Torrie Lewis rues slow start in 100m semi-final exit as Hull reaches 1500m final
An emotional Torrie Lewis was left ruing a slow start after she was eliminated in her 100m semi-final on Sunday at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, then frustrated Channel Nine and athletics officials by skipping media obligations,Jess Hull, however, avoided a fall in a tense 1500m race to progress to the final on Tuesday, giving Australian supporters reason to cheer on a mixed night in a humid National Stadium,Lewis was slow to accelerate in the third semi-final and found herself quickly out of contention, but still powered home to finish fifth in 11,14sec behind the winner, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who went on to win the final in a championship record time,Despite recording her third fastest time, the Australian appeared close to tears when telling SBS afterwards that she felt “not the best” in an interview that lasted just 33 seconds.
She missed her slot with the championships’ other Australian broadcaster Channel Nine and hurried through the media area underneath the stadium without speaking to reporters.Australian Athletics officials were unable to contact her after the race.She is due to race in the 200m and 4x100m relay later in the meet.Lewis’s elimination followed the women’s 400m, in which Ellie Beer finished last in her heat.“I was really confident going into today, but yeah really disappointed,” the 22-year-old athlete told SBS before breaking down.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t cry.”Later, Linden Hall had perhaps more reason than either to be despondent.She finished seventh in her 1500m semi-final, one place out of the final but with the fastest time of all eliminated athletes.“Not having the time qualifiers has definitely changed how the races get run, and if we went back to that system, I think I’d probably have been through, so I’ll try not to look at that,” she said.The 34-year-old has had an excellent year in 2025 and, despite appearing composed in the aftermath, her dismay was clear.
“I’ll probably cry as soon as I get out of here,” she said.“But we’ll hold it together for the next five minutes.”In the other, much slower, semi-final Hull was controlled in finishing second but she was twice involved in contact before coasting home behind Kenyan Nelly Chepchirchir and in front of American Nikki Hiltz.“[I was] just thinking about trying to get him through safely,” Hull said.“I think Nikki was right behind me and Nelly was next to me, and I think we all had a lot left for a pretty unnerving semi-final.
”The silver medallist from Paris said she might have preferred a faster pace in the past, but she is now equipped to respond to how the race plays out,“Running around yesterday and tonight just shows me I am ready for anything and that’s the best way to go into a final, with the toolbox for however it unfolds,”Sign up to Australia SportGet a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports deskafter newsletter promotionIn the men’s 400m, Reece Holder started strong then dug deep in his heat to finish second and qualify for the semi-finals,His 44,54sec was just one hundredth of a second from a personal best and within two tenths of Darren Clark’s national record of 44.
38sec set in 1988.After establishing a large lead in the back straight, Holder only just hung on for one of the three direct qualifying places.He even glanced twice to the right towards his rivals in the final metres.“I looked up at the screen and then across which I probably shouldn’t have done either,” he said.“It was more of a ‘don’t slack off’ moment than a ‘jump scare’.
”After also reaching the semi-final stage last year at the Olympics, he feels better prepared in his bid to become the third Australian man to make a world championships 400m final.“I’ve really learnt that majors aren’t like a normal race,” he said.“Everyone can run fast, but majors [are about] who can run through the rounds and has the legs to do the rounds because everyone can run 44.5, 44.4, it’s just who can run that three times in a row.
”Yual Reath progressed to the final of the men’s high jump with a season-best clearance of 2,25m, but neither Brandon Starc nor Roman Anastasios made the cut-off,Monday night features the men’s pole vault final with the Swedish star Armand Duplantis and the Australian Kurtis Marschall, who is expected to compete for a medal,
Ellie Kildunne hands England boost with return for Rugby World Cup semi-final
England’s world player of the year, Ellie Kildunne, is expected to be ready to play against France in the Women’s Rugby World Cup semi‑final against France on Saturday after missing the 40-8 quarter-final win against Scotland on Sunday.The full-back did not play against Scotland because of concussion protocols, but afterwards the Red Roses head coach, John Mitchell, said: “We have a clean bill of health I think. Ellie is back running, back into collision work and she is going good.”Kildunne sustained a head injury in England’s final pool match against Australia and was taken off with concussion symptoms. That meant she has had to go through a mandatory 12-day stand-down period
England still favourites to lift Rugby World Cup, but betting on them is another matter | Robert Kitson
Roses are red, Scotland in blue, the stakes are rising, how will they do? The scoreboard answer from a soaking wet Bristol was predictable enough. When bookmakers start quoting prices of 1000-1 on for a team to win a two‑horse race, the chances of England failing to reach the semi‑finals were roughly on a par with anyone in the stands getting sunstroke.With it came yet another record statistic for John Mitchell’s bunch of serial winners. No leading international rugby side in history has previously won 31 Tests in a row as England’s women have now done: 61 victories in their past 62 Tests leaves precious little room for people to question their pedigree or killer instinct.Yet would you absolutely put your mortgage on England hoisting the World Cup in just under a fortnight? This may, of course, depend on the precise sum of money involved and the potential availability of other emergency income streams
England 40-8 Scotland: Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 quarter-final – as it happened
Here is Sarah Rendell’s match report from a blustery Ashton Gate, where England won their 31st game in a row. Two more to go. Thanks for joining me, enjoy your evenings.France will be England’s semi-final opponents, but only after Ireland gave them an almighty scare earlier today:Some words from Bryan Easson on his final game as Scotland head coach. “We did what we wanted to do, reaching the knockout stages
Brendon McCullum mulls appointing Harry Brook as England vice-captain for Ashes
Harry Brook could replace Ollie Pope as England vice-captain for the Ashes after Brendon McCullum, the head coach, revealed it was up for discussion in an otherwise “easy” squad to select.Speaking after an afternoon of solid rain in Nottingham caused a washout of the third Twenty20 between England and South Africa – the international home summer ending with a 1-1 series draw – McCullum floated the possibility of Brook as deputy to Ben Stokes given his role as the limited-overs captain.McCullum said: “It’s no secret that Brook is emerging as a leader within English cricket, so that’s something we need to work out. But whatever happens, a great team understands that just because you haven’t got a [leadership] title, doesn’t stop you from being a leader.”A switch would be a blow to Pope, who has been vice-captain since late 2022 and led the team five times during this time
England blow away Scotland to set up World Cup semi-final against France
Torrential rain and blustery conditions meant there was no champagne rugby on display in Bristol but the occasion more than lived up to the hype with a sold-out Ashton Gate cheering England to a comfortable win against Scotland to book their spot in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals, where they will face France.Some had worried the conditions may have seen some supporters not turn out but the doubters were proved wrong with the stands full to the brim to witness the Red Roses break their own world record of consecutive wins as the victory took them to 31 in a row.The quarter-final also proved to be the hottest ticket in town with the USA player Ilona Maher returning after watching Canada’s win against Australia on Saturday and the former England goalkeeper Mary Earps was also in the stands.The players had to play the conditions in front of them which led to lulls in the game with handling errors littered throughout but there were good performances on display. The prop Kelsey Clifford started in place of Hannah Botterman and she backed up her two tries from last weekend with another double, while it was also a special day for Abby Dow as she scored her 50th try for England, becoming just the sixth Red Rose to do so
Manchester City honour Ricky Hatton, ‘one of our most loved supporters’
Manchester City paid tribute to “one of their most loved supporters” when they held a minute’s appreciation on Sunday before the derby against Manchester United to honour Ricky Hatton after his death – with the City manager, Pep Guardiola, saying the news was “tough to wake up to”.The 46-year-old Hatton, a lifelong City fan, was found dead in his Manchester home on Sunday morning, with police confirming his death was not being treated as suspicious. Guardiola led the tributes to the former world champion boxer.“It was tough news to wake up to,” the City manager said. “Of course he had success and was world champion, but it’s the loss for his family, his kids – he was a grandad
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