Olympics – Worldwide Sports News

September 23, 2023

Olympic dream gives Wiegman extra fuel for England’s Nations League tilt

Coach would savour chance to be at the helm of Team GB in Paris, but may need to tweak Lucy Bronze’s role first

When Sarina Wiegman describes the possibility of coaching Team GB at next summer’s Paris Olympics as a “great honour” and “a privilege”, she means it. England’s manager is an expert at concealing her emotions and giving precious little away but introduce the word Olympics to the conversation and Wiegman suddenly animates. “They’re very special,” she says, eyes sparkling. “They’re one of the very biggest stages for women’s football.”

Should Wiegman’s Lionesses reach the final of the Nations League next spring – or, if France make the final two, finish third – she will be placed at the helm of Team GB. That potential prize explains why she was delighted to see a rather unconvincing England squeeze past Scotland at Sunderland on Friday night, registering a 2-1 win. Another victory against the Netherlands in Utrecht on Tuesday would put England in pole position to top an initial group also including Belgium.

September 20, 2023

Sarina Wiegman to manage Team GB at Paris Olympics if they qualify

England manager says it would be ‘an honour’ to take role
Qualification rests with England’s Nations League performance

Sarina Wiegman is in line to manage Great Britain at next summer’s Olympics in Paris should qualification be secured, the Football Association has announced.

The women’s football tournament there will feature three European sides: the hosts France and two teams who will secure qualification via the inaugural Women’s Nations League that is just about to get under way.

August 27, 2023

Olympic figure skater Alexandra Paul killed in crash at age of 31

Canadian remembered for her ‘warmth and kindness’
Baby son suffered non-life threatening injuries in crash

The former Olympic figure skater Alexandra Paul has died at the age of 31 in a car crash, Skate Canada has confirmed.

Paul was involved in a seven-vehicle crash earlier this week in Melancthon Township, approximately 60 miles north-west of Toronto. Her baby son was also in the car and was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Three other people were injured in the crash. Paul was pronounced dead at the scene.

August 26, 2023

‘We’ll go to the promised land’: how Patty Mills inspired Boomers bronze age | Kieran Pender

A moving new documentary tells how inspired leadership and vibrant team culture helped end the Australian men’s basketball team’s 65-year medal drought

Since the Australian men’s basketball team made their Olympic debut in 1956, the Boomers had never won a medal. In Seoul 1988, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000, they played for bronze – and came up short. At the Rio 2016 Olympics, the Boomers had the bronze medal snatched from their hands by Spain, and a questionable foul call, in a one-point defeat. Nor had the team ever won silverware at a basketball World Cup – in 2019 the Boomers reached the third-place play-off, and again went home empty-handed.

“It’s a lot of fourth,” says Luc Longley, a long-time Boomers member from the 1990s, in a new film in cinemas this week, Rose Gold. The feature-length documentary, by film-maker and former professional basketballer Matthew Adekponya, tells the story of the Boomers’ quest to go one better at the 2020 Olympics. Rose Gold is a moving tale of resilience, determination and a vibrant team culture that at long last ended the national team’s medal drought after 65 years.

August 26, 2023

Australia’s Mackenzie Little claims javelin bronze at world titles

Javelin star throws 63.38m to win Australia’s third medal at 2023 titles
Little, 26, flies home Monday to complete her studies to be a doctor

Doctor-in-waiting Mackenzie Little now has another moniker as Australia’s clutch javelin queen, claiming world championships bronze in Budapest with a brilliant final-round effort.

For much of the competition it looked like Australia’s three-pronged challenge would end without a spot on the podium. But Little had other ideas.

August 6, 2023

Paris cancels test event for Olympic swimming on Seine due to water quality

Open-water event pulled to ‘safeguard swimmers’ health’
Organisers insist new infrastructure will be delivered

Heavy rain in Paris has led to the cancellation of a swimming event on the River Seine that was to be a test for the Olympic Games next year, but organisers insist the waterway will be better prepared in 2024.

The Open Water Swimming World Cup event was aborted because “the water quality in the Seine has remained below acceptable standards for safeguarding swimmers’ health”, the French Swimming Federation said on Sunday in a statement.