■ ATHLETICS
Hooker leads 100m qualifier
Former collegiate champion Marshevet Hooker ran an eye-popping but wind-assisted 10.76 seconds to lead the women’s 100m qualifying on the opening day of the American Olympic trials on Friday. No woman has run faster under any conditions since disgraced American sprinter Marion Jones clocked 10.68 seconds in 2000. The wind on the quarter-final race was 3.4m per second, well above the accepted 2.0mps. “I stuttered a little bit [at the start], but I just kept running,” said the 23-year-old Hooker.
■ RUGBY
Les Kiss quits Waratahs
Australian Les Kiss said yesterday he has quit the New South Wales Waratahs to take up an appointment as Ireland’s new defense coach. The Irish Rugby Football Union confirmed the appointment of Kiss on Friday. “The opportunity to work with Ireland and to be involved at the international level of the game held great attraction for me,” Kiss said in a statement. “I am looking forward to working with [new coach] Declan Kidney and his group and learning about and contributing to the overall structure. There is an exciting challenge ahead for us over the next few years in the lead-up to the Rugby World Cup in 2011.”
■ ICE HOCKEY
Jagr offered US$35m bid
A Russian Super League club has offered Czech star Jaromir Jagr a US$35 million contract to play in Europe next season, American media reported on Friday. The New York Post said Omsk reportedly offered the three-year contract earlier this week after months of conversation with Jagr, who scored 25 goals and had 71 points as the captain of the New York Rangers last season. Jagr, a seven-time all-star, will become an unrestricted free agent on Tuesday and has said that his first choice is to sign a new deal with the Rangers. Jagr, a native of the Czech Republic who won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP 10 years ago, has 646 goals and 953 assists in parts of 18 seasons with the Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals.
■ CYCLING
Court to rule on Landis case
Disgraced American cyclist Floyd Landis will find out on Monday from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) whether he can reclaim his 2006 Tour de France title. The CAS said in a statement on Friday that it would announce at its headquarters in Lausanne the decision of a three-lawyer panel on a five-day hearing that took place in New York in March. Landis, who has denied wrongdoing, made his final appeal in closed door sessions before a CAS panel against a decision by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) last May that resulted in his two-year ban from cycling through Jan. 29. The International Cycling Union later stripped Landis of his 2006 Tour de France crown and awarded the title to Spain’s Oscar Pereiro.
■ ATHLETICS
Poland wins World League
World silver medalists Poland powered past Japan 25-14, 25-12, 25-22 for their third win against two defeats in the World League men’s volleyball preliminary round yesterday. Japan, with one win against four defeats, remained at the bottom of the four-team Group D round robin, which also includes China and Egypt. A total of 16 teams were divided into four groups. The winners of each group, hosts Brazil and a wild card chosen by the International Volleyball Federation will reach the final round in Rio de Janeiro from July 23 to July 27.
Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen yesterday exited at the BWF World Tour Finals in China, losing in the semi-finals to China’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi. Shi, who was named the BWF Men’s Singles Player of the Year, had a 9-4 record against Chou going into the match. He extended that record to 9-5 with a 21-14, 21-18 victory. Chou advanced to the men’s singles semi-finals on Friday by upsetting top-seeded Anders Antonsen of Denmark in a must-win match at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. The 16-21, 21-18, 21-15 victory saw Chou secure his second semi-finals appearance at the tournament, despite his relatively older
BOOT TO FACE: Wilfried Singo said that his actions were not intentional, ‘but I was able to see afterwards that’ the ’keeper had a significant face injury Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday came from behind to extend their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season with a 4-2 win away against AS Monaco, but lost goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to a gruesome facial injury. The bloodied Italy international was left requiring 10 staples after sustaining lacerations to the right side of his face when he was caught by the studs of Monaco defender Wilfried Singo. “I don’t know if the referee was badly positioned, but VAR [video assistant referee] needed to intervene, you have to protect the players,” PSG captain Marquinhos said. “To not give a red in a situation like
India’s chess star Gukesh Dommaraju returned to a hero’s welcome in his home city yesterday after becoming the youngest world champion aged only 18. Hundreds of fans crowded the arrivals area of Chennai International Airport, cheering alongside banks of television cameras as Gukesh made his way out of the airport after victory in taking the World Chess Championship title. “It means a lot to bring back the trophy to India,” Gukesh told reporters, with garlands of flowers draped around his neck, brandishing the glittering trophy in his hand. “I can see the support and what it means to India, I
Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Friday joined Max Verstappen on stage when the Red Bull driver collected the Formula One champion’s trophy for the fourth year in a row at a ceremony held in Africa for the first time. The 27-year-old was handed the trophy by International Automobile Federation president Mohammed Ben Sulayem alongside Kagame, who had earlier spoken at the gala in Kigali of Rwanda bidding to host a race. Verstappen, who is one of only six drivers to have won four or more titles since the championship started in 1950, said he was proud of his season and everyone in
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