ATHLETICS
UK body charged
The governing body for track and field in the UK and a sports official have been charged with manslaughter over the death of a Paralympic athlete who was hit on the head by a metal pole during training in 2017. The 36-year-old thrower Abdullah Hayayei, who represented the United Arab Emirates, was injured at Newham Leisure Center in east London on July 11, 2017, and was pronounced dead at the scene. He was training in preparation to represent his country in the F34 class discus, javelin and shot put at the World Para Athletics Championships in London when part of a throwing cage fell on him. On Wednesday, police and Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service said that Keith Davies, who the police said was “head of sport for the 2017 World Paralympic Athletics Championships,” had been charged with gross negligence manslaughter and a health and safety offense. UK Athletics Limited, the national governing body for athletics, has been charged with corporate manslaughter and a health and safety offense. Police and prosecutors said that UK Athletics and Davies are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on Jan. 31.
SWIMMING
‘Iron Lady’ retires
Hungary’s “Iron Lady” Katinka Hosszu has retired from swimming at the age of 35, with the three-time Olympic champion saying she is looking forward to helping young athletes follow their dreams in the sport. Hosszu competed at five editions of the Games, winning gold in the 200m and 400m individual medley and 100m backstroke, as well as a silver in the 200m backstroke, at Rio de Janeiro in 2016. “For 30 years, the water has been my home, a sanctuary where I found solace and strength,” she wrote on Instagram on Wednesday. “From the moment I first stepped into the pool as a child, I knew I had discovered something magical. In the coming years, I hope to share this passion with others — teaching young swimmers the magic I’ve found in the water and encouraging them to follow their dreams.” Hosszu, who gave birth to her daughter in 2023, made her Olympic debut as a teenager in Athens in 2004 and went on to compete at the Games in 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2021. She won nine world championships golds and her 200m medley world record at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan still stands.
SOCCER
Irons hire Potter
Former Chelsea boss Graham Potter was named West Ham United’s new head coach yesterday on a two-and-a-half-year contract, the club said, a day after sacking Julen Lopetegui. Potter, 49, has been out of management since he was sacked by Chelsea in April 2023, just seven months into a five-year contract. He won 12 of his 31 matches in charge. The Irons are 14th in the English Premier League, seven points above the relegation zone, after six wins in 20 league matches during former Spain and Real Madrid coach Lopetegui’s ill-fated tenure. A 4-1 hammering at champions Manchester City on Saturday was the final straw for the London club. “It was important to me that I waited until a job came along that I felt was right for me, and equally that I was the right fit for the club I am joining,” Potter said. His first match is to be when West Ham face Aston Villa in the English FA Cup third round today.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
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