CYCLING
Rider suspended over tweets
Team Trek on Thursday suspended 19-year-old American cycling hopeful Quinn Simmons from racing “until further notice” after he posted messages on Twitter in support of US President Donald Trump, which the team described as “divisive, incendiary and damaging.” Simmons, who is white, responded to a tweet by cycling journalist Jose Been that read: “If you follow me and support Trump, you can go,” by posting the word “bye” and a hand-waving emoji in a black skin tone. In a statement, the team said that Simmons had acted in a way that was “inappropriate for a Trek athlete.”
HORSE RACING
Jockey tests for cocaine
The champion jockey of British horse racing has tested positive for cocaine, the Professional Jockeys Association said on Thursday. Oisin Murphy returned a positive test for metabolites of the drug in a test undertaken in France on July 19, the association said. The 25-year-old rider from Ireland, who denied taking the drug, arranged for a hair sample test at an independent laboratory, which returned a negative result, the association said. He has shared those results with France Galop and is awaiting the result of its analysis of his B sample.
ATHLETICS
Runners’ shoes face scrutiny
Kenyan duo Brigid Kosgei and Ruth Chepngetich are tomorrow to use controversial shoes worn by Eliud Kipchoge in the London Marathon. Kenya’s Kipchoge broke the two-hour barrier in an unofficial event in Vienna in October last year, when he wore the platform Alphafly Next% shoes. While the shoes are allowed by World Athletics, they are estimated to improve running economy by up to 8 percent. Kipchoge’s record led to calls for the Nike shoes to be banned, but women’s marathon world record holder Kosgei is adamant the runner makes the difference. “It is someone who can run, it’s not the shoes, it does not depend on the shoes,” she said.
RUGBY LEAGUE
Burgess under investigation
Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) yesterday said it would investigate allegations of drug abuse and domestic violence involving former England international Sam Burgess and the South Sydney Rabbitohs team. The Australian newspaper said in a report that South Sydney had covered up misconduct by former captain Burgess during his playing career at the club. Burgess, who represented England in rugby league and rugby union at the 2015 World Cup, retired from the NRL last year, but has worked in a coaching role at the Rabbitohs. Hours after the NRL said they would investigate, Burgess stepped down from his coaching role at the Rabbitohs and his TV job with Fox League, a rugby league channel.
ATHLETICS
Athens Marathon canceled
This year’s Athens Marathon, scheduled for Nov. 7 and Nov. 8, has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers said in a statement. The Greek athletic federation, SEGAS, said they considered a number of scenarios, including conducting only the full 42km race and reducing the number of participants, but were forced to call it off as they could not guarantee the safety of the runners.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
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