■ Rowing
Kiwi grabs gold medal
Mahe Drysdale edged Olympic champion Olaf Tufte of Norway in the final of the men's single sculls in Kaizu, Japan, yesterday to capture one of four gold medals for New Zealand at the World Rowing Championships. Drysdale clocked a time of 7 minutes, 16.42 seconds at Nagaragawa Regatta Course. Tufte finished second in 7:18.34 for the silver medal while Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic took the bronze in 7:21.12. Nathan Twaddle and George Bridgewater cruised to victory in the men's pairs with a time of 6:52.51 to give New Zealand another gold.
■ Rugby
Serevi to coach in Fiji
Sevens superstar Waisale Serevi has been signed to a full-time coaching position with the Fiji Rugby Union and will likely accompany the Fiji national team on its end-of-year tour to Europe. Serevi, who is regarded as one of the world's greatest sevens players, has signed a one-year contract which will see him working with Fiji's national sevens and 15 teams, the union announced yesterday. The Fiji union recently decided for financial reasons not to continue the contract of Paul Feeney, who has worked as backline coach under Fijian national 15s coach Wayne Pivac. The union said it would seek a local appointee and Serevi has been chosen for the job. Serevi said he welcomed the chance to develop a new career in rugby.
■ Formula one
Fans want more passing
Fans have demanded more passing in Formula One, and the sport's governing body says new technology could make it happen. Max Mosley, president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), announced a partnership with chipmaker AMD in Monza, Italy on Friday after a survey showed 94 percent of fans want more overtaking. "We didn't realize how important [passing] was to the fans until recently," Mosley said. He said he was working off responses from 93,000 questionnaire about the sport. Mosley said AMD would help the FIA develop aerodynamics for cars that would enable more passing with little reduction in speed. "AMD is making available to us an immensely powerful computer," Mosley said. He said the computer could "run a number of programs" which would be equivalent to crews testing with two Formula One cars.
■ Cycling
Heeswijk takes Stage 7
Dutch cyclist Max Van Heeswijk won the seventh stage of the Tour of Spain in a sprint finish in Vinaroz, Spain on Friday, while Spain's Roberto Heras remained the overall leader. Discovery Channel's Van Heeswijk covered the long and flat 212.5km leg between Teruel and Vinaroz in northern Spain in 5 hours, 21 minutes, 21 seconds. Germany's Erik Zabel finished second and Italy's Alberto Ongarato came third. Italy's top sprinter, Alessandro Petacchi, who won stages Monday and Tuesday, had to withdraw after getting a puncture in the final stretch.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely