their first Volleyball Nations League game in Canada over the weekend, knocking off Germany 25-20, 25-20, 25-16. After a heartbreaking 5-set loss to world number 10 Serbia the previous day, the Volleyroos took a well-deserved win over Germany.
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Australian athletes had some scintillating performances in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) titles, with Morgan McDonald taking out his 4th NCAA title. Racing for Wisconsin, McDonald took out the 5000m in Austin, Texas, adding to his 3000m and 5000m indoor titles from March and his 2018 NCAA cross country crown. Check out his final lap sprint HERE.
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The Aussie Stingers were in action at the 2019 Fina Water Polo Super Final in Budapest, finishing in 5th place. A hard fought 9-8 loss to Russia in the quarter finals kept the Stingers out of medal contention, but wins against Canada and host Hungary ensured the top 5 finish.
The Men’s Super Final will kick off June 18 in Serbia, with the Aussie Sharks entering as defending silver medallists from 2018’s Super Final.
olympics.com.au
