Basketball - Boomers stay undefeated and earn Tokyo 2020 quota spot

The Boomers have continued their unbeaten run at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China, beating Dominican Republic 82-76 on Saturday, following their thrilling 87-82 victory over Lithuania on Thursday night.

With New Zealand failing to progress as a top two team in their pool, Australia’s victory of Lithuania secured their Tokyo 2020 quota spot as the highest placed team from Oceania. 

The Boomers will look to continue their 4-0 unbeaten start in the tournament tonight against France before entering the knockout quarter final stages.

Keep up to date with the World Cup HERE

Hockey - Kookaburras secure Tokyo 2020 spot while Hockeyroos fall to New Zealand

Tokyo 2020 qualification was on the line for the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras this weekend, with the winner of a 3-game Oceania Cup series against New Zealand booking their team’s ticket to Tokyo. 

The world number one Kookaburras locked up qualification with a 4-0 win, 2-2 draw and 3-0 win in Sunday’s final game.

After a 3-1 loss on Thursday and a last minute 3-2 victory on Saturday, the Hockeyroos needed a victory in Sunday’s decider to overcome New Zealand’s superior goal difference. Despite leading for the majority of the game, a late equaliser from the Black Sticks locked the scores at 1-1, giving New Zealand the Oceania Cup title and Tokyo quota spot.

The result means the Hockeyroos will now have to await the draw to determine the matches of the upcoming International Federation of Hockey (FIH) Hockey Olympic qualifiers.

The draw will take place at 9pm AEST on Monday 9 September, with the Hockeyroos to be drawn against either Italy, Chile or Russia in a two match series to be played in Perth on the weekend of 25-27 October 2019. The winner on aggregate across the two matches will then qualify for Tokyo 2020.

Canoe Slalom - Fox doubles down for dual crowns

Jess Fox had a world-beating weekend, winning the ICF World Cup Final in Prague in both the C1 and K1 events and securing the overall C1 and K1 World Cup titles for 2019. 

Fox took gold in Sunday’s C1 final by just 0.04 over Britain’s Kimberley Woods, after locking up the K1 gold on Saturday.

With C1 making its debut on the Olympic programme at Tokyo 2020, Fox will be looking to take this form into the Canoe Slalom World Championships later this month, where the Australian team can secure Olympic quota spots.

Find full results and more information from Paddle Australia.

Surfing - Top Aussies at ISA World Surfing Games

Australia’s top surfers are flying the Aussie flag at the ISA World Surf Games in Miyazaki, Japan.

Steph Gilmore, Sally Fitzgibbons and Nikki van Dijk all progressed through the early rounds, with van Dijk earning the top score of Round 2 with a 16.33. All three will be in Round 3 action today.

The men will hit the surf from Tuesday, with Owen Wright fresh off his Tahiti Pro victory, Julian Wilson and Ryan Callinan making for a strong Aussie contingent.

Keep up to date with results at Surfing Australia.

Mountain Bike – McConnell's in the mix in World Cup final

Rebecca McConnell has finished her Cross Country Mountain Bike World Cup season with a fighting fourth in Snowshoe, West Virginia.

Just a week after becoming the first Australian woman to medal at a UCI Cross Country World Championships, McConnell came close to another podium, finishing 30 seconds behind third place Annie Last of Britain. On the men’s side, Daniel McConnell finished in 18th place.

Swimming - Marathon swimmers on top of podium

Australian marathon swimmers Nick Sloman and Hayden Cotter made it an Aussie one-two at FINA Marathon Swimming Series in Taipei. Sloman was in control for the majority of the 10km swim, making the early pace before pulling away on the final lap for a strong win.
On the women’s side, Kareena Lee was a fingernail off the podium, finishing fourth just 0.1 seconds behind Italy’s Rachele Bruni. Mackenzie Brazier rounded out another top 10 finish for the Australian team, coming in 8th.

Tennis - Barty runner up in US Open Doubles

Ash Barty fell a win short of crowning her triumphant Grand Slam season with a second straight US Open doubles title, as she and Victoria Azarenka lost 7-5 7-5 to third seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Elise Mertens in Sunday’s final in New York.
Barty, who claimed the 2018 doubles title with CoCo Vandeweghe, had been bidding to become the first player to claim back-to-back women’s doubles titles at Flushing Meadows in 12 years.

Despite the defeat, Barty remains in strong contention to become the first player to qualify in both singles and doubles for this year’s WTA’s season-ending championships in Shenzhen, China, which will feature the top 8 singles players and top 8 doubles pairings. Karolina Pliskova was the last to qualify in both singles and doubles, in 2016. 

Boxing - Aussie boxers to take on the world

The AIBA Boxing World Championships kick off today in Yekaterinaburg, Russia, with an 8 strong Australian team ready to make their mark. Alex Winwood, Jack Denahy, Harry Garside, Jason Mallia, Adrian Cammarano, Jack Bowen, Austin Aokuso and Justis Huni will take on the best amateur boxers in the world.
Keep up to date with results HERE.

Australian boxers’ path to Tokyo 2020 was also revealed earlier this month, as the Olympic boxing qualifying tournament for Asia/Oceania was confirmed to be held in Wuhan, China from 3-14 February.

Athletics - Jumpers finish Diamond League season

Long jumper Brooke Stratton and high jumper Nicola McDermott both finished their 2019 Diamond League campaigns with a 7th place in Brussels. McDermott cleared 1.89m, while Stratton finished with a best jump of 6.53m.