DRESSAGE
Dujardin ‘deeply ashamed’
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin of Britain repeatedly whipped a horse while coaching another rider in a video that was published by multiple media outlets on Wednesday. The video is part of an official complaint filed against Dujardin with the International Federation for Equestrian Sports. It shows Dujardin repeatedly striking the horse, walking closer and swinging the whip again after it moves away. Dujardin was set to compete in the Paris Games, but withdrew after word of the video emerged. She said on Tuesday in a statement that the video is from four years ago, and it “shows me making an error of judgment during a coaching session.” She said it “was completely out of character” and she was “deeply ashamed.”
RUGBY
France struggle
Antoine Dupont scored a brilliant individual try as France kept alive their medal hopes despite a stuttering start to the Rugby Sevens tournament in front of a passionate home crowd at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday. Reigning champions Fiji, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand and Ireland secured spots in the quarter-finals with two wins out of two at the Stade de France in Paris. France, who have looked like genuine title contenders since Dupont made the switch to Sevens after last year’s Rugby World Cup, had been expected to make light work of Pool C, but were held 12-12 by the US in their opener. They were trailing 7-5 to Uruguay at halftime of their second match, but Dupont broke through a series of tackles to touch down under the posts and set the hosts on their way to a 19-12 victory. As of press time last night, France were to play against Fiji.
BMX
Olympian’s items stolen
Reigning Olympic BMX freestyle champion Logan Martin had some of his equipment stolen by thieves who broke into a team van in a “crazy start” to the Australian’s title defense. Martin posted video on Instagram on Wednesday showing the passenger side window of the vehicle smashed. “Our van got broken into last night,” he said. “Luckily my bikes weren’t in there, although my bike bags were in there with some things in it. What a crazy start to the trip.” Martin, who won gold in Tokyo ahead of Venezuela’s Daniel Dhers, also lost his wallet. The incident occurred in Brussels, where the Australian team was at a training camp before leaving for Paris on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Sinner withdraws
Top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner pulled out of the Paris Olympics on Wednesday because of tonsillitis, meaning Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will be the top-seeded men, setting up a potential gold medal rematch of the Wimbledon final. Sinner, a 22-year-old from Italy, posted on social media that a doctor advised him that he should sit out the Games. Sinner won the Australian Open in January for his first Grand Slam title and moved up to No. 1 in the ATP rankings last month after reaching the French Open semi-finals. Tennis matches in the Olympics are to begin tomorrow. “Missing the Olympics is a big disappointment, given that it was one of my main goals this season,” Sinner wrote in Italian. “I couldn’t wait to have the honor of representing my country in this extremely important event.”
The qualifying round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is to be held at the Taipei Dome between Feb. 21 and 25, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced today. Taiwan’s group also includes Spain, Nicaragua and South Africa, with two of the four teams advancing onto the 2026 WBC. Taiwan, currently ranked second in the world in the World Baseball Softball Confederation rankings, are favorites to come out of the group, the MLB said in an article announcing the matchups. Last year, Taiwan finished in a five-way tie in their group with two wins and two losses, but finished last on tiebreakers after giving
North Korea’s FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup-winning team on Saturday received a heroes’ welcome back in the capital, Pyongyang, with hundreds of people on the streets to celebrate their success. They had defeated Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the U17 World Cup final in the Dominican Republic on Nov. 3. It was the second global title in two months for secretive North Korea — largely closed off to the outside world; they also lifted the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in September. Officials and players’ families gathered at Pyongyang International Airport to wave flowers and North Korea flags as the
For King Faisal, a 20-year-old winger from Ghana, the invitation to move to Brazil to play soccer “was a dream.” “I believed when I came here, it would help me change the life of my family and many other people,” he said in Sao Paulo. For the past year and a half, he has been playing on the under-20s squad for Sao Paulo FC, one of South America’s most prominent clubs. He and a small number of other Africans are tearing across pitches in a country known as the biggest producer and exporter of soccer stars in the world, from Pele to Neymar. For
Coco Gauff of the US on Friday defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to set up a showdown with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the final of the WTA Finals, while in the doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching was eliminated. Gauff generated six break points to Belarusian Sabalenka’s four and built on early momentum in the opening set’s tiebreak that she carried through to the second set. She is the youngest player at 20 to make the final at the WTA Finals since Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki in 2010. Zheng earlier defeated Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 to book
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