BIKING
Olympian killed in accident
South African Olympic mountain biker and former age-group world champion Burry Stander was killed in a road accident while training near his 25. The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee confirmed the two-time Olympian’s death and said the country’s leading mountain biker died after a collision with a taxi in the Kwazulu-Natal Province on South Africa’s east coast. Stander competed at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games and came fifth last year in the mountain bike race at the London Games. He was also a former under-19 and under-23 world champion and South Africa’s biggest star in the sport and one of the world’s top riders.
SOCCER
Lampard to leave Chelsea
Frank Lampard will definitely leave Chelsea at the end of the season, the England international’s agent confirmed on Thursday, but he will not be tempted to see out his career in China. The 34-year-old Lampard is into the final months of his contract with the European champions and a new deal has yet to be agreed. “At the moment, Frank is only thinking of the present. As far as the future is concerned, the only thing that is certain is that his team will change at the end of the season,” agent Steve Kutner told www.Cittaceleste.it. “Frank wants to play for a great team, fight for important goals and win other trophies. A player of his caliber should continue playing at the highest level. Serie A could be more than just a possibility.”
GOLF
McIlroy mulls 2016 Olympics
World No. 1 Rory McIlroy said on Thursday that he may sit out the 2016 Olympics to avoid a storm over the sensitivities of playing for either Britain or Ireland. The 23-year-old McIlroy, who is from Holywood in Northern Ireland, would be eligible for selection by either Great Britain or Ireland at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro when golf makes its Olympic Games debut. However, he told the BBC that he may skip the tournament as he does not want to offend either country. “I just think being from where we’re from, we’re placed in a very difficult position,” said McIlroy, the reigning USPGA champion. “I feel Northern Irish and obviously being from Northern Ireland you have a connection to Ireland and a connection to the UK. If I could and there was a Northern Irish team I’d play for Northern Ireland. Play for one side or the other — or not play at all because I may upset too many people. Those are my three options I’m considering very carefully.”
ICE HOCKEY
Devils under new ownership
New Jersey Devils majority owner Jeff Vanderbeek completed a refinancing of the team’s debt on Thursday, assuming full control of the National Hockey League club. Vanderbeek, a former Lehman Brothers executive who purchased the team in 2004, made the announcement as NHL officials and locked out players were meeting in New York trying to thrash out a new collective bargaining agreement in an effort to keep the entire 2012 to 2013 season from being canceled. Players have been locked out since mid-September last year and the league has canceled games through Jan. 14, more than 50 percent of the regular season which was scheduled to start in October. “Today’s announcement is good news for Devils fans though I fully recognize fans’ frustration with the work stoppage,” Vanderbeek said.
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