■SKELETON
Strictly business for racers
French racer Gregory Saint-Genie spends a lot of time traveling around the world with a pretty American blonde, but he knows he had better behave. When Tristan Gale, the 2002 skeleton Olympic champion, agreed to coach Saint-Genie just over two years ago, her husband was caught off guard. “He was surprised when I first told him I would coach the French men’s team,” the 30-year-old Gale told reporters on Thursday. “But he [my husband] is now perfectly OK with the fact that we spend a lot of time together.” Saint-Genie, himself a married man with two children, met Gale 10 years ago when they would hang around together during World Cup events. But nothing more. “My husband is a helicopter pilot in the Marine Corps. He can shoot well,” Gale said.
■PAIRS SKATING
Match made online
The online ad said he was looking for a skinny girl to share his dreams and now Yannick Bonheur is confident he has met his perfect match to skate with at the Olympics. The Frenchman turned to a Web site that specializes in finding partners for pairs skaters and ice dancers (icepartnersearch.com) and after a few unsuccessful meetings with respondents from across the world found Vanessa James. Three years later, they are taking part in the Olympic pairs competition after James, who competed for Britain in singles skating, was granted French citizenship last year.
■SKIING
Paralympian bridges gap
Brian McKeever, who will be the first man to ski in the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, says he has been inspired by training near the site of the World War II internment camp where his grandparents were held. Having won two gold medals at the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Turin, the 30-year-old partially-sighted Canadian is now preparing for the men’s Olympic 50km cross-country race on Feb. 28. He has been training in Sandon, in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, where his Japanese grandparents were interned from 1942. McKeever will compete in the 50km race despite having only partial vision after losing his sight at the age of 19 to a degenerative disorder known as Stargardt’s disease. The disease leaves a blind spot in the center of his line of vision, but McKeever qualified for the Olympics last December. As a Paralympian, McKeever says he is hoping to bridge the gap of perception and prove disabled athletes can compete in the Olympics.
■SNOWBOARDING
Fashion rebel raises frowns
Japan’s Kazuhiro Kokubo has been chided for transforming his sober, official Winter Olympics team suit into a hip-hop fashion statement when he arrived for the Vancouver Games. He could also be in the firing line for dismissing the Olympics as “nothing special.” Kokubo, who tours the prize-carrying, professional circuits abroad, had said: “For me, the Olympics is just another snowboarding event. It’s nothing special.” The Japan Ski Association barred Kokubo from attending an arrival ceremony at the Olympic Village on Wednesday after they received complaints about the way he wore the suit when he traveled with the snowboard squad. In addition to his trademark deadlocks and sunglasses, the 21-year-old was seen at Tokyo and Vancouver airports with his tie loosened, shirt hanging out and his trousers worn low down off his hips. Japanese Olympic Committee secretary general Noriyuki Ichihara said: “It is not the way the Japanese delegation should dress themselves while taxpayers’ money is spent on them.”
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care