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The Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne two weeks ago saw the first chapter of what is set to become a storied rivalry between Australian sprinters Lachlan Kennedy and Gout Gout, when the former beat the 17-year-old phenom in the 200m by 0.04 seconds. 

Later this month, the two will meet again in Australia’s oldest and richest foot race, the Stawell Gift. The 120 metre race is held annually on the Easter weekend in the Victorian town of Stawell with the winner of the men’s and women’s races both pocketing $40,000. 

The only catch? It’s a handicapped race, so competitors start on different marks according to their form and personal bests in the lead-up to the race.

Yesterday, it was announced that Kennedy will start at the very back, on the 0.25 metre mark. Gout will start 75 centimetres ahead of him on the one metre mark. The final will be raced on Easter Monday. 

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Stat of the day

11.14 seconds
The time it took 17-year-old Leah O'Brien to run the women’s 100m at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships. O’Brien set a new Australian under-18 record for the event, eclipsing the previous record set by Raelene Boyle 57 years ago at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.

Quote of the day

“We are heartbroken to learn the tragic news that former Astros pitcher Octavio Dotel was one of several individuals that passed away when a roof collapsed in his native Dominican Republic last night.”
A statement from Major League Baseball team the Houston Astros following the news that former player Octavio Dotel, was one of at least 79 people killed when a  nightclub roof collapsed in the Dominican Republic. Dotel, 51, had a professional baseball career spanning 15 years and 13 teams. He won the World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011.

Random fact of the day

Every athlete in the top four positions in the visually-impaired 1500m final at the 2016 Rio Paralympics recorded a faster time than the gold medal winner of the same event at the 2016 Olympics. 

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In case you missed it…

⚽ Sydney FC will play the Singapore Lions tonight in the first of its two-leg Asian Champions League Two semi-final tie. The Aussies will enter the match as favourites and are looking to become the third Australian men’s football club, after the Western Sydney Wanderers and Central Coast Mariners, to win silverware in an international competition. The second leg of the tie will be played at home in Sydney on 16 April. Tonight’s match is being played in Singapore and kicks off at 10:00pm (AEST). You can watch the match on 10Play.

🏀 Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone has been sacked with just three regular-season games left before the team is likely to compete in the NBA Playoffs. The decision from the Nuggets’ front office comes as a surprise, after Malone helped coach the franchise to an NBA Championship two years ago. Josh Kroenke, the vice-chairman of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Nuggets, said: "This decision was not made lightly and was evaluated very carefully, and we do it only with the intention of giving our group the best chance at competing for the 2025 NBA championship”.

🎾 Australia’s campaign to win its first Billie Jean King Cup since 1974 begins tomorrow, with a qualifying match against Kazakhstan at 12:00pm (AEST) in Brisbane. The Aussie women’s tennis team is made up of Kimberly Birrell, Maya Joint, Ajla Tomljanović, Ellen Perez, and Storm Hunter. Retired former world number four Sam Stosur is team captain. Australia will play Colombia in its other qualifying match on Saturday. 

🏉 Rugby Australia will continue its broadcast partnership with the Nine Network, signing a five-year contract reportedly worth up to $240 million. The base contract is $215 million but there is $25 million of bonuses available, depending on the performance of Australian teams on both the international stage and in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. The deal is reportedly worth about $10 million more per year than the previous one.

A message from Skipper

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Arsenal stun Real Madrid to take early lead in Champions League quarter-final tie

English Premier League club Arsenal has put the Champions League on notice with a remarkable 3-0 victory over Spanish club Real Madrid in the first leg of the sides’ quarter-final tie. Midfielder Declan Rice starred for Arsenal with two stunning goals, both from free kicks. If Arsenal win the next leg or lose by less than three goals, the club will advance to the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2009. The second match of the tie will be hosted by Real Madrid.

Bayern Munich v Inter Milan

In the other quarter-final played this morning, Italian club Inter Milan beat Germany’s Bayern Munich 2-1. Playing away from home, Inter upset the German powerhouse with an 88th-minute goal scored by Davide Frattesi to steal the lead and claim victory.

The quarter final result is still far from decided. Bayern’s striker Harry Kane said after the match: “There’s 90 minutes to play and we’ve got the players to turn it around. Inter celebrated like they won the tie there at the end, but it’s all there to play for.”

Who’s playing tomorrow?

Two more quarter-finals will be played tomorrow morning. Kicking off simultaneously at 5:00am (AEST), Barcelona will host Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain will play against Aston Villa. You can watch the Champions League on Stan Sport.

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The Masters begins tomorrow - here’s what you need to know

Men’s golf’s first major of the year begins on Thursday at the iconic Augusta National course in the U.S. state of Georgia. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler and four-time major winner Rory McIlroy are the hot favourites among a competitive field which includes five Australians.

Scheffler and McIlroy

Scheffler and McIlroy are the two clear favourites for a reason. The U.S.’ Scheffler is the world’s number one golfer and has an excellent record at Augusta, winning two of the last three Masters. The 28-year-old is vying to become the ninth player to win the prestigious green jacket for a third time.

Meanwhile, world number two McIlroy’s current form and overall pedigree are undeniable, even though he has not won a major since 2014. The Northern Irishman has led the pack so far in the 2025 season with two tournament wins and a top-five finish at the Houston Open two weeks ago. The Masters is the only major tournament McIlroy has never won, and a win this weekend will complete a long-awaited career grand slam.

Aussies in action

Fresh off his first win on the PGA Tour at the Houston Open, Min Woo Lee is the Aussie in the best form coming into this tournament. It would be a truly remarkable achievement for the 26-year-old if he were to win his first major this weekend. At last year’s edition, he finished tied 22nd.

Australia’s only ever Masters champion Adam Scott, who won the tournament in 2013, hasn’t had the best start to the 2025 season, but you can never rule out the guy with the nicest swing in golf. This year is Scott’s 24th appearance at the tournament and 94th consecutive appearance at a major.

Another perennial contender, Jason Day, has finished in the top 10 in his last five starts at the Masters and will look to add another major trophy to his cabinet this weekend. His best finish at the Masters came in 2011 when he finished runner-up.

Cameron Smith is also a major winner, winning The Open in 2022. He plays on the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour, and the Masters will mark the first time Smith has competed against PGA Tour players in 2025. Smith’s best result at the Masters was in 2020 when he ended the tournament tied for second.

The final Aussie teeing off tomorrow is world number 58 Cameron Davis. The 30-year-old has won two PGA Tour events in his career, and his best result at the Masters came last year when he finished tied for 12th.

Fun facts

One novelty of the Masters is that the food prices for spectators at the tournament remain relatively unchanged. For example, this year the pimento cheese sandwich will be $US1.50 ($AU2.50) for the 23rd consecutive year.

Another fun fact about this year’s tournament is that it will see two time champion Bernhard Langer from Germany make his 41st and final start at the tournament. He played his first in 1976. South African Gary Player holds the record for the most starts at Augusta with 52.

How to watch

You can watch the Masters on Foxtel or Kayo.

Looking forward…(All times are AEST)

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