TRIATHLON
Police seize swimmer
An Australian triathlete was mistaken for an illegal immigrant by British residents and held up by border authorities while preparing to swim the English Channel, local media reported. John van Wisse was attempting to set a world record on an ultra-triathlon from London to Paris when he was swooped on by local police and the British Coastguard on Wednesday, the Dover Express reported. “It looks like a couple of people called thinking it was illegal immigrants coming ashore because some people were seen jumping off a boat,” a police spokesperson told the newspaper. “The Border Force were down there, and the coast guard. But it was a Channel swimmer.” Police saw “the funny side” and allowed van Wisse to proceed after a short delay on the second leg of the triathlon, having already run the 140km first leg from London’s Marble Arch to the Kent coast.
SOCCER
Eto’o ends internationals
Cameroon’s record goalscorer Samuel Eto’o has retired from international soccer, the four-time African player of the year announced on Wednesday. The 33-year-old, who recently signed for Premier League Everton, scored 56 goals in 118 appearances after making his debut as a 15-year-old in 1997. “I wish to inform you that I hereby put a definitive end to my international career,” Eto’o said in a statement on his Facebook page. “On this occasion, I wish to thank all Africans in particular and all my fans around the world for their love and unconditional support. Find here the expression of my deep gratitude.” Eto’o played at four World Cups, won two African Cup of Nations, in 2000 and 2002, and was part of the team that were crowned Olympic champions in 2000.
SOCCER
Giroud out with broken leg
Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud will be out for up to four months after undergoing surgery to repair a broken tibia, manager Arsene Wenger revealed on Wednesday. The France international was thought to have damaged his ankle after scoring a late equalizer in Arsenal’s 2-2 draw at Everton in the Premier League on Saturday, but Wenger revealed that he had in fact broken his leg. “He’ll be capable to play again in the Premier League at the end of December. He’ll be out for two months, but the time he needs to comes back, three to four months,” Wenger told a press conference after his team beat Besiktas 1-0 to reach the Champions League group phase. “You’ll ask who we’ll buy [to replace Giroud]. At the moment, nobody.”
SOCCER
NFF president released
The head of Nigeria’s embattled soccer association was released from custody on Wednesday after being arrested before a general assembly meeting to elect new executive committee members. Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Aminu Maigari, 58, was picked up by the Nigerian Department of State Services with another senior official, Chris Green, on Tuesday. “Maigari has been released by the security operatives,” an aide to the NFF boss said. “No charges were pressed against him, neither was he or Green questioned on anything. It was clearly to prevent them from attending the general assembly on Tuesday.” FIFA had insisted that Maigari chaired the meeting. An “elective congress” was held instead and saw Chris Giwa nominated as new NFF president. He began work on Wednesday. However, the federation could yet be slapped with another ban, as FIFA had only authorized a general assembly and not the immediate appointment of a new president.
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