Good evening!

Here are some things you can do in six milliseconds:

1. Take a slow blink (blinks are normally between 1-4 milliseconds);

2. Travel 3000km (if you’re light);

3. Say part of ‘M’ in Mississippi.

It’s damn quick - and how much faster Ariane Titmus needed to swim to break her own 400m freestyle world record in last night’s Australian Swimming Trials. Sport is a game of inches and milliseconds, folks.

I’ve got 10 seconds

Stat of the day

6
The number of milliseconds Ariarne Titmus was off from her own world record in the 400m freestyle last night at the 2024 Australian Swimming Trials. Titmus is the reigning Olympic champion in the 400m and 200m freestyle and will head to Paris looking to defend her titles. She said: "The goal isn't to swim my best [at trials], the goal is to book a ticket [to the Olympics], so I'm excited to see what I can do in Paris.”

Quote of the day

"Today I was pretty worried about the rain and I was nervous about crashing and I wasn't really in the right mindset that I was going to win the race — but to win is amazing. Overall it was a great race!"
Australian cyclist Ruby Roseman-Gannon after she won the final stage of the Tour of Britain. Roseman-Gannon snatched her first World Tour win on Sunday after Luxembourg's Christine Majerus sat up before the finish line to celebrate early and unintentionally handed the Australian the stage victory.

Random fact of the day

Edwin Flack, affectionately known as the ‘Lion of Athens’, was Australia’s first athlete to compete at the Olympics, and the first to win gold. Flack travelled to Athens in 1896 for the inaugural modern Olympics and won gold in the 1500m and 800m. The day after his success in the 800m, Flack ran his first marathon. He led the race until the 34km mark before collapsing from exhaustion.

I’ve got 1 minute

The Socceroos will play the sixth and final game of their first round of 2026 World Cup Qualifiers tonight. The 24th-ranked Australians will look to keep the flawless record of their first five games intact as they take on 93rd-ranked Palestine.

Socceroos Form

Coach Graham Arnold has announced a side with nine different starters from the side that defeated Bangladesh 2-0 last Thursday.

The Socceroos last played Palestine in Kuwait in November. The match was the closest they have had in World Cup qualifiers so far, beating Palestine 1-0.

The Australians have had a fantastic start on their road to 2026 World Cup qualification, conceding zero goals so far. Regardless of tonight’s result, they have a spot in the next round of qualifiers, as have the Palestinian team.

About Palestine’s Football Team

The Palestinian football team last played a home game at the Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium in the West Bank. Since then, their ‘home’ games have taken place in Kuwait and Qatar.

Mohammed Rashid, one of Palestine’s star players, told The Associated Press: “When it comes to [soccer], you try to get your head out of it. This is the only thing [Palestinians] are watching. The only thing giving them hope. For us this is a big motivation.”

While Palestine has never made a World Cup, the expansion of the 2026 competition from 32 to 48 teams means they may have a chance. The 2026 World Cup will be played across Canada, the U.S., and Mexico.

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I’ve got 2 minutes

On Monday, three Spanish football fans were sentenced to eight months in jail over the racial abuse of Real Madrid player Vinícius Júnior.

The fans are also banned from entering football stadiums for two years and must cover the cost of the court proceedings. It’s the first conviction issued by a Spanish court for racism at a match.

The Incident

The incident occurred during a La Liga (Spain’s top professional football league) match between Valencia and Real Madrid in May 2023.

Vinícius Jr, who is Black, called out the three offenders in the stands who had racially abused him before and during the game.

La Liga lodged a legal complaint with the support of the Spanish Football Federation and Real Madrid.

The sentence handed down to the abusers marks the first ever conviction in Spain for racism at a football match. The original conviction would have seen them jailed for twelve months, but the court said it reduced the sentence after they delivered an apology and demonstrated remorse.

Vinícius Júnior said:

The Brazilian football player said: "I'm not a victim of racism. I am a tormentor of racists. This first criminal conviction in the history of Spain is not for me. It's for all black people. May other racists be afraid, ashamed and hide in the shadows … Thank you to La Liga and Real Madrid for helping with this historic conviction."

La Liga and Racism

Last year, La Liga launched an initiative called ‘La Liga VS’ which “aims to eradicate hatred inside and outside football by promoting a respectful and inclusive society on all levels.”

Racism is a persistent problem for La Liga. In March this year, Vinícius Jr broke down during a press conference because he has continued to face racial abuse since calling out the now-convicted Valencia fans.

In response to racism in football, La Liga launched the Monitor for the Observation of Hate in Sport (M.O.O.D.) last season. This season, M.O.O.D. has monitored over 21 million social media conversations,finding a 90% drop in racist conversations about La Liga football, compared to when the tool first came into use.

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In Conversation with Deakin University Elite Athlete, Kate Eddy:

Kate Eddy is a professional Netballer with the Melbourne Vixens and 2020 Premiership winner. Kate is also studying a Bachelor of Arts at Deakin University so she can become a Health and PE Teacher.

What’s your sporting schedule like?

In the [on] season we do two court sessions, two gym sessions and then we have a lighter session the day before the game, as well as a recovery day and lots of meetings to watch footage. We [also] travel to play every team once a season, so we have six away trips in the home and away season.

What is one of the hardest aspects of studying and being an elite athlete?

Definitely having the energy to study with such a physically demanding career after training. You are mentally and physically exhausted so it makes it hard to find motivation and energy to study.

What appealed to you most about the Deakin Elite Athlete Program and how has it helped you?

The ability to talk to someone and have support was the biggest thing. Also being able to have a point of contact to talk to in terms of how to approach certain situations.

Think Beyond The Field. Study sport at Deakin.

Looking back…

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