A thrilling come from behind win in the Rugby Sevens Langford final headlines the Aussie achievements in Olympic sport from the weekend, while our Beijing 2022 Team was officially welcomed home.
Rugby 7s
The Australian Women’s Sevens side showed why they have claimed the 2022 World Series with Toulouse a leg to spare, as they scored an after the siren try to beat New Zealand 21-17 in the Canada Sevens final at Langford.
Lily Dick scored the final try to seal the win, in what was a team effort that personified a never say die attitude.
It continues a dominant stretch for this Sevens team, after they won gold at Tokyo 2020.
Their road to the Canada Sevens final was a sight to behold, as they scored 191 points combined against Ireland, Spain (across two games), Canada and Mexico while only conceding 17.
They hold a commanding 20-point lead in the World Series standings over France.
Football
Sam Kerr's sensational season with Chelsea has been recognised, with the Football Writers’ Association voting her as the Footballer of the Year.
It comes after she had scored in seven consecutive games for the club and leads the Women's Super League golden boot ladder.
She will be presented with the award on Friday 6 May at a special dinner in London.
Sailing
In the second all-class international Olympic regatta since Tokyo 2020, Matt Wearn, Jason Waterhouse, Lisa Darmanin, Mara Stransky and Breiana Whitehead all took part in the 53rd edition of the French Olympic Week Hyeres.
Jason and Lisa had the best results amongst the Aussies, together finishing fourth in the Nacra 17.
Matt remained in striking distance of a podium finish in the ILCA 7 (formerly called Laser), ultimately finishing fifth. From here Matt, the Olympic champion, heads to the ILCA 7 World Championships in Mexico on 21-28 May.
Mara had an impressive showing in the ILCA 6 (formerly called Laser Radial) top 10 medal race. She landed second place, which improved her position on the points ladder to ninth.
Breiana, a 21-year-old competing in her second regatta on the Olympic circuit, finished sixth in the Formular Kite. Formular Kite will make its Olympic debut at Paris 2024.
Curling
Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt travelled to Geneva, Switzerland for the 2022 World Curling Mixed Doubles Championship.
In the 20-team competition, split into two groups of 10, the Aussies finished 6th in Group B with four wins and five losses.
Their best results included a 12-5 win over the USA and 12-4 over Spain. Eventual bronze medallists Germany survived a strong fight from Tahli and Dean, taking a 6-5 win in the final end.
Athletics
Lisa Weightman returned to competition for the first time since Tokyo 2020 and delivered the fastest 10km road time ever by an Australian on home soil.
The 43-year-old four-time Olympian put in a time of 31:20 around Sydney Olympic Park on Sunday.
Badminton
Wendy Chen has broken her own Oceania Championships record, winning her seventh consecutive women’s singles title at the event 21-17 21-18 in Melbourne.
It was an All-Australian women’s doubles final, with Joyce Choong and Sylvina Kurniawan defeating Gronya Somerville and new partner Kaitlyn Ea 21-19 21-15.
Gronya enjoyed success in the mixed doubles final with Kenneth Choo to defeat New Zealand 21-18 19-21 21-12.
Beijing 2022 Team welcomed home
The AOC has welcomed home the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Team with an event at the Chinese Garden of Friendship in Sydney.
The Team brought home a record medal haul and records for top-5, top-6 and top-10 finishes.
