Good evening!

Following Australia’s most successful Olympics in Paris, we couldn’t be more excited for the beginning of the Paralympics tomorrow. The Opening Ceremony takes place on the iconic Champs-Élysées at 4:00am AEST.

You’ll notice a shift in the newsletter format as we bring you a Paralympics schedule, wrap-up, and one or two big stories every day at 5pm. We’ll still be covering the day-to-day sports news as well.

Interesting results from the poll yesterday — 51.45% of respondents agreed that spectators at tennis matches should be able to move about freely. Close!

I’ve got 10 seconds

Stat of the day

5 hours and 35 minutes
The time it took for Dan Evans to beat Karen Kachanov in Round One of the U.S. Open. The match was the longest ever played at the tournament since the introduction of tie-breakers in 1970. The 34-year-old will play Mariano Navone of Argentina in the next round.

Quote of the day

"Sometimes in life you make poor decisions and I have accepted that I as a man/family man/club man I want to do better."
NRL star Latrell Mitchell in a post on his Instagram yesterday. The South Sydney Rabbitohs player met with the club’s board yesterday morning following the circulation of an image depicting Mitchell leaning over a white powder. He is also serving a one-match ban for allegedly bringing the game into disrepute.

Random fact of the day

You’ve likely heard of Nedd Brockmann, but have you heard of Sarah Covington Fulcher? The American was the first woman to run across Australia (96 days). In 1988, she became the first person to run around the perimeter of the U.S., a journey of 438 days.

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In case you missed it…

🚴‍♂️ Ben O’Connor has set a new Australian record for the number of stages spent in the leader’s jersey at La Vuelta a España. O’Connor has spent five days in the red jersey, eclipsing the record set by Bradley McGee in 2005. The 28-year-old begins Stage 11 tonight with a 3-minute and 53-second advantage over the next-best rider, Primož Roglič of Slovenia.

👩‍💼 Sue Hunt has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Sports Foundation (ASF). The ASF is the national non-profit organisation for sports fundraising. Hunt’s previous role was CEO of the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation. 

🏉 Code-hopping rugby player Mark Nawaqanitawase may be closer to his rugby league debut for the Sydney Roosters than originally expected. After playing for the Wallabies in 2023 and the Australian Rugby 7s team in Paris, Nawaqanitawase has been named on the extended bench for the Roosters to play the Canberra Raiders this weekend.

✍️ Football Australia has settled a new five-year deal with Paramount Australia (the parent company of Network Ten and Paramount+). Until 2029, all Matildas and Socceroos matches, apart from the 2026 men’s World Cup which SBS own the rights to, will be shown on either Channel 10 or Paramount+. The split between free-to-air and subscription is set to be approximately 50/50.

⚽ 27-year-old Uruguayan soccer player Juan Izquierdo has died one week after he collapsed during a professional game. The defender had been playing for Uruguay’s Club Nacional against Brazil’s São Paulo in the Copa Libertadores, South America’s international club football tournament. 

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U.S. Open: Day 2 Round-up

The Aussies continued their strong start at the U.S. Open with six players advancing on Day 2. 

Aussie Men

Six Australian men advanced to the second round on day two, meaning a total of eight will contest the second round of the U.S. Open for the first time since 1976. 

Thanasi Kokkinakis and Chris O’Connell both pulled off remarkable upsets against seeded players. Kokkinakis beat 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in four sets (7-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5) in just his second win at the U.S. Open in nine years. He will play Portugal’s Nuno Borges on Friday (AEST). Later, O’Connell took care of 26th seed Nicolás Jarry of Chile in four sets (6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3) and will face unseeded Italian Mattia Bellucci next.

World no.10 Alex de Minaur looked comfortable on his return from injury, beating American Marcos Giron in four sets (6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4). He moves on to play Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen on Friday (AEST). World no.32 Jordan Thompson recorded a convincing win in straight sets (6-1, 6-3, 6-2) over France’s Constant Lestienne and will play seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz. 

Wildcard Tristan Schoolkate came back from two sets down to beat Japan’s Taro Daniel (4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-4) and will face unseeded Jakub Menšk of Czechia in the second round. 

Finally, Max Purcell emerged the winner in his clash, beating fellow Aussie Aleksandar Vukic in straight sets (7-5, 6-4, 6-3). 

Aussie Women

Unfortunately, all four Australian women competing on Day 2 were eliminated. Two of the eight women who played in Round One advanced to Round Two.

Wild card Taylah Preston faced a tough assignment in 25th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and was beaten in straight sets (6-2, 6-0). Arina Rodionova won the first set over China’s Wang Xinyu but was eventually beaten (3-6, 6-4, 6-1). Daria Saville lost to Japan’s Ena Shibahara in a third set tiebreak (6-3, 4-6, 6-7). Qualifier Destanee Aiava lost to 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in straight sets (6-1, 7-6) but held the fourth seed to account by forcing the second set to a tiebreak.

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Five Aussie athletes to watch out for at the Paralympics

Australia is sending a team of 160 athletes across 17 of the 22 sports on offer at the Paralympics. Here are five athletes to watch out for over the next two weeks. 

Alexa Leary

You might remember Leary from the Australian swimming trials. 

Leary is a para-swimmer making her Paralympic debut in Paris. The 22-year-old was a triathlete until a 2021 cycling accident left her with a traumatic brain injury. She spent six months in hospital re-learning how to talk and walk before taking up para-swimming.

Leary is destined for greatness in Paris after winning gold in the women’s 100m freestyle S9, and silver in the women’s 50m freestyle S9, at the most recent World Championships last year.

Brenden Hall 

Brenden Hall is one of two flag-bearers for the opening ceremony. 

Hall debuted at the Beijing Paralympics in 2008. This will be his fifth Games. The swimmer has won six Paralympic medals (including two gold) and is the current world record holder for the 400m freestyle S9, 800m freestyle S9, and 1500m freestyle S9.

Hall had his right leg amputated at the age of six due to chickenpox. 

At the flag-bearers announcement in July, Hall said: "There's an immense amount of pride being able to represent Australia, so being asked to carry the flag, I'm over the bloody moon."

Madison de Rozario

De Rozario is the other one of Australia’s flag bearers and also made her Paralympics debut in Beijing in 2008. Paris will be de Rozario’s fifth Paralympics. The 30-year-old has won six Paralympic medals (two gold, three silver and one bronze). Her most successful Games was in Tokyo, where she won gold in the wheelchair 800m T53 and the wheelchair marathon T54. 

De Rozario has a neurological condition called transverse myelitis which damaged her spinal cord. At this year’s Games, de Rozario will be looking to defend her Olympic gold in the marathon as well as race in the 5000m and 1500m.

At the flag-bearer's announcement, De Rozario said: “I love our Paralympic team because of who we are as athletes. But, also, the personalities that we see come out of it, they are some of the best. Those post-race interviews, the interviews leading in, the integrity with which our Paralympians approach sport, it’s unlike anything else.”

Telaya Blacksmith

Telaya Blacksmith is one of four First Nations athletes who will compete at the Paris Paralympics, and the first Warlpiri para-athlete to represent Australia. Remarkably, she is making her Paralympics debut at just 16 years old. 

Blacksmith is competing in the T20 400m and long jump. The T20 classification sees athletes with intellectual disabilities compete. Blacksmith has an intellectual disability which impacts her memory.   

Alistair Donohoe 

Alistair Donohoe is a para-cyclist competing at his third Games. He will race in the team sprint pursuit, the road race, and the individual road time trial. Donohoe turned to para-cycling at the age of 15 after the muscles in his right arm were severed in an accident. 

In Rio and Tokyo, Donohoe won medals in both the individual pursuit and the road time trial but a medal in the road race has eluded him due to crashes in both events four years apart. 

Donohoe is determined not to let history repeat itself. He recently told the ABC: “Unfortunately, it’s kind of scary coming towards Paris. If I don’t win it, it’s going to f---ing hurt. I’m just going to have to prepare myself, that might be the outcome.”

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In Conversation with Deakin University Elite Athlete, Becky Webster:

Rebecca (Becky) Webster is a professional football player with the Geelong Cats in the AFLW. Becky is also studying a Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science/Bachelor of Business (Sport Management) at Deakin University.

What’s your schedule like?

Alongside my training and study, I am also gaining some professional experience working at the club in the Media and Digital team. This involves setting up press conferences to give the media opportunities for insights into the team. I also produce (and star in) the ‘Yeah the Girls’ podcast which has entered its second season.

When does Season 9 start?

The 2024 AFLW season starts on the 30th of August so we are still in preseason. This means we have been working super hard in the gym and on the field on our strength and conditioning and skills. It has also been great to be amongst the group again.

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

I love the balance of being able to be a professional athlete and pursue a career I’m passionate about. This couldn’t be done without the support of Deakin throughout my studies.

Watch more.

Think beyond the field. Study sport at Deakin.

Looking forward…(All times are AEST)

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