On Saturday afternoon in Forrestdale, Western Australia, ultra-marathon runner Phil Gore called time on his attempt to run 6.71 km on the hour, every hour, for an entire week.

Gore, who was running alone and unsupported, completed 152 laps (1,019.92 km), which was 16 hours short of an entire week.

And you thought you were sore after the Sydney Marathon!

36,296
The number of finishers at the Sydney Marathon on Sunday. Ethiopia’s Addisu Gobena won the men’s race in 2:04:42, setting a new course record, and Kenyan runner Peres Jepchirchir won the women's race in 2:18:31. The highest-placing Australians, and winners of the Australian marathon championships, were Andy Buchanan (2:10:14) and Ellie Pashley (2:28:2) in the men’s and women’s events, respectively. The race attracted 400,000 spectators onto the streets of Sydney.

"I don't know what to say, I'm broken.”
Australian boxer Anthony Mundine in a post on Instagram following the death of his father, Tony Mundine. Tony was also a boxer and was the only Aussie to have ever competed professionally in four different weight divisions. After retiring from boxing in 1984, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1986 for his contribution to sport and Aboriginal youth.

Kayaker Birgit Fischer is Germany’s most decorated Olympian of all-time (eight gold, four silver). She was the first Olympian to win a gold medal at six different Olympics.

🏉 The Wallabies won a fourth straight Test match for the first time since 2021, defeating Argentina 27-21 in San Salvador de Jujuy on Saturday (local time). Australia led for the entire match but were put under serious pressure by a strong Los Pumas outfit. The two sides will meet again in the final match of the two-Test series in Mendoza on Saturday. Meanwhile, South Africa levelled its series with the All Blacks at 1-1, defeating the visitors 33-26 in Cape Town. 

⛳️ American golfer Scottie Scheffler won the PGA Tour Championship in Atlanta on Sunday, joining Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods as the only players to have won the season-ending event more than once. Scheffler finished three shots clear of Norway’s Viktor Hovland and took home an eye-watering $US10 million in prize money. As a result, he also moved past Tiger Woods on the all-time career earnings list. Australians Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott both put in solid performances, with Lee finishing tied for fourth and Scott tied for 11th. 

🚴 Tadej Pogačar has been forced to abandon the Vuelta a España after a heavy crash during Stage 8 on Saturday, ending his bid to complete cycling's Grand Tour treble. The world champion, who had led the race by three minutes and 50 seconds, was taken to hospital with a concussion, a stable neck fracture, and a broken collarbone, which requires surgery. Spain's Enric Mas, who was second before Pogačar’s withdrawal, now holds the overall lead and won Stage 9 on Sunday. Slovenia’s Primož Roglič, who has won the Vuelta four times before, is second, one minute and 18 seconds back. 

🦘The AFLW’s North Melbourne Kangaroos have stretched their winning streak to 30 games after defeating the Western Bulldogs 70-23 in Launceston on Saturday. The two-time defending premiers have not lost a match since the 2023 grand final and are 3-0 so far this season. Meanwhile, the AFLW celebrated Indigenous Round on Sunday in Darwin with the league’s annual Dreamtime fixture between Richmond and Essendon. The Tigers handed Essendon its third straight loss to begin the season, winning 38-33 in a tight contest. 

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The AFL's new wildcard finals format delivered on debut, with two exciting knockout matches resulting in the eighth-placed Western Bulldogs and 10th-placed Carlton booking their places in the top eight. 

Here's what to know.

On Friday night, the Western Bulldogs edged Collingwood 96-93 at the MCG in a back-and-forth contest. Collingwood forward Tim Membrey had an opportunity to win it for the Magpies after the siren but missed a 40-metre shot at goal. Aaron Naughton and Arthur Jones both starred for the Bulldogs with four goals each, as more than 81,000 fans flocked to the MCG for the first wildcard final in AFL history.

On Saturday, Carlton ended Melbourne's season with a 74-55 victory at the MCG. Melbourne scored the first four goals but were eventually reeled in as rising star Jagga Smith starred for Carlton with 29 disposals and two goals. The Blues started the season with Michael Voss as coach and won one of their first nine matches. Voss left the role midseason, and since being replaced by Josh Fraser, Carlton have won 12 of their last 14 matches.

Eight teams are now left in contention for the 2026 premiership. 

The weekend’s winners progress to the elimination finals, with Geelong playing Carlton at the MCG on Friday before the Adelaide Crows take on the Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval on Saturday. 

Meanwhile, the top four teams will play qualifying finals, meaning the winner will secure a spot in the preliminary finals while the loser will get a second chance in the next week’s semi-finals. Minor premiers Fremantle will host Hawthorn on Thursday at Optus Stadium, and the Sydney Swans will host two-time reigning premiers Brisbane at the SCG on Saturday.

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The U.S. Open, the fourth and final tennis Grand Slam of the year, began overnight at Flushing Meadows in New York (AEST). 

Here’s what to know ahead of the next two weeks of action.

Fifteen Australians earned their spot in either the men’s or women’s singles main draws this year.

Six of those players featured on Day One with a mixed set of results. Taylah Preston secured a spot in the second round after beating American Alycia Parks in straight sets. Adam Walton, Talia Gibson, and Storm Hunter all saw their U.S. Open campaigns come to an end following first-round defeats. Meanwhile, Aleksandar Vukic and Kimberly Birrell both had their matches suspended due to rain. As it stands, Vukic is down 4-3 in the fifth set against Japan’s Rei Sakamoto, and Birrell is tied 6-6 in the second set after Croatia’s Petra Marčinko won the first set. 

Men’s singles sixth seed Alex de Minaur leads the Australian contingent as the country’s top-ranked player. De Minaur is a three-time quarterfinalist at the U.S. Open but has never progressed past the quarterfinal at any major tournament and will be looking to reach at least the semifinal in New York. He will play Italian qualifier Andrea Guerrieri in the opening round and is on a collision course with top seed Alexander Zverev in a projected quarterfinal. 

Also flying the flag in the men's draw are Alexei Popyrin, Rinky Hijikata, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Tristan Schoolkate, Dane Sweeny, and James Duckworth. 

Maya Joint and Daria Kasatkina stand as Australia’s strongest chances in the women’s draw. Both have been handed tough assignments in the first round, with 19-year-old Joint facing former world No.12 Liudmila Samsonova and Kasatkina up against Spanish former world No.2 Paula Badosa. 

The biggest storyline on the opening day was the elimination of four-time champion Novak Djokovic. The 39-year-old lost in five sets to Argentinian world No. 49 Mariano Navone (7-6, 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1) and looked physically hampered for the majority of the match. It’s the first time that the 24-time Grand Slam champion has lost in the opening round of a major tournament since the 2006 Australian Open. 

The men's draw will also miss world No.1 Jannik Sinner after he withdrew before the tournament with a right knee injury, while defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is set to compete in a tournament for the first time since a wrist injury sidelined him in April. Zverev, who won his first Grand Slam at this year’s French Open, has been elevated to the top seeding in Sinner’s absence.

On the women's side, world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka is looking to win a third straight U.S. Open title, which would match Serena Williams's run of three in a row across the 2012, 2013 and 2014 tournaments. Sabalenka’s top challengers include 2026 Australian Open champion and world No.2 Elena Rybakina and 2023 U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff. Rybakina withdrew from the Cincinnati Open earlier this month with an injury, while Gauff went on to win her second title at the tournament. 

The tournament also carries a record $US108 million ($AU151 million) prize pool, with both singles champions set to take home $US5.5 million ($AU7.7 million) each.