■ 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.
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946