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News -- June-July 2008
Netball team named 29 July
Netball Australia: The rising talent of netballers in the country have today been named in the 2008 Australian 21/U team, announced at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS).
The team of fourteen will compete in a series of practice matches in Brisbane from 6-11 August against the 21/U teams from New Zealand and England.
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Sally sets record
Athletics Australia: Gold Coast hurdler Sally McLellan has broken her own Australian record for the second time in two weeks, clocking a slashing time of 12.53 to finish second at the IAAF World Tour in Monaco.
In her last hit out before she makes her Olympian debut, McLellan was edged out by Commonwealth Games champion Brigitte Foster-Hylton of Jamaica, who sped to victory in 12.49 seconds. Foster-Hylton’s effort was the third fastest in the world this year, with McLellan’s new Australian and Oceania record the 5th fastest clocked in 2008. (See fact box below)
McLellan’s time betters the 12.58 she clocked in Luzern, Switzerland, two weeks ago and comes hot on the heels of her second place finish to world No.1 Lolo Jones in London on Saturday, where she clocked 12.61.
“Through the race I felt I was very close to Brigitte, so when I saw her time I thought ‘yeah I was real close’ this must be a personal best…to have broken the Australian record is fabulous,” McLellan said.
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Swifts take the title
NSW’s Swifts netball team has taken out the recent ANZ-sponsored title.
Netball Australia reports: The consistency of the NSW Swifts was rewarded when they won the ANZ Championship trophy outplaying Colourplus Magic 65-56 in front of a 12,000-strong crowd at the Acer Arena in Sydney.
The home team dominated the final with their consistency throughout and the big match temperaments of captain Catherine Cox, Susan Pratley and Selina Gilsenan.
The Magic had their moments but, in a reflection of their season, could not put a full 60 minutes out on court tonight. Both teams went with predicatable line-ups, the Swifts sticking with the reliable unit that had garnered an unbeaten eight-game run heading into the final. Magic coach Noeline Taurua opted to retain Laura Langman at wing attack after her first start in the position last week against the Adelaide Thunderbirds.
It did not take the Swifts long to stamp their ascendancy as they rattled into the early lead on the back of sharp attacking play and precision finishing. Five unanswered goals early on gave the home team the impetus to dictate terms. Fluency on attack through Kimberlee Green and Vanessa Ware on the outside combined with the timing and accuracy of sharp shooters Cox and Pratley gave the Swifts a decisive edge.
The Magic squandered possession with some wayward passing while Langman struggled against the demanding attention of Gilsenan, whose presence stifled the visitor’s attacking options. The Swifts found an easier passage into Cox and Pratley who didn’t miss a beat as the home team went to the first break 19-14 ahead.
In a moral victory for the home team, Langman found herself back at centre in the second quarter as the Magic searched for more fluency but the visitors were again blighted by too many simple errors. The Swifts continued their dominance, their variety on attack outwitting the Magic defenders while strong through-court defence stifled the visitor’s flow.
With 10 more shots at goal under their belt, the Swifts were handily placed at 34-28 at halftime. Irene van Dyk remained a consistent performer in a faltering Magic effort, getting through a huge workload and her usual reliable self under the hoop. With van Dyk and Maria Tutaia reverting to their more accustomed roles of goalshoot and goal attack respectively in the third quarter, the visitors had their best stanza of the match.
Finding it easier to find van Dyk under the hoop, the Magic pulled to within two goals as they converted on the back of a run of turnovers from their defenders. However, the response from the Swifts was just as decisive who replied with a strong run to shoot out to a seven-goal lead.
In a topsy-turvy quarter, the Swifts repelled the Magic’s surges as they headed into the final break with a 50-45 lead. Some heroics from the dangerous Casey Williams injected some momentum as the Magic made a strong start to the final quarter. Again they drew within two goals but the Swifts were equal to the occasion.
The ever-reliable Pratley and Cox proved outstanding contributors for the Swifts. The unflappable duo shared the shooting load intelligently and proceeded to dominate their opposites as they calmly propelled the Swifts into a position of absolute command. Van Dyk was a shining light for the losers, who for the main were out-thought and outplayed throughout the night.
Netball Australia
Ochoa wraps up Brit Open
LPGA: A major championship is one of the pinnacle victories most sought after by a professional golfer in their career. When Lorena Ochoa started with a 9-under-par 64 in the opening round of the 2007 RICOH Women's British Open, she silenced a few of her critics who claimed her career was not complete without a major championship. When she won, it was only the beginning.
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Ivanovic wins first major 8 June
WTA: Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva couldn't finish her off earlier on in the tournament but on Saturday afternoon, Ana Ivanovic was the one who finally ended Dinara Safina's incredible win streak, and after all was said and done the world No.2 - who will ascend to No.1 for the first time on the new rankings - won her very first Grand Slam title.
Since winning at Indian Wells in March, Ivanovic hadn't been in the best form. She reached the semifinals of Berlin but was beaten early at Miami and Rome; but like she has done so many times over the last year it took one of the world's greatest stages for her to find her best footing. She was tested in the first round against Sofia Arvidsson but she was barely tested in four straight matches to reach the semifinals of Roland Garros.
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Macfarlane smashes records
Tasmanian Donna MacFarlane has smashed the Australian and Oceania record in winning the bronze medal in the 3000m steeplechase at the IAAF Golden League meeting in Oslo, Norway, 7 June.
MacFarlane, whose long time coach and mentor Max Cherry passed away last month, produced the race of her career to clock 9min 18.35 seconds.
The time is the eighth fastest ever for the event that will make its Olympic debut in Beijing andsliced nearly six seconds off Melissa Rollison’s national mark of 9:24.29 set at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. MacFarlane’s previous best of 9:25.05 was set in winning the bronze behind Rollison’s silver in Melbourne.
In a race billed as “the greatest women’s steeplechase field ever assembled”, the race was won by world record holder Gulnara Galkina of Russia in 9min14.77sec; world champion Yekaterina Volkova of Russia was second in 9:18.24.
MacFarlane ran a controlled race and moved through the field to lie in sixth place with two laps remaining before beginning to make her presence felt on the final lap.
With Galkina outside her own world record (9:01.59) but still with a comfortable lead, MacFarlane moved into fourth place in the finishing straight. Despite knocking her knee and stumbling away from the last barrier, she recovered quickly and in a sprint finish was narrowly held out by world champion Volkova in a finish that saw 0.19 seconds separating second to fourth.
“It’s not often that I get out sprinted to the line, but I had the world champion in my sights and I was a bit eager to beat her,” an ecstatic MacFarlane said after the race.
“In the end I hit my knee and was lucky to stay on my feet,”
MacFarlane, 30, who is now guided by Cathy Freeman’s former coach Peter Fortune, has been based in Belgium for the past fortnight, travelling with husband Marty and her two children Marcella, 6, and Gabriel, 3, in order to have the best possible Games build-up.
“It was special for me to run well in Oslo because Max was here with me last year,” MacFarlane said in reference to her former coach.
After a disastrous world championships campaign is Osaka last year, where she lost her shoe just 50m from the start line in her opening heat, MacFarlane is putting together an impressive string of performances, including World Athletic Tour wins in Melbourne and Doha and now a podium finish and Australian record in Oslo.
Olympic sponsorship is no bargain
The Age: When the world's athletes line up for competition in this year's Beijing Olympics, it will be the result of years of hard work and training. But for the companies who sought to link themselves with the Games, their involvement will be the result of a gruelling bidding process in which only the firms with the deepest pockets make it over the line.
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England loses netball captain
Netball Australia: England will select a new captain to lead their charge against current World Champions, Australia in the Holden Netball Test Series here later this year.
Their 31-year-old skipper, Amanda Newton has announced her retirement from international netball after a career spanning 100 Test match appearances over 12 years.
Newton says it`s time to concentrate on her teaching career.
“I’ve enjoyed being part of a really competitive England side, a team with a passion to win, but you know when it’s time to go,” she said.
“I’m older now and I’ve got to think about my career in teaching.”
After making her debut against Jamaica in 1996, she was appointed to the captaincy role in 2006.
Newton rates as one of her career highlights England’s upset victory in May 2007 over the then world number one side, the New Zealand Silver Ferns.
England’s Director of Netball, Nigel Holl said Newton had made a considerable contribution to the success of the England team.
“Amanda’s record speaks for itself – a long-term and very significant contribution to England,” he said.
“She has led the team with a real passion for success and an absolute desire to be the best. That determination shows itself on court, off court and in the way in which Amanda strove to get back to full fitness following injuries.
“Amanda has played a very important and significant role in helping the next generation of new players into the squad."
Website
Dibaba sets new world record
Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia smashed the women's 5000m world record by 5.48 seconds at the Golden League meeting in Oslo on Friday.
She clocked 14 minutes 11.15 seconds to better her compatriot Meseret Defar's mark of 14:16.63 set also at at the Golden League meeting in Oslo last year.
Kenya's Lucy Wangui finished second in 14:33.49, ahead of another Ethiopian Ejegayehu Dibaba in 14:36.78.
Beijing Olympics
Young Bishop finds herself at the top
WNBL: Abby Bishop had been playing basketball less than a year when she watched the Opals win silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Now 19, Bishop finds herself the youngest member of the 15-woman Opals squad that flew into Cairns yesterday for a five-day training camp.
A netballer in her younger days growing up in country South Australia, Bishop said she was surprised to still be in contention for the final cut of 12 who will head to the Beijing Olympics.
"I never thought for a second that I would make it this far," she said.
"I think this is more a development thing for me and getting me ready for the future.
"It’s been a great experience. The older girls do take you under their wing and I’ve learned heaps and a lot of different things about my game."
Bishop and the rest of her teammates will not have much time for sight-seeing while in the Far North with preparation for Beijing reaching its final stages.
After winning the 2006 World Championships and taking part in the last two gold medal play-offs, the Opals can expect plenty of attention from opposition teams and the public at the Olympics.
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Petersen chases title 6
LPGA: Five-time LPGA Tour winner Suzann Pettersen, of Norway, will return to Bulle Rock Golf Course, USA, to defend what was her second title in 2007 and first career major championship.
Pettersen and 149 other players are in pursuit of the $300,000 winner's check from the $2 million purse as well as the final of eight first half automatic berths into the ADT Championship via LPGA Playoffs 2008.
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