Most Australians know the name Scotty James, but perhaps significantly fewer know the name Ayumu Hirano. Normally at an Olympics, the three-time gold medallist, in this instance American Shaun White, would stand as the greatest obstacle impeding any given challenger’s path to gold. But for Scotty James, the unassuming Japanese snowboarder stands as his greatest threat and biggest rival.

Monash sailing superstar Tess Lloyd has had her Olympic dream put on hold with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics among the sporting events affected by the coronavirus, now rescheduled to 2021. Having only qualified as a member of Australia's Olympic Sailing Team last month, the news was tough for Tess, the Bachelor of Arts student at Monash University, to swallow.

At the end of last month, Melinda Koh and the Melbourne University Dragon Boat team went to Wenzhou, China to compete at the Wenzhou (Ouhai) Dragon Boat Invitational Tournament of World-Famous Schools. The invite-only tournament is one of the highest quality dragon boat competitions for University students in the world, with many top international and local Chinese teams competing.

Isaac Hoshi’s chances of an Olympic Games debut in Tokyo next year have grown, after the karate young-gun won gold at Australian National Championships [Nationals] in July. The 21-year-old said he was relieved to improve on his bronze medal from 2018’s Australian Nationals. “Last year I finished with a bronze medal and with that result, I wasn’t too happy,” Hoshi said.