Macca

There was a bit of talk that Grace was a realistic podium chance but she turned it into a no-contest. As @grazman mentioned, she rode the race with no fear. Took on the corners in treacherous conditions As you said, it's great to get a Gold early. Takes a bit of pressure off and and adds inspiration for our other athletes Ledecky treated the 400m heat quite seriously this morning (Paris time) so Ariarne will really need to be right on her game But we're a chance in all 4 finals especially the 4 x 100 Freestyle for the Women

You've got to take your hat off to the Fijians. Ultra-talented and they have never lost a match at Olympic level. They are great to watch Way too good for the Aussies (who will now play against South Africa for the Bronze - 3.00am) Fiji play France for the Gold at 3 45am

And we're off the mark!!! Grace Brown wins the Cycling time trial in emphatic fashion. Smashes her rivals Gold!!! Apparently Australia's first ever medal in a time-trial (Cycling)

Yes, an excellent start for the Kookaburra's & Boomers, TD. Early group wins are so, so important Men's Beach Volleyball on now along with the Rugby 7's S/F's at 11.30pm (Medal Matches from 3.00am) Grace Brown has a real chance in the Women's cycling time trial and 4 gold medals are up for grabs in the swimming (4.30am onwards) with strong Australian representation. The Men's 4 x 100m freestyle relay could be a classic with 6 genuine hopes The Ledecky & Titmus dual in the 400m could produce a World record. The wild-card's is another Aussie, Jamie Perkins, and the Kiwi, Erika Fairweather Womens Beach Volleyball (vs China) at 2.00am, Women's Water Polo (vs China) at 4.30am and the surfing from Tahiti at 3.00am & 7.48am

Ha ha! And even though I reckon Jordan Love 'could' be very good or even better than very good, he's getting paid elite money on spec However, so are numerous others. That's the sport these days. Or sports in general Baseball, Soccer, Ice Hockey and the NBA has any number of athletes on ridiculous money

Every Aussie competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics, and their medal chances rated Roy & HG Podcast Full Schedule Sat 27th July 5.00pm - Rowing - Heats Sat 27th July 5.30pm - Equestrian - Team Dressage Sat 27th July 7.00pm - Men's Basketball - Boomer's vs Spain Sat 27th July 7.00pm - Swimming - Heats Sat 27th July 7.30pm - Demons vs Giants Sat 27th July 9.15pm - Men's Hockey - Kookaburra's vs Argentina Sat 27th July 10.30pm - Cycling - Women's Individual Time Trial Sat 27th July 11.00pm - Men's Beach Volleyball - Australia vs Sweden Sat 27th July 11.30pm - Men's Rugby 7's - Semi Final Sun 28th July 12.00am - Men's Rugby 7's - Semi Final Sun 28th July 12.32am - Cycling - Men's Individual Time Trial Sun 28th July 2.00am - Women's Beach Volleyball - Australia vs China Sun 28th July 3.00am - Men's Rugby 7's - Bronze Medal Match Sun 28th July 3.00am - Surfing - Men's Round 1 Sun 28th July 3.45am - Men's Rugby 7's - Gold Medal Match Sun 28th July 4.30am - Swimming - Finals Men's 400m Freestyle (Final) Women's 400m Freestyle (Final) Women's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay (Final) Men's 4 X 100m Freestyle Relay (Final) Sun 28th July 4.05am - Women's Water Polo - Stinger's vs China Sun 28th July 7.48am - Surfing - Women's Round 1 Sun 28th July 5.00pm - Rowing - Heats Sun 28th July 6.30pm - Equestrian - Team Cross Country Sun 28th July 6.30pm - Men's Water Polo - Sharks vs Spain Sun 28th July 7.00pm - Swimming - Heats Sun 28th July 8.45pm - Women's Hockey - Hockeyroos vs South Africa Sun 28th July 10.10pm - Cycling Mountain Bike - Women's Cross Country (Final) Sun 28th July 10.10pm - Canoe Slalom - Women's Kayak Semi Final Mon 29th July 1.45am - Canoe Slalom - Women's Kayak Semi Final Mon 29th July 3.00am - Women's Football - Matilda's vs Zambia Mon 29th July 3.00am - Surfing - Women's Round 2 Mon 29th July 3.30am - Women's Rugby 7's - Australia vs Great Britain Mon 29th July 4.30am - Swimming - Finals Men's 400m Individual Medley (Final) Women's 100m Butterfly (Final) Men's 100m Breaststroke (Final) Mon 29th July 7.48am - Surfing - Men's Round 2 Mon 29th July 5.00pm - Men's Beach Volleyball - Australia vs Italy Mon 29th July 5.00pm - Rowing - Heats & Semi Finals Mon 29th July 6.00pm - Men's Hockey - Kookaburra's vs Ireland Mon 29th July 7.00pm - Women's Basketball - Opal's vs Nigeria Mon 29th July 7.00pm - Equestrian - Team Jumping (Final) Mon 29th July 7.00pm - Swimming - Heats Mon 29th July 10.10pm - Cycling Mountain Bike - Men's Cross Country (Final) Mon 29th July 10.30pm - Women's Rugby 7's - Australia vs Ireland Mon 29th July 11.00pm - Equestrian - Jumping Individual (Final) Tues 30th July 1.00am - Women's Hockey - Hockeyroos vs Great Britain Tues 30th July 3.00am - Surfing - Men's Round 3 Tues 30th July 4.30am - Swimming - Finals Women's 400m Individual Medley (Final) Men's 200m Freestyle (Final) Men's 100m Backstroke (Final) Women's 100m Breaststroke (Final) Women's 200m Freestyle (Final) Tues 30th July 5.00am - Women's Rugby 7's - Quarter Finals x 4 Tues 30th July 6.00am - Women's Beach Volleyball - Australia vs USA Tues 30th July 7.48am - Surfing - Women's Round 3 Tues 30th July 4.00pm - Triathlon - Men's Individual (Final) Tues 30th July 5.00pm - Men's Beach Volleyball - Australia vs Poland Tues 30th July 5.30pm - Rowing - Q/F's & S/F's Tues 30th July 6.30pm - Men's Water Polo - Sharks vs Serbia Tues 30th July 7.00pm - Swimming - Heats Tues 30th July 9.30pm - Men's Basketball - Boomer's vs Canada Tues 30th July 11.30pm - Women's Rugby 7's - Semi Final Wed 31st July 12.00am - Women's Rugby 7's - Semi Final Wed 31st July 2,00am - Women's 3 x 3 Basketball - Australia vs Canada Wed 31st July 3.00am - Surfing - Men's Q/F's x4 Wed 31st July 3.00am - Women's Rugby 7's - Bronze Medal Match Wed 31st July 3.45am - Women's Rugby 7's - Gold Medal Match Wed 31st July 3.45am - Men's Hockey - Kookaburras vs Belgium Wed 31st July 4.30am - Swimming - Finals Women's 100m Backstroke (Final) Men's 800m Freestyle (Final) Men's 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay (Final) Wed 31st July 5.24am - Surfing - Women's Q/F's x 4 Wed 31st July 7.48am/9.00am - Surfing - Men's & Women's S/F's x 2 Wed 31st July 10.12am/10.53am - Surfing - Men's & Women's Bronze Medal Matches Wed 31st July 11.34am/12.15pm - Surfing - Men's & Women's Gold Medal Matches Wed 31st July 4.00pm - Triathlon - Women's Individual (Final) Wed 31st July 5.54pm - Rowing - S/F'S & Final's Wed 31st July 6.00pm - Equestrian - Dressage Team Wed 31st July 7.00pm - Diving - Women's Synchro 10m Platform Final Wed 31st July 7.00pm - Swimming - Heats Wed 31st July 9.15pm - Women's Hockey - Hockeyroos vs USA Wed 31st July 10.00pm - Women's Water Polo - Stingrays vs Netherlands Wed 31st July 10.44pm - Cycling BMX - Men's Final Wed 31st July 11.30am - Canoe/Slalom - Women's Canoe Single S/F Thurs 1st August Canoe/Slalom - Women's Canoe Single Final Thurs 1st Aug 1.30am - Women's Basketball 3 x 3 - Australia vs Germany Thurs 1st Aug 3.00am - Women's Football - Matilda's vs USA Thurs 1st Aug 3.00am - Surfing - Reserve Day Thurs 1st Aug 4.30am - Swimming Finals Women's 100m Freestyle Final Men's 200m Butterfly Final Women's 1500m Freestyle Final Men's 200m Breaststroke Final Men's 100m Freestyle Final Thurs 1st Aug 3.30pm - Athletics - Men's 20km Walk Final Thurs 1st Aug 5.00pm - Women's Beach Volleyball - Australia vs Germany Thurs 1st Aug 5.00pm - Women's 3 x 3 Basketball - Australia vs China Thurs 1st Aug 5.20pm - Athletics - Women's 20km Walk Thurs 1st Aug 5.30pm - Rowing - Finals/Semi's Thurs 1st Aug 6.00pm - Men's Beach Volleyball - Australia vs Qatar Thurs 1st Aug 6.30pm - Men's Hockey - Kookaburra's vs New Zealand Thurs 1st Aug 7.00pm - Swimming - Heats Thurs 1st Aug 9.00pm - Women's 3 x 3 Basketball - Opals vs USA Thurs 1st Aug 9.30pm - Women's Basketball - Australia vs Canada Thurs 1st Aug 10.43pm - Sailing - Men's Skiff Medal Race Thurs 1st Aug 11.00pm - Men's Water Polo - Sharks vs France Thurs 1st Aug 11.43pm - Sailing - Women's Skiff Medal Race

What it shows is how much money is in the sport as the QB is quite often the most important player. At least, that's the consensus By comparison, running backs are a dime-a-dozen. WR get paid diva money etc etc But the money is obscene, all the same. Makes the AFL salaries look like chump-change in comparison. Also highlights how small our sports in Australia are (money-wise) But oddly, many Aussie Rules or Rugby league fans reckon the players are overpaid. Relatively, they are not, unless we compare those salaries to the average Australian wage. Not too shabby for playing sport $55Million per season is about $3Million per game (playoffs aside) ... imagine that amount being deposited into your bank account every other week, Gorg!!!

Yes, in-stadium opening ceremonies often showcase a nation's achievements and classic features So the French decided to take us to those areas instead. I'm surprised it hasn't happened before and I'm betting it will certainly happen again As for the sports, I can honestly say I can embrace any sport (rock climbing, skateboarding included) but the swimming, Track & field, Rowing & Cycling along with any of the team sports win out. Sailing I like too but towards the pointy end mainly

I think you'll find that it was a couple of our athletes responding to the USA's swimming coach not being gracious in defeat, and then outrageously claiming that they'd won the swimming meet when they had clearly been well beaten by the Aussies Team victory is traditionally measured in Gold medals (first) and the scoreline from that swimming meet was the Aussies (10 Gold) and the USA (3 Gold) The Americans won the most overall medals but they can't have it both ways And if another reference was the 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay strumming their air guitars back at the Sydney Olympics, that was in response to Gary Hall Jr stating that the USA would smash the Aussies like guitars It seems to me that the brash & boastful yanks are starting the fires. But that's ok, it takes all types

Well I thought the opening ceremony was fantastic. What they achieved couldn't have been done in the confines of a stadium And considering it was never going to be held at the main stadium, it was exceptionally well done and has maybe set the standard for future opening ceremonies Colourful and very different (and typically French), I loved it!

Yes, Matilda's outclassed by a much superior team, but they are not out of it. 8 of the 12 teams advance to the Q/F's, so a win and a draw in the remaining 2 group matches would probably see the Matilda's advance Women's football in Australia is on the up and the sky is the limit, but there's still a fair way to go to catch up the European teams As for the Men's Rugby 7's, a terrific achievement to reach the S/F's. Fiji will be very tough but we're playing well. At least 1 win from the remaining 2 games secures a medal so there's a lot to play for Looking forward to the opening ceremony!

Great win to the Aussies against a highly rated opponent (Puma's) Very impressive! There's only 3 groups so we now play the 7th* ranked team (overall) in the Q/F's ... if we had have lost against Argentina we may have been up against Fiji or France in the Q/F's So we've given ourselves a good chance to advance to S/F's But as we've seen, a number of the teams are very good so we'll need a bit of luck *That team might be the USA

Every Aussie competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics, and their medal chances rated Roy & HG Podcast Full Schedule Australia's representation (Team Sports) as well as other Notable Individual Events - Thurs 25th July - Wed 31st July Thurs 25th July 10.30pm - Men's Rugby 7's - Australia vs Argentina Friday 26th July 3.00am - Women's Football - Matilda's vs Germany Friday 26th July 5.00am - Men's Rugby 7's - Quarter Finals x 4 (Australia Represented) Sat 27th July - 4.00am - Opening Ceremony Sat 27th July 5.00pm - Rowing - Heats Sat 27th July 5.30pm - Equestrian - Team Dressage Sat 27th July 7.00pm - Men's Basketball - Boomer's vs Spain Sat 27th July 7.00pm - Swimming - Heats Sat 27th July 9.15pm - Men's Hockey - Kookaburra's vs Argentina Sat 27th July 10.30pm - Cycling - Women's Individual Time Trial Sat 27th July 11.00pm - Men's Beach Volleyball - Australia vs Sweden Sat 27th July 11.30pm - Men's Rugby 7's - Semi Final Sun 28th July 12.00am - Men's Rugby 7's - Semi Final Sun 28th July 12.32am - Cycling - Men's Individual Time Trial Sun 28th July 2.00am - Women's Beach Volleyball - Australia vs China Sun 28th July 3.00am - Men's Rugby 7's - Bronze Medal Match Sun 28th July 3.45am - Men's Rugby 7's - Gold Medal Match Sun 28th July 4.30am - Swimming - Finals Men's 400m Freestyle (Final) Women's 400m Freestyle (Final) Women's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay (Final) Men's 4 X 100m Freestyle Relay (Final) Sun 28th July 4.05am - Women's Water Polo - Stinger's vs China Sun 28th July 5.00pm - Rowing - Heats Sun 28th July 6.30pm - Equestrian - Team Cross Country Sun 28th July 6.30pm - Men's Water Polo - Sharks vs Spain Sun 28th July 7.00pm - Swimming - Heats Sun 28th July 8.45pm - Women's Hockey - Hockeyroos vs South Africa Sun 28th July 10.10pm - Cycling Mountain Bike - Women's Cross Country (Final) Sun 28th July 10.10pm - Canoe Slalom - Women's Kayak Semi Final Mon 29th July 1.45am - Canoe Slalom - Women's Kayak Semi Final Mon 29th July 3.00am - Women's Football - Matilda's vs Zambia Mon 29th July 3.30am - Women's Rugby 7's - Australia vs Great Britain Mon 29th July 4.30am - Swimming - Finals Men's 400m Individual Medley (Final) Women's 100m Butterfly (Final) Men's 100m Breaststroke (Final) Mon 29th July 5.00pm - Men's Beach Volleyball - Australia vs Italy Mon 29th July 5.00pm - Rowing - Heats & Semi Finals Mon 29th July 6.00pm - Men's Hockey - Kookaburra's vs Ireland Mon 29th July 7.00pm - Women's Basketball - Opal's vs Nigeria Mon 29th July 7.00pm - Equestrian - Team Jumping (Final) Mon 29th July 7.00pm - Swimming - Heats Mon 29th July 10.10pm - Cycling Mountain Bike - Men's Cross Country (Final) Mon 29th July 10.30pm - Women's Rugby 7's - Australia vs Ireland Mon 29th July 11.00pm - Equestrian - Jumping Individual (Final) Tues 30th July 1.00am - Women's Hockey - Hockeyroos vs Great Britain Tues 30th July 4.30am - Swimming - Finals Women's 400m Individual Medley (Final) Men's 200m Freestyle (Final) Men's 100m Backstroke (Final) Women's 100m Breaststroke (Final) Women's 200m Freestyle (Final) Tues 30th July 5.00am - Women's Rugby 7's - Quarter Finals x 4 Tues 30th July 6.00am - Women's Beach Volleyball - Australia vs USA Tues 30th July 4.00pm - Triathlon - Men's Individual (Final) Tues 30th July 5.00pm - Men's Beach Volleyball - Australia vs Poland Tues 30th July 5.30pm - Rowing - Q/F's & S/F's Tues 30th July 6.30pm - Men's Water Polo - Sharks vs Serbia Tues 30th July 7.00pm - Swimming - Heats Tues 30th July 9.30pm - Men's Basketball - Boomer's vs Canada Tues 30th July 11.30pm - Women's Rugby 7's - Semi Final Wed 31st July 12.00am - Women's Rugby 7's - Semi Final Wed 31st July 2,00am - Women's 3 x 3 Basketball - Australia vs Canada Wed 31st July 3.00am - Women's Rugby 7's - Bronze Medal Match Wed 31st July 3.45am - Women's Rugby 7's - Gold Medal Match Wed 31st July 3.45am - Men's Hockey - Kookaburras vs Belgium Wed 31st July 4.30am - Swimming - Finals Women's 100m Backstroke (Final) Men's 800m Fresstyle (Final) Men's 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay (Final)

Was a good match too, fast & furious! Next up is Kenya at 3.00am and our final group match is at 10.30pm tonight against Argentina Points differential can matter if we're to advance (the top 2 teams from each of the 4 groups advance to the Q/F's)

Welcome back TD Can we match or surpass Tokyo when we won 17 Gold medals? Can we beat the Brits? The Olympic 'Ashes' haha Ch9 look to be covering every single sport with the 9Now app so the coverage looks to be very good So it's 24/7 Olympics for me (in-between shortened days at work) apart from the 3 Demon games played on 2 of the Saturday nights (Giants & Port) & the Friday night (Doggies) I can see us doing well in the pool again although expectations are high. And as always, we're sure to be very competitive in the Rowing, Cycling, Sailing and in some of the Track & Field But I love the team events which fall into the same sort of category as the Cricket Test team and of course, the MFC If we could snag 2 or 3 gold in the team events (we're entered in 14 or 15 sports I believe, we'll be doing well But they are hard to win And it's great that Roy & HG are back (thanks for the link) ... during the day I may well tune into TalkSport radio as that UK station will be providing an overview of each day at the Olympics Also, Ch9 will be doing a Paris 'Encore' highlights package at 12noon every day until 3pm. Might be Todd Woodbridge hosting The Opening ceremony could be spectacular too as it's being held on the River Siene! Anyway, let's see if the Mens Rugby 7's can kick things off well. As you know, in that version of Rugby, any team can beat any team on any given day (so we're a chance) And the Matilda's too of course. An opening win helps their chances enormously

Every Aussie competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics, and their medal chances rated A few excerpts (click on the link above for any of the other sports) SWIMMING July 27 – August 4 Dolphins team Abbey Connor – Women’s 200m Butterfly Alexandria Perkins – Women’s Butterfly 100m Ariarne Titmus – Women’s 200m Freestyle, 400m Freestyle, 800m Freestyle Ben Armbruster – Men’s 100m Butterfly, 50m Freestyle Bradley Woodward – Men’s 100m Backstroke, 200m Backstroke Brendon Smith – Men’s 400m Individual Medley Cameron McEvoy – Men’s 50m Freestyle Elijah Winnington – Men 400m Freestyle, 800m Freestyle Elizabeth Dekkers – Women’s 200m Butterfly Ella Ramsay – Women’s 200m Breaststroke, 200m Individual Medley, 400m Individual Medley Emma McKeon – Women’s Butterfly 100m Iona Anderson – Women’s 100m Backstroke Isaac Cooper – Men’s 100m Backstroke Jaclyn Barclay – Women’s 200m Backstroke Jamie Perkins – Women’s 400m Freestyle Jenna Forrester – Women’s 400m Individual Medley Jenna Strauch – Women’s 100m Breaststroke, 200m Breaststroke Joshua Yong – Men’s 100m Breaststroke, 200m Breaststroke Kaylee McKeown – Women’s 100m Backstroke, 200m Backstroke, 200m Individual Medley Kyle Chalmers – Men’s 100m Freestyle Lani Pallister – Women’s 1500m Freestyle, 800m Freestyle Matthew Temple – Men’s 100m Butterfly, 200m Butterfly Maximillian Giuliani – Men’s 200m Freestyle Meg Harris – Women’s 50m Freestyle Mollie O’Callaghan – Women’s 100m Freestyle, 200m Freestyle Sam Short – Men’s 1500m Freestyle, 400m Freestyle, 800mFreestyle Sam Williamson – Men’s 100m Breaststroke Se-Bom Lee – Men’s 200m Backstroke Shayna Jack – Women’s 100m Freestyle, 50m Freestyle Thomas Neill – Men’s 200m Freestyle, 200m Individual Medley William Petric – Men’s 200m Individual Medley 200m, 400m Individual Medley William Yang – Men’s 100m Freestyle Zac Stubblety-Cook – Men’s 200m Breaststroke The Dolphins are tipped to return home with a suitcase full of medals after the Paris Games, with one third of Australia’s Olympic medals expected to come from the pool. Australian superstars Ariarne Titmus, Kaylee McKeown, Cameron McEvoy, Elijah Winnington and Sam Short are each favourites to win individual golds, while the relay teams rarely miss out on a spot on the podium. Medal chances: Strong ATHLETICS August 1 – August 11 Australian Team Women’s 100m: Ella Connolly, Bree Masters Women’s 200m: Torrie Lewis, Mia Gross Women’s 400m: Ellie Beer Women’s 800m: Claudia Hollingsworth, Abbey Caldwell, Catriona Bisset Women’s 1500m: Jessica Hull, Georgia Griffith, Linden Hall Women’s 5000m: Rose Davies, Isobel Batt-Doyle, Lauren Ryan Women’s 10,000m: Lauren Ryan Women’s Marathon: Sinead Diver, Genevieve Gregson, Jessica Stenson Women’s 100m Hurdles: Michelle Jenneke, Liz Clay, Celeste Mucci Women’s 400m Hurdles: Sarah Carli, Alanah Yukich Women’s 3000m Steeplechase: Amy Cashin, Cara Feain-Ryan Women’s 20km Racewalk: Rebecca Henderson, Jemima Montag, Olivia Sandery Women’s High Jump: Nicola Olyslagers, Eleanor Patterson Women’s Pole Vault: Nina Kennedy Women’s Long Jump: Brooke Buschkuehl Women’s Discus Throw: Taryn Gollshewsky Women’s Hammer Throw: Stephanie Ratcliffe Women’s Javelin Throw: Mackenzie Little, Kelsey-Lee Barber, Kathryn Mitchell Women’s Heptathlon: Camryn Newton-Smith, Tori West Women’s 4x100m Relay: Connolly, Kristie Edwards, Ebony Lane, Masters, Aleksandra Stoilova, Torrie Lewis Women’s Marathon Racewalk Relay: Jemima Montag, Rebecca Henderson, Sandery, Allanah Pitcher Men’s 100m: Rohan Browning Men’s 200m: Calab Law Men’s 400m: Reece Holder Men’s 800m: Peter Bol, Joseph Deng, Peyton Craig Men’s 1500m: Adam Spencer, Oliver Hoare, Stewart McSweyn Men’s 5000m: Morgan McDonald, Stewart McSweyn Men’s Marathon: Brett Robinson, Patrick Tiernan, Liam Adams Men’s 110m Hurdles: Tayleb Willis Men’s 3000m Steeplechase: Matt Clarke, Ben Buckingham Men’s 20km Racewalk: Rhydian Cowley, Kyle Swan, Declan Tingay Men’s High Jump: Yual Reath, Brandon Starc, Joel Baden Men’s Pole Vault: Kurtis Marschall Men’s Long Jump: Christopher Mitrevski, Liam Adcock Men’s Triple Jump: Connor Murphy Men’s Discus Throw: Matthew Denny Men’s Javelin Throw: Cameron McEntyre Men’s Decathlon: Ash Moloney, Daniel Golubovic Men’s 4x100m Relay: Rohan Browning, Caleb Law, Joshua Azzopardi, Jacob Despard, Sebastian Sultana, Lachlan Kennedy, Christopher Ius Men’s Marathon Racewalk Relay: Rhydian Cowley, Kyle Swan, Declan Tingay, Will Thompson Australia has sent a strong athletics team to Paris with our athletes in great form across track and field. There are a host of genuine medal contenders including in women’s high jump, with Tokyo medallist Nicola Olyslagers and 2022 world champion Eleanor Patterson in action. Matthew Denny, competing in his third Olympics, is a chance in the men’s discus throw after becoming the Diamond League champion last year, while pole vaulter Nina Kennedy has been in blistering form this year. Mackenzie Little will be in contention for a women’s javelin medal — she recorded a personal best at the London Diamond League meet last week, sending her javelin 66.27m to secure gold. Also, Jemima Montag is a contender for a podium finish in the women’s 20km walk, while keep an eye on Peter Bol and Jessica Hull in the men’s 800m and women’s 1500m respectively. Medal chances: Strong CYCLING TRACK August 5 – 11 Australian team: Alexandra Manly, Chloe Moran, Georgia Baker, Kristina Clonan, Maeve Plouffe Sophie Edwards, Conor Leahy, Kelland O’Brien, Leigh Hoffman, Matthew Glaetzer, Matthew Richardson, Oliver Bleddyn, Samuel Welsford Australia historically has a superb record in cycling track events, with the nation’s gold medal chances resting on the men’s team sprint and women’s madison events. Matthew Glaetzer, Leigh Hoffman and Matthew Richardson won gold in the men’s team sprint at the 2022 UCI Track Cycling World Championships at the same venue in Paris. Medal chances: Strong ROWING July 27 – August 3 Australian team Women’s Single Scull (W1x): Tara Rigney Women’s Double Scull (W2x): Amanda Bateman, Harriet Hudson Women’s Pair (W2-): Annabelle McIntyre, Jessica Morrison Women’s Quad Scull (W4x): Caitlin, Laura Gourley, Rowena Meredith, Ria Thompson Women’s Four (W4-): Olympia Aldersey, Lily Alton, Molly Goodman, Jean Mitchell Women’s Eight (W8+): Paige Barr, Bronwyn Cox, Sarah Hawe, Giorgia Patten, Georgina Rowe, Lucy Stephan, Jacqueline Swick, Hayley Verbunt, Katrina Werry Men’s Pair (M2-): Patrick Holt, Simon Keenan Men’s Four (M4-): Fergus Hamilton, Alexander Hill OAM, Tim Masters, Jack Robertson Men’s Eight (M8+): Kendall Brodie, Ben Canham, Angus Dawson, Jack Hargreaves, Josh Hicks, Joseph O’Brien, Alexander Purnell, Spencer Turrin, Angus Widdicombe Australian men’s and women’s fours will be looking to defend their Olympic titles this year, having won gold at Tokyo in 2021. Meanwhile, both of Australia’s eight teams are expected to be medal contenders in Paris. Medal chances: Strong SAILING July 28 – August 8 Australian team: Breiana Whitehead, Evie Haseldine, Grae Morris, Jim Colley, Matt Wearn, Olivia Price, Shaun Connor, Brin Liddell, Conor Nicholas, Nia Jerwood, Rhiannan Brown, Zoe Thomson Defending gold medallist Matt Wearn has a strong chance of another podium finish in the men’s dingy having won the Paris test event. The Perth native also won gold at the World Sailing Championships in 2023 and 2024. Medal chances: Strong

Australia's representation (Team Sports) Wed 24th July - Wed 31st July Wed 24th July 11.30pm - Men's Rugby 7's - Australia vs Samoa Thurs 25th July 3.00am - Men's Rugby 7's - Australia vs Kenya Thurs 25th July 10.30pm - Men's Rugby 7's - Australia vs Argentina Friday 26th July 3.00am - Women's Football - Matilda's vs Germany Friday 26th July 5.00am - Men's Rugby 7's - Quarter Finals x 4 Sat 27th July - 4.00am - Opening Ceremony Sat 27th July 5.30pm - Equestrian - Team Dressage Sat 27th July 7.00pm - Men's Basketball - Boomer's vs Spain Sat 27th July 7.00pm - Swimming Heats Sat 27th July 9.15pm - Men's Hockey - Kookaburra's vs Argentina Sat 27th July 11.00pm - Men's Beach Volleyball - Australia vs Sweden Sat 27th July 11.30pm - Men's Rugby 7's - Semi Final Sun 28th July 12.00am - Men's Rugby 7's - Semi Final Sun 28th July 2.00am - Women's Beach Volleyball - Australia vs China Sun 28th July 3.00am - Men's Rugby 7's - Bronze Medal Match Sun 28th July 3.45am - Men's Rugby 7's - Gold Medal Match Sun 28th July 4.30am - Swimming Finals Sun 28th July 4.05am - Women's Water Polo - Stinger's vs China Sun 28th July 6.30pm - Equestrian - Team Cross Country Sun 28th July 6.30pm - Men's Water Polo - Sharks vs Spain Sun 28th July 7.00pm - Swimming Heats Sun 28th July 8.45pm - Women's Hockey - Hockeyroos vs South Africa Mon 29th July 3.00am - Women's Football - Matilda's vs Zambia Mon 29th July 3.30am - Women's Rugby 7's - Australia vs Great Britain Mon 29th July 4.30am - Swimming Finals Mon 29th July 5.00pm - Men's Beach Volleyball - Australia vs Italy Mon 29th July 6.00pm - Men's Hockey - Kookaburra's vs Ireland Mon 29th July 7.00pm - Women's Basketball - Opal's vs Nigeria Mon 29th July 7.00pm - Equestrian - Team Jumping (Final) Mon 29th July 7.00pm - Swimming Heats Mon 29th July 11.00pm - Women's Rugby 7's - Australia vs Ireland Tues 30th July 1.00am - Women's Hockey - Hockeyroos vs Great Britain Tues 30th July 4.30am - Swimming Finals Tues 30th July 5.00am - Women's Rugby 7's - Quarter Finals x 4 Tues 30th July 6.00am - Women's Beach Volleyball - Australia vs USA Tues 30th July 5.00pm - Men's Beach Volleyball - Australia vs Poland Tues 30th July 6.30pm - Men's Water Polo - Sharks vs Serbia Tues 30th July 7.00pm - Swimming Heats Tues 30th July 9.30pm - Men's Basketball - Boomer's vs Canada Tues 30th July 11.30pm - Women's Rugby 7's - Semi Final Wed 31st July 12.00am - Women's Rugby 7's - Semi Final Wed 31st July 2,00am - Women's 3 x 3 Basketball - Australia vs Canada Wed 31st July 3.00am - Women's Rugby 7's - Bronze Medal Match Wed 31st July 3.45am - Women's Rugby 7's - Gold Medal Match Wed 31st July 3.45am - Men's Hockey - Kookaburras vs Belgium Wed 31st July 4.30am - Swimming Finals n.b, I'll endeavour to update the above a couple of times a week but as you can see, there's a lot going on and it just keeps coming As for the other sports and for the Australian individuals involved, I'll copy & paste up a few summaries from the net (to follow)

Welcome back Olympic fans!! Paging @MadAsHell More info to follow in the next day or so including a comprehensive guide to all the team* events that Australia is involved in, as well as an overview of out medal chances in the various sports (apparently we are a realistic chance to gain around 50 medals including 12+ Gold medals) Although the opening ceremony isn't on until the early hours of Saturday morning, a number of the team events start off tomorrow (Wednesday) For the Women and the Men ... *Waterpolo, Field Hockey, Beach Volleyball, Basketball, Rugby 7's, Football, Equestrian Team, Basketball 3 x 3 (Australia isn't represented in the Volleyball or Handball or the Men's Football)

The consequences for England in producing flat wickets for 'bazball' is that the opposition can tee-off on those same decks ... West Indies closed at 5/351 off 84 overs on day 2 of the 2nd Test last night You have to wonder how the Windies would have fared on the traditional seaming wickets. Or how the Aussies would have fared last year if we were faced with traditional green-tops

As per The Open The following might happen on a Sunday Social game Joaquin Niemann ... Bunker to bunker to (same) bunker to bunker eventually leading to an 8 on a par 3 Went from -1 overall to -6 ... hopefully he gets back on track and makes the cut

Essendon losing

The NHL Finals start on Sunday at 10.00am between the Panthers & Oilers (best of 7) Foxtel/Kayo are covering the games but picking up an audio broadcast of the games shouldn't be too hard a task Interesting that Florida has never won the Stanley Cup whilst Edmonton has won the Stanley Cup 5 times Players to look out for ... Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk, Evan Bouchard, Aleksandr Barkov & Zach Hyman Footnote: The great Wayne Gretzky played in 4 successful Stanley Cup triumphs for Edmonton)

First game of the best of 7 NBA Finals kicks off tomorrow at 10.30am (Celtics vs Mavs) Those wanting to listen to the game can pick up the broadcast on ESPN Radio. Otherwise, the games are on Foxtel/Kayo

Socceroos playing Bangladesh tonight at 8.45pm in a World Cup Qualifier but it's only on Paramount (streaming) Ch10(Bold) are replaying the match at 10.00am tomorrow (Friday) And Euro24 is on OptusSports exclusively No matches on free-to-air at all

Amazon/Prime only but they are offering the first month free as a trial And the final is set for June 30th so if you can be bothered signing up and then immediately cancelling, Lex, go for it! I've heard Prime have the exclusive rights to the next ODI World Cup and the next Test Championship final so it's a worrying trend (the money grab by sporting bodies)