SOCCER
Kamara leads MLS for goals
Kei Kamara scored twice in the second half to regain the Major League Soccer goals lead in the Columbus Crew’s 2-1 comeback victory over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday. Kamara has 17 goals in 24 games, one ahead of Toronto’s Sebastian Giovinco. The Crew drew level in the 52nd minute when Kamara made a diagonal run to the left side of the area and fired a left-footed, turn-around shot inside the far post. He slotted home Hector Jimenez’s cross 12 minutes later. Elsewhere, Chris Rolfe scored early and Bill Hamid was strong in goal in DC United’s 1-0 victory over Montreal. Eastern Conference-leading United won their third straight and ended Montreal’s unbeaten streak at three games. Vancouver’s Cristian Techera scored twice, while Octavio Rivero and Pa-Modou Kah added goals to help the Whitecaps beat Real Salt Lake 4-0. Vancouver stretched their Western Conference lead to four points over Dallas and matched a club mark for victories in a season with 10 games left. In other games, Sporting Kansas City beat Toronto 3-1, Houston beat San Jose 2-1, and Orlando City and Philadelphia played to a 0-0 draw.
SWIMMING
S Francisco crossing made
A New Zealander became the first woman to swim the 50km stretch from the Farallon Islands to the Golden Gate Bridge in California on Saturday and conquer one of the world’s most dangerous crossings. Kim Chambers, 38, dove into the cold water late on Friday and passed under the bridge about 17 hours later. “I had my whole crew just giving me the thumbs up. I can see the bridge and when you can see that you know have to get there,” Chambers told KGO-TV. “I definitely had to dig really, really deep.” She was followed by a boat carrying her mother and about 16 crew members, who watched for danger. Four men have completed the Farallones to Golden Gate swim. The stretch of water is notorious for great white sharks, which are attracted to elephant seals on the cluster of islands off the San Francisco coast. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Chambers planned her swim at a time when the seasonal shark population at the Farallones is typically away.
MOTORSPORT
Marquez takes pole again
Marc Marquez once again found his groove at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the reigning MotoGP champion from Spain won his third consecutive pole at the Brickyard on Saturday. Marquez, looking to win his fifth Indianapolis Grand Prix in a row, was the only rider to break the 1 minute, 32 second barrier. The Spaniard turned in the fastest qualifying lap of 1 minute, 31.884 seconds, with his Repsol Honda teammate and compatriot Dani Pedrosa second fastest with a lap of 1 minnute, 32.055 seconds to sit one-two on the grid for yesterday’s 27-lap race.
OLYMPICS
Flotilla protests Rio’s water
At least 30 boats of all sizes paraded across Rio de Janeiro’s Guanabara Bay on Saturday to protest over contamination in the waters where where sailing events are to be held next year during the Olympic Games. Sailboats, schooners, tourist boats, canoes and fishing boats made a 12km round trip from the Marina da Gloria on Guanabara Bay to Urca, a neighborhood at the foot of Rio’s iconic Sugarloaf Mountain. The Living Bay group, which organized the event, said in a statement that athletes train in the bay under precarious conditions and that the bay should always be in good condition regardless of its use in large events like the Olympics.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care