■ATHLETICS
Chambers clocks 9.99s
Britain’s Dwain Chambers won the 100m in 9.99 seconds on the first day of the European Team Championships. Chambers was never seriously challenged on Saturday on his way to posting the fastest time in the 100m by a European this year, ahead of France’s Christophe Lemaitre, who ran a personal best of 10.02 seconds. With one day of competition left, Russia lead overall with 209 points, ahead of Britain on 188 and Italy on 160.5. Also competing are Belarus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Norway, Poland, Spain and Ukraine. In other events on Saturday, Britain’s Martyn Rooney won the men’s 400m in 45.87 seconds and Veronique Mang of France took the women’s 100m in 11.23 seconds. Italy won the men’s 4x100m relay. Russia dominated many of the women’s track events. Natalya Antyukh won the 400m hurdles and Yelena Zadorozhnaya the 3,000m.
■GOLF
Elson leads by a shot
Englishman Jamie Elson goes into the final round of the Saint-Omer Open at the top of the leaderboard after producing a three-under 68 in Saturday’s third round. The 29-year-old, who returned to the European Tour via November’s qualifying school, produced six birdies and appeared to be heading for a commanding lead, but bogeys at the 15th and 16th dented his card. The world No. 866 finished on a seven-under total of 206, which leaves him just one shot clear of Robert Dinwiddie and Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin.
■TENNIS
Seeds out of Wimbledon
Former world No. 1 Dinara Safina and Spain’s Maria Martinez Sanchez have both pulled out of the Wimbledon tennis championships through injury, organizers said on Saturday. Safina is suffering from a lower back injury, while Martinez Sanchez has withdrawn because of a knee injury. The Russian was seeded 20th and her place in the draw has been taken by Melanie Oudin of the US, who is listed as the 33rd seed. The space left by Oudin moving up the draw has been filled by Canadian lucky loser Stephanie Dubois. Martinez Sanchez was seeded 22nd, with her position in the draw to be taken by Kateryna Bondarenko of the Ukraine, who is listed as the 34th seed. Bondarenko’s place will be filled by lucky loser Anastasia Pivovarova of Russia.
■CYCLING
Moncoutie grabs the lead
Cofidis team leader David Moncoutie took over the leader’s yellow jersey in the 34th edition of the Route du Sud after dominating Saturday’s mountain time-trial. The 35-year-old Frenchman was quickest on the 16.2km climb to the summit of the Peyresourde, where fog and unseasonally cold temperatures did little to help the riders. The time-trial was the second part of Saturday’s second stage. Earlier the riders had traveled the 82.5km between Izaourt and Saint-Gaudens.
■BASKETBALL
Manute Bol dies at 47
Manute Bol, a lanky shot-blocker from Sudan who used his influence as an NBA player to boost his humanitarian work in Africa, died on Saturday aged 47. Bol died at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville, said Tom Prichard, executive director of the group Sudan Sunrise. Bol was being treated for severe kidney trouble and a painful skin condition. Bol played 10 for seasons in the NBA, spending time in Washington, Golden State, Philadelphia and Miami. After his playing days he worked on the advisory board of Sudan Sunrise, which promotes reconciliation in the country.
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