26 - 30 June
The Grand Tour
The oldest of the three Grand Tours of men's cycling and considered the most prestigious, the 110th edition of the Tour de France begins tomorrow in Bilbao, Spain. First won by Frenchman Maurice Garin in 1903, the multi-stage race has featured every year since then except for the two World Wars. Scheduled to complete in Paris on the 21st July, we can expect 21 stages spread over 23 days, which includes two rest days. The other two Grand Tours are the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España.
The biggest event in women's football kicks off on the 20th July in New Zealand and Australia. News in this week is that Brazil's 37-year-old star player Marta has been included in the squad for her sixth World Cup. A sixth-time winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year award, Marta also holds the record for the most goals (17) in World Cup tournaments for either men or women.
The Netherland's Women have secured the FIH Pro Hockey League title after building an unassailable lead on the overall standings. Great Britain currently lead the men's table after 16 matches, with India only two points behind. The Lyme Regis Sailing Club in England, hosted the 2023 OK Dinghy World Championships. Local star Nick Craig topped the podium, followed by Sweden's Niklas Edler and Britain's Henry Whetherell. Part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold tour, Sweden's Mondo Duplantis set a world pole vault lead of 6.12m in Ostrava on Tuesday evening.
Two Continental Championships completed earlier in the week. The International Dance Organization hosted the European Ballet and Jazz Championships in Kielce, Poland.
https://www.ido-dance.com/ceis/ido/results/calendar/2023_1970.html
Asia's U17 and U23 wrestling stars competed in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, at the United World Wrestling regional championships.
https://uww.org/event/asian-championships-24?section=results
We close with skateboarding news. Australia has a new star in 13-year-old Arisa Trew who became the first female skateboarder to land a 720 - a trick which involves making two full rotations in the air.
Until next time, have a great weekend in sport.