Happy Thursday!

I live in a very old apartment block, and we’ve got a gas leak that means there’s no heating or hot water. It’s freezing (and hopefully being fixed tomorrow).

However, I discovered an alternate heat source - becoming emotionally invested in the Australian Swimming Trials. I spent another night getting very worked up watching battles between not only the competitors, but also the World Qualifying Times AND the Swimming Australia Qualifying Times. My apartment is boiling by the last tumble turn.

Yours in frost,

I’ve got 10 seconds

Stat of the day

3
The number of times Jerry West will have been inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame after he is enshrined as a contributor this year. West, who died at age 86 on Wednesday, was the inspiration for the NBA logo and an NBA All-Star in all 14 of the seasons he played. He was also inducted into the Hall of Fame both as an individual player and as a member of the 1960 U.S Olympic Basketball team.

Quote of the day

"Blanket bans preventing trans women from competing are discriminatory and deprive us of valuable athletic opportunities that are central to our identities."
Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in a statement provided by her legal team after she lost her case against World Aquatics at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The result means Thomas will not be given an opportunity to compete at the Paris Olympics. If you want to read more about this case, you can read TDA’s article here.

Random fact of the day

If you are an American male between the ages of 20-40 who is over seven feet tall, there is an 18% chance you are currently playing in the NBA. (Statistic as of 2021-2022 season)

I’ve got 1 minute

The Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in Game Three of the 2024 NBA Finals. The final score was 106-99.

The Celtics now lead the series 3-0 and are one win away from claiming the NBA Championship.

How it happened

The Mavericks took advantage of their first home game of the series and jumped out to an early 22-9 lead. However, the Celtics reeled them back in and established a strong second half lead through the scoring power of star duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who both had their first 30-point games of the series.

The Mavericks came back strong in the fourth quarter, reducing the Celtics’ 21-point lead to just one point before losing momentum when star player Luka Dončić fouled out of the game with four minutes remaining.

What the history books say

No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the NBA Finals. The closest any team has come was in 1951 when the New York Knicks trailed the Rochester Royals 3-0, but forced the series to Game Seven, which they lost.

You can watch Game Four on Kayo on Saturday morning at 10:30 (AEST).

Help us grow!

Enjoying the newsletter?

This sport newsletter is a new addition to TDA’s content offering, and we need your help getting the word out there.

If you want your friends to get their sport news from us, send them this:
https://sport.thedailyaus.com.au/?utm_campaign=sport-newsletter&utm_source=referral&utm_medium=email

I’ve got 2 minutes

Titmus beats World Record

Ariarne Titmus went head-to-head with Mollie O’Callaghan in the 200m freestyle and smashed the world record with an impressive 1:52.23. O’Callaghan, who held the previous record of 1:52.85, also broke her own record, swimming 1:52.48.

With six women swimming under the qualification time, the Australians can go into the hotly contested 4x200m freestyle relay at the Paris Olympics with confidence. They won bronze for this event in Tokyo.

McEvoy to swim in fourth Olympics

Olympic veteran Cam McEvoy won the 50m freestyle. The 30-year-old could be the first male Australian swimmer to swim in four Olympics after he met the qualifying time just ahead of 23-year-old Ben Armbruster who may also have qualified for his first Olympics.

Australia has never won a medal for the men’s 50m freestyle at the Olympics.

Para World Record

Para-swimmer Timothy Hodge broke his own world record in the SM9 200m medley.

SM is the prefix used for all para-swimming individual medley events, and the numbers 1-10 are used to categorise the impact an athlete’s physical disability has on their swimming, with one being the most impact and 10 being the least.

How are qualifying times decided?

An athlete will qualify for an event at the Olympic Games if they swim the qualification time set by Swimming Australia as well as finish in the top two in the corresponding event.

The qualifying times used for this year’s trials are equal to the time that qualified eighth into the final for any given event at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.

How qualifying times influence results:

Swimming Australia’s ‘A-final’ qualification standard means they can confidently send athletes to the Olympics and Paralympics knowing they are capable of making a World Championships final. This approach yields strong results. Swimming alone is responsible for most of Australia’s gold medals in the history of the modern Summer Olympics.

On the flipside, it means that there are highly talented swimmers who miss out on their Olympic dream. For example, Bowen Gough won the 200m butterfly last night but fell short of the qualifying time and did not earn an Olympic spot.

How to watch:

The Australian Swimming Trials can be streamed on 9Now. Tonight’s finals begin at 7:30.

A message from our sponsor

In Conversation with Deakin University Elite Athlete, Kate Eddy:

Kate Eddy is a professional Netballer with the Melbourne Vixens and 2020 Premiership winner. Kate is also studying a Bachelor of Arts at Deakin University so she can become a Health and PE Teacher.

What’s your sporting schedule like?

In the [on] season we do two court sessions, two gym sessions and then we have a lighter session the day before the game, as well as a recovery day and lots of meetings to watch footage. We [also] travel to play every team once a season, so we have six away trips in the home and away season.

What is one of the hardest aspects of studying and being an elite athlete?

Definitely having the energy to study with such a physically demanding career after training. You are mentally and physically exhausted so it makes it hard to find motivation and energy to study.

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

The ability to talk to someone and have support was the biggest thing. Also being able to have a point of contact to talk to in terms of how to approach certain situations.

Think Beyond The Field. Study sport at Deakin.

Looking back…

Looking forward…

TDA asks