Switzerland’s Nicola Spirig won the closest Olympic women’s triathlon in history yesterday, pipping Sweden’s Lisa Norden for gold after a dramatic photo finish.
Spirig and Norden were neck-and-neck as they hit the finishing tape in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 48 seconds, after a desperate sprint to the line following a grueling 1.5km swim, 43km bike ride and 10km run around the picturesque Hyde Park course.
Australia’s Erin Densham, just two-hundredths of a second behind, took bronze. British favurite Helen Jenkins dropped off the pace in the final lap and finished fifth, with the US’ Sarah Groff fourth.
Spirig, 20, a former world junior champion, is Switzerland’s second Olympic triathlon gold-medalist after Brigitte McMahon in 2000.
In cool, damp conditions, the British plan had swung into action on the opening leg as Lucy Hall, picked for her strong swimming, took the lead by the first turn on Hyde Park’s Serpentine lake.
Cheered by big lakeside crowds and a packed grandstand, Hall was first onto the bikes on 18 minutes, followed by Denmark’s Line Jensen, Japan’s Mariko Adachi and Pamela Oliveira of Brazil.
However, disaster hit Oliveira when she wiped out on a slippery left-hander near Buckingham Palace — and the same corner soon claimed half-a-dozen other riders, including Australia’s 2008 bronze-medalist Emma Moffatt.
Hall rode at or near the front of a 20-strong lead group during the 43km bike race, forcing the pace to set up Jenkins for the 10km run, which is her strong suit.
However, Spirig, Densham, New Zealand’s Andrea Hewitt and Australian Emma Jackson remained in close attendance as they completed seven laps of a challenging course.
German racer Anja Dittmer was first through the transition in 1:26.06, but it was Jenkins, Spirig and Densham who led a 10-woman lead group as the four-lap, 10km road race began.
Jackson dropped off the pace as the leaders were cut to five and then four, with Denshan, Spirig, Norden and Jenkins breaking away at about the 3km mark.
Jenkins was the next to falter as Densham forced the pace and the gripping race climaxed in a sprint finish. Spirig inched ahead, but Norden came back and the exhausted pair were all but inseparable at the line.
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