■SYNCHRO SWIMMING
Anastasias put Russia ahead
Russia is ahead after the duet free preliminaries of synchronized swimming, giving the formidable duo a chance to defend their gold medal. Anastasia Davydova and Anastasia Ermakova totaled 98.834 points yesterday, maintaining the lead they owned after Monday’s technical routine. Gemma Mengual and Andrea Fuentes of Spain were second yesterday with 97.918. Japan’s Saho Harada and Emiko Suzuki were third at 96.750, followed by China at 96.584. The duet final is today.
■SYNCHRO SWIMMING
Lights out for Spain
Spain’s synchronized swimmers have been banned from wearing a swimsuit with embedded waterproof lights that they had hoped would give an extra sparkle to their Olympic routine. “It got very sophisticated because obviously the battery doesn’t last long and then we had to look at circuits and interrupters, so we have been working on it around two months with a crack team,” swimmer Andrea Fuentes said. Swimming’s world governing body, which sets swimsuit rules for a sport where sequins are almost obligatory, said the lights were an accessory, but Fuentes still hoped they might back down. “This is a very conservative sport ... their excuse that is you cannot have accessories on your swimsuit, but they are sewn in. If you use those standards, sequins are a type of accessory.”
■VOLLEYBALL
Cuba, Brazil into semis
Favorites Cuba and Brazil powered into the women’s volleyball semi-finals in straight sets yesterday. Cuba, which swept their Group A matches, won 26-24, 25-19, 26-24 against Serbia in the packed Capital Gymnasium, but the Caribbean side almost faltered in the hard-fought first and third sets. Brazil’s 25-12, 25-20, 25-16 win was much more comfortable, with their powerful spikes overcoming resistance from a persistent Japanese side, whose players were in tears after the match. Brazil did not lose a single set in their Group B matches and the successive wins appear to have made captain Helia Souza even more confident. In the semi-finals, Brazil will be pitched against the winner of the quarter-final match between defending champions China and Russia. The US will play Italy in the last quarter-final match and the winner will meet Cuba for a place in the final.
■HOCKEY
Germany beat New Zealand
World champions Germany dealt an early double blow to New Zealand yesterday on their way to joining Australia and the Netherlands in the men’s hockey semi-finals with a 3-1 win as final pool matches got under way. The Netherlands meanwhile beat Pakistan 4-2 in the day’s other early match, leaving them for the moment top of Pool B. A win for Australia over Great Britain later would leave the defending champions atop that pool.
■WATER POLO
US, Dutch to play for gold
Brenda Villa scored three goals, including the game-winner with a minute remaining, as the US women’s water polo team advanced to the gold medal match with a 9-8 victory against Australia yesterday. The US went more than eight minutes without scoring and watched a three-goal lead evaporate into an 8-8 tie. But Villa, a three-time Olympian and team captain, put her team ahead for good when she caught a pass from Heather Petri and skipped it by goalkeeper Alicia McCormack. The US will face the Netherlands for gold tomorrow. The Dutch upset Hungary 8-7 in the other semi-final.
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