BY STEVE SPINKS and AAP sport@northernstar.com.au LENNOX HEAD-based triathlete Simon Thompson has finished 12th at the World Championships in Vancouver, Canada, as Australia missed a third men's position for the Beijing Olympics. Thompson, who has been based in Lennox since November, was the best-placed Australian as Greg Bennett's Olympic dream vanished.

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The Australian Women’s and Men’s Eight have won gold medals at the first rowing World Cup in Munich, Germany.

In an exceptional performance the Women’s Eight crossed the line in a time of 6:36.29 to lead home the Chinese by two boat lengths, while Romania won the bronze medal.

In calmer conditions than the first three days, China led Australia by just under a second at the halfway mark before Australia lifted their rate to charge to the line over the last 750 metres.

Sarah Tait, captain of the Women’s Eight, says that the crew was forced to change their race plan after a tricky start.

“We got caught in a bit of dirty water at the start of the race which put us further back than we wanted”, Tait said. “We wanted to build a lead from the start but we changed our plan which shows the great versatility of the group.”

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It has been a quick ride up the ranks for track cyclist Alison Shanks. The former netballer switched to the bike less than three years ago, a decision which has paid off with her recent Olympic selection.

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AUSTRALIAN triathlete Felicity Abram has finished a close second in a World Cup race in South Africa and donated most of her prize money to disadvantaged children living in the townships.

The 21-year-old Queenslander, who was just pipped by Erin Densham for the third Australian women's berth alongside Emma Snowsill and Emma Moffatt at the Beijing Olympics, stormed home to finish three seconds behind Canada's Carolyn Murray in a time of two hours, three minutes and 35 seconds.

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AUSTRALIAN triathlete Felicity Abram finished a close second in a World Cup race in South Africa today then donated most of her prize to disadvantaged children from the townships.

The 21-year-old Queenslander, who was just pipped by Erin Densham for the third Australian women's berth alongside Emma Snowsill and Emma Moffatt at the Beijing Olympics, made the decision during the bike leg.

She stormed home to finish three seconds behind Canada's Carolyn Murray in a time of two hours, three minutes and 35 seconds.

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Kayaker Ben Fouhy leaves for Europe at the end of this month where he will race in the World Cup Series. READ FULL ARTICLE...

Australia’s Emma Snowsill and Erin Densham have claimed Gold and Silver in round three of the 2008 ITU World Cup series in Ishigaki, Japan today. 2008 Olympian Snowsill once again added to her extensive medal count, leading from start to finish to claim her eighth world cup title. In the men's field, Peter Roberston put himself on the Olympic selector's radar in a stunning reversal of form to grab 4th in a top flight field, including winner Simon Whitfield.

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