Latest - Billy Stairmand and Ella Williams will become New Zealand's first Olympic surfers, after being named in the New Zealand team for the Tokyo Games.
Billy Stairmand and Ella Williams will become New Zealand's first Olympic surfers, after being named in the New Zealand team for the Tokyo Games.
Ella Williams Photo: Photosport
The duo secured their Olympic spots with performances at the World Surfing Games in 2019.
The 31 year Stairman from Raglan is an eight time national champion while Williams from Whangamata is a former world junior champion.
"This is a dream come true for me,'' said Stairmand.
"Ever since surfing was named as a sport in the Olympics I put it at the top of my goals list.''
Williams, who works in her parents' surf shop at Whangamata, said she owed her selection to her family.
"I wouldn't be where I am today without my family so I'm super grateful to have them by my side every step of the way," she said.
Her parents taught her to surf when she was four. When she was eight, she wrote of her ambition to be world champion on a surfing poster, which was on a wall beside her bed providing a constant ambition.
Surfing is one of six sports making their debut at the Olympics.
-RNZ
Blues reclaim State of Origin title
NSW has reclaimed the State of Origin rugby league title with a 26-0 game-two win over Queensland in Brisbane.
NSW are set to claim the most dominant series win in Origin's history after picking up where they left off from their record 50-6 series opening triumph to keep the Maroons scoreless at Suncorp Stadium for the first time.
NSW players Brian To'o, Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai. Photo: NRL PHOTOS
Captain James Tedesco and strike centre Latrell Mitchell proved the difference as the Blues ran in four unanswered tries in front of 52,272 fans to ice their third series win in four years.
After the runaway win blew the series points differential out to 70, NSW look set to eclipse the Origin record 62-point margin set by the Blues in 2000.
The NRL is hoping to play the final game at Sydney's Stadium Australia on 14 July, but Sydney's Covid-19 lockdown until 9 July has forced officials to consider contingency plans such as Newcastle's McDonald Jones Stadium.
- NRL
Warriors sidelined after contact with Covid-19 case
Warriors players Euan Aitken and Josh Curran are set to miss the next two rounds of the NRL after being forced into isolation for 14 days.
Josh Curran Photo: PHOTOSPORT
They were passengers on a Virgin Australia flight on Saturday night from the Gold Coast to Sydney in which a cabin crew member has since tested positive to Covid-19.
The Warriors had the weekend off with NRL taking a break for the second game in the State of Origin.
Another four Warriors players are also in isolation pending the results of Covid-19 tests for Aitken and Curran as they are considered casual contacts.
If the pair test negative, their four teammates will be available for next weekend's match against St George Illawarra but Aitken and Curran have been told to isolate for two weeks regardless of their results.
The Warriors are due to play the Dragons at Central Coast Stadium on Friday before travelling to Kogarah on 11 July to face Cronulla.
Mystics leapfrog Stars in ANZ Premiership
The Northern Mystics are leading the ANZ Premiership after an eight-goal win over Auckland neighbours the Stars.
Grace Nweke Photo: Photosport
On the back of a stand-out second half, the Mystics beat the Stars 65-57 at Pulman Arena in Auckland on Sunday night.
The win helped to disloged the Stars from their perch at the top of the table, a position the South Auckland-based side had held since the second round.
The Stars were ahead 29-28 at halftime before the visitors struck back.
A heavy fall from Mystics Kate Burley with five minutes left in the third quarter saw a change to the blue defensive wall with Ama Agbeze taking on the keeping role and Sulu Fitzpatrick moving out to goal defence. It did nothing to change the Mystics' intent as they turned around their one-goal halftime deficit into a 48-44 lead with 15 minutes to play.
An ankle injury for Mystics shooter Bailey Mes saw her miss parts of the second half, however the strength and shooting accuracy of Grace Nweke, landing 55 of the Mystics' goals, earned the teenager the Player of the Match award.
Melbourne City go one better in A-League final
Melbourne City sealed their first Australian championship with a 3-1 win over 10-man Sydney FC in the A-League Grand Final on Sunday, gaining sweet revenge after defeat to the 'Sky Blues' in last year's title-decider.
Scott Galloway capped the win with a blistering stoppage-time strike as Sydney were left to lament Luke Brattan's 35th-minute sending-off for a second yellow card at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
New Zealand international Kosta Barbarouses opened the scoring for Sydney in the 21st minute but Nathaniel Atkinson equalised two minutes later before City captain Scott Jamieson nudged the home side ahead with a penalty on the cusp of halftime.
The 30,000-seat stadium was capped at half-capacity due to Covid-19 curbs but the sell-out crowd were in raptures as City erased the agony of their 1-0 defeat by the Sky Blues in last year's Grand Final.
- Reuters
Williams opts out of Olympics
Serena Williams will not be travelling to Tokyo for the Olympic Games, the 23-times Grand Slam singles tennis champion said, without giving the reasons behind her decision.
Serena Williams Photo: ©Icon Sportswire (A Division of XML Team Solutions) All Rights Reserved
American Williams, who will turn 40 in September, won the singles title at the London Olympics in 2012 and she has also picked up three gold medals in doubles with sister Venus -- in Sydney (2000), Beijing (2008) and London.
"Yeah, I'm actually not on the Olympic list, so... Not that I'm aware of. If so, then I shouldn't be on it," Williams told reporters on the eve of the Wimbledon Grand Slam.
Top men's players such as Rafa Nadal and Dominic Thiem have also opted to skip the Tokyo Games, which start on 23 July.
Roger Federer, a 20-times major winner who also turns 40 in August, said he would like to go to the Olympics but would make a final call after Wimbledon.
There are persistent worries among the general public and medical experts in Japan that the world's largest sporting event, which was delayed for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, could trigger a new wave of infections.
Organisers have barred family members of athletes from attending the Games due to safety protocols, while foreign spectators are also excluded and domestic crowds will be allowed in restricted numbers.
The restrictions on international arrivals would have separated Williams from her daughter Alexis Olympia, who was born in 2017.
- Reuters
Tour de France leader doing it for famous grandfather
Mathieu van der Poel fulfilled his late grandfather Raymond Poulidor's lifetime dream when he claimed the Tour de France yellow jersey following a stunning win in the second stage.
The Dutchman produced a brutal acceleration with 700 metres left in the final ascent to Mur de Bretagne to beat defending champion Tadej Pogacar and his fellow Slovenian Primoz Roglic, who were second and third respectively, six seconds behind.
Having also picked up eight bonus seconds in the first of two ascents to Mur de Bretagne, Van der Poel took the overall leader's yellow jersey from France's Julian Alaphilippe and now heads the world champion by eight seconds.
Poulidor, France's most popular cyclist, never wore the coveted jersey in 14 participations in the Tour between 1962-76, winning seven stages and finishing eight times on the podium.
Van der Poel had set his sights on the jersey as the profile of the first two stages suited his qualities, but was powerless against Alaphilippe in the first stage, finishing eight seconds off the pace.
He made up for the lost time in the second stage by grabbing the bonus seconds in the first climb to Mur de Bretagne (2km at 6.9 percent) and completed his mission on the second ascent.
- Reuters
Verstappen dominant in F1 Styrian Grand Prix
Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the Styrian Grand Prix by a massive margin to take an ominous 18 point lead over Lewis Hamilton in the Formula One championship battle after eight races.
Max Verstappen Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Verstappen led from start to finish at Austria's Red Bull Ring, with seven-times world champion Hamilton second for Mercedes.
The Briton was 35.743 seconds behind at the chequered flag after a late stop for fresh tyres to bag a bonus point for fastest lap.
It was the first time since 2013 that mighty Mercedes, champions for the past seven years, had gone four races in a row without a win and the first time since then that Red Bull had celebrated four successive victories.
"Unbelievable. The car was on fire today," said Verstappen over the team radio after the 23-year-old Dutch driver's fourth win in eight races this season, second in a row and 14th of his career.
"You never know how it's going to end up but straight away I felt a good balance in the car," he added after stepping out of the car.
Valtteri Bottas was third for Mercedes, just holding off Verstappen's Mexican team mate Sergio Perez who had fresher tyres after making a second stop in a bid for fastest lap.
- Reuters
