SWIMMING
McKeown on a record roll
Kaylee McKeown on Saturday smashed a second world record in as many days, with the star Australian swimmer bettering her own 100m backstroke mark. The 22-year-old touched in 57.33 seconds at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Budapest to shave 0.12 seconds off the time she set in Adelaide before the Tokyo Olympic Games. McKeown now has the five fastest times in history as she builds up to next year’s Paris Olympics. The new mark comes a day after she clocked 26.86 seconds for a new 50m backstroke world record, improving on the previous best of 26.98 seconds set by China’s Liu Xiang in 2018. That made her the first woman ever to hold world records in all three backstroke disciplines and the first swimmer since the US’ Lenny Krayzelburg set all three men’s marks in 1999. “No, I honestly didn’t think about swimming a world record,” McKeown said after her 100m exploit. “I was really relaxed coming into tonight. I tend to swim better when I go out a bit faster, I am trying to learn to swim a bit sharper... I’m happy that some of the things we are trying are working.”
SKATEBOARDING
Teen wins gold in Santiago
Brazil’s 15-year-old skateboarding sensation Rayssa Leal, one of the favorites to win a gold medal in the street event at the Paris Olympics next year, won her first Pan American Games crown on Saturday. The sport is debuting in the largest multisport event on the continent. The teen has become one of the biggest names in the sport since she won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She showcased her board flips, slides and grinds to score a total of 236.98 points in Santiago. Her compatriot and friend, Pamela Rosa, finished with the silver medal, 25 points behind. The US’ Paige Heyn, another 15-year-old, won the bronze . Dressed in black, Leal looked effortless throughout the competition, spending more time on her cellphone than watching her adversaries. A different scenario awaits her in Paris, with her most likely rival being once again 16-year-old Momiji Nishiya of Japan, the gold medalist at the sport’s Olympic debut in Tokyo. “This does help me get more confidence for Paris,” Leal said. “The Olympics and the Pan American Games are different from the tournaments I usually compete. It is less about being playful. Being here today helps me prepare better for what is to come next year.”
ICE HOCKEY
Vegas break Cup record
Nicolas Roy, Mark Stone and Paul Cotter scored in the third period, as the undefeated Vegas Golden Knights beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 on Saturday night. The Golden Knights became the first Stanley Cup champions to begin their title defense with six consecutive victories. “We’re playing good hockey,” Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “We have some stretches where we don’t like our games, but we’re finding ways to win.” William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault also scored for Vegas, who extended their franchise-record start. Adin Hill made 21 saves. “We knew after two periods that we were going to have to be better if we expected to win, and I thought we responded well,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. Connor Bedard, Reese Johnson and Corey Perry scored for Chicago, while Arvid Soderblom made 19 stops.
‘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