BIATHLON
Domracheva wins 15km
Darya Domracheva of Belarus used a strong finish to win the women’s 15km individual race on Thursday at the season-opening biathlon World Cup meet in Ostersund, Sweden. The 25-year-old Domracheva missed two targets, but overtook leader and double Olympic gold medalist Magdalena Neuner of Germany after the fourth shooting to finish in 47 minutes, 15.6 seconds. Sweden’s Anna Maria Nilsson also raced passed Neuner to finish second, 1 minute, 8.5 seconds behind after missing one target. Neuner missed three shots to end third, 1 minute, 41.7 seconds back. Last season’s overall World Cup winner Kaisa Makarainen of Finland missed four shots to finish fourth.
Photo: EPA
GOLF
Parry charges at NZ Open
Two-time USPGA Tour winner Craig Parry finished with three birdies in a three-under 69 to grab a share of a three-way lead after two rounds of the New Zealand Open golf tournament. The 45-year-old Australian followed his first-round 70 with a second round which included five birdies and two bogeys to join compatriot and overnight leader Brad Kennedy and New Zealand’s Josh Geary in the lead at five-under. Kennedy had four birdies and three bogeys in a 71, finishing with a bogey which let slip the outright lead. Geary had six birdies and two bogeys in a 68. Australian amateur Jake Higginbotham shot a 68 after an early tee-off to briefly share the outright lead with Kennedy. He fell back into a three-way tie for fourth with compatriot Leigh McKechnie New Zealand’s Doug Holloway.
NASCAR
Busch seeing psychologist
Kurt Busch says he is seeing a sports psychologist to address “personal issues.” Busch was fined US$50,000 by NASCAR last week for verbally abusing an ESPN reporter and making an obscene gesture in his race car during the season finale at Homestead. NASCAR also cited a pattern of previous incidents with reporters for fining Busch. Now in his hometown of Las Vegas for the season-ending awards ceremony, Busch said on Thursday he has been seeing a psychologist for two months and needs to work on improving his behavior. Busch also said his actions at Homestead were inappropriate. He was angry because a transmission issue sent him into the garage early in the race and he knew he was guaranteed to finish 11th in the 12-car Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
FOOTBALL
Packers to sell more shares
The Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers will sell shares of stock next week offering no dividend, no chance for appreciation, practically no transfer rights and not even a shot at a highly prized season ticket. However, the offering announced on Thursday by the Packers does give fans the opportunity to own a piece of the defending NFL champions, who are undefeated through 11 games this season. The Packers were founded in 1919 and became a publicly owned nonprofit four years later. It is the only franchise permitted by the NFL to have that structure. The team plans to offer 250,000 shares initially at US$250 each on Tuesday, which would raise about US$62.5 million toward a US$143 million expansion of Lambeau Field announced last summer.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two