🗞 Kaylee McKeown did it!

AUSSIE SPORTS
Medals and Heartache

🥇 Kaylee McKeown did it! The Aussie has defended her 100m backstroke title with a brilliant, gutsy second 50m to equal her PB and set a new Olympic Record.

American pair Regan Smith and Katharine Berkoff were ahead of McKeown at the turn, but the Aussie only knows how to win, and she turned on the afterburners down the final lap to touch the wall first. 

🥉 Australia’s men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team have claimed bronze, behind Great Britain and the USA.

The three nations pulled away early in the race and Great Britain defended their Olympic gold with the same four swimmers who triumphed in Tokyo.

Max Giuliani, Flynn Southam, Elijah Winnington and Tom Neill swam brilliantly.

“The men have overperformed in this. They can be very proud of themselves.” - Ian Thorpe on Channel 9.

🏊🏼 Kyle Chalmers is through to the 100m freestyle final, qualifying second fastest.

🏊🏼‍♀️ Mollie O’Callaghan and Shayna Jack are safely through to the women’s 100m freestyle final after solid swims in their semifinals.

🏀 The Boomers were outpaced by a strong Canadian finish, falling 93-83 in their second game of the Paris Olympics. Josh Giddey led Australia with 19 points, but was limited to just four in the second half as Canada’s Lu Dort successfully contained him.

Jock Landale (16 points), Dante Exum (15), and Dyson Daniels (10) also contributed, while Jack McVeigh hit three three-pointers. Patty Mills struggled with his shooting, finishing 2-for-10 from the field.

Australia’s shooting woes continued as they made only 32% of their three-point attempts, and turnovers (18) proved costly. RJ Barrett led Canada with 24 points, keeping them unbeaten in Group A.

Australia’s fate in the tournament hinges on their final group game against Greece (Friday, August 2 @ 9.30pm). A win would secure a top-two finish, while a loss could lead to elimination depending on other results. If Spain beats Canada, the Boomers could finish first if they lose to Greece by fewer than 10 points. If Spain loses or the Boomers lose by 10 or more, they risk elimination.

🏑 Australia’s men’s hockey campaign was rocked after 6-2 nightmare loss to powerhouse Belgium. 

The Aussies started the tournament with back-to-back wins, but coach Colin Batch’s team will now have some soul-searching to do before their final pool games against New Zealand and India.

🛶 Jess Fox is into the semi-finals of the women’s canoe singles. The defending Olympic champ was the second-quickest in the heats. 

🏉 Australia were stunned by Canada 21-12 in a women’s rugby sevens upset, blowing a 12-0 lead and a shot at the gold medal in Paris in what Sean Maloney described as “the biggest upset in recent memory” in commentary.

Earlier, New Zealand defeated the United States 24-12 to book its spot in the final, with the US now to play Australia for bronze.

🤽🏻‍♂️ Australia's Sharks pulled off a remarkable landmark water polo triumph, devouring two-time defending Olympic gold medallists Serbia in a Games sensation.

For the first time in 18 attempts, coach Tim Hamill's men finally beat one of the sport's powerhouses, hammering them 8-3 to deliver a setback to the Serbs' hopes of winning a third title in succession.

🚣🏻‍♀️ Australian rower Tara Rigney moved a step closer to having a gold of her own (after trying on Jess Fox’s) with a dominant quarter-final win in the women's single sculls.

But there was disappointment for Australia's other crews on Tuesday at Vaires sur Marne Nautical Stadium, where the women's double sculls and women's coxless four crashed out of medal contention.

OLYMPIC SCHEDULE
Aussie Hopefuls

DAY 5 (Wednesday July 31)

Equestrian

• 18:00 Dressage Team Grand Prix Day 2 (AUS)

• 18:00 Dressage Individual Grand Prix Day 2 (AUS)

Boxing

• 19:32 Men’s 71kg - Prelims - Round of 16 (S. DAVEY)

• 20:04 Women’s 75kg - Prelims - Round of 16 (C. PARKER)

23:30 - Canoe Slalom - Women’s Canoe Single Semifinal (Jessica Fox)

22:45 - Cycling BMX Freestyle - Men’s Park Final [Medal Event] (Logan Martin)

21:15 - Hockey (Women’s) - AUSTRALIA vs USA

18:00 - Judo - Women -70 kg Elimination Round of 64 (AUS)

Rowing

• 18:54 Women’s Pair Semifinal A/B 1 (AUS)

• 20:02 Men’s Quad. Sculls Final B (AUS)

From 7pm - Swimming (Heats)

• Women’s 200m Breaststroke - Heats (Ella Ramsay, Jenna Strauch)

• Men’s 200m Backstroke - Heats (Brad Woodward, Se-Bom Lee)

• Women’s 200m Butterfly - Heats (Lizzy Dekkers, Abbey Connor)

20:00 - Tennis - MS Third Rnd/WS Quarterfinals/MD SF/WD QF/XD QF

Triathlon

• 16:00 Women’s Individual [Medal Event]

• 18:45 Men’s Individual [Medal Event]

22:00 - Water Polo (Women’s) - Netherlands vs AUSTRALIA

Into Thursday morning…

Archery

• 01:45 Men’s Individual 1/32 Elimination Round (AUS)

• 02:37 Men’s Individual 1/16 Elimination Round (AUS)

01:30 - Artistic Gymnastics - Men’s All-Around Final [Medal Event]

01:30 - Women’s Basketball (3x3) - AUSTRALIA vs Germany

Boxing

• 00:18 Men’s 71kg - Prelims - Round of 16

• 01:06 Women’s 75kg - Prelims - Round of 16

• 01:38 Women’s 60kg - Quarterfinal

• 04:00 Men’s 57kg - Prelims - Round of 16

• 04:48 Men’s 71kg - Prelims - Round of 16

• 05:36 Women’s 75kg - Prelims - Round of 16

• 06:08 Women’s 60kg - Quarterfinal

01:25 - Women’s Canoe Single Final [Medal Event] (Jessica Fox)

03:00 - Football (Women’s) - AUSTRALIA vs United States

Swimming (finals)

• 04:30 Women’s 100m Freestyle Final [Medal Event] (Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack)

• 04:36 Men’s 200m Butterfly Final [Medal Event] (Matt Temple)

• 04:42 Women’s 200m Butterfly Semifinals (Lizzy Dekkers, Abbey Connor)

• 05:04 Women’s 1500m Freestyle Final [Medal Event] (Lani Pallister, Moesha Johnson)

• 05:34 Men’s 200m Backstroke Semifinals (Brad Woodward, Se-Bom Lee)

• 05:46 Women’s 200m Breaststroke Semifinals (Ella Ramsay, Jenna Strauch)

• 06:08 Men’s 200m Breaststroke Final [Medal Event] (Zac Stubblety-Cook, Josh Yong)

• 06:15 Men’s 100m Freestyle Final [Medal Event] (Kyle Chalmers, William Yang)

NRL NEWS
Make or Break

📄 TEAMS: The race to the NRL finals continues this week, with several teams facing their make or break moments including the Knights against the Panthers and the Dragons against the Storm. (NRL.com)

Warriors: Shaun Johnson is back from an Achilles injury in the No.7 jersey. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck slides to the wing.

Roosters: A huge in for the Roosters with Joey Manu returning.

Broncos: Corey Oates comes in on the wing for Selwyn Cobbo.

Storm: Cameron Munster moves into the starting side.

Rabbitohs: Skipper Cameron Murray is back from his two-game ban.

AFL NEWS
Secret Talks

❌ Fremantle star Nat Fyfe will be sidelined for Sunday's game against Essendon after his one-match suspension for striking was upheld by the AFL Tribunal.

Fyfe, a two-time Brownlow medallist, was charged with striking West Coast’s Jai Culley in the face with his forearm during the Dockers' recent victory. The incident occurred 40 metres off the ball and has resulted in Fyfe's suspension being confirmed. 

✅ Earlier in the night, Gold Coast youngster Bodhi Uwland successfully overturned his one-match ban for rough conduct, meaning he is free to play against West Coast.

The Rising Star nominee was cited for a heavy tackle on Brisbane star Lachie Neale during last weekend's QClash, with the MRO grading it as careless conduct, medium impact and high contact.

🤕 Who's struggling, who's a test, check out the players from your list who are a little sore. Full injury list ahead of Round 21

🗣️ It’s been reported Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell has been in secret talks with West Coast defender Tom Barrass, aiming to lure him to Victoria. Barrass, contracted until the end of 2027, is considering leaving the Eagles due to unmet verbal agreements.

Both Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs are interested, with the Bulldogs offering a four-year deal. Mitchell recently flew to meet Barrass after Hawthorn's win over Adelaide. This is Mitchell's second engagement with a rival player, following talks with Josh Battle.

WORLD NEWS
What a Photo

📸 Photo of the Olympics, so far:  Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina scored 9.9 in Tahiti - the best of the Paris Olympics so far. The image has gone viral on social media.

🤺 Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez has revealed she competed at the Paris Olympics on Monday while seven months pregnant.

The 26-year-old won her first match in the women's individual sabre competition, but was then knocked out in the last 16.

"What appears to you as two players on the podium, they were actually three! It was me, my competitor, and my yet to come to our world little baby!" Hafez said in a post on Instagram.

🤸🏾 Simone Biles led the USA to victory in the women’s gymnastics team final ahead of Italy and Brazil.

After suffering from the ‘Twisties’ in Tokyo, Biles has bounced back to claim a fifth career gold with teammates Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee and Jade Carey in a dominant performance.

🎾 British tennis icon Andy Murray extended his retirement roadshow at Paris 2024 with another epic win alongside Dan Evans to move into the quarter-finals of the Olympic men's doubles.

While Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal's produced a "wonderfully entertaining" straight-set win over the Netherlands'.

🏉 Head Coach Sam Burgess has extended his contract with the Warrington Wolves until the end of the 2026 season.

He led the club to the Challenge Cup final, where they were beaten by Wigan, and the top of the Super League table in his first campaign.

⚽️ EPL Whispers: Arsenal are interested in Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, but the Italian club might sell Osimhen to Chelsea as part of a swap deal for Romelu Lukaku, and Everton have signed Lyon defender Jake O'Brien.

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