OLYMPICS
Triathlete not afraid of Seine
Australian triathlete Matt Hauser said he would gladly swim in the Seine during the Paris Games, despite water quality concerns, after a sewer problem last year led to the cancelation of a pre-Olympics swimming event, along with the swimming legs of triathlon and Para triathlon events. Hauser, who won a triathlon bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, said the Seine held no fears for him. “To be honest, for me, I’d swim in anything to try and get a medal,” the 26-year-old said in comments published yesterday by the Sydney Morning Herald. “Give me a swig of Coca-Cola and some Gastro-Stop tablets and just put me in there.” Several French officials have promised to take a dip in the Seine before the Olympics to show the water is safe, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.
BASKETBALL
Clark eyes US$28m Nike deal
Caitlin Clark, the most prolific scorer in NCAA Division I history and the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft, is to continue her association with Nike by signing a US$28 million contract that spans eight years and includes a signature shoe. The Wall Street Journal and The Athletic reported the pending deal, citing unnamed people familiar with the negotiations between the sportswear giant and Clark’s agents. The new deal would be the richest sponsorship contract for a women’s basketball player. Under Armour and Adidas also participated in contract discussions with Clark’s team in February, the reports said. Puma also showed some interest, but walked away when told the bidding would start at US$3 million per year, the Wall Street Journal said.
GYMNASTICS
US to pay Nassar victims
The US Department of Justice has reached a US$138.7 million civil settlement with hundreds of victims of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who is serving a prison sentence for sexually abusing athletes under his care, the agency said on Tuesday. The settlement resolves claims the FBI botched the initial investigation into Nassar, it said. “These allegations should have been taken seriously from the outset,” US Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer said in a statement. The settlement resolves 139 separate claims, the department said. The women accused the FBI of failing to act on evidence it received in 2015, allowing Nassar to continue sexually abusing young women and girls until he was charged in 2016.
SOCCER
Juventus slides into Cup final
Arkadiusz Milik’s late strike on Tuesday helped Juventus reach the Coppa Italia final with a 3-2 aggregate win over SS Lazio, despite losing a tense second leg 2-1. Nursing a 2-0 first-leg win, Juventus found themselves 2-0 down on the night and completely dominated as Lazio made a fight of it with a brace of goals from Valentin Castellanos. However, late Juventus substitute Milik scored with his first touch on 83 minutes to settle Juve’s nerves and the two-legged semi with a prod-in. The Turin side is to play either Atalanta BC or ACF Fiorentina in the May 15 final. “We suffered against a good side, so we’re happy to be in the final,” Polish striker Milik said. “We know we have to play better in the final, and we know we can play better.”
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
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