CYCLING
Hamilton repeats allegations
Tyler Hamilton says Lance Armstrong gave him an illegal blood booster at his house before the 1999 Tour de France and the two teammates compared notes on using performance-enhancing drugs as far back as 1998. Hamilton makes the allegations in his book, The Secret Race. Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France, Doping, Cover-ups and Winning at All Costs, set to be published on Wednesday next week. Armstrong agent Bill Stapleton did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Hamilton and Armstrong rode together on the US Postal Service team. Armstrong has long denied doping, but last week chose not to fight drug charges made by the US Anti-Doping Agency. The book mirrors much of what Hamilton told 60 Minutes last year and what he said he told federal criminal investigators looking into doping allegations on the Postal Service team. Officials closed that investigation in February without bringing any charges against Armstrong. Hamilton details his own drug use and says usage on the team started even before Armstrong joined in 1998. He and Armstrong soon became roommates and confidants who would discuss using the blood-booster EPO and other performance-enhancing drugs. He said while visiting Armstrong’s home in Nice shortly before the 1999 Tour, he asked the Texan if he had any EPO and Armstrong pointed to the refrigerator. Hamilton described a doping plan put in place by the team for the 1999 Tour de France, with Armstrong’s knowledge, that included a motorcyclist riding behind racers with a thermos full of EPO. It was to be dispensed to riders in the team camper after race stages. He said team leaders, doctors and managers encouraged and supervised doping, and performance-enhancing drugs were handed out to cyclists in white lunch bags.
ICE HOCKEY
Eberle extends contract
All-Star forward Jordan Eberle has signed a six-year contract extension with the Edmonton Oilers that will keep him with the team through the 2018-2019 season. While no financial details were disclosed by the Oilers, media reports said the 22-year-old’s deal was worth US$36 million. Eberle led the team in scoring last season with a career-high 34 goals and 42 assists in 78 games, earning a spot in this year’s NHL All-Star Game in Ottawa. “I’m pretty excited,” Eberle said on a conference call on Thursday. “It’s something I’ve been working on in the last little bit here. With Taylor getting his done last week, I was pretty anxious.” Eberle’s good friend and roommate, forward Taylor Hall, signed a seven-year, US$42 million extension just over a week ago. “We want to be the core guys on this team,” Eberle said. “With the direction the team’s going, especially with a couple of acquisitions this summer and with the team being a year older, we’re going to have a reputation of a winning team here soon.”
MOTOGP
Stoner’s surgery successful
MotoGP world champion Casey Stoner has undergone successful surgery on his right ankle, his Honda team said on Thursday. “Today in Australia, Honda’s Casey Stoner received surgery to his ankle, which was damaged after his crash in qualifying for the Indianapolis GP 12 days ago,” the team said in a statement. “The procedure was performed by Dr Lam’s team in Sydney’s North Shore Private Hospital. Doctors are pleased with how the operation went and now must wait during this initial recuperation period to see how the ankle is healing. With no complications or need for Stoner to stay in hospital, he has returned home.”
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier