■ SAILING
Algae clean up goes on
A huge algae bloom at the Beijing Olympics’ sailing venue will take at least another two weeks to eradicate despite more than 10,000 workers being used in the clean-up effort, state media reported. The environmental problem off the coast of Qingdao has disrupted training for international competitors trying to get used to the conditions there, Xinhua news agency, citing officials, said late on Sunday. “We have stressed to all the people devoted to this campaign that the priority should [be] given to the Olympic venue and we expect to eliminate all this sea weed before July 15th,” Qingdao Olympic Sailing Committee member Yuan Zhiping was quoted as saying on Sunday. Workers have so far pulled out 100,000 tonnes of algae, the report said.
■ ATHLETICS
Olympians sign petition
British sporting icons Steve Redgrave and Kelly Holmes have signed a British Athletes’ Commission petition opposing “drug cheat” Dwain Chambers’ High Court attempt to run in Beijing, the Daily Telegraph’s Web site reported on Sunday. Former European 100m champion Chambers, whose two-year ban expired in 2005, on Saturday clocked 10.06 seconds over 100m at a meeting in Germany, well inside the British Olympic team’s qualifying mark. And Chambers is expected to go to the High Court this week to challenge the British Olympic Association’s lifetime ban imposed following his positive test for the designer steroid THG in a further step toward running in the Games in Beijing. Five-time rowing gold medalist Redgrave and Holmes, who took the 800m and 1,500m double in Athens, are understood to be among 200 athletes who have signed the petition.
■ BASKETBALL
Luxury casino sues NBA
A luxury casino on the Las Vegas strip is suing the National Basketball Association over what it claims are unpaid bills during last year’s NBA All-Star Game, the Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday. The Wynn Las Vegas named NBA Properties, NBA Entertainment and Alonzo Mourning Charities in the lawsuit. The casino says it is owed US$50,000 in unpaid bills for meetings and convention space as part of an agreement it had with NBA Entertainment and the player’s charity. The NBA refused to comment on the lawsuit, the Times said.
■ RUGBY UNION
Cowan’s career under threat
Scrum-half Jimmy Cowan’s All Black career is under threat after his second arrest in seven weeks for disorderly behavior at a bar, New Zealand team management said yesterday. All Blacks manager Darren Shand said Cowan will face a New Zealand Rugby Union disciplinary hearing in Wellington today. Possible penalties range from a warning to being dismissed from the All Blacks squad.
■ SOCCER
Racing win to stay up
Racing Club, one of Argentina’s most popular clubs, clung to their top flight status by beating Belgrano 1-0 in the second leg of their promotion-relegation playoff on Sunday. Racing, 2-1 aggregate winners, were helped by an incredible miss by their opponents in the second half when Claudio Bustos broke clear, rushed past goalkeeper Jose Martinez Gullotta and tripped over the ball with the empty goal at his mercy. Maxi Moralez scored the only goal after playing a one-two with Facundo Sava in the 10th minute.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite