Stingers' plan to back up their Olympic silver medal
The Australian women's water polo team are looking to continue their impressive Olympic form and land their first world championship medal in six years in Singapore next month.
The Stingers claimed silver at the 2024 Paris Games, falling 11-9 to Spain in the final, and hope to springboard from that to a medal at the world aquatic championships, also featuring swimming and diving, which run from July 11-24.
The Australian women haven't won a world championship medal since 2019 in South Korea, when they downed Hungary to win bronze.
They just missed out in Fukuoka, Japan in 2023, losing the bronze medal play-off against Italy, while they placed sixth in 2024.
Water Polo Australia on Monday named a world championship squad that features 10 players who were part of the Paris campaign, expecting the team to capitalise on that Olympic experience.
Almost one year on, coach Bec Rippon said it was great to have the majority of the team back together, although veteran skipper Zoe Arancini was a notable omission.
"It is nice having some of the Paris group back and to now see how they connect with the newer players that have been working hard in Australia and overseas," Rippon said.
"They bring with them some great experience and energy, as we approach the new Olympic cycle," she said.
Currently in camp on the Gold Coast for three weeks, the Stingers next head to Perth, where they will host the USA, who are reigning world champions, and Italy for a training camp and official Test matches.
"It's going to be a great opportunity to trial some new things that we've been working on, and to try things without being under the same pressure of being at a world championships," Rippon said.
"We will play the Italians at the world championships, so it will be a really good chance to check in and measure up against each other before Singapore."
Stingers: Abby Andrews (QLD), Charlize Andrews (QLD), Hayley Ballesty (NSW), Tenealle Fasala (QLD), Sienna Green (NSW), Bronte Halligan (NSW), Sienna Hearn (NSW), Danijela Jackovich (NSW), Tilly Kearns (NSW), Alexie Lambert (NSW), Genevieve Longman (NSW), Olivia Mitchell (NSW), Gabi Palm (QLD), Pippa Pedley (WA), Alice Williams (QLD). Reserves: Claire Durston (NSW), Jessica Emerson (QLD), Nioka Thomas (NSW).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Ultrarunner Will Goodge endured hallucinations and sleepless nights during 2,387-mile run across Australia in 35 days
The first nine days, Will Goodge says, felt like a 'revolving nightmare,' an unending cycle of running and eating, running and eating until it was eventually time to sleep. Except when he did try to close his eyes, sleep would rarely feel restorative, only feverish and restless. Hallucinations became an unpleasant and regular occurrence – 'kind of like you're dreaming but awake at the same time,' says Goodge – and a deep, aching sensation had settled into his muscles and bones. At this point, the British influencer and endurance athlete had barely scratched the surface of his record-breaking attempt to run across Australia. Thousands of miles of tarmac still lay in front of him, and the torment felt like it would last forever. 'I was having nightmares about what I was doing, and I just felt trapped,' Goodge tells CNN Sports. 'It felt extremely claustrophobic. Even when I was out there, you're in a great expanse – there couldn't be more space around you. But for some reason, I felt very enclosed and the night seemed to drag out for a long time.' On the 10th day of his record attempt, however, Goodge turned a corner. His body started to adapt, the nights began to feel shorter, and the roughly 68 miles he was running each day, though never easy, gradually began to feel more manageable. By the end, Goodge had what he calls 'five good days' in a row. Having set off from Perth on Australia's western coast, he arrived at Sydney's Bondi Beach on May 19 to a crowd of hundreds, announcing that he had completed the 2,387 miles (3,841.4 kilometers) in 35 days. That works out as 68.2 miles – around two and a half marathons – each day for more than a month. If ratified, Goodge's feat would set the record for the fastest time running across Australia, smashing Chris Turnbull's 2023 time of 39 days, eight hours and one minute. 'It's pretty overwhelming,' Goodge says about completing the run. 'It's definitely ecstasy because you've obviously been through what you could call a traumatic experience, if you like. 'To get out the other side is like a big release of emotion. You're obviously extremely happy, you're emotional. I was tearing up a bit at the end, especially when I was doing my speech. There's just a huge weight that gets lifted off your shoulders … I was just overall confused, overwhelmed, happy, somewhat sad. It was a bit of everything.' Goodge marked the end of his challenge by laying a bouquet of flowers on the Bondi Beach shoreline in memory of his mother, who passed away from Non-Hodgkin lymphoma – a form of cancer affecting the lymphatic system – in 2018. He was raising money for three cancer charities in the UK, US and Australia, drawing inspiration from his mom's illness during the most arduous moments of the epic run. 'Seeing her fight cancer the way she did – and obviously I was with her through the end-of-life care – I have an ignorance to my own suffering,' says Goodge. 'I've seen someone go through worse, and the fact that I choose to do this kind of thing means that when it does get tough, I can think back to that or think about my mom. 'I have no reason to complain or whine or moan, just keep pushing forward. And I feel like she's with me there every step of the way.' For Goodge, a typical day traversing Australia on foot would start at 4 a.m., his dad greeting him with cereal and a black coffee to fuel the early-morning miles. His coach would then give him a massage or apply strapping – 'my toes,' Goodge explains, 'were taking a hell of a beating' – before the day's first block of running while it was still dark. From there, he would break up the distance ahead of him into roughly seven-mile blocks, pausing at the end of each one to refuel. That might be a high-calorie smoothie, cake, sandwiches, rice, pasta or yogurt with fruit and honey. At the end of the day, Goodge would aim to have shower and eat dinner with his crew, even indulging in a beer or two. 'It adds a layer of normality to what you're doing, rather than the madness of wake up, eat, run, eat, run, eat, run, shower, eat, sleep,' says Goodge. And the beers? 'It's like a small celebration,' he adds. 'If you went out and ran 110, 111k (around 68.5 miles) on any other day, you'd probably do the same.' Goodge describes the run as 'more of a mental battle' than a physical one, 'because your body's always going to fail doing stuff like that.' When it did fail, the results were often gruesome: huge blisters, an injured Achilles that inflamed to twice its size, right shin pain, and ankle issues. In a recent Instagram post, he estimated that he lost more than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) in weight over the course of the run. Several days on from finishing, Goodge says that his feet were still 'very, very swollen and not looking their best.' But his resilience – the thought of quitting never crossed his mind – coupled with the support from his crew and those following online all helped him to reach Sydney relatively unscathed. A former rugby player and model, Goodge is hardly your typical ultrarunner. He's bigger and more muscular than most and posts photos of his glamorous lifestyle – think fancy dinners, swanky hotels and seaside resorts – to his 254,000 followers on Instagram. His growing list of endurance achievements includes conquering the more than 3,000 miles across America between Los Angles and New York, circumnavigating Lake Como in Italy, and running the length of the UK from Land's End to John O'Groats. He's attracted many supporters along the way – even legendary Kenyan marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge sent him a message during the trans-Australia attempt – but also his fair share of critics. Specifically, some members of the ultrarunning community think that Goodge's endurance runs, his pace and the accompanying heart-rate data he posts online, are too good to be true. The most vocal skeptic, runner and athletics writer Will Cockerell, even flew from the United Kingdom to the US during Goodge's run across America to check that the 31-year-old was completing the runs himself, not sharing the watch tracking his progress between members of his team. The encounter and allegation from Cockerell, described as 'watch muling,' is captured on video, though Cockerell found no direct evidence of cheating. Goodge has strenuously denied the claims, hitting out against 'self-proclaimed experts' who 'say they know everything about heart rate.' He also points to the reason that he's running in the first place. 'It's so intertwined with the passing of my mom and trying to make that more than just a sad story,' says Goodge. 'It kind of disgusts me that people would think I would cheat and use my mom's death as a reason to either build my profile, say I'm getting a record, or profit from it. I find that extremely disgusting and probably not everyone knows that. 'But also, I can appreciate the fact that people probably don't like me, which is totally fine. I definitely don't fit in the ultrarunner box. I don't kind of look like one, and I certainly don't act like one. So it's going to come with the territory, and that's fine.' Another criticism Goodge often faces is that his performances in solo challenges seem superior compared to where he has placed at races – though that's something he says he hopes to address. To date, his best race result is an 11th-place finish at last year's Moab 240, a notorious 240-mile ultramarathon in Utah. 'I'm a better athlete now than I was then,' says Goodge. 'So maybe at some of these races … I could be looking for podiums, not just be that guy that's run across some countries and has one record. Be like: no, I'm a serious player in one of the real race formats as well. I think that would make me a more well-rounded athlete and taken maybe more seriously again.' As for getting his trans Australia run ratified as a record, Goodge says that he and his team have compiled signed witness statements from the challenge, which they will submit to Guinness World Records along with the data uploaded to fitness tracking app Strava. 'There's a few boxes to tick,' he says. 'I feel like we've gone over and above what would usually be done for this kind of thing. I'm confident it will all go through.' For now, Goodge has 'nothing major' on the horizon – perhaps a team event in Iceland this August, but no plans to run across more countries any time soon. If he does take on another, he says that the memory of his mother will motivate him above anything else. 'In these things, the connection (with her) feels really true and really deep,' adds Goodge. 'It's probably why I keep going back and doing it more.'
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Ultrarunner Will Goodge endured hallucinations and sleepless nights during 2,387-mile run across Australia in 35 days
The first nine days, Will Goodge says, felt like a 'revolving nightmare,' an unending cycle of running and eating, running and eating until it was eventually time to sleep. Except when he did try to close his eyes, sleep would rarely feel restorative, only feverish and restless. Hallucinations became an unpleasant and regular occurrence – 'kind of like you're dreaming but awake at the same time,' says Goodge – and a deep, aching sensation had settled into his muscles and bones. At this point, the British influencer and endurance athlete had barely scratched the surface of his record-breaking attempt to run across Australia. Thousands of miles of tarmac still lay in front of him, and the torment felt like it would last forever. 'I was having nightmares about what I was doing, and I just felt trapped,' Goodge tells CNN Sports. 'It felt extremely claustrophobic. Even when I was out there, you're in a great expanse – there couldn't be more space around you. But for some reason, I felt very enclosed and the night seemed to drag out for a long time.' On the 10th day of his record attempt, however, Goodge turned a corner. His body started to adapt, the nights began to feel shorter, and the roughly 68 miles he was running each day, though never easy, gradually began to feel more manageable. By the end, Goodge had what he calls 'five good days' in a row. Having set off from Perth on Australia's western coast, he arrived at Sydney's Bondi Beach on May 19 to a crowd of hundreds, announcing that he had completed the 2,387 miles (3,841.4 kilometers) in 35 days. That works out as 68.2 miles – around two and a half marathons – each day for more than a month. If ratified, Goodge's feat would set the record for the fastest time running across Australia, smashing Chris Turnbull's 2023 time of 39 days, eight hours and one minute. 'It's pretty overwhelming,' Goodge says about completing the run. 'It's definitely ecstasy because you've obviously been through what you could call a traumatic experience, if you like. 'To get out the other side is like a big release of emotion. You're obviously extremely happy, you're emotional. I was tearing up a bit at the end, especially when I was doing my speech. There's just a huge weight that gets lifted off your shoulders … I was just overall confused, overwhelmed, happy, somewhat sad. It was a bit of everything.' Goodge marked the end of his challenge by laying a bouquet of flowers on the Bondi Beach shoreline in memory of his mother, who passed away from Non-Hodgkin lymphoma – a form of cancer affecting the lymphatic system – in 2018. He was raising money for three cancer charities in the UK, US and Australia, drawing inspiration from his mom's illness during the most arduous moments of the epic run. 'Seeing her fight cancer the way she did – and obviously I was with her through the end-of-life care – I have an ignorance to my own suffering,' says Goodge. 'I've seen someone go through worse, and the fact that I choose to do this kind of thing means that when it does get tough, I can think back to that or think about my mom. 'I have no reason to complain or whine or moan, just keep pushing forward. And I feel like she's with me there every step of the way.' For Goodge, a typical day traversing Australia on foot would start at 4 a.m., his dad greeting him with cereal and a black coffee to fuel the early-morning miles. His coach would then give him a massage or apply strapping – 'my toes,' Goodge explains, 'were taking a hell of a beating' – before the day's first block of running while it was still dark. From there, he would break up the distance ahead of him into roughly seven-mile blocks, pausing at the end of each one to refuel. That might be a high-calorie smoothie, cake, sandwiches, rice, pasta or yogurt with fruit and honey. At the end of the day, Goodge would aim to have shower and eat dinner with his crew, even indulging in a beer or two. 'It adds a layer of normality to what you're doing, rather than the madness of wake up, eat, run, eat, run, eat, run, shower, eat, sleep,' says Goodge. And the beers? 'It's like a small celebration,' he adds. 'If you went out and ran 110, 111k (around 68.5 miles) on any other day, you'd probably do the same.' Goodge describes the run as 'more of a mental battle' than a physical one, 'because your body's always going to fail doing stuff like that.' When it did fail, the results were often gruesome: huge blisters, an injured Achilles that inflamed to twice its size, right shin pain, and ankle issues. In a recent Instagram post, he estimated that he lost more than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) in weight over the course of the run. Several days on from finishing, Goodge says that his feet were still 'very, very swollen and not looking their best.' But his resilience – the thought of quitting never crossed his mind – coupled with the support from his crew and those following online all helped him to reach Sydney relatively unscathed. A former rugby player and model, Goodge is hardly your typical ultrarunner. He's bigger and more muscular than most and posts photos of his glamorous lifestyle – think fancy dinners, swanky hotels and seaside resorts – to his 254,000 followers on Instagram. His growing list of endurance achievements includes conquering the more than 3,000 miles across America between Los Angles and New York, circumnavigating Lake Como in Italy, and running the length of the UK from Land's End to John O'Groats. He's attracted many supporters along the way – even legendary Kenyan marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge sent him a message during the trans-Australia attempt – but also his fair share of critics. Specifically, some members of the ultrarunning community think that Goodge's endurance runs, his pace and the accompanying heart-rate data he posts online, are too good to be true. The most vocal skeptic, runner and athletics writer Will Cockerell, even flew from the United Kingdom to the US during Goodge's run across America to check that the 31-year-old was completing the runs himself, not sharing the watch tracking his progress between members of his team. The encounter and allegation from Cockerell, described as 'watch muling,' is captured on video, though Cockerell found no direct evidence of cheating. Goodge has strenuously denied the claims, hitting out against 'self-proclaimed experts' who 'say they know everything about heart rate.' He also points to the reason that he's running in the first place. 'It's so intertwined with the passing of my mom and trying to make that more than just a sad story,' says Goodge. 'It kind of disgusts me that people would think I would cheat and use my mom's death as a reason to either build my profile, say I'm getting a record, or profit from it. I find that extremely disgusting and probably not everyone knows that. 'But also, I can appreciate the fact that people probably don't like me, which is totally fine. I definitely don't fit in the ultrarunner box. I don't kind of look like one, and I certainly don't act like one. So it's going to come with the territory, and that's fine.' Another criticism Goodge often faces is that his performances in solo challenges seem superior compared to where he has placed at races – though that's something he says he hopes to address. To date, his best race result is an 11th-place finish at last year's Moab 240, a notorious 240-mile ultramarathon in Utah. 'I'm a better athlete now than I was then,' says Goodge. 'So maybe at some of these races … I could be looking for podiums, not just be that guy that's run across some countries and has one record. Be like: no, I'm a serious player in one of the real race formats as well. I think that would make me a more well-rounded athlete and taken maybe more seriously again.' As for getting his trans Australia run ratified as a record, Goodge says that he and his team have compiled signed witness statements from the challenge, which they will submit to Guinness World Records along with the data uploaded to fitness tracking app Strava. 'There's a few boxes to tick,' he says. 'I feel like we've gone over and above what would usually be done for this kind of thing. I'm confident it will all go through.' For now, Goodge has 'nothing major' on the horizon – perhaps a team event in Iceland this August, but no plans to run across more countries any time soon. If he does take on another, he says that the memory of his mother will motivate him above anything else. 'In these things, the connection (with her) feels really true and really deep,' adds Goodge. 'It's probably why I keep going back and doing it more.'
Tom's Guide
3 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
How to watch 2025 World Test Championship final online for FREE: Live stream Australia vs South Africa cricket
Two years of international red ball cricket has all led to Lord's, with Australia and South Africa the sides who topped the 2023-25 World Test Championship table and will now play out the final. You can watch Australia vs South Africa live streams from anywhere with a VPN and potentially for free. The 2025 World Test Championship final runs between Wednesday, June 11 and Sunday, June 15 (plus reserve day on Mon. if required).► Daily start time: 10:30 a.m. BST / 5:30 a.m. ET. / 2:30 a.m. PT / 7:30 p.m. AEST► FREE — (select regions) | Tamasha / PTV Sports► U.S. — Willow TV via Sling TV► AUS — Amazon Prime Video (30-day free trial)► Watch anywhere — Try NordVPN 100% risk free Australia are current world Test champions, having subjected India to a second successive final defeat at the Oval two years ago when Travis Head's first-innings 163 proved the decisive performance. Pat Cummins leads a team that hasn't tasted a series loss since early 2023 and has enjoyed recent wins over New Zealand, India and Sri Lanka. South Africa may be the final's surprise package, but their impressive form in this WTC cycle earned them the top spot in the table. You have to go back a year-and-a-half to find their last loss in a Test match, and there's good reason why pace duo Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen are currently in the top 10 ranked bowlers in the world. The Proteas have the quality to upset the Aussies, and have yet another opportunity at Lord's this week to shed their reputation as chokers when it really matters. Can they do it? Our full guide below explains where to catch World Test Championship live streams between Australia vs South Africa and watch cricket from anywhere in the world — including free live streams. There are free TV broadcasts in Pakistan thanks to PTV and Ten Sports. That means you can also pick up free World test Championship live streams on the following websites: Tamasha and Myco. will also show free Australia vs South Africa streams in a host of countries where TV rights haven't been sold — from Albania to Vietnam! You can see the full list of territories here. Aussies also have the option to watch for free by taking a 30-day free trial to Amazon Prime. Abroad? Use this VPN to unblock your local stream. See below. Away from home at the moment and blocked from watching the cricket on your usual subscription? You can still watch live Australia vs South Africa streams thanks to a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The software allows your devices to appear to be back in your home country regardless of where in the world you are. So ideal for viewers away on vacation or on business. Our favorite is NordVPN. It's the best VPN on the market: There's a good reason you've heard of NordVPN. We specialize in testing and reviewing VPN services and NordVPN is the one we rate best. It's outstanding at unblocking streaming services, it's fast and it has top-level security features too. With over 7,000 servers across 115+ countries, and at a great price too, it's easy to recommend. Get over 70% off NordVPN with this deal Using a VPN is incredibly simple. 1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite. 2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.S. and want to view a U.K. service, you'd select a U.K. server from the list. 3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to your usual streaming site or app and watch an Australia vs South Africa live stream as if you were back at home. Dedicated cricket streaming service Willow TV is showing Australia vs South Africa live streams in the U.S. Willow TV is available from a number of cable providers including Dish, Spectrum, Xfinity, Verizon Fios and more, or as a standalone service. Alternatively, you can get the World Test Championship final through Sling TV, as part of a special package for a similar price. You don't need to subscribe to a full Sling TV plan in order to watch cricket from Willow. Instead, you can sign up to your choice of its Desi Binge Plus, Dakshin Flex or Urdu plans, which all include Willow. Prices start from only $10 per month or $50 for six months. Just like south of the border, the World Test Championship final will show on Willow in Canada. Check your cable provider to see if it's available, or subscribe to the service's own streaming platform for $8.99/month or $79.99/year. Traveling abroad? Try using a VPN to unlock your home subscription services – we recommend NordVPN. Sky Sports is the exclusive place to watch the 2025 World Test Championship final in the U.K. as well as all other cricket. If you want to sign up, you can check out Sky TV deals and packages for today's best prices. Sky Sports subscribers can watch the cricket on mobile devices via the Sky Go streaming service, which has dedicated apps for iOS, iPadOS and Android devices, along with Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Don't fancy being locked into a long, expensive contract? You could consider a more flexible Now Sports Membership. Day passes cost £14.99, or a rolling monthly subscription is £34.99. To access your usual streaming service from outside the U.K, you'll need to download a good VPN, as detailed above. Aussies will find World Test Championship final live streams on Amazon Prime Video. Prime subscriptions start at $9.99/month, with savings if you sign up for the year. You can also pay more to get rid of the ads. If you're a new user, get to take advantage of its 30-day FREE trial. Not at home right now? Use NordVPN or another VPN service to tap into your subscriptions from anywhere. Kiwis can access Australia vs South Africa live streams via Sky Sport Now. This costs $54.99/month or $549.99/year. Those looking to watch the World Test Championship final live on TV, these games will also be shown across Sky Sport channels. Not at home in New Zealand right now? You can still follow every game by using a reputable VPN service, such as NordVPN. Fans in India can watch World Test Championship final action on the Star Sports Network and JioHotstar. Monthly subscriptions to Disney Plus Hotstar start from as little as Rs. 299, with yearly subscriptions from Rs. 899. Anyone outside of India who wants to watch their home cricket coverage can just pick up a good VPN and follow the instructions above to live stream the action safely. We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
