Andy Farrell's British and Irish Lions focussed only on a historic series victory in Australia
With that sweep now within sight in Sydney on Saturday after a contentious , last-minute 29-26 win over the Wallabies in Melbourne, some have questioned Australia's place in the rotation for quadrennial Lions tours that also includes World Cup champion South Africa and New Zealand.
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2 hours ago
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Canadian women's, men's 3x3 wheelchair basketball teams win gold at inaugural world championships
Canada won gold in both the women's and men's tournaments at the inaugural 3x3 wheelchair basketball world championships Sunday in Sun City, South Africa. The Canadian women completed an undefeated run with a 17-12 victory over Spain in the final, going 6-0 at the three-day event. Canada's women's team is comprised of Kady Dandeneau of Pender Island, B.C., Tamara Steeves of Mississauga, Ont., Élodie Tessier of Saint-Germain de Grantham, Que., and Toronto's Puisand Lai. "Spain came out insanely physical, we knew they would. They were hitting chairs and, in our face – all over us," Dandeneau said. "I think we kept our composure and still competed with them and stuck to what we've been doing, which is playing our game." Dandeneau was named tournament MVP while Tessier collected tournament all-star honours. "I think being any kind of world champion is pretty sweet," Dandeneau added. "To do it for the first time — it's history." WATCH l Full replay of Canada-Spain women's final: Canada topped Great Britain 15-10 in the semifinals earlier in the day, while Spain edged Australia 9-7 to reach the final. The Canadians also beat Spain in its opening game, 14-7. WATCH l Dandeneau on how 3x3 format offers lower barrier to entry: The Canadian men's squad won its historic world title by rallying past Spain 14-9 later Sunday, avenging its lone loss of the tournament. Canada fell 18–12 to the Spaniards on Friday in its second game after running into foul trouble. Canada is represented by Quebec City's Vincent Dallaire, Colin Higgins of Rothesay, N.B., Lee Melymick of Toronto and Garrett Ostepchuk of Regina. "Super cool experience," said Higgins, who was named tournament MVP. "We knew Spain was going to be tough; they beat us in pool play, so we knew we didn't have much to lose. We came out, we hit a couple of shots and won the game. "My teammates are awesome," he added. "They worked so hard, it's awesome to see them rewarded, hitting some buckets today and stealing us the victory." The Canadians advanced to the gold-medal game earlier with their second close win over Austria at worlds, taking the semifinal 13-12. Canada opened the tournament with a 17–15 overtime win over the Austrians on Friday, with Higgins scoring the decisive points. Canada, which went 6-1 in Sun City, edged Australia 12-9 in Saturday's quarterfinals. WATCH l Full replay of Canada-Spain men's final: Hosted by Wheelchair Basketball South Africa, the 2025 IWBF 3x3 Open World Championships celebrates the growth of 3x3 wheelchair basketball and offers smaller nations an opportunity to shine on the global stage. This is the second 3x3 event for Canada's wheelchair basketball teams. The women won gold and the men took silver at the sport's debut at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
For Summer McIntosh, a record swim and fourth gold cap superb world championships
Summer McIntosh, the 18-year-old Canadian swimming star, rolled to victory Sunday in the women's 400-meter individual medley, setting a world-championship record and winning her fourth individual gold medal of the event. McIntosh entered the meet in Singapore hoping to equal Michael Phelps' record of five individual golds, which he achieved in 2007. She came up just a few seconds short, fading down the stretch of an incredible women's 800-meter freestyle race on Saturday and taking bronze there. Otherwise, she was flawless in winning the 200-meter butterfly, 400-meter freestyle, and the 200- and 400-meter IMs. The four golds still put her in elite company. Aside from Phelps, only Americans Caeleb Dressel (2019), Katie Ledecky (2015) and Ryan Lochte (2011) have ever won that many individual medals at a world championships. Australia's Jenna Forrester and Japan's Mio Narita tied for silver behind McIntosh, both finishing in 4:33.26, more than seven seconds behind. McIntosh's aggressive week started last Sunday, when she outdueled Ledecky and China's Li Bingjie to win gold in the 400 freestyle. A day later, she won the 200 IM, then the 200 butterfly on Thursday. That set up Saturday's showdown with Ledecky in the 800 freestyle. In a race Ledecky has dominated for over a decade, McIntosh took the lead heading into the 700-meter turn, but she couldn't keep up with the American star over the last 100 and ended up finishing third behind Ledecky and Australian Lani Pallister. She had no such issues Sunday in one of her signature events. She won the last two 400 IM world championships in which she competed, in 2022 and 2023, and took Olympic gold in the event last summer. She won three individual golds in Paris, also in the 200 butterfly and 200 IM. Less than three years before the 2028 Olympics, McIntosh will be the biggest name to watch heading into Los Angeles. She'll be 21 when those Games begin. McIntosh's swim was one of the highlights of the final day of competition of the swimming program at these World Aquatics Championships. In other action Sunday, French star Léon Marchand won the 400-meter IM for his second gold medal of the week, and American Lilly King, who has said she's retiring after this meet, had her final competitive swim. In the meet's final race, the U.S. women's 4×100-meter medley relay team set a world record to clinch the total gold-medal count. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Olympics, Global Sports, Women's Olympics 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
US overcomes outbreak of ‘acute gastroenteritis' to top swimming medal table at World Aquatics Championships
The United States finished top of the swimming medal table at the World Aquatics Championships on Sunday, overcoming a slow start to its campaign in which several of its swimmers battled an outbreak of 'acute gastroenteritis.' The team capped its championships with a world record in the women's 4x100-meter medley relay on Sunday, marking its ninth gold and 29th total medal as it consolidated first place ahead of Australia's eight gold and 20 total medals. The late surge meant that American swimmers had one more gold and nine more medals in total than they did in last year's championships, even if their overall haul was significantly less than the 38 they won in 2023 and the 45 they claimed in 2022. The team's eventual success came after it had seemed diminished in the opening days, with its spokesperson telling the Associated Press that many of its swimmers were battling 'acute gastroenteritis' they had contracted at a training camp in Thailand. The USA's initial struggles at the championship – it won only five gold medals in the opening six days – drew criticism from some of its former stars, particularly as it came a year after the Paris Olympics where it won its lowest tally of Olympic gold medals in the pool since 1988. Six-time Olympic champion Ryan Lochte posted an image on social media of a tombstone with the epigraph: 'In loving memory of United States Swimming. They set the bar high – until they stopped reaching for it,' which 23-time Olympic champion Michael Phelps reposted with the caption: 'Is this the wake-up call USA Swimming needed?' according to Reuters. The US team wasn't immune to the criticism – Gretchen Walsh, who won three gold medals in Singapore – said she was 'trying to block it out.' 'I think we've been dealing with a lot so it's hard to get the criticism in the first place because I don't think people quite understand the magnitude of everything going on behind the scenes,' she said. In the last two days of the world championships, the US won four gold medals, including Katie Ledecky's thrilling victory in the women's 800m freestyle, which she claimed with a championship-record time. That came a day after Kate Douglass clocked in with her own championship-record time in the women's 200m breaststroke. 'I wanted to just get a gold for Team USA to help our medal count there and I think with the rough week that we've had, I think we've done a great job of coming back and showing that we are here to race,' Douglas said afterward according to World Aquatics. Summer McIntosh wins four gold medals Meanwhile, Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh capped one of the greatest world championships performances of all time on Sunday, winning the women's 400m individual medley to claim her fourth gold medal of the week. The 18-year-old finished in a championship-record 4:25.78, not quite enough to beat her own world record of 4:23.65, but more than seven seconds ahead of her nearest challengers. McIntosh joins Katie Ledecky as the only women ever to have won four individual golds at a world championships, according to NBC Sports. The Canadian was attempting to join Michael Phelps' record of winning five individual golds, but lost to Ledecky in Saturday's 800m freestyle final. In Sunday's 400m individual medley final, Australia's Jenna Forrester and Japan's Mio Narita were tied in a dead heat for silver with times of 4:33.26, while 12-year-old Chinese phenom Yu Zidi was half a second further back and finished in fourth place.
