Not running on the Gold Coast this year (sold out before I could blink, doing a half marathon the next weekend in Cairns), but the elite Men’s field is loaded even though the top liners are of course gearing up for Paris. They’ve attracted 10 Japanese runners all with a sub 2:10 best as well as a couple of sub 2:08 Kenyans. I remember 8 years ago when they made a big deal about having a pacer running 2:17 which was the Olympic standard (this was the last chance qualifier for anyone looking to make Rio), now that time doesn’t even get a mention in the elite men’s field.
2 Likes
1 Like
Can I ask… What’s for PB for a half or full?
1 Like
Full for me is a 3:56 in Melbourne 10 years ago, half was a 1:45 a year later, 50km PB was a 5:50 in Canberra a few years ago
4 Likes
Well done! I wouldn’t make it halfway down the street.
4 Likes
Another question of club v country.
1 Like
Ice Skating Australia stripped of status after abuse allegations
As of July 1, Ice Skating Australia (ISA) will no longer be officially recognised as the national sporting organisation, a rare but serious punishment that will render ISA ineligible for a raft of benefits, including access to public funding and the right to use the Commonwealth Coat of Arms on athlete uniforms.
The decision comes at the same time that ISA is already being investigated by Sports Integrity Australia (SIA) over a series of complaints about alleged sexual misconduct, abuse, death threats, bullying and intimidation within the sport.
1 Like
“Unprecedented”, “Legendary”, “Chaos”.
In an extraordinary fight-day development, Dan Ige has stepped up to face Diego Lopes in the UFC 303 co-main event in a catchweight bout.
Ige, who lives close by to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, was in camp for a fight in a few weeks, but answered a late SOS call to replace the sick Brian Ortega.
1 Like
Surely that’s staged?
1 Like
Mark Cavendish broke Eddy Merckx’s long-standing record for most career Tour de France stage wins with his 35th victory.
1 Like
The Aussies appointed by Saudi Arabia to senior posts in the Saudi sporting landscape include:
- Former A-League boss Danny Townsend - chief of SRJ Sports Investments, the sports arm of Saudi Arabia’s $US700 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF)
- Former Australian Institute of Sport director Matt Favier - chief of Saudi Olympic Training Centre
- Tim Brouw, who was appointed as a senior advisor with the ministry of sport in 2022 and is now in charge of the country’s vast football stadium development
- Long-time administrator Peter Hugg, who helped Saudi Arabia secure the Asian Cup and is executive director for its tournament operations
- Former Australian boxing head coach Kevin Smith, who has been Saudi boxing’s technical director since 2022
- Brisbane 2032 Olympics chairman and former head of American industrial giant Dow Chemicals Andrew Liveris - a special advisor to the PIF and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
1 Like
1 Like
Congratulations Oscar Piastri, his first F1 win 
Go Australia!
9 Likes
1 Like
Melbourne Cup winning jockey Michelle Payne has retired from racing and will focus on training.
1 Like
The Salt Lake City bid for 2034 hit an unexpected hurdle recently with the case of 23 Chinese swimmers who had tested positive for banned substances before the Tokyo Summer Olympics held in 2021.
The 23 swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine but were later cleared by a Chinese investigation, which said they were inadvertently exposed to the drug through contamination.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) did not find any wrongdoing in its own investigation of the cases but it has since triggered a separate US investigation and sharp criticism of WADA’s handling from the US Anti-Doping Agency.
The involvement of US authorities in the case angered the IOC, which said WADA’s authority could not be unilaterally challenged.
The IOC said an amendment in the host city contract had now been added.
The amendment would allow the IOC to terminate the Olympic host contract “in cases where the supreme authority of WADA in the fight against doping is not fully respected or if the application of anti-doping code is hindered or undermined”.
It said Salt Lake City and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee had already signed the amended contract.
France must now deliver key financial guarantees in a timeline to be set by the IOC after being conditionally selected as the host of the 2030 Winter Games.
1 Like
3 Likes
