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Straits Times
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Kyle Chalmers hopes Enhanced Games leads to improvement in prize money for clean swimmers
– Kyle Chalmers won't criticise fellow swimmers for taking part in the Enhanced Games, but the Australian hopes the proposed multi-sport event prompts World Aquatics to increase prize money for clean athletes. The Enhanced Games will allow athletes to use pharmacological or technological assistance, including substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Retired Australian world champion swimmer James Magnussen, 34, in February 2024 agreed to take performance-enhancing drugs to make an attempt at beating Cesar Cielo's 15-year-old 50-metre freestyle world record. The Enhanced Games concept has been met with widespread criticism, with World Aquatics introducing a new bylaw that will prevent any athlete or official who supports or endorses doping from competing or holding any positions after a Greek swimmer supported by the Enhanced Games 'broke' the world record. 'James is one of my really great mates, so I'm definitely not going to knock him for going across there,' Chalmers was quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press on June 8, ahead of Australian trials in Adelaide. 'That is something that is hard in our sport, there's not a huge amount of money or prize money on offer and we kind of do it for the love of it. So I am not going to be a person that slams swimmers for wanting to go across and make some money and give themselves a better opportunity in life or set their families up...' The Enhanced Games will hold their inaugural competition in Las Vegas in May 2026 with swimming, athletics and weightlifting on the agenda. Participants could earn prize money totalling up to US$500,000 (S$642,580) per event plus bonuses for surpassing a world record mark. 'Swimmers have been underpaid for a very long time at the big competitions,' the 26-year-old said. 'I'm very lucky to have a lot of personal sponsors so I do OK for myself, which is nice. But I know that there's a lot of swimmers out there that really struggle... So I really hope that there is a shift, that we are able to get a little bit more prize money for what we do, but I guess we'll see.' Over at the Canadian Swimming Trials, Summer McIntosh stormed to victory in the women's 800m freestyle on June 8, firing another warning shot to Katie Ledecky after narrowly missing out on breaking the American's world record. A day after obliterating the 400m freestyle world record, McIntosh touched in 8min 5.07sec in the 800m, putting her just outside US great Ledecky's world best of 8:04.12 set only in May. 'Going into tonight, I really wanted to see how close I could get to that world record,' the three-time Olympic gold medallist said after her win at the trials in Victoria, British Columbia. 'But, overall, pretty happy with my race and my splits. I was a little bit in no man's land. So I'm happy excited for just moving forward and seeing how I can be pushed when I get some close-quarter racing.' McIntosh won gold in the 200m butterfly, 200m medley and 400m medley at the Paris Olympics and has indicated she'll chase five titles at the world championships in Singapore in July. On Saturday, she shattered the 400m free world record with a time of 3:54.18, slicing more than a second of the record set in 2023 by Australian Ariarne Titmus, who is taking the 2025 season off. The blistering form of McIntosh and Ledecky sets the stage for a titantic duel at the world championships and the Canadian admitted she was relishing the prospect. 'Any time I get to race Katie, it's an honour. I always have to bring my best to be able to challenge her,' McIntosh said on June 8. 'So I'm really excited for our match-ups at the worlds. This is my starting point now and I just try to keep pushing forward.' REUTERS, AFP Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Global News
26-05-2025
- Global News
Search intensifies after Australian teen vanishes without a trace
The search for a missing 17-year-old Australian girl has taken a grim turn as police have deployed cadaver dogs to scour a national park on the island continent. Pheobe Bishop vanished earlier this month after she was dropped off at Bundaberg Airport on May 15 to catch an early morning flight to Brisbane. She never checked in with the airline. She has not been seen or heard from since and, according to the Australian Associated Press, she wasn't picked up on CCTV entering the airport terminal. What we know about her disappearance Before her disappearance, Bishop was living in the small town of Gin Gin, approximately 360 kilometres north of Brisbane, with two people police have described as 'associates.' Police first got wind that something might be amiss after she failed to show up in Western Australia after her scheduled flight. Story continues below advertisement She was last seen on Airport Drive at Bundaberg Airport around 8:30 a.m. on May 15, carrying a suitcase. The following day, police issued a missing person's report. In various press conferences and updates since Bishop went missing, Queensland detectives have shared a number of clues and pieces of information about her life leading up to the day she disappeared. Police say they believe the couple she had been living with, Tanika Bromley and James Wood, drove Bishop to the airport that day. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy On May 19, police searched the land surrounding the Bundaberg Airport, but failed to turn up anything belonging to Bishop. The next day, they asked the public for tips regarding a 2011 grey Hyundai ix35 that was seen near the airport the day she went missing. 'We do have associates that are assisting police with our inquiries at the moment, and this is why we're trying to narrow down that timeline in relation to where Pheobe could be,' Det. Acting Insp. Ryan Thompson said at the time, reports the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). The next day, after Bishop had been missing for six days, police announced they considered her disappearance 'suspicious' and that they had established two potential crime scenes — one being the dilapidated house in Gin Gin, where Bishop had been living with Wood and Bromley, and the other the grey Hyundai, which police have seized. Story continues below advertisement 'We do hold concerns for her safety,' Thompson told reporters last Wednesday. 'It has been nearly a week since she was last sighted and it's out of character for her not to make any contact with anyone.' 'Grasping onto hope' Meanwhile, Bishop's mother, Kylie Johnson, has been pleading for information about her daughter, often speaking directly to Bishop through social media posts. 'We enter another day with Pheobe still missing, our hearts are breaking more and more,' she posted on Facebook last week. 'Phee we just need to know that you're ok? We just need to hear your voice! 'I'm begging anyone that has anything to contact Police link 131 444.' It's unclear why Bishop did not reside with her mother. The search intensifies In the past days, police have turned their search efforts to a nearby park, deploying land and air search teams, as well as dive squads in Good Night Scrub National Park. On Sunday, police dogs and homicide officers were also called into the park. Story continues below advertisement On Monday, forensic detectives said they have collected some items as evidence during the search that 'are believed to be linked to the investigation.' Those items are undergoing forensic examination, reports local outlet 7 News. So far, no one has been taken into custody in the case, but police say they continue to speak to people who know Bishop and are committed to exploring any tips or related information that could help determine her whereabouts. 'People don't vanish,' Thompson told reporters last Thursday. 'Someone knows something and we're urging anyone with information to contact police immediately. 'You may have the small piece of information that leads us to finding Pheobe.'
AU Financial Review
22-05-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
The surprise group set to benefit from Labor's $3m super tax
Michelle Bowes writes about wealth from our Sydney newsroom. She has more than 20 years of experience as a business journalist and is the author of Money Queens: Rule your Money, an award-winning personal finance book for teenage girls. Email Michelle at Andrew Hobbs covers self-managed superannuation funds, financial planning, retirement and inheritance. He has been a financial journalist for more than 25 years, working previously at Bloomberg and Australian Associated Press.
The Australian
20-05-2025
- The Australian
Redfern: Woman fighting for life after alleged domestic violence assault
A man has been charged after a woman was critically injured in an alleged domestic violence assault in inner Sydney. The 47-year-old woman was rushed to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital after she was allegedly assaulted inside a Redfern unit just after 4.30pm on Saturday, NSW Police said. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos - MAY 18, 2025: A 47-year-old woman remains in Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in a critical condition after being allegedly assaulted in a home unit on Morehead Street, Redfern, about 4.30pm yesterday. NewsWire / Simon Bullard. Emergency services were called to the Morehead Street block following reports of an alleged assault and the woman was found with head injuries. She was treated by paramedics and a doctor before being rushed to hospital in a critical condition. The woman remains in a critical condition as of Sunday morning. Police allege the man and woman were known to one another. Picture: NewsWire / Simon Bullard. A 30-year-old man, who police say is known to the woman, was arrested and taken to Mascot Police Station. He has since been charged with cause grievous bodily harm to person with intent (domestic violence). The man was refused bail and is due to appear in Parramatta Local Court on Sunday. Police say the man and woman were known to one another. Steve Zemek Court reporter Steve Zemek began his career in his native Queensland before moving to Sydney with Australian Associated Press in 2014. He worked as an NRL journalist for five seasons, covering the game all over Australia and in New Zealand before making a career pivot towards court reporting in 2019. He joined NCA NewsWire in mid 2020 as a Sydney-based court reporter where he has covered some of the state's biggest cases. @stevezemek
New York Times
14-05-2025
- New York Times
Australian cyclist Rohan Dennis receives suspended sentence over death of Olympian wife Melissa Hoskins
Former world champion cyclist Rohan Dennis has received a two-year suspended sentence over a car incident which killed his wife, fellow Olympian Melissa Hoskins. Hoskins, also a former world champion, died aged 32 after being hit by a car on December 30, 2023, outside the couple's home in Adelaide, Australia. Advertisement Dennis, 34, was sentenced on Wednesday to one year, four months and 28 days in jail, to be suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to one aggravated count of creating the likelihood of harm, per the Australian Associated Press. Judge Ian Press at the South Australia District Court said Dennis had disregarded the safety of Hoskins, but was not criminally responsible for her death. The sentence for Dennis was reduced from two years and two months due to his guilty plea, while his driver's license has been suspended for five years and he has been placed on a two-year good behaviour bond — meaning he will not serve time in prison. The court had previously heard how Hoskins had held on to the car as her husband attempted to drive off. Judge Press as cited by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), said that while it was 'impossible to be precise' about the speed and distance, it was estimated that Dennis continued to drive for about 75 metres at a speed of around 20 kilometres per hour with Hoskins on the bonnet. 'To describe the consequences of the events on 30 December 2023 as tragic really does not do justice to the grief, the anguish and the turmoil those events have brought into the lives of those who knew and loved your wife,' Judge Press told Dennis during the sentencing, via ABC. The judge added that he understood that Dennis had tried to 'de-escalate the argument' by driving off, but said it did not excuse his actions. 'It was your obligation to stop the vehicle when driving that vehicle became dangerous to her physical well-being. That you did not stop because you wanted to leave, is a very poor reason for not doing so.' Dennis had previously been charged with causing death by dangerous driving and an aggravated charge of driving without care. In December 2024, it was confirmed that the court would not proceed with these charges. Advertisement Per ABC, Peter Hoskins, Melissa's father, said Dennis was yet to apologise to the Hoskins family: 'I'm sure that will come with time, I think it's difficult for everybody.' He said jailing Dennis 'wasn't something that we were pursuing' and would have a negative impact on the couple's children. 'It's now time for us to move on, which would be Melissa's expectations of us,' he said, adding that it was important his family had a 'well-mannered relationship' with Dennis going forward. 'There are two young children caught up in this tragedy,' Peter Hoskins added. 'Clearly, we want to continue to be an integral part of (the) children's lives and their future.' Hoskins, who represented Australia in the Olympics of 2012 and 2016, was part of the Australia gold-medal winning team pursuit squad who broke the world record at the 2015 World Championships. The track and road racing cyclist also won three world silvers and a bronze in the team pursuit and scratch race at the 2012, 2013 and 2014 Championships. The Perth native, who retired from cycling in 2017, won two road cycling world silver medals and a bronze in the team time trial between 2012 and 2014. Dennis, meanwhile, featured in three successive Olympic Games between 2012 and 2020, winning silver in London 2012 and bronze in Tokyo eight years later. He won stages in each of cycling's three Grand Tours before announcing his retirement in February 2023.
