ROWING
Cambridge win Boat Race
Favorites Cambridge on Sunday won the annual University Boat Race in choppy conditions on London’s River Thames, extending their lead over Oxford in the long-standing series to 82-79. Their more experienced crew was in front from the start and finished comfortable winners to end a run of three successive defeats. As usual in an Olympic year, both crews were under-strength, with leading rowers preparing for Rio. Their coach, Steve Trapmore, who won a gold medal in Great Britain’s eight at the 2000 Olympics, said it was an “epic” victory given the conditions. “I’ve never felt prouder,” he told the BBC. Earlier, Oxford easily won the 71st edition of the women’s race, now held over the same course, after the Cambridge boat took on water and almost sank.
ATHLETICS
Petrova fails drug test
Bulgarian triple jumper Gabriela Petrova has tested positive for the banned substance meldonium, joining the long list of athletes, including tennis champion Maria Sharapova, who have recorded positive tests for the drug. The 23-year-old, who won the silver medal at the European indoor championship in Prague and finished fourth at the world championships in Beijing last year, failed an out-of-competition drug test on Feb. 6, her manager Venitsa Atanasova said. However, Atanasova said that Petrova, who also won the European U-23 title in 2013, took this medication only at the end of last year. “Once it was announced in October that medicines containing meldonium are prohibited from Jan. 1, 2016, she stopped using it,” Atanasova said. Meldonium was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances on Jan. 1. Since then, more than 100 athletes have been found to have used meldonium.
RUGBY UNION
Cordero hurt in car accident
Jaguares winger Santiago Cordero is to miss the first half of the Argentine Super Rugby club’s trip to New Zealand and Japan after suffering cuts and bruises in a car accident. Argentine Cordero, one of the standouts from last year’s World Cup, was driving in wet conditions on Saturday night after the Jaguares lost 13-8 to the Stormers at Velez Sarsfield. “I was on my way back home, it was raining a bit and suddenly I lost control of the car,” Cordero was quoted as saying by the Argentine Rugby Union on Sunday. “Luckily it was just a fright and I’m ok.” Cordero had been scheduled to fly with the Jaguares from Buenos Aires to Auckland on Sunday, but is instead to join them in two weeks’ time, with his place taken by Ramiro Moyano.
TENNIS
Jamie Murray tops rankings
Jamie Murray is to become Britain’s first world No. 1 professional tennis player since computerized rankings were introduced in the 1970s after the ATP World Tour on Sunday confirmed he is to take top spot in doubles from Marcelo Melo. The 30-year-old, whose brother Andy is ranked world No. 2 in singles, is to take top spot from the Brazilian when the new rankings are published on Monday next week. Jamie Murray won the Australian Open doubles title in January alongside Brazilian Bruno Soares. Melo’s failure to reach the doubles quarter-finals in the Miami Open on Sunday means he is to drop points and fall behind Jamie Murray in the rankings, despite the Briton’s earlier elimination. “He made the final in Wimbledon, final US Open, won the Davis Cup, won the Australian Open, so he deserves it a lot. I’m happy for him,” the BBC quoted Melo as saying.
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
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
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