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Olympics Soccer News: The Matildas campaign came crashing down early following their 2-1 loss v USWNT coupled with Canada’s 1-0 win v Colombia for the two of the best third-place teams 

by Sports Benches

So gutted to hear that the Matildas won’t be able to roar into the Quarter-Finals this time around unfortunately at Paris 2024 as they won’t be able to play any further now that the Quarter-Final teams are set without them.

It’s not the match the Matildas wanted when they were really struggling to get a grasp out of the mighty USA’s WNT side all along with a few scoring opportunities here & there to try and stay in contention off the back of their opening game loss v Germany (3-1) followed by a near scare comeback win v Zambia (6-5) the other day. Not even though a late goal by Alannah Kennedy wasn’t enough in the 92th minute to stop them from at least settling the score with the 2-1 loss before Canada’s 1-0 win over Colombia a few hours later has left the Matildas out of the cold based on the best Top 2 of 3rd-placed teams.

Oh Canada haven’t we been kind when you’ve been out there eliminating the Aussies left, right and centre across multiple sports including the Medal women’s semi-final in the Rugby 7s the other day and now it’s happening in Soccer. They too are going into the last 8 instead v the Matildas’ Group B opponents who won from the 3-1 opening game nearly a week ago in Team Germany.

Congrats to USA with the win who has been dominant across the pitch where they were able to get away of two goals out a possible 20 throughout the match v Matildas. Sure, they’re a really young side that is going to take time when a few experienced heads like Alex Morgan aren’t there to play in Paris by now head coach Emma Hayes, who coached Sam Kerr recently at Chelsea prior to her post there this summer. However, they know what it takes to go all the way before having last won gold there back in 2012 in London, as their journey continues in the last 8 v Japan at Parc De Princes this weekend.

Meanwhile, Aussie sports fans really wanted the Matildas to do well so bad based on their breakthrough run at the Women’s World Cup last year on home soil. But then no Sam Kerr when she’s out right now due to an ACL knee injury has really hit them hard that would’ve set them the difference of making into the knockout stages and having to experience elimination once the early-rounds are over like they have to go through right now.

They had a few chances on the counter-attack to try and extract some from USWNT’s missed shots towards goal but then the defense had a really tough time in the office to say for the most part including star keeper Mackenzie Arnold that allowed themselves to slipped away with two lost goals to their opponents across both halves. Plus, a few ill-disciplines and offsides didn’t help their cause much either I’m afraid that forced USA’s hand a few times and there goes that poor result & eventually their Olympics campaign that early too.

Now the Tillies better need to move onto the next task to regroup themselves from there by building on their stunning growth that won the hearts of many Aussie sports fans. The question happening right now will Tony Gustavsson be around after this as head coach who oversaw the Matildas over these last few roller-coasting years?  Time will tell, even when Sam Kerr will eventually be back from her long ongoing ACL injury at some point.

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Olympics Swimming News: Kyle Chalmers & Zac Stubblety-Cook the only two silver medalists for the Aussie Dolphins Swim Team in Day 5 at Paris La Defense Arena

by Sports Benches

Well, no gold medals on Day 5 from the Aussie Dolphins Swim Team, but at least they are still leading the Olympics swimming medal tally by just one gold medal ahead of Team USA, who currently has three in the bag with four days to go.

First of all, it wasn’t the swim both Mollie O’Callaghan and Shayna Jack wanted in the women’s 100m Freestyle Final where they finished 4th & 5th respectively. Now this is Mollie O’s first Olympics for those who wants to jump the gun on her with high expectations to walk away for the gold as she didn’t have a good start. Although she was not far towards the end of the wall when it comes to an outside shot for the Top 3, but at least nowhere near the record time ahead of everyone I guess. 

The same goes to Shayna having gone from a long, long way via her two-year doping ban before she was able to swim competitively once again a few years ago where she’s an excellent team player. She too maybe within reach at least the Top 3 at one stage especially in the 1st 50m but then she was languishing towards the back end during the last 50m half sprint.

If 1-2 medals would make you smile for the Aussies, how about “The King” Kyle Chalmers who finished 2nd in the Men’s 100m Freestyle Final sprint, as well as Zac Stubblety-Cook (also a silver medalist) in the Men’s 200m breaststroke Final.

For Stubblety-Cook, you can’t overcome winning such a strong French crowd where Leon Le Marchand won that race comfortably with the gold medal. However, at least he was within the Top 3 radar all along which wasn’t bad. The only thing he could’ve done better that Zac just couldn’t close down on the Frenchman when he was around two secs off the pace there. 

And long live King Kyle with another Olympic gold, even though he fell short to China’s Pan Zhanle who dominated this meet with the new world record time. It wasn’t an easy race when you got so many world-class swimmers alongside him, especially when he didn’t have the best of starts. He did have the best finish though where it might not be enough to catch Zhanle on time by just 1 second but boy happy to see him collect the silver.

So where to now going into Day 6? Looks like there will be two gold medal opportunities up for grabs for the Aussies in the of holding onto this Olympic swimming medal tally. One will be both Liz Dekkers and Abbey Connor in the Women’s 200m Butterfly Final and the other would possibly be the Women’s 4 x 200m Freestyle Team Relay events.

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Field Hockey: Hockeyroos continue their winning start to their Olympics run this time with a 3-0 clean sweep v Team USA

by Sports Benches

So there you have it, the Hockeyroos have continued their winning run to the Paris 2024 campaign with the 3-0 clean sweep victory against Team USA. Great to see Renee Taylor on the mark for the team’s early goal while Alice Arnott added another right on half-time & although nothing much happened in the 3rd 15, but Maddison Brooks safeguarded the match for their 3rd goal with seven mins to go.

They will be back against Argentina Friday morning at 4.15am AEST on what is going to be a top-of-the-table clash in Pool B while Team USA will be playing next a few hours beforehand against Great Britain.

So far, so good from the Hockeyroos on what has been another excellent display tonight, such as their dominant possession of the ball that fed them plenty of final third opportunities including a few winning penalties – in which was successful a few times. Plus, their defense never looked out of place all along, having protected themselves well to stop the ball from slipping away that allows them to throw towards the other end for the best opportunities possible. Now they will need to keep this up in the hope of getting over the line next against a top Argentine team.

And commiserations to Team USA with the loss off the back of their brilliant defensive play including from the keeper and the way they attack on the counter such as these brilliant breaks towards the attacking third across the pitch. One thing for sure though is if they simply lack the finishing quality needed to rattle around Jocelyn Bartram and her defenders who wouldn’t give them a free pass & that was a huge weakness they couldn’t grasp unfortunately tonight v the Hockeyroos.

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2024 Paris Olympic Swimming Day 4 Recap: MCKEOWN PULLS OFF A STUNNING REPEAT PERFORAMANCE, SHATTERING HER OWN OLYMPIC RECORD AT 100M BACKSTROKE!

by Admin

Kudos to our incredible Dolphins – your dedication and spirit shone brightly in Paris day by day!

On the fourth day of competition, 13 Dolphins fought to secure a place in the upcoming finals. The Men’s 200m Butterfly kicked off the day, but Aussie Matt Temple’s time of 1:57.72 wasn’t enough to get him into the semi-finals.

Both the Men’s and Women’s 100m Freestyle events saw Kyle Chalmers (48.07s), William Yang (48.46s), Mollie O’Callaghan (53.27), and Shayna Jack (53.40) qualify for the night sessions.

A Covid-19 diagnosis led to Lani Pallister pulling out of the Women’s 1500m freestyle event, with hopes that this will protect her health so she can compete in the Women’s 4x200m relay on Day 5.

Despite this setback, Moesha Johnson, another Dolphin, advanced to the final of the 1500m event, where she will go up against American star Katie Ledecky on Thursday morning.

Zac Stubblety-Cook’s impressive final 50m push in the Men’s 200m Breaststroke helped him secure a spot in the semi-finals as the second seed, with a time of 2:09.49.

The morning session concluded with the Australian 4x200m Freestyle Relay team, consisting of Zac Incerti, Kai Taylor, Flynn Southam, and Thomas Neill. The team qualified in fourth place (7:05.63), while defending champions Great Britain posted the fastest qualifying time of 7:05.11.

The fourth night at the Paris’ La Défense Arena began with King Kyle’s determination to regain his title in the 100m freestyle event. In the Men’s 100m Freestyle semi-final, Australian newcomer Will Yang competed alongside Chalmers, who made a stunning comeback to win with the second fastest time of 47.58s after starting in fourth place. However, Yang missed out on a spot in the final, finishing 15th overall with a time of 48.42.

The highlight of the night was when our backstroke expert Kaylee McKeown, claimed victory in the Women’s 100m Backstroke Final.

McKeown was in a close race with American swimmers Regan Smith and Katherine Berkoff, but she pulled ahead in the last 25m to defend her Olympic title, setting a new Olympic Record with a winning time of 57.33s. In the Backstroke final, up-and-coming swimmer Dolphin, Iona Anderson, put in a remarkable effort and came in 5th place.

Shayna Jack and Mollie O’Callaghan, who have already won Olympic gold in 2024, qualified for the Women’s 100m freestyle final by finishing 2nd (52.72s) and 3rd (52.75) in the semifinals, just behind Hong Kong’s Siobhan Bernadette Haughey (52.64s).

The Men’s 200m Breaststroke Semi-Final came next, where Zac Stubblety-Cook and Joshua Yong both secured spots in the final. In the evening, Elijah Winnington took an initial lead in the Men’s 800m Final, but was quickly overtaken in the second half of the race by Irish swimmer Daniel Wiffen, who secured his nation’s first gold medal in the pool. Winnington ended up in eighth place, clocking a time of 7:48.36.

Following that, the Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay event began. The youthful Australian squad secured the fourth position in the qualifications before the final.

Yet, it was Elijah Winnington who, in the third leg, consolidated the Australian team’s standing in 3rd place behind the USA and Great Britain, following his 800m final swim. Thomas Neill, the anchor of the Australian team, closely followed American Kieran Smith and won the first Bronze Medal for Australia in the games.

The Dolphins Olympic journey is only beginning, be sure to catch Day 5 as more of our Dolphins aim for the top prize!

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2024 Paris Olympic Swimming Day 3 Recap: MOLLIE O’CALLAGHAN TOPS ARIARNE TITMUS WITH A HISTORIC WINNING OF BREAKING RECORDS

by Admin

What a well set day for Aussies! Day 3 of the Paris Olympics swimming events featured a blend of gripping heats and electrifying finals that captivated audiences worldwide. The day began with a series of intense heats across various disciplines, setting the stage for the evening finals.

In the women’s 200m individual medley, the heats were a showcase of strong performances as swimmers jostled for positions in the finals. The heats of the men’s 100m butterfly also drew significant attention, with competitors pushing the limits to secure their spots in the final lineup. The morning’s activities highlighted the depth of talent and set up a dramatic evening of finals.

The third day of competition began with Ella Ramsay and Jenna Forrester competing in the Women’s 400m Individual Medley heats. Ella qualified for the finals with a time of 4:39.04, while Jenna just missed out by .15 seconds but secured a reserve spot.
Kaylee McKeown, a triple gold medalist, and up-and-coming teenager Iona Anderson participated in the Women’s 100m backstroke heats, both achieving strong times that allowed them to advance to the semi-finals.

Elijah Winnington finished fourth in the Men’s 800m Freestyle heats with a time of 7:42.86, securing a spot in the final. Sam Short finished just outside the qualifying time at 7:46.83, but managed to grab a reserve spot.

The Night Session featured the Finals of the competition. In her debut Olympic final, Ella Ramsay placed fifth in the Women’s 400m Individual Medley Final. In a highly competitive Men’s 200m Freestyle final, Max Giuliani gave his best effort and finished in seventh place with a time of 1:45.57.

In the Women’s 100m backstroke semi-final, McKeown (57.99) and Anderson (58.63) showcased their dominance with strong performances, securing spots in the final with McKeown placing 2nd and Anderson placing 4th.

The last event of the evening was an exciting showdown between two Australian superstars in a race that captured the attention of the entire nation. Training companions Mollie O’Callaghan and Ariarne Titmus had an impressive performance in the Women’s 200m Freestyle Final, with O’Callaghan winning the gold and setting a new Olympic record with a
time of 1:53.27. Titmus followed closely behind with a time of 1:53.81, earning the silver medal, finishing just 0.54 seconds after her teammate.

Notably, this marked the first time Australia achieved a one-two finish in the Olympic pool since Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett accomplished the feat in 2004. The two star athletes were competing side by side in lanes four and five. Titmus was in the lead for most of the race, but O’Callaghan took over in the last 50 meters and won the Gold in her inaugural individual Olympic final.

In summary, Day 3 at the Paris Olympics was a testament to the skill and tenacity of Australian swimmers. Emma McKeon’s gold, Chad le Clos’s bronze, and the men’s relay team’s silver all contributed to a memorable day of competition, showcasing Australia’s strength in the swimming arena.

At the end of an exciting third day, day four of the tournament will feature more of our Dolphin team members taking part in both final events and preliminary heats. Be sure not to overlook the thrill!

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2024 Paris Olympic swimming Day 2 Recap: ARIANE TITMUS VS MOLLIE O’CALLAGHAN MET HEAD TO HEAD AT 200M FLY 

by Admin

What a thrilling flying of Aussies! Day 2 of the Paris Olympics showcased a thrilling lineup of swimming events, with Australian swimmers making significant strides in both heats and finals. The day began with preliminary heats, setting the stage for a dramatic series of finals that highlighted the prowess of the Australian team.

In the morning heats, Australian swimmers displayed impressive speed and technique. The standout performances came from the women’s and men’s 100m freestyle and the 200m individual medley events. The heats were a preliminary indicator of the competitive edge the Australians would bring to the finals.

The finals, held in the evening, were packed with high-stakes races. The Australian team delivered exceptional performances across several events, demonstrating their readiness and skill on this global stage.

Australia had an exhilarating start to the morning when two promising swimmers, Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O’Callaghan, competed in the Women’s 200m Freestyle heats with impressive times.   This performance positioned them well for the upcoming semi-finals.    Max Giuliani, a competitor from Australia, performed exceptionally well in the Men’s 200m Freestyle event, coming in first place during his heat with a time of 1:46.15. Additionally, his teammate, Tom Neill, also successfully advanced to the semi-finals, clocking in at 1:46.27.    Petric and Smith participated in the Men’s 400m Individual Medley but narrowly missed out on qualifying for the finals, finishing in 12th and 13th place respectively. 

In the Women’s 100m Breaststroke heats, Staunch, a two-time Olympian, came in 22nd with a time of 1:07.27. 

Cooper and Woodward showed their best in the Men’s 100m Backstroke heats, securing the 21st and 25th positions with times of 54.21 and 54.34.

Night Finals held a mixture of emotions for Australia as their most successful Olympian, Emma McKeon, competed in her last individual Olympic event.   McKeon, who was self-assured that Paris 2024 will mark her final Olympic Games, finished in sixth place in the Women’s 100m Butterfly with a time of 56.93 seconds.    

In a competitive field of swimmers in the Men’s 200m Freestyle Semi-Final, Giuliani finished in fifth place with a time of 1:45.37, securing a spot in the final race.   Tom Neill narrowly slid into the final reserve position with a time of 1:46.18.    Despite leading the pack of other nations, O’Callaghan and Titmus maintained a close race in the 200m Freestyle Semi-final, with Titmus finishing first by a mere 0.06 seconds ahead of her Dolphin teammate.    The Semi-Finals of the Paris 2024 event marked the first occasion these two athletes competed against each other, following Titmusbreaking O’Callaghan’s world record during the Australian Swimming Trials in Brisbane earlier this year.    The Women’s 200m Freestyle event promises to be a thrilling competition with the presence of these two dominant swimming nations vying for the coveted gold medal.   Australian spectators are in for an exciting spectacle that should not be missed.  

Overall, Day 2 was a testament to the Australian swimmers’ elite capabilities and competitive spirit. Their impressive performances and medal wins underscored Australia’s strong presence in the swimming events of the Paris Olympics, setting the stage for continued success in the upcoming days.

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Olympics Soccer News: Matildas fresh faces off the bench saved the day with the 6-5 win v Zambia this morning in Nice

by Sports Benches

Looking at the half-time score, yes, the Matildas or Tillies have scored some goals which wasn’t bad to see for a start. But they are still two goals behind Zambia when it comes to the overall lead. 

It’s not looking good from here unfortunately off the back of their opening game loss v Germany the other day before Opening Ceremony Friday 3-0. So 7 goals conceded so far in this Olympic tourney and all they need to do now is hopefully turn this around to make it 4-4 all draw or a 5-4 win. 

That way, they can still be in the running to play knockout football ahead of their next game v Team USA mid-week.

Wow!! Anything can happen that quick in soccer when the game wasn’t over with one x 45 done from behind to wrapping up the other 45 mins with the 6-5 win. We thought it was game over when Zambia extended their lead to five not long after half-time thanks to a free-kick that went against them. Fortunately, a few fresh faces from the bench by coach Tony Gustavsson have made a big difference though being led by veteran forward Michelle Hayman & Arsenal women’s No.9 Caitlin Foord.

The Tillies were able to gain more control of the ball where plenty of shots were flying everywhere towards the keeper. Although another quick goal attempt was denied via the VAR, but they still mean business thanks to these winning free-kicks including a 5th straight penalty kick by Steph Catley before Heyman scored the 6th and winning goal on what has been an unreal comeback for the win.

Fair play to Zambia with their really good first half performance that gave our Matildas a hard time along the way including their extended lead for a bit longer. But a couple of defensive mistakes including from the keeper forced their hand to the Tillies where they could’ve still hold onto the lead had the ball not been mistaken into the net. And unfortunately, Zambia just couldn’t shy from the quality the Tilles had to offer before it was too late as the clock ticks down with the game-finishing loss. I’m sure they will come back stronger next time.

All the Matildas have to do now is be at their best v Team USA and as long as New Zealand lose to France at the same time mid-week, then they will get a 2nd chance in the Quarter-Finals. 

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Olympics News: Ariarne Titmus & the Aussie Dolphins Swimming women’s relay quartet dominated Night 1 with two gold in Paris

by Sports Benches

Wow!! The Aussie Dolphins Swim Team are flying high at the Paris La Defense Arena’s Olympic built swimming pool on night one with two gold & two silver medals as we are currently first on the swimming ladder with eight days to go.

Hats off to Ariarne Titmus on what has been a stunning swim for gold in the Women’s 400m Final, having kept herself ahead for this whole time – even if her competitors aren’t far away within her reach. Now Team USA’s Katie Ledecky might have not been a threat this time around but at least Arnie did enough to hold off 17-year-old Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh towards the end of the wall. There’s no better way to celebrate other than coach Dean Boxall’s signature moves/celebrations every time he sees their swimmers collect that gold medal as Arnie once again is the defending 2 x Olympic champion in that meet.

Not only that, our women’s relay swim team also done well in the 4 x 100m Freestyle Final consisting of Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Emma McKeon and Meg Harris. Yes, they may have fired off slowly against the likes of China and Great Britain. However, the way Mollie O finished off her first stint has helped the Aussies take over the lead before the rest of her team stabilised it up front, which was enough to bring it home with another gold medal for the Aussies.

Wow!! Can you believe it Mollie O’Callaghan? She can finish it off from out of nowhere who is 100% established as the queen of freestyle sprints! Message sent Arnie with more to come between these two sometime next week. As said, she gave a great opportunity for her team-mates to get the job done and yet they’ve done it through the very end. Also, what a moment for Emma McKeon as well who is now the all-time Olympic gold medallist of 6 gold, 2 silver & 4 bronze for Australia!

And over in the men, another gold or two would’ve been great. However, we still have a long way to go before we can beat Team USA for the overall Olympics swimming honours like it was at the World Champs in Fukuoka, Japan last year.

Shoutout to Elijah Winnington who finished 2nd behind Germany’s Lukas Mertens the Men’s 400m Freestyle Final & so does the Men’s relay team quartet of Jack Cartwright, Flynn Southam, Kai Taylor & Kyle Chalmers in the 4 x 100m Freestyle Final. We wished they can get over these fast starts but at least the last two shifts by Taylor and Chalmers was enough to bring themselves home into silver behind the winners of this race Team USA.

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Rugby

Olympics News: Aussie Men’s Rugby 7s team fall short by Flying Fijians in the Medal semi-final at Stade De France

by Sports Benches

Ah, so gutted for the Aussie Men’s 7s team whose gold medal chances unfortunately came to an end at the hands of Fiji, 31-7.

Yes, great start by Ben Dowling who found the ball that came to him after one of the Fijian players couldn’t put the ball down first at the in-goal area. They just couldn’t build on it when Fiji levelled the scoreboard going into half-time 7-7 before being simply unstoppable throughout the 2nd x 7 minutes of play including that brilliant finish to the Medal semi-final.

Less ball didn’t help especially when going up against a seasoned gold medalist side while their attack lacked support at times including in defense & the Aussies should’ve brought some new faces a bit earlier than expected if one thing would’ve helped them get past tactically the Flying Fijians. One thing for sure though that the Aussie Men’s Rugby 7s side has made it this far having gone from a long, long way. But they still got a chance though to take home the bronze later on v South Africa. 

All the best to Fiji if they can go all the way with their three-peat for the Olympic 7s gold since the sport’s inception back in 2016. But if there’s one nation that can stop the Flying Fijians, then it’s the host nation France as well, who wants to light up Stade De France with a match-winning gold medal right in front of their home crowd, off the back of their unbelievable late turnaround when they were scoreless during first 7 minutes v South Africa, 5-19.

UPDATE: Fiji unable to get through France in the gold medal match on what has been their first ever loss at the Olympics as congratulations to the host nation with the 28-7 win while the Aussies unfortunately got left out of the 3rd and final podium spot for bronze by South Africa who got away from them unscathed 26-19. Again, our men’s sevens team made it as far as they can which was unbelievable – let’s hope they can continue to dominate the yearly 7s circuit that would mean everything.

Now over to you the Aussie women’s 7s team as their bid to bring back their Olympic crown from 2016 will begin later tonight at the same venue.

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Olympics News: The Paris 2024 games now open with the first lot of sports set to start later tonight over the next two weeks across Paris and even Tahiti for Surfing

by Sports Benches

It might be full of pouring and showering rain last night but what a show it was nonetheless to officially launch the 33rd Summer Olympics edition across Paris’s iconic landmarks including the Louvre and the river seine rather than the Olympic Stadium (which would be Stade De France but will still host the closing ceremonies though) itself as usual.

Gotta love the arts and culture they’ve got including a bit of Despicable Me before you throw in the fashion, the athletes parade of each nation through the river where they’ve made it in front of the Eiffel Tower, and last but not least the Olympic flame being lit as the cauldron has already taken lift off like a hot air balloon. 

Now let the games begin with two weeks of action as it’s up to these athletes competing there to make a name for themselves that would wow the entire world when it comes to chasing gold.

First up tonight is Swimming, Field Hockey,  Diving, Basketball and of course Rugby 7s Men’s semi final between Australia v Fiji alongside. many other sports being held across Paris. Although Olympic surfing surfing will be held many miles away over in Tahiti that will begin first thing tomorrow morning at 3am AEST. Let’s see what the Australian Olympic Team has got including our Aussie Dolphins Swim Team in the hope of dominating this pool v Team USA like it was at the World Champs last year.

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