Australian Sporting Highlights in 2023
What a year in sport! For Australian sporting fans there was plenty to watch and cheer about. Major events for the 2023 calendar were the ICC Cricket ODI World Cup, the Women's FIFA World Cup, Rugby World Cup, World Aquatics Championships, and the Netball World Cup.
Sam Kerr had another stellar yearAustralian women's cricket team won a sixth Women's T20 World Cup title after defeating South Africa by 19 runs at Newlands. They have now won six of the last seven T20 World Cup titles as well as three in a row. In the men's game, Australia defeated India in the Test Championship, becoming the first team to win world titles in all three formats of the game.
It was a hugely successful Women's World Cup, their campaign captured national attention. The Matildas had a historic run, reaching the semifinals for the first time but ultimately finishing in fourth place. Their quarter-final match was the most-watched TV program in Australia since the current audience measurement system began in 2001.
In Premier League football, Matilda's captain Sam Kerr continued her brilliance on the international stage, scoring another FA Cup goal and leading Chelsea to a win. Ange Postecoglu became the first Australian to manage a Premier League club, and received lots of praise for his leadership style.
Former St Kilda player now NFL punter Arryn Siposs' played for the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl, and another Aussie ex-rugby league player Jordan Mailata was also on the team, making history as the first time two Australians have played on the same team in America's biggest sporting event.
The Australian swimming team the Dolphins finished the aquatic world championships in Japan with an astonishing haul of five world records and 13 gold medals.
At the 2023 Netball World Cup in South Africa, Australia claimed their 12th title by defeating England in the final.
The 2023 Don Award, which recognises the sporting achievement of the year which has inspired the people of Australia, was awarded to the Australia Women's Football Team for their inspiring performance at the women's FIFA World Cup.
Notable deaths in Australian sport for 2023:
- Ron Barassi (AFL) - An Australian Rules football legend, Ron Barassi passed away at age 87. He was both a pioneering player and a revolutionary coach. He won 10 premierships across his playing and coaching career, making a lasting impact on the AFL.
- John Sattler (Rugby League) - A tough and iconic rugby league forward, John Sattler famously led South Sydney to victory in the 1970 Grand Final while playing with a broken jaw. He was a four-time premiership-winning captain and an NRL Hall of Famer.
- Ken Archer (Cricket) - A Test cricketer in the early 1950s, Archer opened the batting for Australia and later had a distinguished career in broadcasting.
- John Devitt (Swimming) - Former swimming champion John Devitt won gold medals at the 1956 Melbourne and 1960 Rome Olympics, died aged 86.
Below is a timeline of some significant results for Australians in the world of sport for the year 2023.
| Date(s) | Sport | Event | Location | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 16-29 | Tennis | Australian Open | Melbourne, Australia | Novak Djokovic claimed his 10th Australian Open title. Aryna Sabalenka won the women's title, her first major singles title. The highlight for Australia was Rinky Hijikata / Jason Kubler winning the men's doubles. |
| Jan 13-29 | Field Hockey | Men's Hockey World Cup | Bhubaneswar & Rourkela, India | Australia lost to the Netherlands in the bronze medal match |
| Jan 27-30 | Extreme Sports | Winter X Games 27 | Aspen, Colorado, USA | Australia finished equal 4th on the medal table, with a gold to Scotty James in the Men's SuperPipe |
| Feb 10-26 | Cricket | ICC World T20 (women) | South Africa | In the final, defending champions Australia defeated host country South Africa |
| Feb 12 | Football (American) | Super Bowl | Glendale, Arizona | Australians Jordan Mailata and Arryn Siposs were in the losing team when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated Philadelphia Eagles 38-35. |
| Mar 8 - Jul 2 | Water Polo | FINA Water Polo World Cup (Men) | LA, USA | Australia finished last in their division, with no wins from 5 games. |
| Mar 15-26 | Boxing | IBA World Championships (women) | New Delhi, India | Australia finished 10th on the medal table with 2 silvers and a bronze medal. |
| Mar 8-21 | Baseball | World Baseball Classic | Japan, Taiwan, USA | Australia was defeated by Cuba in the quarter-finals. |
| Apr 6-9 | Golf | Masters | Augusta, Georgia, USA | Australian Jason Day was tied for 4th, Adam Scott in a tie for 6th. |
| Apr 11 - Jun 25 | Water Polo | FINA Water Polo World Cup (Women) | final Long Beach, California, USA | Australia finished last in their group, with no wins from 3 games. |
| May 18–21 | Golf | US PGA | Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester, New York | The best placed Aussie was Adam Scott who finished in a tie for 6th |
| May 28 - Jun 11 | Tennis | French Open | Paris, France | no significant results by Aussie players. |
| Jun 15-18 | Golf | US Open | Los Angeles Country Club LA, California | Cameron Smith finished 4th, with Min Woo Lee one stroke behind. |
| Jun 16 - Jul 16 | Football (Soccer) | AFC Asian Cup | Qatar | The Socceroos won their group, defeated by South Korea in the quarter-finals. |
| Jun 21 - Jul 1 | Lacrosse | World Lacrosse Championship (men) | San Diego, USA | The USA beat Canada. In fourth place was Australia. |
| Jul 1-23 | Cycling | Tour de France | France | Three Australians finished in the top 20 with Jai Hindley leading the way in seventh |
| Jul 3-16 | Tennis | Wimbledon | London, England | No Australian made it past the 2nd round in the singles tournaments. |
| Jul 10 - Aug 20 | Football (Soccer) | Women's World Cup | Australia / New Zealand | Spain defeated England 1–0 in the final. The performance of the Matildas greatly increased public interest in the sport. |
| Jul 14-30 | Swimming | World Aquatics Championships | Fukuoka, Japan | The top three on the medal table were China, Australia and the USA, though the USA won the most medals overall. |
| Jul 20–23 | Golf | The Open Championship | Royal Liverpool Golf Club Hoylake Merseyside England | Brian Harman won his first career major. In a tie for second was Australian Jason Day, 6 shots behind. |
| Jul 21-23 | Extreme Sports | Summer X Games | California, USA | Australian Chloe Covell won the women's street skateboarding event, becoming the youngest women's street gold medallist in X Games history. |
| Jul 28 - Aug 6 | Netball | Netball World Cup | Cape Town, South Africa | Australia won their 12th title, defeating England 61–45 in the final. |
| Aug 3-13 | Cycling | UCI Cycling World Championships | Glasgow, Scotland, UK | This inaugural edition brought various disciplines of cycling together to be held as part of one event. Australia finished 10th on the medal table with 7 gold medals. |
| Aug 10-20 | Sailing | World Championships | The Hauge, Netherlands | Matthew Wearn of Australia won a gold medal, in the ILCA 7 class. |
| Aug 19-27 | Athletics | IAAF World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | Australia's only gold medallist was Nina Kennedy in the pole vault |
| Aug 25 - Sept 10 | Basketball | FIBA Basketball World Cup (men) | Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines | Australia finished 10th |
| Aug 28 - Sep 10 | Tennis | US Open | New York, USA | In the singles, Daria Saville was the only Australian to get past the first round. |
| Sep 3-10 | Rowing | World Rowing Championships | Belgrade, Serbia | Australia's only gold medal winners were Nikki Ayers & Jed Altschwager in the PR3 mixed double para-sculls event. |
| Sep 8 - Oct 28 | Rugby | World Cup (men) | France | Australia had a poor showing winning 2 of their 4 games, and did not progress past the pool stage. |
| Sept 30 | AFL | Grand Final | Melbourne, Australia | Collingwood defeated the Brisbane Lions by 4 points. |
| Oct 1 | Rugby League | NRL Grand Final | ACCOR Stadium, Sydney | Two-time defending champions Penrith defeated Brisbane Broncos 26–24 to claim their 5th premiership. |
| Oct 5 - Nov 19 | Cricket | ODI World Cup | India | Australia won the final, upsetting India who had dominated the group games. |
| Nov 7 | Horse Racing | Melbourne Cup | Victoria, Australia | won by "Without A Fight", ridden by Mark Zahra. |
| Nov 19 - Dec 1 | Multi-sports | Pacific Games | Honiara, Solomon Islands | Australia sent their largest team ever to the Games, with 75 athletes from 8 sports. They finished 3rd overall. |
If you have a correction or know of events that should be included here, please let me know.
Related Pages
- 2023 World Sports Highlights
- Australian Sport Timeline
- Timeline (all years) in the world of sport
- 2023 Calendar of Major Sporting Events
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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