Good evening!

On this day in 1896, Hungarian swimmer Alfréd Hajós beat Otto Herschmann of Austria by 0.6 seconds to win the first Olympic 100m freestyle final.

He won the race in a time of 1 minute and 22.2 seconds. It’s still an impressive time, given he had to swim in the ocean, not a pool.

The world record now is 46.4 seconds and is held by China’s Pan Zhanle.

Where will we be in another 129 years?

Enjoy the massive weekend of sport ahead!

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Stat of the day

5
The consecutive number of games the Penrith Panthers have now lost. The four-time defending champions were beaten 30-12 by the Redcliffe Dolphins. After winning the first match of the season in Las Vegas, the Panthers have lost every match since. No team in the history of the competition has lost five of its first six games and gone on to win the premiership. 

Quote of the day

"I'm resigned to the fact that the football gods have got their eyes elsewhere this year. They're obviously busy with other clubs and other managers, so whatever we get we're going to have to do it without them this year."
Tottenham Hotspurs coach Ange Postecoglou speaking to reporters after his side’s 1-1 draw with German club Eintracht Frankfurt. The Spurs created plenty of chances but could not capitalise on them to claim a victory. The Europa League is the only competition in which the Spurs still have a chance of winning silverware this season. The London-based club sits 14th in the Premier League and has been knocked out of England’s domestic tournaments. 

Random fact of the day

Welsh table tennis player Anna Hursey is the youngest person to have competed at a Commonwealth Games, representing her country at Gold Coast 2018 at the age of 11. It’s also believed her participation in a European Championship qualifier as a 10-year-old makes her the youngest person to represent Wales at a senior level in any sport.

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In case you missed it…

⛳ English golfer Justin Rose leads the Masters by three shots, after going seven shots under par in round one. While Rose will be focused on the rounds of golf ahead, his lead marks the fifth time he has had a share of the lead after the first round at the Masters, a tournament record. Hot on Rose’s tail is world number one Scottie Scheffler. The American recorded a bogey-free round and is tied for second with Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg and Canada’s Corey Conners at four shots under par. Rory McIlroy, a pre-tournament favourite, is tied 27th and seven shots off the lead. The second round of the Masters begins tonight at 9:40pm. 

🏉 The Geelong Cats beat the Adelaide Crows 119-100 in the opening match of the AFL’s Gather Round on Thursday night. The Crows led the match at every break but were eventually beaten in the final quarter. Seasoned Geelong duo Patrick Dangerfield and Jeremy Cameron starred for the away side with four goals each. The action continues in South Australia tonight with the Sydney Swans playing Collingwood at Adelaide Oval. 

🏟️ Two of Australia’s top Paralympians, Vanessa Low and Reece Langdon, broke world records in their respective events at the Australian Athletics Championships. Paralympic champion Low set a new T61 long jump world record of 5.71 metres, bettering the mark of 5.45 metres which saw her win gold in Paris. She now has her sights set on the six-metre mark. Paralympic bronze medallist Langdon ran a time of 3:46.83 in the men’s 1500m to set a new world record for the T38 para-classification. Both athletes will be a part of the Australian team heading to the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships in India later this year.

A recommendation for the weekend

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De Minaur and Popyrin storm into Monte Carlo quarter-finals

Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin have both produced big wins at the Monte Carlo Masters to advance to the quarter-finals of the tournament. It’s the first time two Australians have reached the quarter-finals of the same Masters 1000 tournament.

What happened

Popyrin beat Norway’s Casper Ruud, a clay specialist and two-time French Open finalist, in three sets (6-4, 3-6, 7-5). The Aussie showed his grit, saving two match points in the final set against the world number seven.

World number 10 de Minaur then cruised to a straight-sets victory over Daniil Medvedev, beating the 2021 US Open champion 6-2, 6-2. It marks the second straight year de Minaur has made the final eight in Monte Carlo.

What’s next?

Both Australians will be favourites to win in tonight’s quarter-finals. Popyrin will play world number 42 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and de Minaur is set to face world number 18 Grigor Dimitrov.

You can watch the Monte Carlo Masters on beIn Sports.

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Gout Gout breaks 10-second barrier twice in illegal tailwind

Gout Gout has become the third Australian to break the 10-second barrier in the men’s 100m. The 17-year-old recorded two identical times of 9.99 seconds in the heat and final at the 2025 Australian Athletics Championships in Perth. Despite the feat, Gout’s times will not be counted as official records due to an illegal tailwind. Here’s what you need to know.

What happened?

Gout recorded the 9.99-second runs in the under-20 100m event, which he won easily. Even though the times won’t count officially, he is still only the third Australian to run 100m under 10 seconds after Patrick Johnson and Rohan Browning.

He said after the race: “This definitely boosts my confidence levels. Sub-10 is what every sprinter hopes for and to get it so early this year is definitely great. It also boosts my confidence for the main event for me, like the 200m.”

Gout is also set to race the senior 200m, the event in which he set the Australian record of 20.04 in December. He will come up against fellow Queenslander Lachlan Kennedy, who beat him at the Maurie Plant Meet two weeks ago.

Kennedy is also racing in the senior 100m and has made clear his ambition to run under 10 seconds. The heats are tonight, and the final will follow tomorrow.

What is an illegal tailwind?

The wind measurements for Gout’s two sub-10-second times were +3.5 m/s in the heat and +2.6 m/s in the final.

The results of a race up to and including 200 metres long are not considered legal (i.e eligible to be world or national records) if there is a tailwind with a velocity that exceeds two metres per second. The wind for 100m sprints is measured at the start line.

Wind assistance is not always the determining factor in fast times, but it can help. The second fastest 100m of all time (9.68 seconds) was recorded by American Tyson Gay with the help of an illegal +4m/s tailwind. That being said, the fastest 100m of all time remains Usain Bolt’s 9.58 seconds, which was run in legal conditions of +0.9m/s in 2009.

How to watch

You can watch the 2025 Australian Athletics Championships on 7Plus.

Looking forward… (All times are AEST)

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