Good afternoon!

I think I speak for all of us when I say it is so great to see Simone Biles return to her absolute best.

This weekend, 27-year-old Biles has made history by winning a record ninth all-around title at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships - and has secured a spot at the Paris Olympics.

I’ve got a funny feeling we’ll be seeing her with a gold medal around her neck in Paris.

I’ve got 10 seconds

Stat of the day

€150 million ($AU245.2m)
The signing bonus French soccer player Kylian Mbappé will receive as part of a five-year deal with Spanish club Real Madrid. The bonus will be paid out over the five year period alongside a salary of €15 million ($AU24.5m) per season. Mbappe will join Real Madrid after the club won a record-breaking 15th Champions League title over the weekend against German club Borussia Dortmund. Real beat Dortmund 2-0.

Quote of the day

“I need to find the name of this legend!!! Message me on instagram, I need you for the next round"
Alex de Minaur on Instagram in response to footage of him high-fiving a young fan after his third round win against German Jan-Lennard Struff. De Minaur beat Struff in four sets and is the first Australian man to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros since Lleyton Hewitt in 2007. The ‘Demon’ faces fifth seed Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round from 8:15pm tonight (AEST).

Random fact of the day

On May 16th, 1975, Junko Tabei of Japan became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest. She was just the 36th person ever to achieve the feat. Tabei was also the first woman to climb all of the Seven Summits (highest mountain on each continent).

I’ve got 1 minute

AFL star Harley Reid, who plays for the West Coast Eagles, has been handed a two-game suspension for a tackle on St Kilda’s Darcy Wilson during Saturday’s contest.

The Match Review Official graded Reid’s tackle as high impact, high contact and careless conduct.

The Eagles are likely to contest the ban at a tribunal on Tuesday night. However, the best case scenario is that Reid will be banned for one game instead of two.

AFL Rising Star Award

The ban will rule Reid, the 2023 number one draft pick, out of contention for the AFL Rising Star Award. The Rising Star is awarded to players in the league who are under the age of 21, have played fewer than ten AFL games before the commencement of the season. 

Fellow front runner for the award, Western Bulldogs’ Sam Darcy, is also ineligible after receiving a two-game suspension for a hit on Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard over the weekend.

To be eligible for the Rising Star Award, players must not have received a suspension during the season.

The award was instituted in 1993 to recognise young talent in the league. It has previously been won by AFL legends Nathan Buckley, Ben Cousins, Sam Mitchell, and Adam Goodes, who all went on to win the prestigious Brownlow Medal during their careers.

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Australian women athletes have been showing real promise in the lead up to this year’s Paris Olympics, which begin on 26 July.

Women’s Sevens

Australia won the women’s rugby World Sevens Series in Madrid over the weekend, defeating France in the tournament final 26-7.

Maddison Levi, who scored a hat trick in the final, has been a standout player for Australia this season. In the semi-final, she scored after the siren to help defeat rivals and defending Olympic champions New Zealand. She scored 69 tries this season, the second most of all time across both the men’s and women’s competitions.

Australian captain Charlotte Caslick said: "Just got confidence out of that and belief in ourselves which is really important moving into the Paris Games."

Jessica Fox

Jessica Fox won the canoe slalom at the first World Cup in Augsburg, Germany, over the weekend. She won comfortably with a margin of eight seconds between her and second placed Núria Vilarrubla of Spain.

Fox, who won C1 slalom gold at the last Olympics, will look to defend her title as Olympic Champion at her fourth Games in Paris.

Fox competes in the C1 (canoe) and K1 (kayak) events. The main difference between the two events is that the canoe requires a single-bladed paddle and the kayak requires a double-bladed paddle. Fox has an Olympic silver and two bronzes in the K1 event and came 9th in Augsburg.

Jessica Hull

Middle-distance runner Jessica Hull broke an Australian record in the women’s 1500m last week at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon.

Hull clocked 3:55.97 to finish second behind Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji who ran 3:53.75. For context, the world record is 3:49.11 and was run by Kenyan Faith Kipyegon in 2023.

Hull finished 11th in Tokyo and will look to better her Olympic record in Paris.

Matildas

The Matildas will play China in another friendly tonight after a 1-1 draw on Friday against the reigning Asian Cup champions. China scored in the 30th minute and led for most of the match until Michelle Heyman scored a 95th-minute equaliser to save the Aussies from defeat.

Tonight’s match will be played at a sold out Accor Stadium in Sydney and will be the Matildas’ last game on home soil before Paris.

While the game is a friendly, Olympic selection is on the line as coach Tony Gustavsson is set to announce his final squad on Tuesday evening.

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In Conversation with Deakin University Elite Athlete, Jo Weston:

Jo Weston is a professional netballer with Melbourne Vixens and the Australian Diamonds, with two premierships and two gold medals (from both the Commonwealth Games and Netball World Cup) under her belt. She is the President of the Australian Netball Players Association and is currently studying a Master of Communication at Deakin.

What’s your sporting schedule like?

We currently train about four times a week and play either in Melbourne or interstate on weekends. In preseason we train more, with 7/8 sessions a week.

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

Time management is very challenging especially with travel and some commitments being added last minute. I also find the physical nature of training draining which means concentrating in class can be more difficult.

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

The understanding and flexibility offered to me is what was most appealing… I have received help finishing assignments to the best of my ability with the flexibility offered through the program.

Looking back…

Looking forward…

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