HORSE RACING
Black Caviar retired
Champion mare Black Caviar, widely considered the world’s greatest sprinter, was retired yesterday after 25 consecutive race wins, trainer Peter Moody announced in Sydney, Australia. “We thought long and hard about racing on, but believe she has done everything we asked of her and felt it was the right time to call time on her wonderful career,” Moody said. “She’s in great shape and that’s the way we wanted her to bow out. Black Caviar, considered by many experts to be the best sprinter the world has ever seen, beat a cracking international field in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes over 1,200m at England’s Royal Ascot in June last year. She won her final race in Sydney last weekend and will now begin a lucrative breeding career, with her foals potentially worth millions of dollars. Last week, her half-brother sold at auction for A$5 million (US$5.2 million), A$2 million above estimates. “She brought interest to our sport that hasn’t been there for decades,” Moody said.
AUTO RACING
Driver in Tasmania rally dies
Police and race officials say a driver aged in his 70s died yesterday after a single-car accident on the first day of the six-day Tasmania Rally. Tasmania Police said the navigator in the same car was taken to a Hobart hospital from the scene of the accident at Exton in the northwest region of the island state. The race’s 200-car field was due to compete in several later stages before finishing in Launceston. The rally has 40 stages over 600km. The fatality is the second in the Tasmanian leg, which began in 1992. In 1996, Ian Johnson died.
RUGBY UNION
Mitchell to leave Australia
Wallaby winger Drew Mitchell will leave Australian rugby at the end of this year’s Test season to take up a two-year contract with French side Toulon. The Australian Rugby Union said yesterday that the 63-Test veteran, who currently plays with the Super 15’s New South Wales Waratahs, had decided not to sign a new contract. Later yesterday, the 29-year-old Mitchell confirmed he had signed a deal with Toulon and would join former Wallaby Matt Giteau at the French Top 14 club. “I just feel it’s the right time for me,” Mitchell said. “It’s a great opportunity to experience a different culture, to challenge myself in a different environment.” The ARU said Mitchell remains available for the three-Test British and Irish Lions tour in June and July and the Rugby Championship later in the year. His contract expires on Dec. 31. Mitchell, who made his Super rugby debut in 2004 with Queensland, is Australia’s second-highest Rugby World Cup try scorer with 10, equal with David Campese and one behind Chris Latham.
RUGBY UNION
Beale charge dropped
Police have dropped an assault charge against Australian rugby fullback Kurtley Beale after he reached an agreement through mediation with his alleged victim. Beale faced a Brisbane court in July last year, after allegations he hit a hotel bouncer the morning before an Australia-Wales Test in June last year. He faced one count of common assault, but Brisbane Magistrates Court was told yesterday that the parties had reached an agreement out of court and the charge was dropped. Beale, who was not in court yesterday, agreed to an indefinite break from rugby late last month and is undergoing counseling after being sent home from South Africa for fighting with two Melbourne Rebels teammates after a Super 15 match. His status for the Wallabies for the upcoming British and Irish Lions tour is uncertain.
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
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is 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