The Opals have locked in their place in Paris and the Aussie diving team have delivered their best-ever performance at a World Championships to highlight the weekend in Olympic sports.
Basketball – Opals lock in Paris 2024 Olympic spot
The Opals have punched their ticket for the Paris 2024 Olympics with wins over Brazil, Germany and Serbia in the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Brazil.
Needing to finish top 3 in their pool of four the Opals edged past the hosts 60-55 off the back of Ezi Magbegor’s team-leading 18 points, seven rebounds and four blocks on Friday.
Only one more win was required for Paris 2024 inclusion on Sunday and team captain Tess Madgen rose to the occasion against Germany, posting 15 points, six rebounds and three assists in just 17 minutes to complete a 85-52 blowout.
The Opals remained undefeated when they backed up 24 hours later against Serbia as Bec Allen, Marianna Tolo, Isobel Borlase, Cayla George, Jade Melbourne and Ezi all scored in double figures, showcasing the depth of the squad.
Read more here.
Diving – Best-ever performance at a World Aquatics Championships
Australia’s divers have pulled off the nation’s best-ever performance at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar, taking home two gold, two silver and one bronze medal.
Maddison Keeney and Domonic Bedggood one-upped last year’s performance with a score of 300.93 to clinch the gold medal in the mixed 3m synchronised springboard from Italy by 13.44 points.
Importantly, Aussie divers secureda host of Paris 2024 quotas – in the women’s 3m synchro, men’s 10m synchro and women’s 10m individual.
Read more here.
Swimming – Double silver to kick off night one of the 2024 World Championships
The Swimming World Championships kicked off in Doha over the weekend, with Aussie swimmers securing two silver medals on day one of competition.
Olympian Elijah Winnington (3:42.86) claimed silver in the men’s 400m freestyle, just 0.15 seconds behind Korea’s Kim Woomin (3:42.71).
Throssell, Alex Perkins, Abbey Harkin and Shayna Jack clocked a time of 3:36.93 in the 4x100m freestyle to place second behind the Netherlands (3:36.61), with Canada claiming the bronze (3:37.95).
“We just wanted to come out and do our best, so coming home with the silver medal for our country is something we are proud of,” Shayna said.
“There is nothing better than hunting, therefore we will be hunting for the next six months toward the Olympics.”
Read more here.
Water Polo – Stingers bound for World Aquatics Championship quarter-finals
Australia’s water polo teams are in the final week of their World Aquatics Championships campaign.
The Aussie Stingers are through to the quarter-finals after defeating Great Britain 20-8 in the round of 16, set to play against the United States of America tomorrow 13 February at 12:00am AEDT.
Read more here.
A near miss in the pool against France saw the Aussie Sharks go down 8-11 in the round of 16, leaving them up against the United States in a classification round where they will play off for 9th – 12th place.
Read more here.
Cycling – BMX Racing – Saya Sakakibara wins back-to-back gold in New Zealand
Defending World Cup champion Saya Sakakibara has claimed back-to-back gold at the first UCI BMX Racing World Cup of the season in Rotorua, New Zealand over the weekend.
Saya now leads the women’s standings on 1000 points, with Great Britains Bethany Shriever in second on 800 points and Alise Willoughby from USA in third on 636 points.
Fellow Aussie and three-time Olympian Lauren Reynolds was also in the women’s final on day one of competition where she placed seventh. On the men’s side, Izaac Kennedy was the top placed Aussie male across both days finishing in sixth and 15th position respectively.
Athletics – Jemima Montag defeats Tokyo 2020 medallists in Adelaide
Jemima Montag walked to an Oceania record in Adelaide on Sunday, completing the 20km race in a faster time than her 2023 World Championships silver medal performance.
Finishing in 1:27.09, to improve on her previous 1:27.16 personal best, she defeated Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Lorena Arenas (1:27:25, COL) and four-time world champion Liu Hong (1:27:44, CHN).
“I really did have to lift today. The two women behind me were silver and bronze in Tokyo, so it was a great opportunity. It’s not just a National Championships anymore, it’s a silver label, high-quality meet,” Jemima said.
It’s the sixth consecutive occasion Jemima has won the Australian 20km women’s race walk title.
Read more from the Adelaide Invitational here.
Surfing – Picklum’s perfect 10 at Pipeline Pro
Molly Picklum made history over the weekend, becoming the first woman to score a perfect 10 at the iconic Pipeline surf break in Hawaii.
The 21-year-old ultimately placed second to USA’s Caity Simmers in the final, with her final score of 10.64 falling just short of Caity’s 12.66.
The event kicked off the 2024 Championship Tour with the next stop of the tour at Sunset Beach, Hawaii running from 12 February to 22 February.
Hockey – Kookaburras start Olympic year on winning note
The Kookaburras have opened their 2024 Olympic campaign with a gritty 4-3 win over Spain, at the FIH Pro League in India.
Boasting a largely unchanged side rich in experience, Australia had a score to settle with Spain, having lost to them both times in the FIH Pro League last year.
In Blake Govers’ 150th Kookaburras game, he scored Australia’s third goal in the 25th minute
Read more here.
The Kookaburras now turn their attention to game two, when they take on FIH Pro League newcomers Ireland on Monday night.
On Friday the Hockeyroos were firmly tested against the Netherlands, going down 6-2 and they now await a match with China on Wednesday night.
Taekwondo – Gold, silver and bronze in Canada
Eight senior Australian taekwondo athletes recorded a podium-placing at the Canada Open over the weekend, with Bianca Motta and Bailey Lewis claiming gold.
