Topping this weekend in Olympic sport, Artistic and Rhythmic Gymnasts top Continental Championships, Olympic qualified boats race in Switzerland, and Australian middle-distance runners show their class.
Artistic & Rhythmic Gymnastics – Aussies claim Oceania titles and tickets to Paris
Aussies were crowned Oceania champions in Artistic and Rhythmic Gymnastics over the weekend, earning quotas for Paris 2024.
Aussie gymnasts competed in both individual and group events with Jesse Moore winning the men’s Oceania all-around title to earn a quota by name.
Alexandra Kiroi-Bogatyreva also earned a quota by name, taking out the rhythmic competition scoring a 120.700 in the all-around competition held in Budapest.
The Aspire Senior Group, consisting of Emmanouela Frroku, Jess Weintraub, Liidia Iakovleva, Phoebe Learmont and Saskia Broedelet, also won a quota for Australia, the second time Australian Rhythmic Gymnastics group has qualified to compete at an Olympic Games.
Athletics – Hull smashes women’s 1500m Australian record
Tokyo 2020 1500m finalist Jessica Hull has broken the women’s national 1500m record clocking 3:55.97 to finish second at the Eugene Diamond League.
Commonwealth Games champion Oliver Hoare has become the fourth Aussie to meet the Olympic qualifying standard in the men's 1500m at the Prefontaine Classic, where he placed ninth in 3:49.11. Seventeen-year-old Cameron Meyers also notched an Olympic qualifier in the race, crossing the line in 11th place in 3:50.15 to break the U20 Australian record.
Keep up with Athletics Australia.
Rowing – Swiss silver for rowers
Thirty-seven Aussie rowers and nine Olympic qualified boats competed at the Rowing World Cup II in Lucerne, Switzerland over the weekend. Winning three silver medals.
Tokyo 2020 Olympian Tara Rigney started the medal haul for Australia off with a second-place finish in the women’s single sculls where she trailed the Dutch gold medallist by 1.57 seconds.
The women’s pair of Jessica Morrison and Annabelle McIntyre also claimed silver after finishing second to the Dutch pair of Clevering/Meester in Final A. Olympia Aldersey and Lily Alton Triggs finished fourth behind Great Britain in Final B.
In the women’s double sculls, Amanda Bateman and Harriet Hudson finished in a time of 6:53.93 minutes, taking home silver just 0.78 seconds behind the United States.
The women’s four and quadruple sculls both claimed sixth place finishes in their respective finals, with the women’s eight finishing in fourth position.
The men’s four finished just shy of a bronze medal in a time of 5:58.78 minutes, while Rowan Lavery and Jackson Kench finished second in Final B in the men’s pair.
The men’s eight also claimed fourth place behind Great Britain, United States and The Netherlands in a time of 6:32.12 minutes.
Keep up with Rowing Australia.
Triathlon – Willian leads World Triathlon Championship Series
Luke Willian has become the World Triathlon Championship Series leader, after finishing eighth in Cagliari, Italy over the weekend.
Brandon Copeland and Callum McClusky finished 28th and 35th respectively in the men’s race, whilst Sophie Linn and Ellie Hoitink were the top placed females, finishing 22nd and 29th.
Keep up with AusTriathlon.
Beach Volleyball – Fifth place finishes in Beach Pro Elite 16
From smashing the qualifiers to making the main draw to placing fifth, beach volleyball pairs Mark Nicolaidis and Izac Carracher, along with Zach Schubert and Thomas Hodges finished in a tie for 5th at the Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 in Portugal.
It's a career-best result for Mark and Izac.
Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy finished in a tied 13th place in the women’s competition.
Keep up with Volleyball Australia.
Surfing – Four Aussies through to elimination round in Tahiti
Aussies are currently competing in the sixth stage of the World Surf League Pro in Teahupo’o, Tahiti, where the Paris 2024 Olympics will take place.
Jack Robinson and Liam O’Brien are through to the elimination round of the men’s competition, whilst Tyler Wright and Molly Picklum have made it through to the quarter-finals of the women’s competition.
Follow the event and keep up with Surfing Australia.
Cycling – Aussies finish Giro d’Italia
Sprinter Kaden Groves finished third in the final stage of the Giro d’Italia in Rome, to solidify his second placing overall in the sprint classification after three weeks of racing.
Ben O’Connor finished just off the podium in fourth in overall classification, just over 12 minutes behind overall winner Tadej Pogacar and 1 minute 43 seconds behind third place Geraint Thomas.
The result matches O’Connor’s best overall finish at a Grand Tour, equalling his fourth at the 2021 Tour de France.
Boxing – Paoletti’s last chance at Olympic qualifying
One chance remains for Adrian Paoletti to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics at the Final World Qualification Tournament in Bangkok, Thailand.
His first bout at the tournament starts from 4pm AEST today (Monday) in the men’s 92kg division. The top four athletes at this event will earn themselves a quota spot for Paris 2024.
Follow the event and keep up with Boxing Australia.
Tennis – Aussies in action on clay
The main draw of Roland Garros has started with the first round of singles playing off.
In the men’s singles Alexei Popyrin and Thanasi Kokkinakis are up against each other in the opening round, whilst Adam Walton is set to take on Arthur Rinderknech (FRA) and Rinky Hijikata is up against the 40th ranked Luciano Darderi (ITA).
Australia’s highest world ranked men’s singles player Alex de Minaur (11) will play against the United States 60th ranked Alex Michelsen.
Jordan Thompson and Aleksandar Vukic have lost their first round of the men’s singles main draw.
In the women’s singles draw, Daria Saville will play against Italy’s 15th world ranked player Jasmine Paolini. Ajla Tomljanovic lost her opening match to Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska.
Follow the event and keep up with Tennis Australia.
