GOLF
Levy grabs four-shot lead
France’s Alexander Levy closed in on a third career European Tour triumph on Saturday when he stormed to a four-shot lead at the fog-hit European Open in Bad Griesbach, Germany. After being badly affected by the weather on Thursday and Friday last week when seven hours were lost, the tournament suffered three more hours of delays on Saturday, forcing organizers to declare a 54-hole event. The third and final round was to be played yesterday. Levy, who won two titles in 2014, went into Saturday with just one hole of his delayed second round to complete. He made par on the ninth to stay at 17-under. Ross Fisher made a birdie on the seventh in his final three holes to cut the Frenchman’s overnight lead to five shots, but it was Swede Michael Jonzon who surged through the field, shooting a 63 to get to 13-under. Jonzon only found out he was playing on Wednesday afternoon after being fourth reserve for the event, but he had the chance to win his third European Tour title, 19 years after claiming his first at the Portuguese Masters. “I always said I function well under these circumstances,” 44-year-old Jonzon said. “I’m just going to go out tomorrow [Sunday] and try to shoot as good as I can, whatever happens after that is not in my control.”
CYCLING
Pibernik claims stage win
Slovenia’s Luka Pibernik of Lampre-Merida won the sixth stage of the Eneco Tour on Saturday, beating Englishman Mark McNally of Wanty-Groupe Gobert and Belgian rider Bert van Lerberghe of Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise in a sprint in Lanaken, Belgium. Australian Rohan Dennis of BMC Racing was leading in the overall standings, his advantage 16 seconds from teammate Taylor Phinney of the US and 24 seconds over Germany’s Tony Martin of Etixx-QuickStep ahead of yesterday’s final stage, a 197.8km ride from Bornem to Grammont which included climbs that feature on the Tour des Flandres. “I have a strong team and I feel good, but it could rain and that would make the cobbles very slippery. I’ve not won the race yet,” Dennis said.
BOXING
Linares wins fourth title
Jorge Linares defeated Anthony Crolla by unanimous decision at the Manchester Arena in England on Saturday to take the WBA lightweight belt. Linares, the Tokyo-based Venezuelan, hurt a knuckle in his right hand in the sixth round, but was not being hurt by Crolla and he finished stronger to earn his fourth world title. It was the same hand that Linares hurt previously and which forced him to give up the WBC belt after his second defense almost a year ago. The three-weight champion improved his record to 41-3 and said he would be happy to have a rematch with Crolla (31-5-1). Crolla, in his hometown, lost his second defense of the WBA belt and while dogged to the end, he was outsmarted.
BOXING
Amateur boxer dies in ring
An amateur boxer has died after collapsing during a charity bout on Saturday, police said. Witnesses said 49-year-old Neville Knight slumped onto the ropes then fell to the canvas midway through his bout at a corporate fundraising event at Te Rapa, near Hamilton, New Zealand. Paramedics tried to resuscitate Knight, but he could not be revived and died at the scene, police said. Acting Inspector Andrew Mortimore said “medical staff tried for in excess of 30 minutes to resuscitate the man, but were unsuccessful.” Police are speaking to witnesses and family, and will be referring the death to the coroner.”
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
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB