🗞 Two weeks of blood, sweat and tears

AUSSIE SPORTS
Greatest Games

After two weeks of blood, sweat and tears, the Paris Games have come to a close, ending Australia’s most successful overseas Olympic campaign in history.

Australia’s Gold Medals: 

• Grace Brown - Women's time trial

• Ariarne Titmus - Women's 400m freestyle

• Women's 4x100m freestyle relay

• Jess Fox - Women's K1 slalom, & Women's C1 slalom

• Mollie O'Callaghan - Women's 200m freestyle

• Kaylee McKeown - Women's 100m backstroke & Women's 200m backstroke.

• Women's 4x200m freestyle relay

• Cam McEvoy - Men's 50m freestyle

• Saya Sakakibara - Women's BMX track

• John Peers, Matt Ebden - Men's tennis doubles

• Noemie Fox - Women's kayak cross

• Arisa Trew - Women's park skateboard

• Matt Wearn - Men's dinghy sailing

• Keegan Palmer - Men's park skateboard

• Men's team pursuit cycling

• Nina Kennedy - Women's pole vault. 

🥉 Ezi Magbegor lifted Australia past an inspired Belgium and back onto the Olympic podium as the Opals prevail 85-81 in a brilliant bronze medal play-off.

🥈🥉 There were wild scenes as Matthew Richardson took silver and Matthew Glaetzer secured bronze, in the men's keirin final!

Matthew Glaetzer was quick to liken his bronze medal heroics to Aussie winter Olympian Steven Bradbury, who won similarly, overcoming a field of dramatic falls to medal (gold at Salt Lake City 2002).

Glaetzer's wife, Nikki, told Nine her husband was ecstatic at his podium finish in the men's keirin.

"I said, I'm just so proud of him and just so happy that he's finally turned those fourths into a medal, so we are so stoked," she said.

"I think it meant a lot, he was so happy, he was like 'I did a Bradbury'."

❌ Australian record holder Sinead Diver withdrew from the women's marathon just 1.2 kilometres into the run as the controversy regarding the non-selection of Lisa Weightman reignited.

🗣️ Australia’s Olympic team boss has come out in defence of breakdancer Rachael Gunn after her performance on the world stage went viral.

Gunn - known as Raygun - failed to score a point in her three round-robin battles 18-0 during the sport’s debut on Friday night as her unique style of breaking set the internet ablaze.

AOC chef de mission Anna Meares said Gunn was an “absolutely loved member” of the Australian team and denounced criticism of her performance on the Olympic stage.

Popstar Adele stopped her live show to have her say on the performance…

“It’s all me and my friends have been talking about. And I am not saying anything, but I think it’s the best thing that has happened at the Olympics for the entire time,”

🥇 Next up: The Paralympics. Can't make it to Paris? The Paralympics have launched the next best thing to actually being in the stands in the flesh.

The 'green and gold virtual seat' campaign was launched to provide viewers an new experience that creates a more personal connection with the Games while remaining at home.

In 2020, Australians purchased more seats than the number of physical chairs in Tokyo's National Stadium, with 94,771 seats sold.

The efforts raised $2.37 million for the Paralympic team, providing support for the sporting organisation to help grow the opportunities available for our nation's athletes.

NRL NEWS
Biting Citing

📄 Match Report: A four-try haul to winger Fletcher Sharpe helped the Knights post a 34-18 win against the Wests Tigers in front of their home crowd.

📄 Match Report: A Sean O'Sullivan two-point field goal clinched the Dolphins their first win in four weeks in dramatic fashion, with a 34-32 result against a gutsy Warriors. 

😬 Kyle Flanagan has been referred directly to the NRL judiciary after being accused of biting Stephen Crichton during St George Illawarra's loss to Canterbury.

The five-eighth will front the panel at the NRL's Sydney headquarters on Tuesday night charged with dangerous contact and risks being rubbed out from the Dragons' bid for finals qualification if found guilty.

NRL players are typically referred to the judiciary when accused of a very serious offence, or one that is unable to be ruled on without testimony from players involved.

Bulldogs captain Crichton lodged an official complaint with referee Gerard Sutton on Saturday night, claiming he was bitten on the nose when attempting to tackle Flanagan.

The centre emerged from the second-half contact bleeding from his nose but played out the remainder of the Bulldogs' 28-10 win at Jubilee Oval.

Crichton did not attend the post-match press conference, his coach Cameron Ciraldo saying he was seeing medical staff, and refused interviews from the media later on.

AFL NEWS
We’re all Fine(d)

📄 Match Report: Hawthorn's stellar rise this winter has reached a new summit after the Hawks' thumping win over Carlton saw them replace the Blues in the eight on percentage.

After starting the season 0-5, Sam Mitchell's precocious young side have climbed into the top-eight for the first time in 2024 – and first time since 2022 – after smashing an injury-ravaged Carlton by 74 points 16.16 (112) to 5.8 (38).

📄 Match Report: The Saints were clearly the superior side, proving to have far too many targets in attack for Richmond to handle, and coasted away fairly easily to a 48-point win, 15.9 (99) to 7.9 (51).

💰 A total of 18 players have been fined after a fiery Saturday of action in round 22, while Port Adelaide ruck Jordon Sweet has avoided suspension for striking Melbourne's Clayton Oliver.

The League handed out a total of $42,500 worth of fines from Saturday's five games, a total bill that can be reduced to $27,500 if all 18 players accept their sanctions.

Eight players were fined for a melee between Essendon and Gold Coast players at half-time of their clash at Marvel Stadium, including match-winner Mac Andrew, who was cited for striking.

Sweet, meanwhile, was cited for striking Oliver at the MCG on Saturday night, but the incident was graded low impact to the body so he was handed a $3750 fine and avoided suspension. (AFL.com.au)

WORLD NEWS
Thrilling Finish

⛹🏻‍♀️ There was a thrilling finish the women's gold medal basketball game. USA was up 3 with 3.8 seconds left. France’s Gabby Williams banked it in at the buzzer, but her foot was on the line. USA wins by 1, securing a gold medal and keeping its 32-year Olympic unbeaten streak alive.

🥇 The US moved level with China's tally of 40 golds in the medal table.

But with the American team having won 44 silvers to China's 27 – they have also won 126 medals overall to China's 91 – they top the medal table for the fourth time in a row.

🏃🏽‍♀️ The Netherlands' Sifan Hassan won gold in the women's marathon in a sprint finish to claim her third medal of the Paris Olympics.

🥉 American gymnast Jordan Chiles has been stripped of the bronze medal she won in Monday's women's floor final.

Cas upheld an appeal by the Romanian Olympic Committee that an inquiry submitted by the US team about Chiles' score fell outside the one-minute limit for such appeals and should be disregarded.

⚽️ EPL Whispers: Manchester United monitor Brighton's Evan Ferguson (19), Aston Villa keen on Tottenham's Giovani lo Celso, and Victor Osimhen asks to leave Napoli, likely pushing for a move to Chelsea (with Lukaku as part of the deal) or PSG.

🏏 Adam Zampa took 4-17 as defending champions Oval Invincibles thrashed London Spirit by nine wickets to close in on a place in The Hundred final.

Invincibles are two points clear at the top of the table, ahead of Southern Brave, and now have a significant advantage in terms of net run-rate as well.

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