Aussie Meg Harris captures sprint gold
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Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
'Better than Bledisloe drought': Fox out to win for NZ
Throwing in a stinging trans-Tasman sledge for good measure, rugby-loving Ryan Fox is pledging to do his damndest to break New Zealand's 26-year Australian PGA Championship title drought. A two-time PGA Tour winner this year, Fox is the latest big name to join the field for the first Australian "major" of the summer at Royal Queensland Golf Club from November 27-30. The Canadian Open and Myrtle Beach Classic champion in 2025, Fox will return to Australia for the first time since 2022, joining fellow Kiwis Daniel Hillier and Kazuma Kobori as confirmed contenders for the Joe Kirkwood Cup. No Kiwi since the great Greg Turner in 1999 has won the Australian PGA Championship. But Fox, the son of All Blacks legend Grant Fox, reckons the drought is not half as bad as Australia's inability to claim the Bledisloe Cup since 2002. "So, yeah, 26 years. It's nearly as long as your Bledisloe drought," Fox told reporters on a teleconference on Tuesday. "I think that might be a bit more of a sore point for you guys than the Aussie PGA is for us, to be honest. "Hopefully we can change that this year and I'll certainly be giving it my best crack and I'm sure all the other Kiwis in the field will be doing the same. "We've got a strong Kiwi contingent that's going to play there this year." Now flying high after soaring to No.31 in the world, 38-year-old Fox credits two victories over the Australian summer a decade ago for being the making of his global career. He won the 2014 WA Open before roaring home with two eagles in the last three holes to edge out Cameron Smith and Matthew Millar four months later to secure his European Tour card. "I had a pretty good year in 2014 on the Aussie tour," he recalled. "Winning once is always nice, but doing it again is bit more reassuring, like it's not a fluke, and that paved the way. "I played pretty well in the New Zealand PGA straight afterwards and then, after signing with ISM, I ended up going over and getting some (secondary) Challenge (Tour) starts because of it. "And I'd literally never been to Europe at that point. "I played well in my first couple of Challenge events, managed to get a win there, and that started my career in Europe, basically. "Without those results early in 2015, I might not have got that opportunity to sign with a management company over there and get those starts and my career could have looked very, very different to what it is now. "So it's amazing what can happen in that respect. My time on the Aussie tour really set me up for success to be honest."
7NEWS
3 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Aussie motorcycle world champion Troy Bayliss rushed to hospital with serious internal injuries
Australian motorcycle great Troy Bayliss has been hospitalised with serious internal injuries suffered in a crash. The three-time Superbike world champion shared the update on Instagram alongside a photo of his broke and battered body. He suggested he was found unconscious by passersby, who called an ambulance. 'Went for a spin in the meat wagon yesterday,' the 56-year-old wrote on Instagram. 'Thanks to the people who spotted me having a sleep on the track. 'Seven ribs, punctured lung and collarbone, and just beat up.' Loading Instagram Post Bayliss had only just returned to riding two weeks ago after recovering from a broken left ankle. His latest incident shocked friends and fans, with multiple MotoGP race winners sending their well wishes. Cal Crutchlow said: 'Heal up mate and you be back to still getting after it again soon!!! Legend.' Max Biaggi wrote: 'F***! Can't believe!!!! Be strong my friend.' Marco Melandri said: 'Damn!!!! Take care mate!' Aussie stuntman Robbie Maddison wrote: 'Damn it mate! Sorry it was your turn. Heal fast brother!' Australian Moto3 young gun Joel Kelso said: 'S*** mate! Get well soon!!' Bayliss won three Superbike World Championship titles either side of a stint in MotoGP. He capped off his second Superbike triumph in 2006 with his one and only MotoGP race win, taking the chequered flag as an injury substitute for the season finale. His son Oli has followed in his footsteps and currently races in the British Supersport Championship.
The Australian
15 hours ago
- The Australian
Meg Harris wins 50m freestyle gold at World Swimming Championships
Australian sprinter Meg Harris gambled on herself and came up a world champion. The 23-year-old was one of the big underdog stories of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, bolting from an outside lane to claim a shock silver medal in the 50m freestyle. Inspired by that moment and the success of Australia's unique sprint king Cameron McEvoy, Harris decided to all but shelve the 100m event and focus on being a pure sprinter. It was a huge risk, given she had collected two Olympic and five world titles gold medals by being part of a relay ensemble with her 100m strength, but Harris knew she had potential to stand atop the podium on her own if she went all in on the 50m. Meg Harris celebrates after winning the women's 50m freestyle final. Picture: AFP) So committed was Harris to her new life as a one-lap specialist, she pulled out of the 100m event after swimming a heat at the national trials and coaches needed to twist her arm just to line up for the 4x100m freestyle relay on the opening night of these world titles where she also won a gold medal. But Harris has proven she could have her cake and eat it too. Harris executed a near-perfect race to take Australia's eighth gold medal of the world titles, with a stunning start and underwater to come up clearly ahead of the field and hold on to win in 24.02 seconds from China's Qingfeng Wu (24.26s) and Yujie Cheng (24.28s). She is Australia's first women's 50m freestyle world champion in a decade, joining Bronte Campbell as a one-lap hero after she won the title in Kazan in 2015. It also means Australia boasts the fastest man and woman in the world after Cameron McEvoy also won the 50m freestyle earlier in the meet. Meg Harris was part of five world championship-winning relay teams, with this her first individual title. Picture: AFP 'I still don't have the words to process this, but this is a dream,' Harris said. 'I felt really good the first 15m and that's been my weakness so far. I knew if I got that right I just had to hold on.' Harris said she made the bold call to focus on the 50m after struggling to get back into the grind of swimming life post Paris. 'It was a bit of a tough one. I felt such a high coming off that, and then starting out this year I had to find a new motivation, not just coming in and doing the exact same thing,' she explained. 'I tried for the first couple months, but something just wasn't working. I needed to find a new way to do it. So I stripped everything back and started with the basics, all the things… like the reasons I started swimming. I love sprinting, I love racing. 'So we just took that all back, did everything that I love. I'm excited now to put together the rest when I get home. But yeah, cannot be happier.' Meg Harris takes off, on her way to a world championships gold medal. Picture: Getty Images In a post-Olympic year Australia's eight gold medals is perhaps a stronger return than expected for a swim team that was tipped to struggle with Ariarne Titmus taking the year off, Zac Stubblety-Cook out injured and Olympic great Emma McKeon retired. But it is one more gold medal than the Dolphins secured at the Paris Olympics and importantly there were fresh faces like Harris showing they were ready to stand up as individuals in the path towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Meg Harris reacts after winning the women's 50m freestyle final. Picture: AFP The emergence of Lani Pallister as a serious threat to Katie Ledecky in the 800m freestyle, the arrival of Alexandria Perkins as a 50m-100m butterfly medallist and the 'dirty gold' Harrison Turner in the 200m butterfly have given Australian optimism about regenerating a swim team that is still powered by greats like Kaylee McKeown, Mollie O'Callaghan, Cameron McEvoy and Kyle Chalmers. While it wasn't quite the 13 gold medal haul from Fukuoka's 2023 world titles, the signs are promising enough that the Dolphins are keeping the US swim team honest in the medal table battle ahead of their home Games in three years. Sam Short climbed out of his sick bed just three days after a horrendous bout of gastro for a gallant fourth place in the 1500m freestyle final in 14:43,06. Samuel Short was fourth in the 1500m freestyle final. Picture: AFP 'I just wanted to get out there and see how hard I could push myself,' he said. 'I was pretty sick three days ago ... fourth I will take that. 'I didn't have to do the 1500 but there was no way I would sit in the stands without giving it a crack.' Jenna Forrester secured a shock silver medal in the women's 400m medley, fighting back over the final 25m to deadheat for second behind Canada's superstar Summer McIntosh who won in 4:25.78 for her fourth gold medal of the titles. Jenna Forrester shared silver behind Summer McIntosh in the women's 400m medley. Picture: Getty Images Forrester looked to be battling to hold on for bronze when she turned third at the 350m mark, but somehow found another gear down the final lap to tie for second with Japan's Mio Narita in 4:33.26. That final lap surge also denied China's 12-year-old Yu Zidi an individual medal, she touched fourth in 4:33.76. 'I feel like from 2023 it's been such a hard battle, to be up on the podium I am so stoked,' Forrester said. The battle to see which nation wins the medal tally came down to the final event of the world titles - with USA and Australia both tied with eight gold medals ahead of the women's 400m medley. In the end it was the US team, powered by a dominant breaststroke leg by Kate Douglass, that won comprehensively in a new world record time of 3:49.34 ahead of Australia in silver in 3:52.67. It meant Australia ended the meet ranked No.2 on the leaderboard with eight gold, six silver and six bronze medals, behind the United States with nine gold, 11 silver and nine bronze medals. Todd Balym Codes Editor Todd Balym is the Codes team editor leading the team of reporters covering all the non-footy sports. He is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years experience in media and covered major sporting events around the world including three Olympic Games. Todd Balym
