sports
SportAustralian Associated PressTour de France star Porte takes on Tokyo
Richie Porte will launch Australia's Olympic cycling campaign in a brutal road race on Saturday as the nation's Tokyo Games begin in earnest.The Tour de France star leads a three-man team with Olympic debutants Lucas Hamilton and Luke Durbridge in a 234km race featuring 4865m of climbing - all in hot and humid conditions.
SportAustralian Associated PressCyclist, surfer miss Games through COVID
German cyclist Simon Geschke has withdrawn from the Olympics road race, one of the opening events of the fortnight, after testing positive for COVID-19.The news came on the eve of the event on Friday as Portuguese surfer Frederico Morais also announced that he'd tested positive for COVID-19 and would miss the sport's Olympic debut in Japan.
SportAustralian Associated PressZim beat Bangladesh - at last - in T20s
Wellington Masakadza took three wickets and three catches to steer Zimbabwe to a 23-run win over Bangladesh in their second Twenty20 international at the Harare Sports Club.It was Zimbabwe's first success over the tourists at the sixth attempt after losing the one-off Test, three ODIs and the first of the three-match T20 series on Thursday.
NewsAustralian Associated PressMunich victims remembered in Games opening
Israeli Olympic team members killed by Palestinian gunmen at the 1972 Munich Olympics were remembered during the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony on Friday with a moment of silence, the first time in 49 years this has happened.The move was welcomed by relatives of the victims and the government of Israel.
BusinessAustralian Associated PressTradition, modernity collide in new F-Pace
When Jag first revealed plans to build an SUV, I was shocked, almost outraged.And how could a brand that lived by the motto of Grace, Pace and Space suddenly get down and dirty with the SUV throng.
SportAustralian Associated PressCanada star wary of two-time champ Murray
Going by current rankings, the first-round clash between Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime and Britain's Andy Murray at the Tokyo Olympics would seem like a mismatch.The 20-year-old Auger-Aliassime is ranked 15th in the world and coming off a quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon, while Murray has dropped out of the top-100 after struggling to overcome injuries over the last two years.
SportAustralian Associated PressAussies in Action - Tokyo Olympics: Day 2
Individual - Kelly Layne, Mary Hanna, Simone PearceEquestrian Park.
SportAustralian Associated PressTyphoon forecast buoys Games surfers
Japanese residents may be worried about the prospect of a typhoon forming off the coast next week, but Olympic surfers are welcoming the possibility of some big waves with open arms.The Tokyo Games are being held during typhoon season and the weather is a major talking point, with heat and humidity expected to be a major factor in many sports.
NewsAustralian Associated PressGerman gymnasts' choice on full-body suits
German female gymnasts will choose whether they want to wear full-body suits in Sunday's qualifications at the Tokyo Olympics after receiving accolades for donning the outfits in the past in a stand against the sexualisation of their sport.The German team wore fuchsia unitards - combined leotards and leggings extending to the ankles - at their podium training in Tokyo on Thursday and said they could chose to wear them again when competition begins.
SportAustralian Associated PressWADA disapppointed as Russians don colours
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will be forced to watch as Russian athletes don uniforms in their country's colours of red, white and blue and compete at the Tokyo Olympics, having received softened sanctions over the nation's doping scandals.WADA had originally banned Russia from the world's top sporting events for four years in December 2019, but the sanctions were halved late last year by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), in a clear victory for the Russian side.
NewsAustralian Associated PressHeartbreaking in Lebanon: Aussie fighter
Safwan Khalil's biggest concern while preparing to kickstart Australia's bid for medals in Tokyo has been heartbreaking updates from family in Lebanon, rather than COVID-19 disruptions.Khalil's third Olympics starts and ends on Saturday, when the men's 58kg taekwondo competition represents one of 11 gold medals up for grabs.
SportAustralian Associated PressVaughan calls for Ashes travel exemptions
Michael Vaughan says the upcoming Ashes series could be a "farce" involving a less competitive England team unless the side is given travel exemptions so their families can enter and tour Australia.The Australian government has limited the number of overseas arrivals during the pandemic, with thousands of its citizens unable to return and COVID-19 cases surging in the country's largest cities amid a sluggish vaccination program.
SportAustralian Associated PressAussie showjumpers get Olympic reprieve
Australia's two showjumpers who risked losing an Olympics because of their teammate's drug-taking have been given the go-ahead to compete as individuals.Edwina Tops-Alexander and Katie Laurie will now ride in Tokyo after uncertainty following the drugs controversy of showjumping teammate Jamie Kermond.
NewsAustralian Associated PressBid for 'terror' offender to stay in jail
The imminent release of a Sydney man who threatened to kill a magistrate, praised the Islamic State leader and said he was at war with Australia has prompted a bid for him to remain behind bars.Blake Nicholas Pender, then 28, was jailed for four years and three months in December 2019 after admitting terror-related knife possession and threatening a magistrate.
SportAustralian Associated PressStosur cherishing record fifth Olympics
Nothing can compensate for missing her daughter's first steps but being at a record fifth Olympics comes mighty close for veteran tennis star Samantha Stosur.The first Australian tennis player to appear at five Summer Games, Stosur opens her quest for an unlikely first singles medal on Saturday against Kazakhstan's world No.
SportAustralian Associated PressAussie swimmers primed for Olympic battle
Australian swimming's head coach calls it "competitive IQ".And Rohan Taylor says it now decides Australia's swimming fate at the Tokyo Olympics.
SportAustralian Associated PressTokyo Games: super sport or spreader?
They'll be the weirdest Olympics since a demigod wearing a lion skin paced out a running track.At least Hercules had a crowd when, legend has it, he literally drew a line in the sand to begin the first ancient Olympics in 776BC.
SportAustralian Associated PressLeBron James goes past $1B career earnings
NBA superstar LeBron James has joined the sporting billionaires' club, according to a new report.The "Space Jam: A New Legacy" star is the first active NBA player ever to reach that stratosphere, sports business site Sportico reported on Thursday.
SportAustralian Associated PressWho will light the Olympic flame in Tokyo?
Battered by scandal on the eve of the opening ceremony, Tokyo organisers have the chance to patch up the Games' image when they reveal who will carry the Olympic flame for the final few steps to light the stadium's cauldron.The identity of the final torchbearer is always the Games' most closely held secret yet speculation has swirled for months around well-known athletes such as former Seattle Mariners baseball player Ichiro Suzuki and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, the latest Japanese
NewsAustralian Associated PressIsrael 'pass' returns, Indonesia cases up
Israel is reintroducing its "green pass" system amid rising COVID-19 infection figures while Indonesia has registered its worst single-day coronavirus-linked death toll.Authorities in Israel announced plans on Thursday to allow only people who are deemed immune to COVID-19 or have recently tested negative to enter some public spaces such as restaurants, gyms and synagogues.
SportAustralian Associated PressAnger mounts over Aust/NZ World Cup exit
Anger is continuing to mount in Britain over the decision by Australia and New Zealand to pull out of the 2021 rugby league World Cup, with the southern hemisphere giants being accused of "cowardly" and "selfish" behaviour.Officials from the two countries say they made the call because of the worsening COVID-19 situation in the UK which made it "simply too unsafe to send teams and staff over".
SportAustralian Associated PressBangladesh outclass Zimbabwe in first T20
Mohammad Naim and Soumya Sarkar have both scored half-centuries as Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe by eight wickets to win the first match of their Twenty20 series at the Harare Sports Club.The pair featured in a 102-run opening wicket partnership to set Bangladesh on their way to a comfortable victory as they chased down a target of 153 for victory with seven balls to spare on Thursday.
SportAustralian Associated PressDjokovic not distracted by 'golden slam'
Novak Djokovic has learned from his previous Olympics heartbreak and will not allow himself to be distracted from his quest to become the first man to complete the 'golden slam'.Germany's Steffi Graf is the only player to have won all four grand slams and the Olympic gold medal in the same year - but the 34-year-old Serbian is three-fifths of the way there.
SportAustralian Associated PressEngland league boss savages Australia, NZ
Rugby Football League chairman Simon Johnson has savaged Australia and New Zealand as "selfish, parochial and cowardly" over their decision to pull out of the World Cup.Organisers are frantically trying to work out their next step after being caught on the hop by the joint decision of the holders and New Zealand, which came just seven days after it was announced the tournament would go ahead as planned.
SportAustralian Associated PressAustralian triathletes to work as a team
Australia will use team tactics to give Jake Birtwhistle the best-possible chance of a medal in the Olympic men's triathlon.While not wanting to go into specific tactics, Aaron Royle said he is ready to work for Birtwhistle in their 1.
