The Olympic Qualifier Series in Shanghai was the site of spectacular Aussie performances and medals in skateboarding and BMX freestyle to highlight the weekend in Olympic sport.
Skateboarding – Park & Street – Arisa Trew stands tall on Olympic qualifying podium
Gold Coast teenager Arisa Trew has her eyes firmly set on Paris 2024 after an outstanding gold-medal performance in the women's park final at the Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) in Shanghai on Sunday.
Arisa’s second run (91.16) put the fourteen-year-old her on the Paris 2024 qualifier series podium and with the win, defeated Tokyo 2020 silver medallist and world number one Hiraki Kokona (90.18).
"I'm just really happy with how I went each day here and I'm really happy with the result I got today," Arisa said.
“This has given me a massive boost for Paris. I would love to get to the Olympics, and I’d be so stoked to do it.”
In the men’s park final Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist Keegan Palmer took out silver, producing a 92.30 in his final round, and Kieran Woolley made it three Aussie skaters with a top-four finish on Sunday.
"I am beyond stoked, I can't believe it," Keegan said. "When you finally have a contest where you're not injured and you can give 110% it's awesome."
Chloe Covell and Ruby Trew also achieved top-eight placings, grabbing ranking points they’ll need to continue to challenge for Olympic qualification. The second leg of the OQS shifts to Budapest, Hungary from June 20-23.
Cycling - BMX Freestyle – Logan Martin closes in on second Olympic Games
Logan Martin is one step closer to defending his Olympic title after winning the silver medal at the OQS in Shanghai on Sunday.
Riding last in the men’s final, Logan looked to be on his way to be posting a big score in his first run, only to fall with a few seconds remaining, placing significant pressure on the 30-year-old’s second run.
He then executed under pressure, completing a sensational second run that featured a quad tail whip, tuck no-handed front flip, and a 900, to put up a score of 92.65 for second place behind Anthony Jeanjean (FRA).
“I'm excited to get these qualifying events done and to do my best to qualify for Paris,” Logan siad. “I'd love to go to another Olympics and do my best to back up my performance in Tokyo and give myself a good shot at winning another gold medal.”
Natalya Diehm meanwhile looked increasingly confident as her riding progressed and posted a best score of 81.24 in the final to finish ninth.
Riders earn up to 50 points at each OQS event, with the top six riders on points after the two rounds qualifying for the Olympics by name. Logan takes 45 out of a possible 50 points from the event and Natalya takes 32 points.
Australia’s BMX freestyle riders will take on the second leg of the OQS in Budapest, Hungary from June 20-23.
Riders that don’t qualify through the OQS may still earn a quota spot based on results from the 2022 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships and the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships.
Athletics – Silver for Denny and 5000m national record for Rose Davies
In Japan at the Golden Grand Prix, Rose Davies raced to victory in the women’s 5000m and crushed Jessica Hull’s national record from 2020, clocking 14:41.65. The 24-year-old set her third PB of the year to win by more than three seconds.
In the USA, Stewart McSweyn and Morgan McDonald shattered the Olympic 5000m qualifying standard with two of the fastest times by Australian men in history. Stewart’s quick 12:56.07 just missed Craig Mottram’s 20-year Australian record of 12:55.76 to finish 10th and Morgan 12th in a personal-best time of 13:00.48.
Paris 2024 bound discus thrower Matthew Denny has placed second at the Marrakech Diamond League in Morroco for his seventh-consecutive podium finish.
The Allora product threw 67.74m on his first attempt, defeating a field that included Olympic champion Daniel Stahl (SWE) and world champion Kristjan Ceh (SLO).
He was conquered only by world record holder Mykolas Alekna (LTU) with a throw of 70.70.
“Today was an interesting one. I’m happy with being in the top-3 again and being competitive but Alekna was out there with a 70m throw and I just couldn’t find the rhythm for the big throw today,” Matthew said.
Sailing – Top-five for Breiana Whitehead at World Champs
Breiana Whitehead has finished fifth at the Formula Kite World Championships in Hyeres, France just months out from the Olympic competition in Marseille.
The Paris 2024 selected athlete had three French competitors finish ahead of her in the standings, but come July she will only have to take one of them on at the Games as each country will be limited to one athlete in the event.
Reflecting on the competition Breiana said, “We had a great range and really nice conditions. The sun was out after the first day and turned on some glamour conditions towards the end of the week. The girls were pushing so hard all week and it was amazing to get to test out my performance on the whole range of kites (minus the 9m).”
Judo – Three Aussies in contention at World Championships
Four Aussie female judokas are in Abu Dhabi, UAE over the weekend for the 2024 IJF World Championships.
Katharina Haecker has entered into the competition as the second seed in the -63kg division and has advanced to the second round of the pool stage where she will face Romanian judoka Amanda Zuaznabar-Torres.
Sisters Aoife (-70kg) and Maeve Coughlan (-63kg) are both competing, with Aoife advancing to the second round of the pool stage, whilst Maeve will face Spanish judoka Sarai Padilla Guerrero in the first round of the pool stage.
Teammate Tinka Easton is no longer in the running for the –52kg division title after she was defeated by Hungarian judoka Reka Pupp in the third round of the pool stage.
Golf – Green finishes second in Americas Open LPGA while Min Woo Lee best of the Aussies at the PGA Championship
West Australian Hannah Green has fallen just short of her quest to win for a third time this season in an epic showdown with world No.1 Nelly Korda at the Americas Open LPGA event in New Jersey.
Seeking to join Jan Stephenson and Karrie Webb as the only Australians to win three times in a single LPGA Tour season, Green began the final round two shots back.
Green’s birdie at the opening hole and Korda’s bogey on two brought the two together at the top of the leaderboard and it quickly turned into a two-horse race. The lead went back and forth throughout the final round, with Green eventually finishing 13-under, just one shot behind Korda.
Although disappointed to come up agonisingly short, Green was proud of how she stood up against one of the greatest stretches by anyone in golf history.
“To lose to Nelly… it’s sad, but then it’s also Nelly Korda,” Green reflected.
“She’s obviously so dominant right now. To feel like second behind her is quite nice.”
Fellow Aussie Gabriela Ruffels finished tied for third three storkes further back.
Min Woo Lee fared the best among the Aussies competing at the PGA Championship in Louisville, finishing nine-under and tied for 26th.
Australia’s top ranked men’s golfer Jason Day finished tied for 43rd (six-under), Lucas Herbert was also T-43 and Cameron Smith T-63 (three-under).
Table Tennis – Tapper and Bae top Aussie Olympic trials
The Australian table tennis qualification tournament for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was held over the weekend in Ballarat, Victoria with 12 male and 10 female athletes competing for the Australian title.
Dual-Olympian and three-time Paralympian Melissa Tapper topped the table at the Olympic trials winning all five matches against her fellow Aussie competitors.
Tokyo 2020 Olympian Michelle Bromley claimed second place, whilst six-time Olympian Jian Fang Lay took home third.
In the men’s Hwan Bae took out the competition winning four of five matches, whilst 2024 Oceania Cup gold medallist Finn Luu took home second place amd Oceania Cup silver medallist Aditya Sareen secured third place at the Olympic trials.
Nominations and selections for table tennis players for Paris 2024 are expected later this month.
Cycling – Ben O’Connor Fourth two weeks into Giro d’Italia
Aussie Ben O’Connor is eyeing off his first Grand Tour overall podium finish, sitting in fourth place after two weeks of gruelling racing.
O’Connor is 7 minutes 43 seconds behind overall leader Tadej Pogacar, but only 47 seconds behind current third place Colombian Daniel Felipe Martinez.
With upcoming stages through the Alps in the country’s north, the top overall contenders will continue to attack and try to earn time on their main competitors.
Kaden Groves is sitting second in the sprint classification, however with more than 100 point gap to the leader Jonathan Milan of Italy, he faces an uphill battle to take the title.
Water Polo – Stingers defeat Olympic competitors in Sydney
The Aussie Stingers wrapped up their last game at home before the Paris Olympics with a dominant win, 18-3 against China. The win sees the Stingers claim a 3-0 clean sweep of the three-match test series.
In the third and final game, the Aussie Stingers led from start to finish, opening up a 5-2 lead at quarter-time and 12-2 by half-time.
“We’re pretty happy with that performance, and how we were able to keep the intensity from start to finish.
The Stingers will play China in their first game at the Olympics on the 27th of July.
