■GOLF
Three share Evian lead
Becky Brewerton, who only got into the Evian Masters by winning last week’s Spanish Open, shot a first round five under par 67 to share the lead after the first round on Thursday. The 26-year-old Welshwoman had seven birdies to finish top of the leaderboard alongside two South Koreans, Choi Na-yeon and Kim In-kyung. World No.1 Lorena Ochoa had a disappointing day. The Mexican, seeking a first Evian title, shot 75. Off the course, there was drama on the eve of the tournament when there was a serious fire at one of the local hotels. Several players were staying at the Hotel Pavillons du Golf, and South Korean Amy Yang threw out her mattress and jumped to the ground from the balcony. Her father suffered burns to his arm.
■TENNIS
Federer enjoys twin joy
Roger Federer is the father of twin girls after his wife Mirka gave birth on Thursday. In a statement released on his personal Web site and Facebook page. “I have some exciting news to share with you,” Federer’s Facebook page said. “Late last night, in Switzerland, Mirka and I became proud parents of twin girls. We named them Myla Rose and Charlene Riva and they are both healthy and along with their mother they are doing great. This is the best day of our lives.” The 27-year-old Federer met his wife-to-be — born Miroslava Vavrinec in Slovakia — in 2000 when they were competing for Switzerland in the Sydney Olympic Games. Mirka, 31, emigrated with her family to Switzerland as a small child, and after playing on the WTA Tour and retiring prematurely due to injury, became one of Federer’s managers.
■CURLING
Thieves steal rocks
Thieves have stolen 58 curling rocks from a refrigerated truck, representing more than a third of the total of the rocks in Australia. The 22km granite rocks, valued at US$400 each, or about US$23,200 combined, were stolen between June 16 and July 7 in a parking lot next to an ice rink at Docklands in downtown Melbourne. Police believe the thieves would have been excited about the prospect of a refrigerated trailer containing alcohol, but would have quickly discovered the rocks were useless to them. Curling competitor Paul Meissner said the theft had stopped all training for both serious curlers and people learning the sport in Melbourne. There are only about 150 curling rocks in Australia. Meissner urged the thieves to return the rocks or leave them in a safe place to be found. “They’re useless to anyone else except for us, apart from as a doorstop or propping up a coffee table,” he said. “They might be valuable ... but that won’t do you any good. They could sell them to the Canadians, but they’ve got their own rocks.”
■ATHLETICS
UK sprinters lazy: Powell
Former 100m world record holder Asafa Powell branded British sprinters lazy and said they were unlikely to beat the world’s best, reports said yesterday. The Jamaican said British runners were perhaps lacking in motivation to succeed because their lifestyles were already comfortable, the BBC reported. “I’ve said over the years that British sprinters are very lazy and don’t really want to practise,” Powell said. “Maybe it’s comfort. In Jamaica, you have to work harder for what you want. We have a different mindset. You have to make a living out of it because you don’t get a living from anywhere else. “You have to go out there and make something of yourself.” Powell takes on triple Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt at this weekend’s London Grand Prix ahead of the World Championships in Berlin next month.
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
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB