SOCCER
Nigeria face CAF sanctions
Nigeria could face African Football Confederation (CAF) sanctions for allowing too many spectators into the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna, Nigeria, on Friday for an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Egypt. An estimated 40,000 crowd was inside the 25,000-capacity venue when the match kicked off after the Kaduna State government allowed fans free entry. “Nigeria will most likely be penalized by CAF for poor crowd control even though there was no major incident before, during or after the match,” said a leading soccer official, who requested anonymity. “Sanctions for such a shortcoming would be a fine and a warning,” he added. Another official said the police failed to stop the crowd gaining access to the stadium even when it was clear that the capacity was overstretched.
CYCLING
Kwiatkowski wins E3 race
Former world champion Michal Kwiatkowski won the E3 Harelbeke one-day race on Friday ahead of Peter Sagan. Kwiatkowski and Sagan rode the final 20km ahead of the pack before Kwiatkowski launched the two-man sprint with less than 300m to go and took victory with a comfortable margin. Sagan, the reigning world champion, was overpowered in the final stretch and settled for second place ahead of Ian Stannard. “I knew I had really good legs today and I had to go for the win, there was no other option,” Kwiatkowski said after sealing a second consecutive victory for Team Sky at the E3, following Geraint Thomas’ win last year.
ALPINE SKIING
Street seeks case dismissal
Assault and domestic violence charges against US Olympic gold medalist skier Picabo Street are expected to be dismissed, her attorney said on Friday, a day after prosecutors moved to drop the case stemming from an incident with her father. Street, one of the sport’s most popular figures in the 1990s, was charged in Summit County, Utah, over an incident in December last year involving her diabetic father, her lawyer, Joe Wrona, said. Wrona said the former Olympic star had called police for help when her 76-year-old father became unruly due to hypoglycemia. “When I called the police for help with my dad last December, I expected the police to be my knights in shining armor,” Street said in a statement. “Instead, they came into my house, arrested me and put me in handcuffs when I did nothing wrong.” Wrona said prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss on Thursday and the judge’s approval is expected.”
ATHLETICS
Jeska remanded into custody
An English champion fell runner has been remanded into custody after being charged with the attempted murder of former rugby union player-turned athletics administrator Ralph Knibbs. Lauren Jeska, 41, was charged with the attempted murder of Knibbs at the offices of UK Athletics at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, England, on Tuesday. She was also charged with two counts of unlawful and malicious wounding with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm on two other men. Jeska was further charged with possession of a 12cm kitchen knife, a 13cm kitchen knife and a bread knife in a public place. She was remanded into custody by District Judge Shamim Qureshi to appear at Birmingham Crown Court on April 25. Fell running, also known as hill or mountain running, is an established sport in rural areas of the UK. West Midlands Police said Knibbs, 51, “remains in a stable condition in hospital.”
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