Women sport news

ITU triathlon returns to Hamburg for the 10th year in a row this year, as a host of London-bound athletes get ready for a fast and furious sprint in their final pre-games preparation. photo ITU

Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 18, has won the Sooruz Royan Atlantique Pro Junior titles in punchy 3-4ft peaks at the main event site of the Côte Sauvage. A spectacular finals day unfolded with Europe’s finest Pro Junior surfers thrilling the crowds with their powerful and innovative surfing. photo ASP

Defending champions Brazil will square off against United States in the match for the gold medal of the XI Women’s Volleyball Pan American Cup following successful semifinal outings on Thursday. photo FIVB

Thanks to brilliant performances at the recent U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field, Allyson Felix finished third in the women’s voting for the month of June. The USOC made the announcement Wednesday.

The drawing of lots for the beach volleyball competition at the Olympic Games will be streamed live on www.fivb.org on Thursday when it takes place at the venue of the 2012 FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH World Tour Klagenfurt Grand Slam starting at 20:00 (local time). photo FIVB

Following Thursday’s last of three rounds of pool play and the first round of single-elimination bracket play, 16 women’s teams were eliminated and 16 tandems advance to continue playing Friday at the $600,000 A1 Grand Slam presented by ERGO in Klagenfurt am Wörthersee.

Lily Zhang from the United States of America is the youngest player competing in the table tennis events to be staged in the ExCeL Arena at the forthcoming London Olympic Games.

SHEFFIELD (Olympics) - African champions Angola accept they are among the underdogs heading into the London Games. photo FIBA

YUZHNE (EuroBasket Women 2013) - Oleksandra Kurasova is still trying to find a sense of calm after propelling Ukraine back to the Final Round in a nerve-shredding and absorbing finale to EuroBasket Women qualification. photo FIBA

The women’s single elimination saw Daida Ruano Moreno (Starboard / Severne) return to the top of the podium after she was able to defeat her sister. photo PWA

Australia’s opponents will not be seeing double at the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women in Amsterdam, Netherlands next month (16-27 August). They will just be getting a double dose of Froling as the twins Alicia and Keely will likely play an important role in how their team fares at the tournament. photo FIBA

The figures generated by the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011™ speak for themselves: 800,000 supporters in the stadiums (an average of 26,000 per match), more than 17,000,000 German TV viewers tuning in for the host team’s quarter-final with Japan (nearly a quarter of the population) and some 3,000 reporters. FIFA

In a tight battle for gold, Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) claimed her second career World Cup title with a win at the Tiszaujvaros ITU Triathlon World Cup. photo Janos M Schmidt ITU

With the London 2012 Opening Ceremony exactly two weeks away, the International Triathlon Union (ITU) is pleased to announce the official triathlon start lists for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

It may have taken an extra-time thriller to get there, but the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic will ride an 11-game winning streak into the ANZ Championship grand final, after a 57-48 victory over the Northern Mystics tonight.

The 2012 ICF Junior & U23 Canoe Slalom World Championships wrapped up today in Wausau, Wisconsin with 18yr old Jessica Fox (AUS) winning her third gold medal of the Championships.

Will the Northern Mystics get the chance to avenge defeat from the hands of the Vixens or will the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic finally produce silverware for a New Zealand side? photo ANZ

Juliana Felisberta and Larissa Franca became the second Brazilian team to win gold in two days at the smart Grand Slam, Berlin, when they defeated Chen Xue and Zhang Xi in the gold medal match on Sunday. photo FIVB

“I woke up this morning and thought it wouldn’t happen today,” Gilmore said. “But as the day progressed, and things fell into place, I began to believe it could happen. photo ASP

Defending champions Brazil are the only undefeated team in Pool B after the conclusion of two days of the XI Women’s Pan American Cup, while Cuba, Dominican Republic and United States also improved their win-loss record to 2-0 in Pool A. photo FIVB

Swiss pair Isabelle Forrer and Anouk Verge-Depre continued their impressive run of form at the smart Grand Slam, Berlin, when they beat Natalia Dubovcova and Dominika Nestarcova to reach the last 16 on Friday. photo FIVB

The Headquarters of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is preparing for some very special birthday celebrations next week in Monaco, the Mediterranean Principality which has been the home of the sport’s world governing body since October 1993.

Competing Thursday under cloudless skies, searing sunshine, intense humidity and the horizon-less gentleness of the Mediterranean Sea, the world’s best young women’s tandems endured the survival test of two rounds of pool play. photo FIVB

Beverley Widdowson, owner of the 11-year-old grey gelding Carlo 273, has been awarded the prestigious title of “Owner of the Year” by the FEI and International Jumping Owners Club.

With less than three weeks until the Olympic Games kick off in London, the 2012 U.S. Olympic Triathlon Team has officially been announced by the U.S. Olympic Committee. photo ITU

At the site of her ITU World Cup debut ten years ago, Canadian Lauren Campbell brought it all full circle, running away to her first career World Cup title in Edmonton. photo ITU