Australia’s Haftu Strintzos achieved something remarkable in the U.S. on Sunday.

The 27-year-old finished fifth at the New York City Marathon in a time of 2:06:34, just 33 seconds behind Swedish winner Andreas Almgren and 14 seconds off the national record he set earlier this year.

It marks the best result for an Australian in a major men’s marathon since 1995, when Steve Moneghetti finished second at the London Marathon.

How good!

21
The number of tries Australia’s Jillaroos scored in their 124-6 win over Wales in the Rugby League World Cup. The total score and margin of 118 points are both records for the women’s tournament. Jaime Chapman scored six tries for Australia. The tournament is now in its semi-final stage with four teams remaining. This weekend, Australia will play Fiji while New Zealand will take on Samoa.

“It’s great to have you back on tour. I will say one thing, though: it is very annoying to play against you.”
Australia’s top-ranked tennis player Alex de Minaur addressing Carlos Alcaraz after losing to the Spanish world No.3 in the final of the Vienna Open. Alcaraz won the match in straight sets (6-1, 6-4) to claim his fourth title this year. Despite the loss, De Minaur will take encouragement from the fact that he was able to beat world No.1 Alexander Zverev in the semi-final and strengthen his chances of playing in the end-of-season ATP Finals.

Lisa Ondieki is the only Australian to have won the New York City Marathon, winning the prestigious major marathon in 1992. Ondieki also won silver in the women’s marathon at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and remains Australia’s only able-bodied Olympic marathon medallist.

🏉 In the latest chapter of what has quickly become one of rugby league’s fiercest rivalries, Tonga defeated Samoa 20-18 in Round 3 of the Rugby League World Cup on Sunday evening. Addin Fonua-Blake starred for Tonga, storming over the tryline in the final ten minutes to level the scores before Isaiya Katoa added a two-point conversion to put Tonga ahead. In the semi-finals this weekend, Tonga will take on New Zealand, while Samoa will face reigning champions Australia.

🏃 Andreas Almgren has become the first Swedish man to win the New York City marathon, completing the 42.2-kilometre distance in a time of two hours, six minutes, and one second. Remarkably, it was the first time Almgren, who is the half-marathon world champion, had ever competed in a full-distance marathon. Meanwhile, Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui won the women’s race for the second time, adding to her 2024 victory. Chepkirui won in a time of two hours, 24 minutes, and 36 seconds.

🏀 The Golden State Valkyries have won the WNBA Finals for the first time after joining the league in 2025. The Valkyries won Game 7 68-63 on Sunday to seal a 4-3 series victory. The Valkyries’ Gabby Williams scored 30 points and was named WNBA Finals MVP for her performances across the series. Australia’s Miela Sowah, on a player development contract with the Valkyries, did not get any game time but can still call herself a WNBA champion.

🏏 South Africa have claimed the world No.1 Test cricket ranking after defeating Australia 2-1 in a Test series on South African soil. With the series tied at 1-1, the Proteas won the third and final Test in Cape Town by 176 runs. Australia were set a target of 288 runs to win the Test and series but could only manage 111 runs as South African spin bowler Simon Harmer took six wickets for just 16 runs. The Aussies have now lost four of their past seven Tests and have moved down the rankings to second in the world.

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Kimi Antonelli is officially the youngest F1 world champion of all time, winning the title at just 20 years old after finishing third in the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Here’s what to know.

Antonelli started the race in Mexico needing to finish ninth or higher to seal an outright Drivers’ Championship. Starting fourth on the grid, the Italian ultimately came third behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, sealing the title with four races to go and an unassailable points margin ahead of his rivals.

The previous record for youngest world champion belonged to Sebastian Vettel, who was 23 when he won his first title with Red Bull in 2010. Antonelli is also the first Italian to claim the World Championship title since 1953.

After winning the historic title, he said: “Without Mercedes, without my family, I wouldn’t be here, so I’m very grateful for this moment. It will live forever. I’m speechless. I’m trying to process what has just happened.”

Four races remain in the season, with the paddock heading to São Paulo for next weekend’s Brazilian GP. That will be followed by the Las Vegas GP, Qatar GP, and Abu Dhabi GP.

The Constructors’ Championship, which is awarded to the best-performing team across the season, has not been sealed yet, but Mercedes leads Ferrari by 126 points and is in a strong position to secure the title alongside Antonelli’s individual championship.

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The AFLW regular season ended on Sunday, with eight teams now preparing for a finals series beginning this Saturday.

Here’s what to know.

The AFLW finals follow the same top-eight system used in the men’s competition.

In week one, the top four teams play qualifying finals, with the winners earning a week’s rest and a direct place in the preliminary finals. The bottom four teams play sudden-death elimination finals. The qualifying final losers and elimination final winners then meet in the semi-finals, before two preliminary finals determine the grand final teams.

Two-time reigning premiers North Melbourne are the team to beat. The Kangaroos completed a perfect season in 2025, beating Brisbane by 40 points in the Grand Final to become the competition’s first back-to-back premiers. This year, the Kangaroos won 11 of 12 matches and topped the ladder to claim the minor premiership for the third consecutive year. In this week’s qualifying final, the Kangaroos will play Carlton.

Geelong, who finished second on the ladder with the same record of 11 wins and one loss, loom as the strongest chance of preventing North Melbourne from winning three in a row. The Cats will play Melbourne (3rd) this weekend in the second qualifying final.

In the elimination finals on Sunday, Sydney (6th) will host the club’s first-ever home final against the Bulldogs (7th) at Henson Park. The other elimination final will see the Gold Coast Suns (5th) take on Hawthorn (8th) in a do-or-die match this weekend. While Hawthorn finished eighth, they were also the only team to beat the Kangaroos this season, ending their historic 32-match winning streak.

This year’s Grand Final will be the first in the competition’s history not to feature either the Brisbane Lions or Adelaide Crows, with both clubs missing the top eight.

Saturday 7 November (Qualifying finals)

Sunday 8 November (Elimination finals)