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.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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