Good evening!

Thanks to everyone who responded to yesterday’s question.

For those who are just joining us today, the question was: Would you like to see a segment, once a week, that highlights a person or team from community sport?

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive; watch this space.

I’ve got 10 seconds

Stat of the day

7
The number of wickets English cricketer Gus Atkinson took on debut against the West Indies. Atkinson took seven wickets for 45 runs, stealing the show from veteran English bowler Jimmy Anderson (who is playing in his last Test). The best-ever figures from a bowler on debut remain Albert Trott’s eight wickets for 43 runs for Australia against England in 1895. 

Quote of the day

"You guys are killing me. I don’t know how much more [I can say it]. Anyone have a thesaurus for a word that I can use for ‘no’? No. Did you ask anyone else? Just picking on me. No, mate. No, I’m not."
Ash Barty’s response to a journalist asking if she would make a comeback to professional tennis. Barty played alongside former doubles partner Casey Dellacqua in an exhibition match on centre court at Wimbledon yesterday. 

Random fact of the day

Since their first meeting in 1994, the Wallaroos (Australia’s women’s rugby team) and the Black Ferns (New Zealand’s women’s rugby team) have played each other 25 times. The Black Ferns have won every single encounter. The two teams will face off for the 26th time at 2:00pm this Sunday in Brisbane. 

I’ve got 30 seconds

In case you missed it…

⚽ England are through to their second consecutive Euro Championship final after they beat the Netherlands 2-1 this morning. Ollie Watkins scored the winner for England in the 90th minute. The Three Lions will face Spain in the final in Berlin on Monday at 5:00am (AEST).

⚽ Colombia beat Uruguay 1-0 to book their spot in the Copa América final. Colombia are now unbeaten in 28 consecutive games but will face a formidable opponent in reigning World and Copa América champions Argentina on Monday at 10:00am (AEST).  Canada and Uruguay will play for third place on Sunday at 10:00am (AEST). Tensions were high at full-time as some of Uruguay’s players clashed with Colombia fans in the stands.

🚴‍♂️ Jonas Vingegaard won Stage 11 of the Tour de France, besting overall race leader Tadej Pogačar in a sprint to the finish line. Vingegaard, who won the Tour in 2022 and 2023, hung onto Pogačar despite the Slovenian’s efforts throughout the stage to extend his lead in the general classification. Pogačar still leads Remco Eveneppel (2nd) by one minute and six seconds and Vingegaard (3rd) by one minute and 14 seconds. 

🏉 The Wallabies team to play Wales in Melbourne this Saturday has been named. Veteran prop James Slipper will captain the Wallabies for the 15th time after last week’s captain, Liam Wright, was ruled out due to injury. 23-year-old Charlie Cale has been named at number eight to replace Wright. 

I’ve got 1 minute

The Wimbledon semi-finals will go on without Alex de Minaur after the Aussie withdrew from the tournament. 

Men’s singles

Alex de Minaur (no.9) withdrew from his quarter-final against Novak Djokovic (no.2) last night due to a hip injury he sustained during his fourth-round victory over Arthur Fils. It seems unlikely de Minaur will recover from the injury before the Olympics, which starts in 17 days. 

Djokovic advances to the semi-final where he will play Lorenzo Mussetti (no.25) tomorrow (time TBD). Musetti upset Taylor Fritz (no.13) in a thrilling five-set quarter-final. It will be Djokovic’s 13th Wimbledon semi-final, equalling a record set by Swiss great Roger Federer. 

The other semi-final tomorrow (time TBD) will be between defending champion Carlos Alcaraz (no.3) and Daniil Medvedev (no.5).

Women’s singles

2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina (no.4) defeated Elina Svitolina (no.21) in straight sets to advance to the semi-final. She will play Barbora Krejčíková (no.31), who also won in straight sets against Jeļena Ostapenko (no.13), tonight at 11:45pm (AEST).

The other semi-final between unseeded Donna Vekić and Jasmine Paolini (no.7) will start at 10:30pm tonight (AEST). 

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I’ve got 2 minutes

The Australian Olympic team for Paris 2024 was finalised on Wednesday. 460 athletes have been selected to compete across 33 different sports at the third Games held in Paris.

Sports

There are 35 sports at this Olympics and Australia will compete in 33. The only sports that the team will not compete in are fencing and handball.

Australia will debut in six sports: Break-dancing (Breaking), Basketball 3x3, Kayak Cross, Mixed team race walk, men’s and women’s Kiteboarding and Mixed 470 sailing. 

Who’s on the team?

The Paris 2024 team is made up of 256 women and 204 men. Women comprise 55.6% of the team, the highest proportion in Australian Olympic team history.

The team includes ten First Nations Australians. Basketballer Patty Mills will become the first Indigenous man or woman to compete at five Olympics. 

While 231 athletes will be making their Olympics debut, 229 athletes have already been to an Olympics. 

Interestingly, there are five sets of siblings on the team: Noemie and Jessica Fox (Canoe Slalom), Jean and Pierre van der Westhuyzen (Canoe Sprint), Minjee and Min Woo Lee (Golf), Blake and Lachlan Edwards (Water Polo) and Maddison and Teagan Levi (Rugby 7s).

What they said

Australian cyclist Anna Meares, the Aussie Olympic team’s Chef de Mission*, said:  “What a journey it’s been. In congratulating every athlete for achieving this honour, I would also acknowledge and thank all those athletes who toiled no less diligently, no less passionately but whose names were not on this list.” 

“I think we take it for granted, but we really do punch above our weight. Competing in Paris in 33 sports - that’s to the great credit of our sports, obviously the athletes themselves and the sport system here”.

*A Chef de Mission is the person in charge of a sporting delegation. Meares must ensure athletes are well looked after and liaise with the organising committee when necessary.

Age of the team

The average age of the team is 26.5. The oldest team member is equestrian athlete Shane Rose (51) and the youngest is skateboarder Arisa Trew (14).

When does the Olympics start?

The Olympics will run from 26 July to 11 August. However, some teams will start competition before the opening ceremony. Australia’s first event will be the Men’s Rugby 7s v Samoa on 24 July. 

A message from our sponsor

ACL injuries in footy? Should women and girls be playing? You’re asking the wrong question.

Dr Aaron Fox from Deakin’s School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences is working hard to shed light on the complex world of ACL injuries in sport, particularly the differences between male and female athletes. The findings are fascinating.

One of the core differences to have emerged from the research is that AFLW players sustain ACL injuries in non-contact situations (like reacting to an opponent's directional changes) more than their male counterparts. But Dr Fox emphasises these differences aren't due to inherent knee susceptibility, but potentially how young women and girls have grown up with sport, and the sports they would typically play differing from what they now play in adulthood.

The solution? Make sure young women and girls are not held back or limited in their athletic development and have exposure to a range of sports early in life, particularly adolescence.

As well as growing junior AFLW, there also needs to be advancements in technology. Dr Fox and his team are developing innovative ideas around ACL injury risk screening methods, which he hopes will revolutionise how athletes are assessed and trained. These cutting-edge approaches, combined with increased awareness and targeted training programs, are paving the way for reduced injury rates and safer participation in sport for all athletes - the brains hub of Deakin University is well and truly on the case.

Looking back…

Looking forward…(All times are AEST)

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