DENNIS PASSA
FILE - John Landy of Australia leads the field at the end of the first lap of the mile race during the Empire Games, now known as the Commonwealth Games, in Vancouver, Canada, on Aug. 7, 1954. Landy, an Australian middle-distance runner who dueled with Roger Bannister to be the first person to run a four-minute mile, has died, his family said Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022. He was 91. (AP Photo, File)
John Landy, pursuer of Bannister's 4-minute mile, dies at 91

By Dennis Passa Feb. 25, 2022 07:44 PM EST
John Landy, an Australian runner who dueled with Roger Bannister to be the first

Chelsea's Sam Kerr controls the ball during the women's Champions League group C soccer match between Chelsea and Servette, at Kingsmeadow, London, Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)
US women's team in Australia with 2023 World Cup in mind

By Dennis Passa Nov. 25, 2021 07:16 PM EST
A new-look U.S. women’s national team ends a long season with its first

FILE - Chloe Esposito of Australia celebrates winning the gold medal at the awards ceremony of the women's modern pentathlon at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Aug. 19, 2016. Modern Pentathlon Australia said Friday, Nov. 5, 2021 it supports a decision by the sport’s international governing body to remove the show jumping discipline from the Olympic competition after the 2024 Paris Games. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
Modern pentathlon to drop show jumping from Olympic program

By Dennis Passa Nov. 04, 2021 09:43 PM EDT
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Modern Pentathlon Australia has supported a decision

President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, right, bumps elbows with members of the Brisbane 2032 delegation, from left, John Coates AC, President, Australian Olympic Committee and The Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk MP, Premier of Queensland and Minister for Trade, after Brisbane was announced as the 2032 Summer Olympics host city during the IOC Session at Hotel Okura in Tokyo, Wednesday, July 21, 2021. (Toru Hanai/Pool Photo via AP)
Olympic chief, leader in spat after Brisbane gets 2032 nod

By Dennis Passa Jul. 21, 2021 08:41 PM EDT
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s highest-ranking Olympic official and the

FILE - In this April 7, 2018 file photo, Ashleigh Gentle of Australia competes during the mixed team relay triathlon at the Southport Broadwater Parklands during the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia. Gentle, is looking forward to possibly representing her country again when the mixed team format makes its Olympic debut in Tokyo. That'll be in addition to her place in the women's individual race. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Triathlete rides out the pandemic on her way to Tokyo Games

By Dennis Passa Jul. 09, 2021 01:22 AM EDT
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Australian triathlete Ashleigh Gentle had just

FILE - In this May 28, 2021, file photo, Jessica Springsteen of the United States, on Don Juan Van de Donkhoeve, clears an obstacle during the Nations Cup horse jumping competition, in Rome. Springsteen, the 29-year-old daughter of Bruce Springsteen, is the "youngster" is making her Olympic debut IN the U.S. equestrian show jumping team for the Tokyo Olympics, where they'll be a new wrinkle – three-person teams instead of four. It's part of an IOC directive to cut down on competitor numbers in some sports. It means that in the team show jumping event, they'll no longer be a fourth, or worst, score to throw out, making it easier for the public and television audiences to understand the scoring system as the event proceeds. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini,File)
No room for error with new Olympic team show jumping format

By Dennis Passa Jul. 08, 2021 01:04 AM EDT
The IOC spoke and international equestrian federation officials listened. So

Las Vegas Aces' Liz Cambage (8) tries to get a shot off as Seattle Storm's Candice Dupree (4) defends in the first half of a WNBA basketball game Saturday, May 15, 2021, in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Never any doubt: Cambage all-in for Australia at Tokyo Games

By Dennis Passa May. 25, 2021 09:29 PM EDT
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — In the end, there appeared to be never any doubt

FILE - In this Aug. 18, 2018, file photo, Taylor Knibb from the U.S.A. runs to take second place at the ITU Elite Women World Cup triathlon event in Lausanne, Switzerland. Knibb won the season-opening World Championship Series triathlon to book her place on the U.S. team for the Tokyo Olympics in July. (Valentin Flauraud/Keystone via AP, File)
Americans dominate first World Triathlon Series women's race

By Dennis Passa May. 15, 2021 12:13 AM EDT
It was quite a day for American women at the season-opening World Triathlon

FILE - In this Aug. 27, 2006, file photo, Australia's head coach Brian Goorjian, center, and players watch early action against USA Sunday, Aug. 27, 2006, at the world basketball championship in Saitama, Japan. Goorjian will take the Australians men's basketball team to a third Olympics after he was named new head coach of the Boomers on Friday, Nov. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic, File)
3rd-time lucky? Goorjian returns to Boomers for Tokyo Games

By Dennis Passa Nov. 12, 2020 09:52 PM EST
California-born Brian Goorjian will take the Australian men's basketball team

FILE - In this Aug. 19, 2016, file photo, Chloe Esposito of Australia crosses the finish line to win the gold medal in the women's modern pentathlon at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Esposito announced in late January that a “wonderful, unexpected surprise” had occurred and that the Australian wouldn’t be able to defend her modern pentathlon gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. She was pregnant with her first child. Two months later Esposito and thousands of other Olympic athletes learned that the Tokyo Games would be put off by a year until July 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic. While for some it meant more time to recover from injuries or extra time to prepare, Esposito realized it might give her a second chance to be in Tokyo next year. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
Rio gold medalist Esposito has 2nd chance to defend title

By Dennis Passa Oct. 22, 2020 09:39 PM EDT
Chloe Esposito announced in late January that a “wonderful, unexpected surprise

A video screen shows Cathy Freeman lighting the Olympic Cauldron as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. Freeman, who lit the cauldron at the original opening ceremony and won the 400-meter race at the track in one of the country's all-time great sporting moments, said it was a wonderful gesture to have "two future stars" recognized on such a major stage ahead of the rescheduled 2020 Games in Tokyo next year. (Dean Lewins/AAP Image via AP)
Thorpe, Freeman celebrate 20-year Sydney Games anniversary

By Dennis Passa Sep. 14, 2020 09:46 PM EDT
Australians have such fond memories of the Sydney Olympics that officials

FILE - In this Nov. 12, 2013, file photo, John Fahey, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), speaks during a news conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. Fahey, a former president of the World Anti-Doping Agency and a key player in getting the 2000 Summer Olympics for Sydney, has died. He was 75. New South Wales state government officials on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020, confirmed Fahey's death. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)
Former World Anti-Doping Agency chief John Fahey dies at 75

By Dennis Passa Sep. 11, 2020 10:14 PM EDT
John Fahey had an impressive career in Australian politics and international

Hungarian water polo player Ervin Zador, his eye cut during a fight with a Russian player in the closing stages of the Hungary vs. Russia water polo match is consoled by Hungarian team captain Dezso Gyarmati after the incident. The Melbourne Olympics were already quite unique before they started. They were the first games held in the southern hemisphere, and ran from Nov. 22 to Dec. 8 to take in the Australian summer. (AP Photo)
"Blood in the Water:" War in the 1956 Olympic pool

By Dennis Passa Aug. 03, 2020 02:13 PM EDT
Quentin Tarantino called a documentary film about it “the best untold story

FILE - In this Nov. 24, 1956, file photo, German inside right Rolf K. Geiger, right, gets the ball past a Soviet defender during the Germany vs Russia Olympic Association Football match on the Olympic Park football field in Melbourne, Australia on. Russia won 2-1. (AP Photo/Stuart Heydinger, File)
1956 Melbourne Olympics: 1st Games in southern hemisphere

By Dennis Passa Aug. 03, 2020 11:48 AM EDT
The Melbourne Olympics were already quite unique before they started. They were

FILE - In this Sept. 15, 2019, file photo, Andrew Bogut of Australia puts up a shot over Amath M'Baye, left, and Evan Fournier of France during their third placing match for the FIBA Basketball World Cup at the Cadillac Arena in Beijing. NBA veteran Bogut says players were “used like pawns" in the process that led to his Sydney Kings refusing to fly across the country for Game 4 of the Australian league's finals series because of the coronavirus pandemic, a decision that ultimately handed the championship to Perth. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some it can cause more severe illness. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
Former NBA top pick Bogut unsure about playing future

By Dennis Passa Apr. 19, 2020 12:47 AM EDT
After 15 years in professional basketball, Andrew Bogut is close to making a