🌞 The 18-year-old King of the World

Well, we’re deep into silly season and it’s a time of year where the good news really flows. There’s a common thread in today’s stories - sport.

But don’t stop reading because I’ve said that - I think you’ll find these stories all bring a different element to the blend of sport and feel-good stories.

An 18-year-old has become the youngest ever chess world champion (chess is DEFINITELY a sport). What a king (first sporting pun, check!).

Gukesh Dommaraju from Chennai, India, defeated the defending champion, Ding Liren, to take out the title. He’s not new to the world of chess – Gukesh became a ‘grandmaster’ (the highest level of professional status in the chess world) at just 12, and has had ambitions to take out the world title since.

But not even he could believe he was the best chess player in the world in his teen years – before his win, the youngest winner was 22-year-old Garry Kasparov in 1985. Gukesh was overcome with emotion, and even those of us not chess-obsessed would find it hard not to feel the feels.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi commented on the win, saying: “Historic and exemplary! Congratulations to Gukesh D on his remarkable accomplishment. This is the result of his unparalleled talent, hard work and unwavering determination. His triumph has not only etched his name in the annals of chess history but has also inspired millions of young minds to dream big and pursue excellence.”

Social media clips from India show fans going wild when Gukesh landed the final blow. At just 18, it looks like he has a long career ahead of him - definitely more than a One Knight Stand.

We had a good news overload when we watched our swimmers shine at the Paris Olympics in the middle of the year, but why does it need to stop there!

In the past few days, the World Swimming Short Course World Championships has been held in Budapest, and there are two Australian gold medals to celebrate - Elijah Winnington in the 400m freestyle and Lani Pallister in the 800m freestyle.

It’s a particularly special win for 24-year-old Winnington, who won silver in the same distance in Paris. The short course competition is different to the Olympics because it’s done in a 25m pool, compared to the Olympic length 50m pool.

A special shout-out to Canadian Summer McIntosh - even though she beat Pallister in the 400m freestyle and pipped her for the gold medal, the 18-year-old swimming sensation had to break a world record in the event to do it. She also broke the world record in the 200m butterfly, and she’s still got a number of events to swim over the next few days.

A bill has passed the US Senate that will fund CPR training and access to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in schools. One of the main advocates for the bill was NFL player Damar Hamlin. 

Two years ago, the NFL player went into cardiac arrest on the field, and his life was saved by a well-trained medical staff and the use of an AED device. Since then, Hamlin has advocated for CPR training and AED devices to be accessible to everyone, and this week a major milestone was reached on that front.

The Senate passed the Cardiomyopathy Health Education, Awareness, Research and Training in Schools Act, also known as the HEARTS Act, which had previously passed the House. President Biden plans to sign the bill, which will fund CPR training and the availability of AEDs. Hamlin himself has advocated for the bill and worked with U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer to help the bill become law.

Children who experience cardiac arrest in schools with AEDs are seven times more likely to survive compared to children in schools without AEDs, according to a study by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. If performed immediately, CPR can double or triple the chances of survival from an outside-the-hospital cardiac arrest, per the American Heart Association.

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We’re ending with… more sport!

Caitlin Clark has been named the TIME Athlete of the Year. If you’re not familiar, Clark is the rising star of the WNBA, the top professional basketball league for women in the U.S.

The 22-year-old, who plays for the Indiana Fever, was also voted the WNBA Rookie of the Year and was the first rookie since 2008 to be selected in the All-WNBA first team (meaning she’s already part of the best of the best).

Clark also set records for the most amount of three-pointers by a rookie, as well as a league record for most assists in a season. The TL;DR is she is extremely talented.

Clark can also take some credit for the growth of the league, which saw a 48% jump in year-on-year attendance.