Tag:

Olympic Games

Other Sports

Thoughts on Mark “Tubby” Taylor set to commentate on the Diving events for Nine very soon for the Summer Olympics in Paris

by Sports Benches

Well, one of the ex-cricketers will be onboard for Nine’s Olympics coverage for Paris in France very soon – which will begin just less than 30 days from now. Now it won’t be Mark Nicholas who presented the London highlights program back in 2012 since they don’t have the Australian summer of cricket rights anymore nor would Michael Slater be coming back in the media either since his personal life hasn’t been great in recent years after being axed from Seven’s current cricket coverage. He too called the diving events there just for that one at the same time. Instead, here comes former opening batsman, regular WWOS show panellist and Longtime Nine stalwart Mark “Tubby” Taylor as he is now set for an Olympics gig of his own by commentating the Diving events, which was just announced this earlier morning on the weekly Wide World of Sports magazine program.

It remains to be seen if he will be calling from the studio in Sydney or be on-site alongside some other reporting assignments either by himself or with an expert. But hey, I didn’t know Diving and Cricket were a great match when it comes to the physicality as well as jump and aerial landing up high like Tubby used to do when looking to catch these balls back at slip during his playing days – same goes to Michael Slater as well & both of them were also Openers & slip fielders too. When it comes to the real diving contest though, you will have to face your fears from a couple metres by perfecting your technique (not from the side but almost like a backflip after you jump a bit like gymnastics through water) that applies to all other sports.

Anyways, great to hear that Tubby will back in commentary at least on TV for a bit – having done so during The Ashes in England last year for Sky Sports when Nine still had the rights there. Surely, that arrangement is expected to continue when Nine will be back in 2027 and 2031. Don’t forget Cricket (T20s) will be an Olympic sport once more come 2028 in Los Angeles, USA and he could be perfectly positioned as the network’s Olympic cricket expert. Too early to say but could see Nine either forming a group of their own commentators around him or send Tubby as part of the World Feed OBS commentary team on-site like we’ve seen before in a similar arrangement with Sky Sports for The Ashes in England as well as ICC-sanctioned events.

If that wasn’t enough, you can still hear Tubby commentating the Australian Summer of Cricket via the radio on Triple M every November-January alongside fellow WWOS panellist Gus Worland. Make sure you keep an eye out on Tubby for the Diving throughout the two-week games across Nine, 9Gem and 9Now from Saturday July 27 to Saturday August 10.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Other Sports

2024 Australian Olympic Swimming Trials Day 6: The stage is set for the Dolphins Swim Team ahead of Paris after a few night qualification moments in Brisbane tonight

by Sports Benches

The sixth and final night of the 2024 Australian Olympic Swimming Trials finished off with a few more first time moments that punched their ticket to Paris while a few others had to miss out. Now the final Dolphins Swim Team Squad is all but set for lift-off to France ahead of their first swim in six weeks time where the next set of gold medal and world record moments will be made at the Paris La Defense Arena, which will have a built-in pool on top of a rugby pitch just for this one-off special event.

Great to see Shayna Jack win that Women’s 50m Freestyle Final sprint with Meg Harris joining her in 2nd and although Cate Campbell couldn’t get what she wanted in 5th, but she had an illustrious career in the pool though for half of her life since age 15 as wish we her all the best on life after the pool. The same can be said for Cody Simpson when he couldn’t make it to Olympics selection after Matt Temple dominated the 100m Butterfly Final. But glad he made the career switch to do what he loves that challenges him well physically and mentally after a great last decade singing songs & acting a bit on TV.

Meanwhile, we saw another few first time moments other than Jack as said with her previous doping ban – such as Brendan Smith (Kaylee McKeown’s boyfriend) and Will Petric (2nd) in the Men’s 400m Individual Medley, Jenna Forrester (2nd) in a similar women’s 400m IM Final event behind 17-year-old Ella Ramsay & Moesha Johnson (2nd & will also compete in the Women’s 10km open water race) in the Women’s 1500m Freestyle Final (last event of the program) behind Lani Pallister.

So there we have it, we’ve now got our best Dolphins Swim Team assembled that is ready to send the message to the world’s best – the message is that we’re on and we are ready to smash both lots of gold medals and new world records too. Bonjour Paris, here we come that’s going to last the last first week’s Olympic sports schedule before the Athletics/Track and Field events take over to wrap things up and it all starts on Saturday July 27th 2024 – one day after the Opening Ceremony.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Other Sports

2024 Australian Olympic Swimming Trials Day 5: Mollie O’Callaghan’s win in the Women’s 100m Freestyle sprint alongside a few first time Olympic qualifiers sums up Day 5 of 6

by Sports Benches

The second final night of the 2024 Australian Swimming Olympic Trials is full of competition, race wins and another few first-time Olympic qualifying moments all happening at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre. First of all, Joshua Yong had a great swim behind Zac Stubblety-Cook in the Men’s 200m breaststroke final. He’s had a really good week in this discipline having also finished 2nd from the opening night during the 50m sprint behind Sam Williamson, so congrats on his official ticket to Paris.

Same goes to 17-year-old Ella Ramsay who beat the experienced Jenna Strauch (she didn’t qualify in that category when she was a second off the qualifying time) in the last half distance by a comfortable margin of around two seconds in the women’s 200m breaststroke Finals meet. So great to see these swimmers to bounce back with a point to prove ahead of their first rodeos in Paris. Can’t promise what specific goals they should look to get over the line when you got heats and then the semi-finals to begin with, but it’s all about being at their best so they can go from there over the next 3-5 years by looking at Top 3 & then the gold at future events – such as the next Australian Swimming Champs, World Champs, Pan Pacifics and Olympics.

Yes, nothing much has happened to set the world alight over in the other men’s races. However, we did see a fantastic women’s 100m freestyle dash where Mollie O’Callaghan still held on with the win despite no new world record. Joining her on the trip to Paris are Shayna Jack – who will finally be on her way there for the first time – after she finished behind Mollie in 2nd off the back of her doping issues that forced her to sit out for a while (2019-21). Then you’ve got Meg Harris (3rd) joining in to back them up in the women’s relay team alongside Bronte Campbell as this is going to be her 4th straight Olympics campaign at age 32. How good is that as she’s not done racing in the pool just yet!! Five days done, one more to go before we wrap things up to finalise our best Dolphins Swim Team before they head off to Paris in the head up towards July 27.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Other Sports

2024 Australian Olympic Swimming Trials Day 4: Kaylee McKeown & Ariarne Titmus at their best in respective disciplines alongside Kyle Chalmers as well as qualifying first moments

by Sports Benches

Last night might not be as spectacular as Monday and Wednesday but there’s some really good swims though to watch during the fourth night of the 2024 Australian Olympic Swimming Trials at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre. 

As we all know, Kaylee McKeown is always best in her backstroke discipline with the Women’s 200m Backstroke Final – despite being 00.15 off her current world record time. Shoutout to 17-year-old Jaclyn Barclay who finished 2nd having done so once before earlier this year during the World Championships in Doha, which was enough for to book her berth to Paris. So two brilliant backstroke swimmers (one seasoned champ & one emerging) we’ve got in the books that will see them challenge and push each other for the best of our Dolphins Swim team like Ariarne Titmus & Mollie O’Callaghan in the freestyle races.

Speaking of Arnie, she was too good in the 800m Freestyle after she had to deactivate instagram for the race and then reactivate it after that. Looks like she wants to do more in order to walk away with record-breaking achievements like winning both the gold and the new world record time that is gonna send a message to both Mollie O’Callaghan and other elite International competitors out there come Paris beginning at the end of next month. Plus, we saw Kyle Chalmers still being the king when he was a really quick finisher in the 100m Men’s freestyle Final dash. And we saw Liz Dekkers at last punched her ticket following her heartbreak a few years ago for Tokyo as she will now compete in her first Olympics with her specialist butterfly discipline after he finished 1st in the Women’s 200m Butterfly Final ahead of fellow qualifier Abbey Connor in 2nd.

Four days done, two more days to go featuring another Mollie in the Women’s 100m Freestyle Final sprint later tonight.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Other Sports

2024 Australian Olympic Swimming Trials Day 3: Ariarne Titmus tops the headlines with both the win and the new record time in the Women’s 200m Freestyle Final last night

by Sports Benches

We’ve witnessed something special last night that means a lot to the whole of Australia, even though one might have to fall short but at same time we saw someone taking home both the win and that new world record time. It’s the Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus who defeated World Champion and latest world record holder Mollie O’Callaghan in the Women’s 200m Freestyle Final. She posted a breathtaking new time of 1:52:23, which was 0.62 secs ahead of Mollie’s WR at the World Championships last year of 1:52:85. First of all, what a swim we’ve had as this is what competition really looks like so we can conquer the pools of Paris. Arnie had unfinished business to bounce back from finishing 2nd last year to Mollie by beating her through the end of the wall in order to take back both prizes. She continues to be our best swimmers both short and long distance races with more record beating achievements to come including more gold in Paris not too long from now. Meanwhile, it’s not easy looking back when ending up being 2nd best at the Olympic Trials that includes the one Arnie took her world record time in that meet that lasted just under a year. However, we all know Mollie is a top-notch swimmer who continues to push herself and Arnie for the best of our Aussie Dolphins Swim Team. Plus, she can answer back too by picking up as many Olympic gold medals as she can going into Paris- How about that? That’s her goal to take next time.

Over in the Men’s races, yes, it’s going to take some time before we hope to see one breaking world records more often in the near future. But we still had some excellent competition like that 800m Freestyle Final where Sam Short was outpaced by Elijah Winnington, particularly in the last 50m dash so that’s not a bad start. We also had Cam McEvoy still going strong at age 30 – who hopes to set the Olympics alight – following another outstanding swim in the 50m Freestyle dash like he did at the World Champs where he got his first gold there last year. And speaking on the men’s feedback a bit earlier where our Freestyle performances isn’t bad but we do lack in other areas however like the Butterfly. Feeling so sorry for Bowen Gough who might have won that Domestic Butterfly Finals race in the 200m. He just couldn’t crack the time he really wanted in order to get to Paris of 1:54:97 after his race form looked a bit slower than the one he did during the heats and you can feel the disappointment of being forced to sit out instead of having the opportunity to have a crack v the best from the world regardless of the result.  Again, it’s going to be a long time coming for someone to be the next best thing in our Butterfly group other than Liz Dekkers who finished 2nd in the Women’s 200m Butterfly Final at the World Champs last year.

Three days done, three to go as we are halfway through on filling in our best Dolphins Swim Team squad for Paris.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Other Sports

2024 Australian Olympic Swimming Trials Day 2: Superior competition up front across several races including another near world record attempt in Brisbane

by Sports Benches

We had another spectacular night of competition for spots, near world record moments and breakthrough Olympic qualifications for those who punched their ticket to swim in Paris. Like Ariarne Titmus, Kaylee McKeown almost broke the new world record in the Women’s 100m backstroke even though she already won that race. Not only that Mollie O’Callaghan and 17-year-old Iona Anderson were right behind her when all three of them were on World Record radar at one stage but still it was a great race though to start night 2.

Then we saw a really great finish in the Women’s 100m breaststroke where Jenna Strauch just closed out 15-year-old Ella Ramsay by 0.04 secs at the end of the wall. Yes, experience is important right now but surely the future would be exciting; so Ramsay can look to first set national records here then internationally (both World Champs & Olympics) after that in the long run – watch this space.

Looking at the men now, they may be nowhere near the world record line but still produced some excellent competition along the way. That 100m backstroke last lap dash between Isaac Cooper and Brad Woodward was really good to watch while 20-year-old Max Giuliani came out of nowhere to upsurge Thomas Neill, Elijah Winnington and Kai Taylor in the 200m Freestyle. Looks like Tasmania has produced another top quality swimmer after Ariarne Titmus that is tipped for world heights & like Arnie, he too also moved to the Gold Coast to better his swimming and it’s so far, so good. Too early to say right now as you never know when looking for gold but he’s 100% off to Paris for the first time soon enough!!

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Other Sports

2024 Australian Olympic Swimming Trials Day 1: World Records almost broken with excellent competition for 1st in Brisbane

by Sports Benches

We’ve kickstarted the Australian Swimming Olympic Trials last night with a bang with two of our swimmers so very nearly breaking the new world record times while we had some strong competition in the other races that would put the Dolphins in a very good position going into Paris at the end of next month.

Ariarne Titmus was outstanding even though she was on the World Record radar for sometime during her 400m freestyle finals swim. What we hope to see from her is to walk away with both another Olympic gold and another new world record time soon enough. Also a really good moment in that starting race of the night is Lani Pallister finishing behind Arnie in 2nd, who is now on her way to competing in her first Olympic Games campaign. Now there’s some room for improvement having only won just the one 4 x 200m Freestyle team relay race last year at the World Championships in Fukuoka but Lani is there to push her and herself to even better heights. Who knows? We could see a 1-2 finish again after all but at future Olympics & Worlds.

We’ve seen the same for Kaylee McKeown in the women’s 200m Individual Medley where she was too good despite being just under a second off the current world record time being set by Katina Hossku from Hungary back in the 2015 World Championships. More to come from the Queen of backstroke throughout the week including some team relay contributions.

Then in the men’s there’s really huge competition such as that three-way fight in the 100m breaststroke and the 400m freestyle. Yes, Sam Williamson won that race in the breaststroke who finally won a World Championship gold medal off the back of a 50m breaststroke dash earlier this year in Doha. However, Joshua Yong finished just under a second behind Sam in 2nd ahead of Zac Stubblety-Cook in 3rd – this is what we wanted to see in order to for either 2-3 of them to hopefully get a breakthrough Olympic gold medal. 

And we should be in good shape in the Men’s 400m Freestyle and also the long-distance races to come where Elijah Winnington just closed out Sam Short through the end of the wall on what has been a spectacular race to see these two battling hard all along side-by-side. Yes, it would’ve been better if that race would have meant seeing either of them looking to break that world record time. However, competition is what we need for them to test themselves as if they’ve competing v the best of the best swimmers in Paris.

Day 1 done, six more to go on the Road to Paris with the heats in the morning followed by the Finals to decide at night.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Other Sports

Olympic Golf Review

by Admin

If you are a sports fan then certainly you are currently following the Olympic Games. Well if you are reading this then you either missed out on the golf festivities or you are looking for an excellent summary of what you witnessed. Allow us to fill you in on everything you need to know about Olympic golf this year.

Notable Stories

Heading into the tournament all eyes were on the Korean competitors, Sungjae Im and Si Woo. The stakes were high for these two, because in their home country all able bodied men are required to serve in the military for 18-24 months. Their only way out of this requirement was by winning a medal at the Olympic Games.

Unfortunately they did fall short of the medals, so they will have to return to their country and serve their time. We wish these men the best of luck in their future and hope to see them competing again soon.

Besides the Koreans there was a surprising victor sitting atop the leaderboard at the end of the first day of competition. This was none other than Austrian Sepp Straka who was leading on the first day by a score of eight under par.

Straka managed to make it through the first day without making a single bogey, which as you can imagine led to the strong start.

Straka wasn’t the only competitor that went bogey free on the first day, with Justin Thomas right behind him. Although the problem with Thomas was that he went birdie and eagle free as well. On Wednesday Thomas played eighteen holes and made eighteen pars. This would certainly please a lot of ameatur golfers around the world, but for the pros this would be an annoying day. Either way Thomas managed to laugh off the round when asked about the day and summarize it into one word, he simply said “Par”.

The Gold Medalist

From the second day onward, American Xander Schauffle sat atop the leaderboard and represented America well. Following in his father’s Olympic dreams, Schauffle was more than proud to take home the gold medal this weekend. For those that do not know, Schauffle’s father used to live in Germany and tried for the Olympics there. Until his hopes were crushed at the young age of 20 when he was hit by a drunk driver and became blind in his left eye. It is safe to say that Schauffle was more than proud to win this medal.

Looking Forward

Coming off the worldwide stage here we actually move forward with another worldwide event at the WGC-Fedex St. Jude Invitational. This is a great transition from the Olympics back to professional golf, because it keeps that level of international competition the same. Many athletes left the Olympics prouder than when they came and had a newfound appreciation and drive for the sport. It will certainly be fun to watch this passion carry over back onto the professional tours that the players are accustomed to.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Rugby

Rugby 7s News, Fiji will defend their gold medal title v New Zealand tonight after a fantastic display in the semis v Argentina

by Sports Benches

What a start to the first half from the defending champs in Fiji and the dangerous Argentina side at 12-14.

Fiji may have fired off with two decent tries early on the board but Argentina bounced back just in time ahead of half-time including two successful conversion kicks which is a bit of a boost.

Fiji were so powerful in the end that blew Argentina away & end their unbeaten run as they get to defend their gold medal title v New Zealand tonight.

The final score is Fiji 26-14 Argentina.

For Argentina, they were exceptional from the group stages as well as the quarter-final up until this point v Fiji today with the way they play their rugby 7s.

Although, Argentina won’t have the chance to claim the gold or silver in this sport but can at least leave out with a possible bronze when they face Great Britain later on.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail