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A sporting weekend of major milestones

France players celebrate their victory following the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Expert
16th July, 2018
28

Kylian Mbappe, Lance Franklin, John Isner, and Michael Kim share the sporting milestones from this past weekend, and they are significant.

Mbappe captured the imagination of the football world when he became the second youngest in history to score a goal in a FIFA World Cup final.

He was spoken about in the same breath as the legendary Pele who was only 17 when he netted twice for Brazil in their 5-2 victory over Germany in the 1958 decider.

Being an integral member of the French success was a big enough honour, but Pele raised the bar when he tweeted Mbappe to congratulate him on his goal.

And to cap off the 4-2 win over Croatia, FIFA has presented France with the winner’s cheque for $38 million, and Croatia with the runner’s-up prize of $28 million.

France deserved the honour, winning for the second time with the victories coming two decades apart. France were the only unbeaten country in the 32-strong tournament with six wins and a draw, scoring 14 goals to six.

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Sydney Swan Lance Franklin, the 11378th player in the VFL/AFL, and 110th in the most games played, became only the ninth in history to pass the 900-career goal mark last weekend.

Tony Lockett (1983-2002) – 1360 goals.
Gordon Coventry (1920-1937) – 1299.
Jason Dunstall (1985-1998) – 1254.
Doug Wade (1961-1975) – 1057.
Gary Ablett (1982-1996) – 1030.
Jack Titus (1926-1943) – 970.
Matthew Lloyd (1996-2009) – 926.
Leigh Matthews (1969-1985) – 915.
Lance Franklin (2005-current) – 902.

Lance Franklin

Lance Franklin (Photo by Brett Hemmings/AFL Media/Getty Images)

American John Isner stands tall at 6ft 10, but his booming serve set an all-time Wimbledon tournament record last week.

In his six matches he blasted 214 aces to sneak past Croatian Goran Ivanisevic’s 213 when he won the coveted title in 2001 through seven matches.

Isner was also involved in the second-longest Wimbledon singles match in history when he lost 76 67 76 64 26-24 to South African Kevin Anderson, lasting six hours 36.

Isner was also involved in the longest match in 2010 against Nicolas Mahut lasting 11 hours three minutes with the extraordinary scoreline of 6-4 3-6 6-7 7-6 70-68.

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Moves are afoot to make Slam singles tie-breakers in the fifth set as they are in the other four – but tradition dies hard.

Most golf fans would never have heard of Seoul-born American Michael Kim until the John Deere Classic on the USPGA tour last week.

In 83 tournaments he had made 51 cuts, and one top 10, finishing third last year.

But that will change from now on for Kim who celebrated his 25th birthday on Saturday.

He spread-eagled the John Deere field with rounds of 63, 64, 64 and 66 to set a new course course record of 27-under, with 30 birdies, and only three bogeys to win by eight shots.

That was just a shot shy of the all-time USPGA record for a par 71 course, jointly held at 28-under by Mark Calcavecchia, who won the 2001 Phoenix Open by eight shots, and Phil Mickelson’s runaway victory at the 2006 Bell South Classic by 13.

There was a nice touch on the 72nd hole when Kim’s parents and brother flew in unannounced and were greenside until Kim pegged them looking at the crowd while he waited to putt.

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For the whole tournament Kim had been unemotional, concentrating on the job in hand, playing some superb golf.

But spotting his family broke the ice with a huge smile, and he sunk the eight-footer to become the 10th first-time winner on the USPGA tour this season.

In the previous 83 tournaments Kim had banked $1.9 million.

But the John Deere earned him $1.04 million, moved him from 161 to 56 in the FedExCup, plus two years exemption on the USPGA tour.

The huge bonus is he’s en route to Carnoustie for this week’s Open.

Keep an eye on him.

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