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There’s so much sport on at the moment, the only place I could fit the news about Summer McIntosh’s new record was here, in the intro.

You might remember McIntosh as the Canadian who was selected for the Tokyo Olympics at 14, ended Katie Ledecky’s nine-year chokehold on the 400m free at 16, and won gold in the 400m individual medley at the Paris Games, ending the race more than five seconds ahead of the pack, at 17.

Now 19, she’s broken a record set back in the super-suit era, swimming the 200m butterfly in 2:01.65.

With that out of the way, we can dive into cricket, tennis, netball, AFL, rugby, F1, and soccer.

Oh, what’s that? The Tour de France is underway too? Ok, cool. That’ll have to go at the end.

I’ve got 10 seconds

Stat of the day

Seven
The number of times Australia’s women’s cricket team have won the T20 World Cup, and the number of wickets by which they defeated England in the final overnight. Led by Sophie Molineux, the Australians went undefeated all tournament.

Australia’s team in seventh heaven (Getty)

Quote of the day

I just wanna go, get completely drunk, forget about tennis, and try to get in a better shape.
Women’s tennis world number one Aryna Sabalenka speaking to the media after losing to Naomi Osaka (6-2, 7-6) in the round of 16 at Wimbledon. It was the first time Osaka had beaten Sabalenka in eight years, and took the Japanese player to her first Wimbledon quarter-final.

Random fact of the day

Following the success of the 1992 film The Mighty Ducks, about a failing ice hockey team, Disney launched an actual NHL team of the same name in the same town as its California theme parks, Anaheim. After Disney sold it to private owners in the 2000s, the team is now known as the Anaheim Ducks.  

I’ve got 30 seconds (maybe a little longer today)

🏆 The Adelaide Thunderbirds smashed the Melbourne Vixens 61-40 to win the Super Netball grand final on Saturday night, claiming their third victory in four years. It was the biggest winning margin in Super Netball grand final history and a cap to a dominant season for the Thunderbirds, who lost one game all season and were the minor premiers. MVP Latanya Wilson and fellow Thunderbird Shamera Sterling-Humphrey were instrumental for their side, extending the lead well beyond where the Vixens could catch up in front of a sold out crowd. 

Sterling-Humphrey and Wilson celebrate mid-match (AAP)

🏉 A 27-year-old Melbourne teacher is receiving end-of-life care after seriously injuring his head during a reserves AFL game on Saturday. Epping player Nathan Fitzgerald is believed to have knocked heads with another player, then fallen hard on a cricket pitch on the field. The incident has ignited concerns about playing other sports on grounds with cricket pitches, which have a hard, packed-dirt stretch in the centre. Epping Football Netball Club president Luke De Vincentis told ABC radio: "We have to be able to use these facilities for multiple purposes, but the risk does come that there is quite a hard strip of surface in the middle of the ground… I do hope this is explored and the way cricket pitches are covered moving forward is something that can be looked at”. 

🎾 Novak Djokovic has broken Roger Federer’s record of 105 match wins at Wimbledon with a victory over qualifier Roman Safiullin. The Serbian legend entered this year’s third slam with an 85.6% win rate on grass. An overall victory at SW19 would see him equal Federer’s Wimbledon singles wins record and break the Open Era record for most Grand Slams. Djokovic next faces Canada’s Félix Auger-Aliassime. The two have played each other twice, with one win apiece. 

Djokovic after securing his win (Getty)

🏉 The Wallabies lost by two points to Ireland on Saturday night, their sixth consecutive loss to the same team. It was a difficult start to the Nations Championship for the Wallabies, who were playing in front of a sellout home crowd. Both sides kept up the momentum throughout the match, but Ireland were ultimately too strong, with Thomas Clarkson scoring the winner in the 76th minute. Australia will face France in Brisbane on Saturday evening in the next round of the Northern vs. Southern Hemisphere competition. 

🏉 A statue of AFL player Nicky Winmar in Perth has been removed after he was found guilty of attacking a woman in northern Victoria. The 60-year-old St Kilda player claimed the woman lied about the incident, but a Bendigo magistrate found her truthful and convicted him of three charges on Friday. The woman, who cannot be identified, alleged Winmar attacked her in May last year after he became unexpectedly angry, dragging her by the hair, spitting and yelling in her face, and bashing her head into a door. In a statement following the removal of the statue, WA Premier Roger Cook said: "Violence against women is never acceptable, and it is important we send a strong message to the community.” 1800 RESPECT: 1800 737 732.

🏎️ Charles Leclerc won the British Grand Prix ‌for Ferrari after the race finished behind the safety car, while  Championship leader Kimi Antonelli failed to score for Mercedes. George Russell finished second for ‌Mercedes, cutting teammate ⁠Antonelli's championship lead to 25 points ​after nine rounds.  Fellow Brit Lewis Hamilton completed the podium for Ferrari but remains under investigation for a potential yellow flag breach. Meanwhile, Australia's Oscar Piastri finished 11th, with his race effectively over after an opening-lap collision forced the McLaren driver to pit for damage.

Leclerc behind the wheel back in 2024 (AAP)

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I’ve got 1 minute

Goal-scorers Bellingham and Kane show off to the crowd (Getty)

Your World Cup roundup

Here’s what’s been going on over the last few days at the World Cup. 

Farewell to the Socceroos

It was a heart-breaking start to the weekend for Aussie fans, as Egypt knocked out the Socceroos on penalties early on Saturday morning (AEST). Most of the post-mortem discussion has centred on coach Tony Popovic’s decision to pull starting goalie Patrick Beach, who had proved himself highly capable this tournament, out of the net for the penalty shoot out. Beach was instead replaced with Mathew Ryan, who did not save a single goal. However, Football Australia has backed Popovic, with CEO Martin Kugeler telling The Sydney Morning Herald: “In hindsight, everyone always knows better.” The result means Australia will have to wait for 2030 to try to make it past the first knockout stage game for the first time. 

Brazil v Norway

Can anyone stop Erling Haaland? Ahead of this morning’s fixture, many pundits would have said Brazil can. The five-time World Cup winners are, with Argentina, the likely end to most FIFA underdog stories. (As in, “yeah, they’re doing well, but they haven’t faced Brazil or Argentina yet”.) The 6’5” Man City striker put the kibosh on that, scoring two goals to pull Norway further into the World Cup than they’ve ever gone before. They might just row, row, row their longship all the way to the finals. 

England v Mexico

It was, as TDA’s Multimedia Producer Rosa Bowden said, one of the craziest games of all time. At high altitude, in a stadium where Mexico had only lost twice from 89 competitive games, down to 10 men courtesy of a red card to Jarell Quansah, England beat Mexico 3-2. After Morocco knocked out Canada over the weekend, the result means the U.S. are the only co-hosts left in the tournament. Jude Bellingham starred for the Three Lions with two goals in such quick succession that you might have missed them while you were in the bathroom. Not speaking from personal experience, of course.

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U.S. striker Folarin Balogun (Getty)

Donald Trump has intervened to reverse a red card for a U.S. player

U.S. media reports President Donald Trump intervened to have striker Folarin Balogun’s red card suspension overturned in time for the round of 16 match against Belgium.

Balogun, the U.S’ leading goal scorer, was penalised during Thursday’s round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It’s the first time a red card at a World Cup has been reversed since 1962.

Belgium’s football association said it is “astonished”.

Background

Balogun was born to Nigerian parents in New York, and grew up in London. In 2023, he chose to play for the U.S. over Nigeria and England.

In this year’s FIFA World Cup, Balogun scored twice in the group stage match against Paraguay, and once in the round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During that match, Balogun was red carded for foul play against Tarik Muharemović. According to FIFA rules, players who are red carded during the World Cup are ruled out for their team’s next match.

This meant Balogun was unavailable to play in the U.S’ next match, in the round of 16 against Belgium, set for Monday (local time).

Intervention

On Sunday (local time), FIFA said Balogun was now available to play against Belgium.

“The automatic match suspension for U.S. player Folarin Balogun is suspended for... one year,” it said.

It is the first red card to be overturned since the 1962 World Cup, when the Government of host country, Chile, petitioned FIFA to reverse a penalty against Brazilian winger Garrincha.

U.S. media reports Trump spoke to FIFA President Gianni Infantino about the suspension.

On Sunday (local time), Trump praised the decision on Truth Social.

Infantino and Trump’s friendship is well-documented. Trump referenced Infantino in a speech ahead of his 2025 inauguration, and facilitated Infantino’s visits to his Florida residence Mar-a-Lago and the Oval Office.

Last year, FIFA launched a Peace Prize. Infantino presented the inaugural award to Trump.

Response

The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) released a statement saying it is “astonished” by the decision, which it believes contradicts the rules.

It said it is “investigating all potential options.”

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

Looking back…

AFL (Sunday)

Who: Essendon v St Kilda
Result: St Kilda won 117-50

Who: Port Adelaide v North Melbourne
Result: Port won 73-52

World Cup (Sun + Mon)

Who: Canada v Morocco
Result: Morocco won 3-0

Who: Paraguay v France
Result: France won 1-0

Who: Brazil v Norway
Result: Norway won 2-1

Who: Mexico v England
Result: England won 3-2

NRL (Sunday)

Who: Eels v Sea Eagles
Result: Eels won 23-14

Who: Knights v Dolphins
Result: Knights won 13-12

NRLW (Sunday)

Who: Eels v Wests Tigers
Result: Tigers won 28-16

Who: Warriors v Bulldogs
Result: Warriors won 32-10

Looking forward… (All times are AEST)

World Cup

Who: Portugal v Spain
Time: 5am

Who: U.S. v Belgium
Time: 10am
Where to watch: SBS/SBS On Demand

Basketball

Who: Australian Boomers v Phillippines
Time: 8.30pm
Where to watch: Kayo

Tour de France

Who: The world’s best men’s cyclists
Time: 8pm
Where to watch: SBS On Demand

Wimbledon

Who: 🇦🇺 Thanasi Kokkinakis and Aleksandar Kovacevic v Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski
Time: Approx 9.30pm

Who: 🇦🇺 Alex de Minaur v Franco Cobolli
Time: 10pm

Who: 🇦🇺 Ellen Perez and Demi Schuurs v Elena-Gabriela Ruse and Marta Kostyuk
Time: Approx 10.20pm

Who: 🇦🇺 Storm Hunter and 🇦🇺 Marc Polmans v Aldila Sutjiadi and Guido Andreozzi
Time: Approx. 10.40pm
Where to watch: Stan Sport

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