TRACK AND FIELD
Rojas to miss Olympics
Reigning Olympic women’s triple jump champion Yulimar Rojas on Friday said she had injured her Achilles tendon and would miss the Paris Games. The 28-year-old Venezuelan said she had torn her Achilles during a training jump in Spain and had undergone surgery in Madrid on Thursday. “My heart is broken and I want to say sorry that I will not be able to take part in Paris 2024,” she said in a statement on social media. Rojas won the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the Olympic title at the COVID-19-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021. The world record holder dramatically won the fourth of her outdoor world titles in Budapest last year with her last-round leap, moving from eighth place to gold medal position with a winning jump of 15.08m.
TENNIS
Djokovic sets another record
Novak Djokovic on Friday reached a record 77th Masters semi-final when he defeated Australia’s Alex de Minaur in straight sets in Monte Carlo. Djokovic, the 36-year-old world No. 1 came through a rollercoaster quarter-final to win 7-5, 6-4 and make the last-four in the principality for the first time since 2015 when he went on to claim his second title at the tournament. Djokovic, the oldest man to make the Monte Carlo semi-finals in the Open Era, would take on Casper Ruud of Norway for a place in today’s championship match. “It was tough for both of us. He is one of the quickest players on Tour. He gets a lot of balls back that normally 99 percent of other players don’t,” said Djokovic, who avenged his loss to De Minaur at the United Cup in January.
CLIMBING
Teen breaks speed record
Teenager Sam Watson on Friday broke the speed climbing world record twice in under an hour at a World Cup competition in China, signaling his status as one of the favorites for gold at the Paris Olympic Games. Watson, 18, from the US broke the previous world record of 4.9 seconds by Indonesia’s Veddriq Leonardo when he scaled the 15m wall in 4.85 seconds in his first run. He followed that up with 4.79 seconds in his second attempt to lower his own best mark further. Watson is ranked No. 8 in the world and is to make his debut at the Paris Olympics, having already qualified in October last year.
ICE HOCKEY
Coyotes to relocate
Arizona Coyotes players have been informed that the NHL club is expected to relocate to Salt Lake City, a person with knowledge of the meeting said on Friday night. General manager Bill Armstrong flew to Edmonton, Alberta, to tell players about the team’s potential move to Utah before their game against the Oilers, the person said on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been announced. Players and officials could visit Salt Lake City next week, possibly as soon as after the season finale on Wednesday, which could be the final game at the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena in Tempe. “This team has been through a lot of adversity,” Coach Andre Tourigny said. “The first time the rumor came around, we didn’t manage it well and we shot ourselves in the foot, went on a 14-game losing streak.”
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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