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Kirsty Coventry expects Brisbane 2032 to be a great success

Kirsty Coventry expects Brisbane 2032 to be a great success

News.com.au3 hours ago

IOC President-elect Kirsty Coventry expects Brisbane 2032 to be a great success, hoping Aussies show off their love for sport to the world.

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Olympic champ Jess Fox admits pressure is building ahead of world championships in Penrith
Olympic champ Jess Fox admits pressure is building ahead of world championships in Penrith

7NEWS

time29 minutes ago

  • 7NEWS

Olympic champ Jess Fox admits pressure is building ahead of world championships in Penrith

There's been some rough water for Jessica Fox since her Paris Olympics medal blitz, but the canoe great feels her title defence is on track 100 days out from the world championships in Penrith. Fox will defend her kayak crown on her home course, with the competition getting under way on September 29, but despite winning gold in the event in Paris, her results this year haven't been at her usual standard. The 31-year-old, who owns six Olympic medals, including three gold, has missed the K1 final at both of the opening World Cup events in Europe. In the opening race in La Seu in Spain, Fox finished 48th in a field of 50 after incurring a 50-second penalty for missing a gate. She also missed the K1 final at the second World Cup event in Pau in France, but at both she bounced back to win gold in the C1 races. 'It's funny, people are always almost shocked when you don't qualify for the final, or when you don't win, as when you've done it so many times it's just expected, but actually it's hard every time,' Fox said from Prague, ahead of another World Cup later this month. 'Even the best athletes make mistakes, so it was disappointing. 'I was upset, I had a good cry about it, and then I just got back on the horse the next day, got back in my boat and had another crack. 'I'm fine-tuning things and I'm still in a training and building phase at the moment before the worlds, and I'm taking in as much info as I can.' She said the gates hung quite low in Spain, and she was too cautious in her approach. But after taking time out to savour her Olympic success, also winning gold in the C1 while her sister Noemie won the kayak cross, she felt she was building nicely for the world championships. Fox admitted the pressure of defending her title on her home course could be on par with the Olympics. 'Paris was magical in every way and it went perfectly, and was a very successful campaign, and fantastic to perform in that way,'' she said. 'Now looking forward, obviously you're always going to have that expectation and target on your back, you're the reigning Olympic champion, reigning world champion in the kayak, and that hovers there, like a cloud, if you let it. 'Everyone's hungry for that race, and just because you're world number one or just because you're the reigning champion doesn't mean it's different. 'Coming into a world championship at home is going to feel very much like an Olympics in terms of the pressure and the expectation, but I think we'll be ready. 'I love our home course and that's going to serve me, and I'm going to try and make it an advantage.' While she's set to compete in the next Olympics in Los Angeles, Fox is also looking beyond her paddling career and has partnered with charity organisation High Impact Athletes, with sponsors pledging an amount for each 'clean' gate on the course. 'It's about looking beyond sport and going, how else can I have an impact, and how do I keep this interesting and exciting, and what's my legacy going to be?,'' she said. 'Each race, each run, each gate that I take, I'm pledging my support for this charity, which provides safe, clean drinking water for people around the world, and bringing people on board with me.'

British and Irish Lions lose 28-24 to Argentina in Dublin ahead of Australia tour
British and Irish Lions lose 28-24 to Argentina in Dublin ahead of Australia tour

ABC News

time29 minutes ago

  • ABC News

British and Irish Lions lose 28-24 to Argentina in Dublin ahead of Australia tour

The British and Irish Lions of 2025 have had an inauspicious start to their tour of Australia, losing 28-24 to Argentina at a raucous Aviva stadium in Dublin. It is the first time that the Lions have lost an opening tour match since 1971 and 20 years since Argentina drew with the Lions in Cardiff. First-half tries to Ignacio Mendy and player of the match Tomás Albornoz gave Argentina a 21-10 lead at half-time, local favourite Bundee Aki crossing for the Lions in a sloppy defensive display. But after that disappointing first half the contest developed into a thrilling game in which both teams threw the ball around with the apparent abandon of a post-season friendly. The Lions hit back early in the second half through a penalty try and a Tadhg Beirne score to give the hosts the lead. But a trilling score by Santiago Cordero saw the Lions fall to a deflating defeat as the Pumas celebrated in style on the pitch and reminded the Lions hierarchy that perhaps South America too would one day be a worthy tour destination. The Lions rarely play matches on home soil and, in the bright sunshine of a summer Friday night in Dublin, there was a degree of frivolity in the sold-out stands far from the pressure cooker of a Test match — albeit one where the Lions were not handing out official Test caps. Any suggestion that this was a fun kickabout in the Dublin sun was dispelled by the stern words that veteran tourists Maro Itoje and Elliot Daly imparted in the post-match huddle. No doubt those conversations will continue on the plane Down Under, with the squad departing for Australia on Saturday morning. "I think there are a few learnings. I think we showed glimmers of what this team can be about," Itoje said post-match. "I think there were a few teething issues, [it was] our first run out. "We'll take our lessons … we'll learn from our mistakes and move forward." Many of those teething issues came at the lineout, where the Lions were awful, and in defence, where Argentina's pacing attack tore the line to shreds. This is not the first-choice Lions team that will likely suit up in Brisbane on July 19 — just three Irish players made the starting XV due to the Leinster contingent's participation in the United Rugby Championship final last weekend. But it was still an all-star-packed side that will have been chastened by the enthusiasm and skill of the Argentina side, who were missing plenty of players themselves, in front of them. "We're building a team," Itoje added. "We were nowhere near as consistent or accurate. "We'll learn, we'll get better." Despite the defeat, that improvement was evident as the game went on. The Lions offered a glimpse of how Farrell wants his side to play and, against a ready and willing Argentine side that have claimed the scalps of all three southern hemisphere giants in the past 12 months, they showed glimmers of real class. The scrum was utterly dominant — even with Irish pair Andrew Porter and Tadhg Furlong not involved — as Ellis Genge showed all his power. It also indicated some combinations that Farrell may be interested in using, including a power-packed centre partnership of Aki and Sione Tuipulotu. Fin Smith started at 10 but Marcus Smith, playing 15, popped up at first receiver with abandon in the latter stages of the match, flashing his fast feet and poking his nose through the line with increasing regularity. That being said, both were overshadowed by the superb play of Benneton flyhalf Albornoz. The polish may not have been there from the Lions, but the speed at which they attempted to play was indicative of the assault the Wallabies line will be under whenever they are without the ball — this Lions team will be coming to entertain as well as win. Winger Tommy Freeman in particular was supreme in the air, a warning to avoid kicking in his direction should he make the cut for the test team. But the pack, admittedly shorn of many of its key personnel, will need to step up — particularly in the lineout, which was desperately poor. The Lions will have precious little time to regroup, with post-match briefings perhaps taking place on the long flight Down Under this weekend. The nine-match tour, with three Tests and six tour matches, kicks off in Perth on Saturday, June 28 against the Western Force, where the Lions will no doubt be desperate to kick off their tour proper with a win. British and Irish Lions: Marcus Smith; Tommy Freeman, Sione Tuipulotu, Bundee Aki, Duhan van der Merwe; Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell; Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Finlay Bealham, Maro Itoje (c), Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Jac Morgan, Ben Earl. Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Pierre Schoeman, Tadhg Furlong, Scott Cummings, Henry Pollock, Tomos Williams, Elliot Daly, Mack Hansen. Argentina: Santiago Carreras; Rodrigo Isgró, Lucio Cinti, Justo Piccardo, Ignacio Mendy; Tomás Albornoz, Gonzalo Garcia; Mayco Vivas, Julián Montoya (c), Joel Sclavi, Franco Molina, Pedro Rubiolo, Pablo Matera, Juan Martin González, Joaquín Oviedo, Replacements: Bautista Bernasconi, Boris Wenger, Francisco Coria Marchetti, Santiago Grondona, Joaquín Moro, Simon Benitez Cruz, Matías Moroni, Santiago Cordero.

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