■RUGBY UNION
Mackay stable after crash
ACT Brumbies lock Shawn Mackay is in a critical but stable condition in a Durban, South Africa, hospital after being hit by a vehicle in the South African city over the weekend, the team said yesterday. The Australian Super 14 team, on tour in South Africa, said the accident occurred in the early hours of Sunday when Mackay was struck by a security vehicle while crossing a road. Mackay sustained a cervical spinal fracture and dislocation, a compound fracture to his left leg and multiple facial fractures and lacerations, the Brumbies said on their Web site. The forward underwent surgery and will remain in traction in a medically induced coma for the next 48 hours as he undergoes further medical treatment, they said. Mackay was returning to the hotel when he was struck. The Brumbies said the accident was being investigated by Durban police.
■CYCLING
Guo wins gold in Poland
China’s Guo Shuang took the gold medal in the world track championships in Pruszkow, Poland, on Sunday and Australia finished top of the medals table. Guo held off France’s Clara Sanchez and Willy Kanis of the Netherlands to claim China’s only medal of the event. In the men’s Omnium, Howard Leigh outclassed Canada’s Zachary Bell in the five-event series to win Australia’s fourth gold medal. Australia’s four golds, four silvers and two bronzes put them top of the final medal standings. France came second with three golds, two silvers and one bronze and favorites Britain took two golds, four silvers and three bronzes. In a tense men’s sprint final, France’s Gregor Bauge saw off Malaysian challenger Azizulhasni Awang in the deciding round of three. Bauge’s team mate Kevin Sireau took bronze. In the women’s points, consistent placing gave Giorgia Bronzini of Italy victory. Cuba’s Yumari Gonzalez Valdivieso was second and Britain’s Elizabeth Armitstead third.
■NASCAR RACING
Johnson wins at ‘paperclip’
Jimmie Johnson nudged Denny Hamlin aside in the third and fourth turns with 15 laps to go in Martinsville, Virginia, to give team owner Rick Hendrick a perfect place to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his first victory in NASCAR’s premier series: Victory Lane. Johnson, dubbed “Mr Martinsville” by Jeff Gordon, lived up to his moniker, winning for the fifth time in the last six races on the smallest, trickiest track in the series. It was his sixth victory at the 0.85km oval, second only to Gordon’s seven among active drivers. Hamlin, the defending champ, never challenged Johnson after he slid high into the banking after the bump and pass and his winless streak extended to 32 races. Hamlin finished second, followed by Tony Stewart, Gordon and Clint Bowyer. The victory was the 18th for Hendrick Motorsports at Martinsville, where a victory by Geoff Bodine 25 years ago gave the fledgling company a needed boost.
■BASKETBALL
James Posey suspended
New Orleans Hornets forward James Posey was suspended for one game by the National Basketball Association on Sunday for tossing a ball at the feet of a referee following a foul call against him. Posey was ejected on Friday during a 103-93 Hornets’ loss to New York Knicks after he hurled the ball at the feet of referee Gary Zielinski. While trying to grab a defensive rebound, Posey was whistled for a loose ball foul, prompting the outburst. Posey, averaging 8.9 points and 4.9 rebounds a game, was forced out of Sunday’s Hornets game against San Antonio.
New Taipei Kings guard Jeremy Lin on Friday was named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League’s (TPBL) Player of the Month, the first domestic player to win the award, while the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers are to welcome their third head coach in less than a year. Lin averaged 22 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists over five games in October and last month, helping the Kings to second in the standings with a 4-2 record as of Friday. The Kings last night defeated the Lioneers 96-78 to move level with the top-of-the-table Formosa Dreamers (5-2), while in the night game, the New Taipei
TO NO AVAIL: The Denver Nuggets’ Serbian center Nikola Jokic surpassed his 53-point performance in the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix The Washington Wizards withstood a 56-point explosion from Denver star Nikola Jokic to beat the Nuggets 122-113 on Saturday and snap their 16-game NBA losing streak. Jokic, who won his third NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award last season, posted a career scoring high — surpassing a 53-point performance in game four of the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix and a 50-point regular-season best against Sacramento in 2021. The Serbian big man added 16 rebounds and eight assists, but it was all to no avail as Washington, buoyed by 39 points from Jordan Poole, won for the first time
Taiwan on Wednesday finished with 15 medals at the World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in Hong Kong, taking home four gold, five silver and six bronze medals across the age group divisions. Taiwan ranked third on the medal table after South Korea with 17 golds and the US with eight golds at the five-day competition. “Your athletes have proven themselves as the best in the world,” World Taekwondo president Choue Chung-won said at the closing ceremony of the martial art contest that was attended by a record 1,727 athletes from around the world. On the first day of the competition at the Hong Kong
Taiwan’s Lin Cheng-jing won a bronze medal in the clean and jerk in the women’s under-49 kg division at the 2024 IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Bahrain on Saturday. Lin won her first medal at a World Weightlifting Championships for lifting 107kg in the clean and jerk in her weight class, 2kg more than Rosegie Ramos of the Philippines. However, Ramos won bronze for the combined lift after topping Lin by 5kg in the snatch. Ri Song-gum of North Korea won gold in the division’s combined lift with a total of 213kg, while Xiang Linxiang of China took silver with
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