Category Archives: Australia sport

Gone to the dogs: racing fans mourn closure of ‘Wenty’, Sydney’s historic greyhound track

Posted on by

Thousands pack Wentworth Park for the final time before the stadium is demolished and returned to parkland

The end of an era has fallen upon an Australian sporting landmark as the greyhound races at an inner-city track kicked off for the very last time.

Thousands packed into Wentworth Park in central Sydney on Friday night, where greyhound races have been held since 1932, for the last race meeting before the track’s planned demolition.

Continue reading...

Two Carlton players treated in hospital after off-season night out

Posted on by

Club issues brief statement about Lachie Cowan and Will Hayward, saying latter suffered minor cut to head after a fall

An off-season night out for Carlton football club teammates ended with two players admitted to hospital for treatment on Sunday morning, in what the club says are “separate circumstances”.

The club released a statement on Sunday confirming that AFL players Lachie Cowan, 21, and Will Hayward, 27, had been treated and discharged, after reports in several media outlets about the aftermath of an off-season night out.

Guardian Australia understands both players were both part of a larger group that had been socialising on Saturday evening.

Continue reading...

‘My body is still peaking’: Eliud Kipchoge wins first marathon in three years

Posted on by

  • Kenyan breaks Melbourne Marathon record by two seconds

  • ‘I’m happy to run with the gen Zs,’ 41-year-old says

Marathon’s greatest competitor, Eliud Kipchoge, has sent a message to the next generation declaring that he’s not done yet.

The 41-year-old Kenyan revelled in his Melbourne Marathon debut on Sunday, breaking the race record and delighting thousands of fans at the MCG finish.

Continue reading...

Former Carlton president apologises to ex-wife as lewd photo defamation case settles

Posted on by

Luke Sayers says he accepts Cate Sayers did not post photo of his genitals as she says settlement closes ‘painful and difficult chapter’

The embattled former AFL club president Luke Sayers has apologised to his former wife for the harm he caused as her defamation case over a lewd photo settled.

Lawyers for Sayers, the immediate past president of the Carlton football club, read out the apology in the Victorian supreme court on Friday after indicating the settlement.

Continue reading...

Up to 6,000 tradies to get free qualifications under Labor scheme – as it happened

Posted on by

Follow today’s news live

Duniam targets ‘frivolous’ asylum seeker claims

The opposition is “very close” to “having a full migration package”, Duniam says. He says they’re willing to work with the government and that illegal overstayers must be deported.

We spend more per student per year than we ever have before and we’ve got declining standards across the board, and the problem with the curriculum is we have left foundations behind.

Continue reading...

Sydney Swans coach ‘extremely disappointed’ as club faces call on standing down players linked to alleged sexual assault

Posted on by

  • Police investigation into alleged sexual assault at hotel continues

  • No arrests or charges laid; club is ‘working through everything’

Victoria police confirmed an investigation into an alleged sexual assault sparked by an incident allegedly involving Sydney Swans players is continuing, but no arrests or formal interviews have taken place and no charges have been laid.

Swans players Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, James Jordon and Riley Bice were reportedly questioned by detectives in relation to an alleged incident at the Pullman Hotel early on Monday morning, however there is no confirmation they were directly involved.

Australian Associated Press contributed to this report

Continue reading...

Two Iranian female footballers granted Australian citizenship after protest

Posted on by

  • Players stayed in country after Asian Cup in March

  • Duo condemned as traitors in Iran for not singing anthem

Two former Iranian footballers said on Thursday they were proud to have been granted Australian citizenship after being called traitors at home for refusing to sing the national anthem before a game.

Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh were members of a group of seven from Iran’s delegation who asked for Australia’s protection after the protest during the women’s Asian Cup in March.

Continue reading...

‘Accident waiting to happen’: player’s death raises alarm over risk of concrete cricket pitches in Australian rules football

Posted on by

Concrete-based cricket pitches, like that on which Nathan Fitzgerald received fatal blows to the head, are ‘totally unsafe’, concussion advocate says

Australia must finally deal with a deadly risk that has plagued its native football code for more than 120 years, sports safety advocates say, after the death of a suburban Aussie rules footballer.

Nathan Fitzgerald, a 27-year-old school teacher, died in a Melbourne hospital on Monday after a horror accident on Saturday in which it is believed the Epping reserves grade footballer clashed heads with another player while tackling an opponent and received a second blow to the head as he fell, before striking his head a third time on a concrete-based cricket pitch in the middle of the ground.

Continue reading...

Fashion goals: Socceroos trade kit bags for it-bags as they level up off-field style

Posted on by

Australia stepped off the team bus in suits and holding designer pouches, showing they’ve come ‘a long way from a Country Road bag on the side of the field’

As suited and booted Socceroos stepped off the bus in Vancouver and towards a 2-0 victory against Turkey, many dangled designer pouches. Tete Yengi and Mo Touré carried what appeared to be Goyard, the it-bag of choice for athletes world wide. Burberry checks and monograms from Louis Vuitton and Dior were also spotted.

“They’ve come a long way from a Country Road bag on the side of the field,” said Benjamen Judd, Esquire Australia’s head of content.

Continue reading...

Moana Pasifika sign off from Super Rugby with a win and emotionally charged hymn

Posted on by

  • Undermanned side upsets finals-bound ACT Brumbies 21-19

  • Players come together to mark victory and club’s expected demise

An undermanned Moana Pasifika have capped off their potential final match with a stirring victory, upsetting the finals-bound ACT Brumbies 21-19.

But there were mixed feelings as players celebrated a rare win before coming together with staff to mark the occasion of the club’s farewell game and expected demise with an emotionally charged hymn.

Continue reading...

Former VFL footballer Barry Cable cleared of historic child sex abuse charges

Posted on by

The 82-year-old was accused of abusing girls in the 1960s but was acquitted in Perth despite judge finding the alleged victim was probably telling the truth

The former champion footballer Barry Cable has been acquitted of a slew of historical child sexual abuse charges despite a judge finding the alleged victim was likely telling the truth.

The 82-year-old faced a judge-only criminal trial over allegations he abused a girl aged about eight or nine at his family home in the late 1960s.

Continue reading...

Is Gout Gout faster than Usain Bolt? Australian sprinter sets sights on Jamaican great’s 200m record

Posted on by

Coach believes there’s no limit to 18-year-old’s talent while athlete himself says he’s ‘ready for more’

Having cracked the 20-second barrier with a sizzling run over 200m – and in the process fulled comparisons with the great Usain Bolt – the question now is, how fast can Gout Gout go?

“How long’s a piece of string?” said Gout’s coach and mentor, Di Sheppard, after he clocked 19.67sec at the Australian championships in Sydney on Sunday.

Continue reading...

Emperor Naruhito watches Ohtani and Japan survive scare against Australia at World Baseball Classic

Posted on by

  • Masataka Yoshida’s late HR helps seal 4-3 win

  • Naruhito first emperor in 60 years to attend baseball

Masataka Yoshida’s late home run triggered a comeback win for Japan over Australia at the World Baseball Classic on Sunday, with Emperor Naruhito making a rare appearance.

The underdog Aussies struck first in the sixth inning of the group stage game when outfielder Aaron Whitefield came home after a throwing error by Japan’s catcher, Kenya Wakatsuki. But in the seventh, Yoshida connected with a two-run shot over right centre field. Japan put on two more insurance runs in the eighth, and hung on for the 4-3 victory.

Continue reading...

At least 174 racehorses died from racing or training injuries in past 12 months in Australia, report finds

Posted on by

That’s the highest number recorded by the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses since they began tracking deaths 10 years ago

At least 174 thoroughbred racehorses died at the track or as a result of injuries sustained while racing or training in the past 12 months – the highest number recorded by animal rights activists since they began tracking 10 years ago.

The report from the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses (CPR) was released on Tuesday, one week ahead of Australia’s most important horse race, the Melbourne Cup.

Continue reading...

Australia Women’s Cricket World Cup players ‘touched inappropriately’ in India

Posted on by

  • Two players were walking to a cafe from their Indore hotel

  • A man has been arrested after being identified on CCTV

A man has been arrested for approaching two of Australia’s women cricketers and allegedly touching them inappropriately in Indore, Indian police said on Saturday.

The incident occurred on Thursday in Indore, a day off for the team after their six-wicket victory over England.

Continue reading...

Records fall as Sifan Hassan and Hailemaryam Kiros win Sydney Marathon

Posted on by

  • Dutch star and Ethiopian run fastest times on Australian soil

  • Kenyan running great Eliud Kipchoge finishes ninth

The Dutch multi-distance phenomenon Sifan Hassan has set a race record to claim victory in the first running of the Sydney Marathon as a World Majors Series event.

Hassan clocked a women’s winning time of two hours 18 minutes and 22 seconds as Kenyan legend Eliud Kipchoge fell short of the podium in the men’s category on Sunday.

Ahead of AFL finals sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Continue reading...

Gout Gout wins again in Monaco as Jess Hull and Peter Bol break national records

Posted on by

  • 17-year-old dazzles in under-23 200m at Diamond League meet

  • Bol fourth in fast 800m final that sees world record fall

The remarkable Gout Gout story speeds on with the Australian producing another blistering performance to further his European track education in Monaco.

Guesting in an invitational 200 metres at the prestigious Diamond League meeting at the Stade Louis II in the principality during his school holidays on Friday, the teenage phenomenon raced away to another striking win in 20.10 seconds into a headwind.

Continue reading...

Gout Gout breaks his own 200m national record in latest stunning run

Posted on by

  • 17-year-old lays down time of 20.02s on senior European debut

  • Cam Myers, 19, and Peter Bol also shine on strong night for Australia

The records keep falling for Gout Gout after the 17-year-old sprint sensation announced himself on the senior international stage with a new Australian benchmark of 20.02s over 200m at the Ostrava Golden Spike meet in the Czech Republic.

Gout remains on course to go sub-20s as he bettered his own national record in a field stacked with high-quality sprinters, chasing down and then roaring past Reynier Mena over the final 20m to cross the line 0.17s ahead of the Cuban, with Briton Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake third.

Continue reading...

Ticketek warns buyers against using multiple browsers amid complaints over Ashes ticket sales

Posted on by

Frustrated fans vent at long waits and reported issues in presale queue as Cricket Australia announces record sales for men’s Test series

Ticketek has downplayed reports of widespread problems with its online sales platform from cricket fans trying to buy tickets to the Ashes, saying multiple browsers can trigger bot protection services designed to protect customers.

On Tuesday evening, Cricket Australia announced it had recorded its highest individual day of ticket sales ever. But the hours before saw a chorus of frustrated fans venting at the online queue for the tickets’ presale window, which opened in the afternoon.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...