Good evening!

Most Australians probably remember when Nedd Brockmann ran across Australia in 47 days. The record at the time of Brockmann’s attempt was 43 days and was set by German Achim Heukemes in 2005.

In 2023, Heukemes’ record was broken by Aussie ultra-runner Chris Turnbull, who ran the distance from Cottesloe Beach in Perth to Bondi Beach in Sydney, in 39 days and 8 hours. 

Today, England’s William Goodge set off from Perth and is hoping to complete the run in 35 days. 

It’ll certainly be interesting to see how he goes.

I’ve got 10 seconds

Stat of the day

20
The number of teams left in contention for the 2025 NBA Championship, after the end of the league’s regular season. Before the NBA Playoffs officially begin on April 19 (local time), the eight lowest-ranked teams of the 20 will compete for four Playoff spots in what is called the Play-In Tournament. The first round of Playoffs will then feature 16 teams, with eight each from the Eastern and Western Conferences.

Quote of the day

"No remorse has been shown, if anything Rohan's actions since that night, appear to suggest that he perceives himself as a victim of the situation. Seeing him behave like this overwhelms me with sadness and anger.”
An excerpt from an impact statement delivered by the family of Melissa Hoskings, who died in 2023 after being struck by a car being driven by her husband, Rohan Dennis. Dennis, a former professional cyclist and three-time Olympian, pleaded guilty to one aggravated count of creating a likelihood of harm in December. 

Random fact of the day

Pankration was a mixed martial arts event included in the Ancient Olympics from 648 BCE. It was a prominent combat sport in Ancient Greece and combined boxing and wrestling. Fighters could use a variety of strikes, kicks, and grappling techniques, but biting and eye-gouging were banned.

I’ve got 30 seconds

In case you missed it…

⚽ The second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals begins tomorrow with Aston Villa playing Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Borussia Dortmund hosting Barcelona. Aston Villa lost their first leg to PSG 3-1 and will need to claw back the two-goal deficit for a chance of advancing to the semi-finals. Dortmund face the even more challenging prospect of a four-goal deficit after losing 4-0 to Barcelona in the first leg. Both matches kick off at 5:00am (AEST).

🏀 Australian basketballer Georgia Amoore has been selected as the sixth pick of the WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics. The 24-year-old Victorian plays college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats and is the third player, after Caitlin Clark and Sabrina Ionescu, to record 2300 points and 800 assists in a women’s college basketball career. Paige Bueckers from the University of Connecticut was this year’s number one pick selected by the Dallas Wings. 

🏏 The International Cricket Council has announced an initiative to support Afghan women cricketers who have been displaced since the Taliban assumed power in 2021. The sport’s governing body is partnering with the cricket authorities of Australia, England, and India to set up a fund and high-performance program to help Afghan women continue their pursuit of being world-class cricketers. Several members of the Afghan women’s cricket team are currently living in Australia.

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Cycling spectator hands himself into police after throwing water bottle

A spectator at the Paris-Roubaix cycling race has handed himself into police after he threw a water bottle at the eventual winner, Mathieu van der Poel. Following the race, the Dutch rider said that being hit by the water bottle while he was riding was “like getting hit by a stone” and described the incident in an interview with Sporza as similar to "attempted manslaughter".

What happened

Van der Poel was leading the race on a narrow cobbled section. Vision shows a man lobbing a water bottle into the cyclist’s path and hitting him on the jaw. Van der Poel kept cycling and went on to win Paris-Roubaix, one of cycling’s most prestigious one-day races, for the third consecutive year.

Following the race, Van der Poel called the behaviour out. On Monday, his professional cycling team, Alpecin-Deceuninck, made a statement that described the incident as “dangerous and unacceptable” and said the team would file a formal complaint against the perpetrator. The statement also suggested that such behaviour, which has become increasingly common at cycling events, is often the result of “excessive alcohol consumption”

What they said

Public prosecutor Filiep Jodts told BBC Sport on Monday: "We can confirm that the man presented himself to the police. An official report was drawn up, in which his statement was recorded. The Public Prosecution Service will decide in the coming days what action should be taken."

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TDA Sport interviews Olympic skateboard star Chloe Covell

This morning, TDA Sport had the chance to interview 15-year-old Olympic skateboarder Chloe Covell. Covell was the youngest person in X Games history to win gold in 2023 and has gone from strength to strength since bursting onto the scene. At the moment, she is preparing for a Street League Skateboarding competition in Miami next month and has also recently been announced as a character in the popular video game Tony Hawk’s Pro Skateboarding - all while balancing school, skateboarding, and being a teenager.

George: Hi Chloe, thanks for joining TDA Sport.  How did you first react when you learned that you'd be featured in the video game? And, when did you find out?

Chloe:  It was last year, and when I found out and I was super excited. It's such a legendary game, and it's super amazing to be a part of it.

GF:  You've got the SLS championships coming up in Miami. Can you explain what they are?

CC:  So it's just like a competition. SLS stands for Street League Skateboarding. There's one in Miami, which is super exciting because I've never been there before. There are five of them a year in all different countries, and you try to rack up your points to win the Super Crown at the end of the year. Also, if you make the top three, you automatically make it to the finals for the world titles.

GF:  How are you preparing for the upcoming competition?

CC:  Just trying to get my body stronger, like in the gym, good recovery as well with physio and ice baths and stuff. And just trying to get on the skateboard as much as I can.

GF:  Awesome. So, how many hours a day do you skate?

CC: I go to a sports high school, so they're really helpful. Some days I start early and some days I finish late, so I just kind of work it around there. Usually two hours of skating a day, and a one-hour gym session. And when I go away, I just take my laptop with me and try to get as much work done as I can.

GF:  At just the age of 15, you've already accomplished so much. What motivates you to keep pushing the boundaries in skateboarding?

CC:  I guess the adrenaline feeling, like when you get a good score or when you do well in a competition, it's such a great feeling. I just really love skateboarding, so I just wanna keep going with it.

GF:  Amazing. Are there some skateboarders you look up to, that inspire you or that you want to emulate?

CC: There are a few skaters that I like. Different skaters in terms of styles and tricks. I guess my favourite skater [is] Kader Sylla. He's a sick skater.

GF:  What advice would you give to young girls who are interested in pursuing skateboarding professionally?

CC:  Just, you know, get a board, start somewhere, and if you like it, then keep progressing and just keep working hard towards what you wanna get.

GF:  So you went to the Olympics last year. What did you learn from that experience? 

CC:  What I learned was that women's skating has gone to the next level. Like all the girls are so goodit's amazing to see everyone progressing so much. I just gotta work hard for the next one.

GF:  Do you have any specific goals for this season?

CC:  Uh, not really. I just wanna have heaps of fun and try and do as best I can in the competitions.

GF:  Is that the same for the long-term? Do you have any long-term goals in terms of skateboarding?

CC:  I definitely wanna become pro. One day I wanna get my name on a deck. That'd be like a big goal for me. Just to keep having fun, keep getting better.

GF:  How do you handle the pressure of a high-profile competition? 

CC:  I used to feel a lot more nervous than I do now. It's settled down. There's still definitely a couple of nerves, but not as bad.

GF:  What's been your proudest moment in your career so far?

CC:  Probably just getting the opportunity to represent my country at the Olympics. That was a huge goal of mine. But yeah, I guess the next goal would be to get on the podium and possibly get a gold medal.

GF:  So the plan is LA 2028?

CC:  Yeah, for sure. 

Covell will be in action at the first stop of this year’s Street League Skateboarding in Miami, which begins on 3 May. You can watch SLS on rumble.com.

Looking forward… (All times are AEST)

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