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If you’re reading this and you happen to be the thief who stole László Csongrádi’s Olympic gold medal, could you please return it?

The former Hungarian fencer, who won gold in the men’s team sabre at Seoul 1988, has made a public plea for the return of the medal after it was stolen earlier this month.

He told Hungarian outlet Sportal: “For two weeks, I can’t calm down and be happy because everything reminds me of my stolen Olympic gold medal. I would give everything to the culprit, but I want him to return the worthless object that means nothing to him. Drop it in the mailbox and if you want, I won’t leave it to a museum in my will, I’ll bequeath it to him.”

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Stat of the day

$US4.5 million ($AU6.6m)
The listed price for the baseball hit by Shohei Ohtani to score his 50th home run this season. The ball is so valuable because, in the same game, Ohtani stole his 50th base of the season. He’s the only player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season. 

Quote of the day

"I think I'm feeling a little bit greedy, I need a few more rainbow jerseys in my closet but this one is really nice, a great vibe to do it with the whole Aussie crew.”
Grace Brown, after winning gold with the Australian team in the mixed time trial at the UCI road cycling world championships. The team of Michael Matthews, Ben O'Connor, Jay Vine, Brodie Chapman, Ruby Roseman-Ganon, and Brown beat runners-up Germany by less than a second. Brown also won gold in the individual time trial last week. The rainbow jersey is awarded to world champions in cycling.

Random fact of the day

Last year, 38-year-old American woman Courtney Dauwalter became the first athlete to win all three races of ultrarunning’s Triple Crown in a single season. The Triple Crown includes three 100-mile (160km) races — the Western States 100 in California, the Hardrock 100 in Colorado, and the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in France.

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In case you missed it…

🏉 In the AFLW, the Kangaroos thrashed Carlton 79-10 to move to the top of the table. Tahlia Randall starred for North Melbourne with three goals. Both teams face a short turn-around ahead of games on Sunday. Carlton now sits tenth on the AFLW ladder.

🏀 The first round of the WNBA Playoffs is over, with four teams left.  In the semi-finals, the Las Vegas Aces (4th) will play the New York Liberty (1st) and the Minnesota Lynx (2nd) will take on the Connecticut Sun (3rd). The semi-finals, which begin on Sunday, will be decided by a best-of-five series. 

🏈 Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre this week revealed he’s been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Favre made the disclosure during a U.S. Congressional hearing relating to allegations he misspent Government funding. The 54-year-old won one Super Bowl and three Most Valuable Player awards with the Green Bay Packers between 1995 and 1997. Parkinson’s, a neurodegenerative disorder that affects motor skills, has been linked to head injuries including concussions. Last month, Favre said he estimated he’d had “probably thousands” of concussions in his career.

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Diamonds close out series against English Roses

The Diamonds beat the English Roses 69-56 in Bendigo, Victoria last night in the third and final Test of their series.

What happened

The series hung in the balance with 60 minutes of netball to play. The Diamonds shut down any hope of an English victory, leading at every quarter and eventually pulling away to win by 13 goals. Sophie Garbin was Australia’s top scorer with 43 goals. Kiera Austin was named the Player of the Match and series for her work in the middle of the court, assisting with goals and disrupting the Roses’ attacking efforts.

What they said

Captain Liz Watson said Austin is  “a great defensive player for us as well, so to have a goal attack get intercepts and tips, it really helps us.”

England’s Head Coach Jess Thirlby said: "It's going to be a challenging one for us to reflect on because we couldn't find enough ball and were also a bit sloppy with turnover. There's some positives but it felt like we were soul-searching at the back end."

What’s next?

The Diamonds are back next month to take on New Zealand in the Constellation Cup.

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Rugby Union: Wallabies and Wallaroos both in action on Saturday

While it’s easy to get caught up in the AFL and NRL finals fever, there are some significant games of rugby union coming up.

Wallabies v New Zealand - Kick-off 5:05pm Saturday

With neither of these sides in contention to win The Rugby Championship, and the Bledisloe Cup already locked up by NZ, this game will be played for pride. That’s especially true for the Wallabies, who are seeking their first win on New Zealand soil since 2001.

The Wallabies came within three points of the All Blacks last weekend in Sydney and will be hoping to overturn that result. They’re playing in Wellington, where the All Blacks haven’t won since 2018, on Saturday. Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has named a side that will see winger Dylan Pietsch in the starting 15 for the first time, with Marika Koriobete sidelined due to a wrist injury. Jake Gordon will also replace Nic Wright as the starting halfback. 

The most significant change to the All Blacks side is Beauden Barrett starting at five-eighth instead of Damian McKenzie.

Wallaroos v Wales - Kick-off 8:20pm Saturday

The Wallaroos are out for redemption against Wales after they were beaten in overtime last week on Welsh soil. This time, the stakes are higher as both teams are now in Cape Town, South Africa for WXV 2. Australia’s results over the next three games will help determine their eligibility for the 2025 World Cup.

WXV 2 is the second tier of international women’s rugby and features six sides. The Wallaroos are in WXV 2 because they finished fourth in the Pacific Four series, a competition that features New Zealand, the U.S. and Canada.

Springboks v Argentina - Kick-off 1:00am Sunday

After a shock loss to Argentina last weekend in Santiago del Estero, the Springboks will now host the Argentinians at Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit to decide the winner of the Rugby Championship. South Africa have won all four Test matches they have played here, including a 30-23 victory over Los Pumas in 2016.

South Africa’s coach Rassie Erasmus has made nine changes to the side that lost last week. After coming off the bench last week, star lock Eben Etzebeth will start in his 128th Test, surpassing Victor Matfield’s record for the most Tests played for South Africa. 

Argentina are seeking their first Rugby Championship title. 

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How AI can be used to manage athlete performance

Dr Dan Dwyer, a Senior Lecturer in Applied Exercise And Sports Science at Deakin University, recently wrote an article that outlines a technology developed by Deakin University researchers called the Coach Decision Assistant (CoDA).

The CoDA is a tool powered by artificial intelligence that has the capability to provide real-time insights and decision-making suggestions based on thousands of AFL data points. The technology would allow AFL coaches to make more informed decisions or validate their thinking during a game. It would also enable coaches to simulate potential tweaks and assess the probable outcomes of their decisions before they make them.

Dwyer asserts that similar technology is already in use in sports such as the NBA (basketball) and NFL (American Football). PhD student Mitch Aarons, who has worked extensively on the project, predicted this sort of technology will soon be in use across the AFL and AFLW as well as other sporting codes in Australia.

Ultimately, CoDA has the potential to remove the guesswork from a coach’s decision-making process in situations where there are countless variables at play.

Think Beyond The Field. Study sport at Deakin.

Looking back…

Looking forward…(All times are AEST)

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