There is an annual sprint race held during the AFL Grand Final. In 2023, the race was held before the main event. There were eight finalists (players from all 18 clubs participated in the qualifying heats). Geelong’s Max Holmes blitzed the field, crossing the line well ahead of Brisbane’s Jaxon Prior and Melbourne’s Jed Adams.
The Grand Final Sprint has been held since 1979. See more about the history of the Grand Final Sprint.
Tags: 100m·2022·AFL·AFL Grand Final·Grand Final sprint·sprinting
The AFL Grand Final returned to the MCG in 2022. The annual sprint was held at quarter time, with eight finalists (players from all 18 clubs participated in the qualifying heats).
The race was held around the 50m arc at one end of the ground, replicating the smile of the sponsor Colgate. The event was won by Richmond’s Hugo Ralphsmith.
The Grand Final Sprint has been held since 1979. See more about the history of the Grand Final Sprint.
Tags: 100m·2022·AFL·AFL Grand Final·Grand Final sprint·sprinting
Technology for Golf: the 3Bays Golf Swing Analyzer. This clever little golf swing analyzer slots into the top of your club, you won’t even know it is there. Link it to your phone and its app, and you will have access to diagnostics such as Top of Backswing, Release Point, Power Zone, and Shaft Lean. You can also calculate your tempo, Face Angle, Club Head Speed, and Attainable Ball Distance. The app can actually record your swing and compare that to your previous results. So much in such a little device. See more about Technology in Sports.
Tags: technology
The AFL Grand Final, played in Perth this year, again hosted the player sprint race. It was held at quarter time, with only West Coast and Fremantle players participating, as WA’s strict border rules made it impossible for all clubs to get involved.
The race course was also different this year, as it was held around the 50m arc at one end of the ground, replicating the smile of the sponsor Colgate. The first three to finish were from the West Coast Eagles, with Josh Rotham just pipping Jack Petruccelle, with Liam Ryan third.
This event has been held since 1979. See more about the history of the Grand Final Sprint.
Here’s an unusual sport that is described as Polish Dragon Boat Racing, but we like the alternative names that have been put forward, “tug of oars” or “dragon war”. This is a variation of the sport of Dragon Boat Racing, which uses the same boat but has been reconfigured for a tug-of-war type event. Watch the video to see how this is a worthy new sport and we can’t wait to see it become more popular.
Why did I not know about this sport before? It looks like a lot of fun (to watch), though unfortunately, you don’t see it performed anymore. Maybe it is the injury risk, as no one seems to land on their feet. See more about the extinct sport of Barrel Jumping.
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Under 18 Australian Football players who compete in the TAC Cup (now known as the NAB League) take part in a fitness testing day each year, in March before the start of the season. This video of the 2012 testing day shows the 20m sprint, vertical jump, AFL agility test and beep test. The current players (boys and girls) do the yo-yo test instead of the beep test. See more about the NAB League Testing Days with all recent results.
Tags: 2012·AFL·Aussie Rules·fitness testing
Here is the final for the AFL player 100m sprint race from the 2020 AFL Grand Final day. The sprint this year was held during the quarter-time break for the first time, as the usual half-time was taken up by the entertainment show. The winner was the Geelong’s Jordan Clark. Unfortunately for Geelong, they were not able to replicate the victory in the main match. See more about the Grand Final Sprint.
The AFL player sprint race was again held at half time of the 2019 AFL Grand Final. The winner was Ben King from the Gold Coast Suns, the first time a Suns player has won the event. Thankfully there were no ring-ins this year, with all the 18 participants coming from AFL clubs. Last year’s race included a couple of amateur U18 players, with one of them, Godfrey Okereneyang from the Coolamon Hoppers Club, winning the final. See more about the history of the Grand Final Sprint.
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The NFL Quarterback Challenge was a long-running competition held up until 2007. This video of the 1998 event featured Brett Favre winning the long-distance throw with 74-yards.
It wasn’t the best ever in the competition, the longest was 80 yards (73 meters) by Vinnie Testaverde achieved in 1988. Equal second were Kordell Stewart and Drew Bledsoe with 73 yards, followed by Steve McNair with 72 yards.
Check out our page which in which we have collated many of the results, featuring many great names in NFL history. Peyton Manning was second in 2002 with 68 yards, and the competition was won by Tom Brady in 2003 with 62 yards.
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