OLYMPICS
Almaty, Beijing submit bids
The Kazakh city of Almaty came out battling on Tuesday in its contest with rival favorite Beijing in the bidding for the 2022 Winter Games, portraying itself as the compact, affordable choice with “real winter weather” and “lots of natural snow.” Delegations from Almaty and Beijing submitted their bid documents on Tuesday to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne, Switzerland, a day before the deadline. The bid books include details of each city’s plans for the Games, including venues, accommodation, financing, transportation and security. The race began with six candidates, but was reduced to just two following the withdrawals of Stockholm; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; and Oslo. An IOC evaluation commission will visit the two finalists next month and in March. The host city will be selected by the full IOC on July 31 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
NORDIC SKIING
Bjoergen wins fourth stage
Six-time Olympic champion Marit Bjoergen won her fourth straight stage in the Tour de Ski in Dobbiaco, Italy, on Wednesday, extending her overall lead to more than a minute and a half. The Norwegian clocked 12 minutes, 48.5 seconds in the 5km classical individual start race. Norwegian teammate and defending champion Therese Johaug finished second, 10.8 seconds behind, and Heidi Weng, another Norwegian, was third, 13.1 behind. Seeking to win the Tour for the first time after twice finishing runner-up, Bjoergen now leads Weng by 1:34.3 in the overall standings. “The shape is good,” Bjoergen said. “I’m not getting tired.” It was Bjoergen’s sixth consecutive victory overall, including two World Cup wins before the Tour began.
SOCCER
Senegal offered large bonus
Senegal President Macky Sall promised his country’s soccer players bonuses of about US$55,000 each if they win their first Africa Cup of Nations title next month. Sall also promised the squad other undisclosed bonuses for winning games at the tournament in Equatorial Guinea, which starts on Jan. 17. Senegal are one of only three African nations to make the World Cup quarter-finals, but have never won the continental championship, losing in a penalty shootout to Cameroon in the 2002 final in their best result. Bonuses promised to players will come under scrutiny at the finals after three teams — Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria — had their World Cup campaigns in Brazil last year marred by embarrassing disputes between players and officials over payments.
SKI JUMPING
Ammann injured in crash
Swiss four-time Olympic ski jumping champion Simon Ammann remained in hospital on Wednesday with a severe concussion after crash landing at the Four Hills tournament in Bischofshofen, Austria. A statement posted on the Swiss Ski Federation’s Web site said the 33-year-old escaped serious injury in the crash on Tuesday, but would remain in hospital for a few days. “He has a severe concussion and severe bruises to the face, but no broken bones,” it said. “Simon Ammann will stay a few days in the hospital in Schwarzach and requires absolute rest.” Ammann, who won the large and small hill Olympic golds in Salt Lake City in 2002 and in Vancouver in 2010, but missed out in Sochi last year, was left bloodied after toppling forward in the landing area and sliding face first across the snow.
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
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
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
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later