The weekend roundup: Highlights from the world of sport

After a thrilling weekend that included football, judo, swimming and more, Olympics.com brings you a roundup of the highlights from the last three days in sport

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(2019 Getty Images)

Groups decided for FIFA World Cup 2022

Friday's football news was dominated by the draw for the group stages of the FIFA World Cup 2022 that took place in Qatar. While there is no traditional 'Group of Death', some of the tastier ties include Spain's matchup with four-time winners Germany in Group E, Portugal being drawn against Ghana, Uruguay and Republic of Korea in Group H, and Brazil facing strong Group G opponents in Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon.

READ MORE: FIFA World Cup 2022 groups decided in Qatar

Mathieu van der Poel wins Tour of Flanders

Elite tactics were on full display as Netherlands' Mathieu van der Poel won a thrilling men's Tour of Flanders, beating Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar to the line in a sprint to the finish. After the pair pulled away from the pack with 15km to go, a four-way race ensued with just 250m to go as the leaders were caught. But Van der Poel had just enough left in the tank to hold on for a memorable victory.

READ MORE: Mathieu van der Poel sprints to victory in men's 2022 Tour of Flanders

Spain top medal table at Artistic Swimming World Series

After securing three medals on the final day of competition, Spain stood atop the medal table at the Artistic Swimming World Series in Paris. The nation won gold in Sunday's mixed duet technical and mixed duet free as Emma Garcia and Pau Ribes finished first in both events. Their final triumph of the day came in the team free events, where they scored 90.7000 points to second-placed Canada's 85.7667. It took Spain's total to five gold medals in the competition, with the USA in second with three golds and twos silvers and France third with a pair of gold and bronze medals.

Abe Hifumi shines in All-Japan Judo Championships

The All-Japan Championships saw some familiar names on the winners' list as Abe Hifumi, Nagase Takanori and Hamada Shori added national honours to the golds they won at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Abe's victory against Maruyama Joshiro - the same judoka he beat to secure his place at Tokyo 2020 - was a tight affair that was decided by golden score, with Maruyama disqualified after incurring three penalties. Hamada secured an ippon victory over Takayama Rika to win the -78kg title, while Nagase took gold in the -81kg category with a victory over Fujiwara Sotaro.

READ MORE: Abe Hifumi beats Maruyama Joshiro again at All-Japan Championships

(2021 Getty Images)

Caeleb Dressel triumphs in Pro Swim Series San Antonio

The USA's Caeleb Dressel came joint-first in the 100m freestyle alongside Serbia's Andrej Barna to secure his only win in the Pro Swim Series San Antonio. The seven-time Olympic champion touched home in 49.13 seconds - the exact same mark as Barna - in the final race of the meet. Claire Curzan starred in the women's 100m freestyle to take a third win of the meet, with other notable winners including Shaine Casas in the men's 200m IM, Sierra Schmidt in the women's 1500m freestyle and Melanie Margalis in the women's 200m IM.

READ MORE: Caeleb Dressel triumphs on last day of Pro Swim Series San Antonio

Veteran gymnast Oksana Chusovitina wins vault competition at Baku World Cup

At 46 years old, Oksana Chusovitina is showing no signs of slowing down. On Saturday, at the Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup in Baku, the Uzbek gymnast won the vault competition to book her spot at the World Championships in Liverpool, which begin at the end of October.

READ MORE: Ageless Oksana Chusovitina takes vault crown at Baku Apparatus World Cup finale

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