CYCLING
Race brings back metal
A lightweight wooden medal proved an inadequate reward for the thousands of amateur cyclists who completed the RideLondon mass participation event last year so organizers have bowed to pressure and are to reinstate metal medallions instead. Eco-friendly wooden medals have become more common for sporting events, but they have not been to everyone’s liking. Finishers in next year’s race, which takes riders from central London out to the countryside of Essex and back, would be decorated with medals made from recycled zinc alloy. “We listened to the feedback from riders and the strong preference for a metal finisher’s medal,” RideLondon route director Kevin Nash said in a statement. Zinc alloy is said to be more recyclable than aluminum alternatives, and any leftovers are to be melted down and made into new products, organizers said.
ICE HOCKEY
Wild fire Dean Evason
The Minnesota Wild on Monday fired coach Dean Evason and replaced him with John Hynes after losing seven straight games and 14 of their first 19 to start to the NHL season. General manager Bill Guerin announced the moves, including the firing of assistant Bob Woods. Hynes, the former New Jersey and Nashville coach, is to take over. Evason, 59, had three full seasons in charge of the Wild, who gave him his first head coaching job in the NHL on Feb. 14, 2020, when Bruce Boudreau was fired and he was promoted from his assistant role. He went 147-77-27 in 251 regular season games and 8-15 in the post-season without winning any series.
ATHLETICS
Athletes train for combat
Hundreds of athletes as young as seven are undergoing military training in Shanghai designed to instill discipline and “good fighting ability,” the city said. The athletes are to “deeply study” the Chinese military’s “sense of standards and combat spirit,” the Shanghai Sports Bureau said. Chinese soccer teams have previously undergone similar training, which is largely performative and part of a wider campaign to promote Chinese Communist Party values. He Youxiao, head coach of a men’s gymnastics team participating in the training this week, said that the age range of his athletes spanned from seven to 25. “No matter how old or young, everybody deeply cherishes this opportunity,” a sports bureau news report quoted He as saying. The training started on Monday and is scheduled to last until Tuesday next week. It involves 932 athletes from 11 sports centers across the city.
TENNIS
No penalty for Russia event
The WTA said that while it does not support an exhibition event in Russia this weekend, players who compete in it would not be sanctioned. The second edition of the Northern Palmyra Trophies tournament, sponsored by Russian energy giant Gazprom, is to be held from Friday to Sunday in St Petersburg, while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues. Among the WTA players participating are former French and US Open quarter-finalist Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, Russian world No. 28 Anastasia Potapova and former Roland Garros quarter-finalist Veronika Kudermetova, also from Russia. ATP players include world No. 15 Karen Khachanov of Russia, Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain and France’s Adrian Mannarino, the event’s Web site shows.
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
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about ￡2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Less than a week after splashing out a world-record fee for Naomi Girma, Chelsea has spent big again to bring England midfielder Keira Walsh back to the English Women’s Super League. Walsh left European champions Barcelona after more than two years to join Chelsea for a reported ￡400,000 (US$496,000) on Friday. Walsh was the world’s most expensive player for two years after moving to Barcelona from Manchester City for a reported ￡400,000 in 2022. That status now belongs to Girma, the US defender who cost Chelsea a reported ￡900,000 to sign from the San Diego Wave. Still, it means 27-year-old Walsh — a technically
Ousmane Dembele on Wednesday scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain romped to a 4-1 win at VfB Stuttgart and qualified for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages. PSG were at risk of elimination after a disappointing league stage, with three losses and a draw, but were utterly dominant against an outclassed Stuttgart side as they confirmed their place in the playoffs. With six minutes gone, Bradley Barcola headed PSG in front after Desire Doue stood a cross up at the back post following a corner. Stuttgart probed for an equalizer, but PSG hit on the counterattack, Dembele tapping a Barcola pass into an
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