🥇 McKeon Swims To Eleventh Heaven

Good morning, it's Monday, 1 August. There's no such thing as too much sport but this weekend went pretty close with all your regular winter sports plus cycling, motorsport, football and a little thing called the Commonwealth Games. That's where we start and if you like gold, records and Australia winning you're gonna have a great time. Let's go! 

⏱ 1149 words = 6 minutes

👀 Oh no, Meg...

THE MAIN GAME

🥇 Queen McKeon reigns Comm Games

The Birmingham Commonwealth Games has been a river of gold for Australia over the 1st 3 days, so it's only fitting a swimmer is leading the way with a record haul. 

Golden points: Emma McKeon needed 3 gold medals to become the most successful Comm Games athlete ever and she did it by Sunday evening. 

• McKeon won gold in the 4x100m mixed freestyle relay on Friday, the 4x100m women's freestyle relay on Saturday and on Sunday won the women's 50m freestyle.

• That made it gold medal #11, one more than Susie O’Neill, Leisel Jones and Ian Thorpe who each have 10, so she's now Queen of the Commonwealth (sorry, Liz).

• McKeon considered quitting swimming when she failed to make the 2012 London Olympics. Good thing she stuck with it because she's now got 23 major event gold medals, including 5 Olympic golds.

• McKeon's gold was one of 9 gold medals by Australia on Day 3 (medal tally below). The Women's Rugby 7s team, backstroker Kaylee McKeown, track cyclists Matthew Richardson, Kristina Clonan, Georgia Baker, Jessica Gallagher and Caitlan Ward, and gymnast Georgia Godwin all won gold, as did Australia's 4x200 women's freestyle team in world record time.

• But there was a horror crash at the velodrome when riders in the men's scratch race collided and were thrown over the barriers and into the crowd. 3 athletes were taken to hospital and spectators were treated on the spot for injuries.

They said it: "It’s really nice to be mentioned alongside some of those names and I will be part of that history for years to come, hopefully," - McKeon speaking after her record-breaking win. 

Watch it: Aussie swim coach Dean Boxall was at it again going wild in the stands as his swimmers broke the 4x200m freestyle relay world record.

QUICK SINGLES

🏀 Basketball: NBA champion and civil rights activist Bill Russell has died aged 88. Russell died peacefully next to his wife Jeannine on Sunday in the US. He won a record 11 NBA championships with the Boston Celtics in the 1950s and 60s and was the NBA's first black coach and the first black member of the Hall of Fame in 1975 (he's in it twice as a player and a coach). Off the court, he fought social injustice and racism in the US alongside figures like Mohammed Ali and Jim Brown, and in 2011 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then US President Barrack Obama. 

🥇 Comm Games: Kyle Chalmers says media reports about a love triangle feud are a "load of 💩". The Chalmers-McKeon-Simpson love triangle isn't a thing, says Chalmers, who says reports of him snubbing McKeon after their 4x100m mixed relay win were untrue (McKeon agreed FYI). So Chalmers used his post-race press conference and Instagram to call out the false news and reveal he considered quitting swimming because of negative reporting. 

⚽️: Football: The good times never felt so good for England's women's football team. They won the Women's Euros final this morning, beating Germany 2-1 at a heaving Wembley Stadium in London. It's been 56 years since England won a major football trophy, so the team celebrated with their loyal fans with a rousing rendition of Sweet Caroline. So good! So good! So good! 

🏎 F1: Max Verstappen extends his lead in the Formula 1 drivers championship with victory in Hungary. Verstappen mowed down the field from 10th place to win his 8th race of the season, but it might have been a different story had Ferrari not changed Charles Leclerc's tyres midway through the race. Verstappen is now 80 points clear of Leclerc with 9 races to go as the F1 season takes its summer break. 

🚴‍♀️ Cycling: Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten has won the Tour de France Femmes. Van Vleuten conquered the French mountains to win the final 2 stages and claim the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes. At 39, Van Vleuten is the reigning champion of France, Italy and the individual time trial at the Olympics. 

🏉 AFL: The AFL is investigating an alleged Islamophobic slur against Carlton's Adam Saad. A spectator allegedly made the remark at the Adelaide Oval during the Crows' win over the Blues on Saturday night. Saad says he's disappointed and wants the person to be educated. 

COMM GAMES CORNER

🥇 Medal Tally: Australia added 9 gold, 5 silver and 6 bronze medals on Day 3 of the Comm Games. Full tally here.

📺 What's on: Check out some of the key Aussie events on Day 4. Watch it all on Channel 7 and stream it on 7plus. For the full schedule click here.

• 9:00pm - Lawn Bowls - Men's Triples Final

• 9:00pm - Netball - Australia v South Africa

• 11:30pm - Men's Beach Volleyball - Australia v South Africa

• 4:07am (Tuesday) - Swimming - Men's 100m Freestyle Final

• 5:08am (Tuesday) - Swimming - Women' 200m Individual Medley Final

LEFT OF FIELD

🎾 Tennis: Two of Australia's most famous sportspeople tied the knot on the weekend. Well, not to each other, and one isn't technically a sportsperson anymore, and they weren't both on the weekend. Let's start again. On Saturday, retired tennis champion Ash Barty shared a pic on Insta of her and new hubby Garry Kissick from their wedding day last month. On Friday, Australia Test captain Pat Cummins and fiance Becky got hitched in Byron Bay. No pics yet but they can't be far away. 

📽 Highlight reel: We hate to do this to Aussie cricket captain Meg Lanning, but she dropped a sitter that cost Alana King a hat-trick against Barbados. 

📸 Photo finish: Here are the world record-breakers Ariarne Titmus, Mollie O'Callaghan, Kia Malverton and Madi Wilson.

THE POLLING BOOTH

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING (THAT'S NOT THE COMM GAMES)

• ⚾️ 9:00am - MLB - Giants v Cubs - Oracle Park, San Francisco - Foxtel, Kayo

All times AEST

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