RUGBY UNION
FFR mulls action on racism
The French Rugby Federation (FFR) said it is considering action after a player from Montpellier claimed he was racially abused by a fan during a league match. Fijian wing Timoci Nagusa said he was repeatedly insulted and subjected to monkey chants by a fan from rival Top 14 club Pau on Saturday. The FFR offered its support to the player on Monday, “condemning in the strongest terms this act, which is offending rugby as a whole.” The federation added it might take over the case if necessary. In a joint statement, Pau and Montpellier pressed for sanctions against an “act that does not reflect the spirit and values” of the clubs or rugby.
RUGBY UNION
Kolo’ofai joins Tonga squad
Tonga yesterday named Newcastle Falcons lock Uili Kolo’ofai as the final member of their 31-man Rugby World Cup squad. The Tonga Rugby Union said Kolo’ofai had joined his teammates in Romania, where the Pacific islanders are holding a pre-tournament training camp. The New Zealand-born 32-year-old has played five Tests for Tonga and will be attending his first World Cup. The rest of the squad was named on Aug. 18. Tonga, ranked 11th in the world, are in a tough pool in the September-October tournament in England, which includes favorites New Zealand and a rapidly improving Argentina.
HORSE RACING
Pendleton second in debut
Britain’s former Olympic cycling champion Victoria Pendleton finished second in her first ride as an amateur jockey in Ripon, England, on Monday. The 34-year-old, who won two Olympic gold medals, steered Royal Etiquette to second place after being awarded her Category A license having made her debut in a charity event at Newbury in July. Royal Etiquette, a 14-1 shot, started slowly, but made up ground to move level with the leader Chocolate Diamond. The pair rounded the home turn well clear and Pendleton took her mount to the front before being beaten by Jordaura at the finish. “It’s given me confidence and I feel blessed to have been given this chance, I feel like a real jockey. I am absolutely delighted to be placed and Ripon will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s been a fantastic experience so far,” Pendleton told reporters. Pendleton received a ringing endorsement from 20-time British champion jump jockey Tony McCoy. “I thought @v_pendleton did very well in her 1st race in public, great achievement in such a short time,” McCoy said on Twitter.
OLYMPICS
Tokyo to scrap logo: NHK
Tokyo Olympics organizers are expected to scrap the logo for the 2020 Games following another allegation its Japanese designer might have used copied materials in presentations of the design. Organizers have supported designer Kenjiro Sano against allegations of plagiarizing the design, but Japan’s national broadcaster NHK yesterday said that the support would be withdrawn as a result of new accusations that Sano allegedly used an image from someone else’s Web site without authorization. There was no immediate comment from Olympic officials on reports that the logo will be withdrawn. Sano has faced allegations of plagiarism since the logo’s July debut. A Belgian designer sued the International Olympic Committee over similarities with his logo for a theater. Sano denied the allegation, but has faced other plagiarism questions over his past designs.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite