■NASCAR
Fans injured in Talladega
Seven fans were injured by debris when Carl Edwards’ car went airborne into the safety fence on the final lap at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama on Sunday. Track medical director Bobby Lewis said none of the injuries was life-threatening but two women were airlifted to Birmingham hospitals. He said one likely had a broken jaw and the other was not injured but was taken because of a medical condition. Lewis said they were airlifted because of traffic, not the severity of the injuries. The other six were treated and released. Edwards was trying to block a move from winner Brad Keselowski, and contact sent his spinning car over Ryan Newman’s hood and into the fence. The fence held and Edwards’ car landed on the track.
■ATHLETICS
Wanjiru and Mikitenko win
Olympic champion Sammy Wanjiru lived up to his favorite billing as the Kenyan won the men’s London Marathon on Sunday, while Irina Mikitenko of Germany claimed a second successive women’s crown. Wanjiru secured victory in a course record and personal best time of two hours, five minutes and 10 seconds, finishing 10 seconds ahead of Beijing bronze-medalist Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia. Two-time world champion Jaouad Gharib of Morocco was third, 17 seconds adrift of the winner. Mikitenko secured victory in the women’s race with a time of 2:22.11, finishing one minute, one second ahead of Great Britain’s Mara Yamauchi. Russian Liliya Shobukhova finished in third place.
■SOCCER
Wembley manager sacked
The row over the state of Wembley’s pitch has claimed a high-profile victim in the shape of the national stadium’s ground manager Steve Welch, who was sacked on Saturday. The Sunday Times said Welch has been made to pay with his job for the pitch that Arsene Wenger labeled “a disaster” after Arsenal’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea last weekend. Manchester United boss sir Alex Ferguson was equally dismissive 24 hours later when he said his team selection in the penalty shootout defeat to Everton had been influenced by fears the likes of Wayne Rooney could be injured on the “spongy and dead” turf. As Welch was being shown the door the pitch was being dug up at a cost of £80,000 (US$116,700) for the sixth time since the stadium opened in time for the FA Vase on May 9, the paper reported.
■SWIMMING
Bousquet sets 50m record
French swimmer Frederick Bousquet has set a world record in the 50m freestyle, becoming the first person to break the 21-second barrier. Bousquet set the record on Sunday at the French championships in Montpellier by finishing in 20.94 seconds.
■SOCCER
Fans banned in ethnic rivalry
Fear of ethnic fan violence prompted officials to hold a match between two teams in a near-empty stadium, with most spectators locked out and trying to watch from the street. The New South Wales Premier League ordered that the match between Bonnyrigg White Eagles and Sydney United be an invitation-only event on Sunday in a bid to prevent fan violence between Serbs and Croatians — the heated club rivalry goes back 45 years. Police and a heavy security presence ensured only accredited Bonnyrigg club members and private box holders at the Bonnyrigg Sports Centre were allowed to attend. Parents, partners and relatives of the players were barred. The match ended 1-1.
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open after defeating New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 in their semi-final. Hsieh has won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and has a shot at a 10th tomorrow, when the Latvian-Taiwanese duo are to play Taylor Townsend of the US and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the championship match at the A$96.5 million (US$61 million) outdoor hard court tournament at Melbourne Park. Townsend and Siniakova eliminated Russian pair Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva 6-7
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
FINAL WEEK LOOMS: PSG rose to 22nd place to set up another tense challenge against 24th-placed Stuttgart, while Man City require victory against Club Brugge Manchester City are on the brink of a humiliating UEFA Champions League exit after a stunning loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, while Real Madrid is no longer at risk after routing Salzburg. Man City blew a two-goal lead in a high-stakes clash of super-wealthy underachievers that PSG won 4-2 in Paris, who could still be eliminated alongside the English champions after the final round of games next week. Only the top 24 in the 36-team standings are to advance. Man City, the 2023 champions, are in 25th place, but could squeeze into the knockout playoffs round by beating Club Brugge. “We will
Things are somewhat out of control at the Australian Open this year, and that has only a little to do with the results on the courts. Yes, there were some upsets, including Madison Keys eliminating No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the women’s singles semi-finals on Thursday. It also was the first time since 1990 that three teenagers beat top-10 men’s seeds at a Grand Slam tennis tournament. The loser of one of those matches, Daniil Medvedev, got fined US$76,000 for behaving badly. Last year’s women’s singles runner-up exited in the first round. However, the real fuss is happening elsewhere. The rowdy fans, for one
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