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News.com.au
a minute ago
- News.com.au
‘Cocky': Australia torn to shreds after bombing out in heats of mixed 4x100m freestyle relay
Australia has bombed out in the heats of the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay at the world swimming championships as the decision by Aussie coaches to leave out the nation's top swimmers comes under heavy fire. The 2023 world champions and world record holders finished 11th overall in the heats in Singapore after the 'cocky' decision to rest world champions Mollie O'Callaghan and Kyle Chalmers backfired. The call was made to rest Australia's leading 100m swimmers, instead opting to go with Kai Taylor, Max Giuliani, Hannah Casey and Milla Jansen in the heat. However, they bombed and failed to even qualify Australia for the final. Australia won gold in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay at both the 2022 and 2023 world championships, and set new world records on both occasions. But after the heat team bombed, ranking 11th in the heats, having clocked a time of three minutes, 25.15 seconds (3:25.15), the dream of another gold has been dashed. The staggering result means O'Callaghan will also have to wait until Sunday, the final day of the world championships, to have a chance to win a record-breaking 11th long-course world championship gold medal. She is currently tied with Ian Thorpe for the most by an Australian. But after Saturday's heat blunder many called out Australia for being too 'cocky' and said they deserved to crash out for not taking the heats seriously. 'Cocky resting all the stars. Got what they deserved,' one person wrote in response to the shock result. While others wrote 'wow, what a shock' and 'no way Australia are out!'. Australia still have two great gold medal chances on Saturday evening, with Cam McEvoy (50m freestyle) and Kaylee McKeown (200m backstroke) shooting for gold.
News.com.au
31 minutes ago
- News.com.au
A quick back-up and drop in distance paves the way for Stardeel to shine with an all-the-way win at Rosehill
Bjorn Baker's decision to back-up the 'strong-willed' Stardeel delivered the desired outcome at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday. Last week the Dundeel gelding was his own worst enemy at Randwick, never relaxing and failing to run on when unplaced for the first time of the campaign. Seven days later and it was a different version of Stardeel, sent straight to the front, and never giving his rivals a look in when leading throughout in the Congratulations Braith Nock 3&4YO Benchmark 72 Handicap (1200m). 'He was a real handful last week, he pulled my shoulders out from the moment I got on him but today he was a different horse,' jockey Josh Parr said. 'Genius decision by Bjorn to back him up, bring him back slightly in distance and it has paid dividends. 'We allowed him to do his thing today, he did it at both ends and that won't be his last win.' Stardeel ($3.40 eq fav) defeated Grand Prairie ($3.40 eq fav) by three lengths with a half-length back to Totoka ($9.50) in third. The win was Stardeel's second in five starts this preparation and Baker said the four-year-old is now off to the paddock with the hope the time off can fast track his mental development. 'He's still a bit of a galah but in time, he's going to develop into a pretty handy horse I think,' Baker said. It's a BIG win for Stardeel as the @BBakerRacing trained galloper runs away with it with @JoshuaParr8 in the saddle! ðŸ'¥ â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) August 2, 2025 • Sunshine Law delivers maiden city win for Denim Wynen 'He's still not doing everything correctly in his races but it's a good sign with a young horse when they don't execute as well as you'd like but they win and, in his case, today, he's won very well. 'As much as back-up Baker would like to take advantage of another wet track next week, he's done his job this prep. 'He's a big lean horse that will love getting into some spring grass. It will do his really well physically and hopefully mentally.' Baker is coming off his best ever training season, finishing second in the Sydney trainers' premiership with 90 city winners. 'It's always important to kick off the season with a winner and while it's not all about strike rate, we are currently at 100 per cent,' he said. â– â– â– â– â– Dubbo trainer Dar Lunn and his stable star Elson Boy were two that relished the terrible winter conditions at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday. A heavy (10) rated track combined with torrential rain provided the ideal backdrop as Elson Boy fought off all challengers to record his 10th win from 31 starts in the Jockeys Celebration Day Benchmark 78 Handicap (1400m). Elson Boy had only beaten home five of his 33 rivals in the first three runs of his preparation, but a week of Sydney rain proved pivotal to the six-year-old gelding's form turnaround. 'He loves those conditions,' Lunn said. 'He's had five starts now on heavy tracks and won three times. 'The wetter the better for him.' Elson Boy leads the way to find himself back in the winners list after 412 days! ðŸ'� â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) August 2, 2025 • Elson Boy ($12) was headed in the early part of the straight before digging in for the fight and fending off Captain Furai ($3.80 fav) to win by one-and-three-quarter lengths with two-and-a-quarter lengths back to Rolling Magic ($8) in third. 'He's a tough old bugger,' winning apprentice rider William Stanley said. 'He jumped well and had to do a bit of work to get across but when we got there he travelled nice. 'I thought he was the first horse beat but he found another gear, picked himself up and was good to the line. 'It was a good win because he didn't get everything go his way. Last year Elson Boy finished ninth in The Kosciuszko and Lunn would be keen to gain another shot, especially if the heavens opened in the lead-up to The Everest Day at Royal Randwick in October. 'I wouldn't say no if we get another chance,' Lunn said. 'If we did get in and it was wet, you never know. 'He gets better the deeper he goes into a preparation so he should hold his form now. 'Hopefully this weather can hang around now for a while too.' Elson Boy is a $51 chance with for The Kosciuszko.
ABC News
31 minutes ago
- ABC News
Torrential downpour puts dampener on inaugural NRLW Magic Round
Wild weather in Newcastle has wreaked havoc with the opening day of the NRLW's first-ever Magic Round. All three matches on the first afternoon of the two-day extravaganza were played in torrential conditions, while the Tigers-Roosters match was temporarily delayed due to an approaching thunderstorm. With the Tricolours leading 20-4 five minutes into the second half, play was suspended for 35 minutes after lightning was detected in the area. Such measures are uncommon in first-grade rugby league but not unprecedented — a men's match between Canterbury and South Sydney in June was delayed for the same reason. Before the delay, conditions were already challenging, with water pooling across the pitch under the heavy downpour. The rain made handling especially difficult in the opening match of the day between the Bulldogs and the Titans, which ended in a 14-all draw — the first stalemate in the competition's seven-year history. "You have to play in any conditions at the end of the day," said Bulldogs captain Tayla Preston. "Errors are going to happen in that weather, but there was a period of about five minutes where none of us could see the ball or the players. "But we had the fans turn out, and both teams tried to do their best with the conditions." In the second match of the day, the Roosters resumed control on resumption of their game against the Tigers and ran out 34-6 winners. Star centre Isabelle Kelly ran in a double as the premiership favourites stayed unbeaten in a comprehensive performance. The opening day wraps up with a match between Brisbane and Cronulla before another triple-header on Sunday. But the heavens are expected to open yet again, with up to 35mm of rain expected in the Hunter. Despite the poor conditions, Titans captain Georgia Hale praised the concept and commended the fans who made the trip to Hunter Stadium to brave the rain. "The occasion of the weekend is really special. It's great to create history and be in the inaugural game," Hale said. "To still see bums on seats supporting our game, and hopefully they stay for the entire weekend, was really special. "It's hard to reflect on our own performance and put a smile on it, though we really wanted the two points today."
