ATHLETICS
Russia bid for ban end
Russian athletics federation (RUSAF) president Dmitry Shlyakhtin is traveling to London this week to address the sport’s governing body in a bid to have his country’s international ban lifted. Shlyakhtin is to make a speech at the International Association of Athletics Federations Congress on Thursday, a day before the World Championships begin at the London Stadium. RUSAF has been banned since November 2015 after an independent World Anti-Doping Agency inquiry exposed state-sponsored doping on a massive scale. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko last week said that RUSAF was unlikely to be reinstated during the Congress, although 19 Russian athletes have been given permission to compete as neutrals in London.
SOCCER
Broadcaster Les Murray dies
Les Murray, a veteran broadcaster whose voice became synonymous with soccer in Australia, has died aged 71 after a long period of illness, his employer said yesterday. Widely known as Mr Football, Murray was the face of soccer coverage at broadcaster SBS and played a prominent role in growing the sport’s popularity in a country where cricket and rugby are king. A member of FIFA’s ethics committee since 2006, Murray was born Laszlo Urge in Hungary in 1945, arriving in Australia as a refugee a decade later and changing his name. He began working for SBS in 1980, covering numerous World Cups and hosting various soccer-based programs.
WATER SKIING
Teenager crashes at 160kph
A teenage Australian water skier is recovering in hospital after crashing at a reported speed of about 160kph at the World Water Ski Racing Championship in the US. Cooper Robertson, 17, sustained a broken leg and back injuries in the high-speed accident, US authorities said. Robertson, who is listed as a junior on Ski Racing Australia’s Web site, was pulled from the water by the US coast guard after the incident on Saturday. The coast guard said Robertson was transferred to emergency responders at the scene before being taken to hospital.
SURFING
Conlogue wins Supergirl Pro
Courtney Conlogue of Santa Ana, California, held off Sage Erickson of Ojai, California, to win the Paul Mitchell Neon Supergirl Pro surfing contest on Sunday at the Oceanside Pier in California. Conlogue won the contest for the second time. She also won in 2009. Conlogue pulled the event’s highest single-scoring wave during the final, earning a near-perfect 9.77 with a massive air-reverse. More than 120 of the top pros made this the largest women’s surf contest in the world and the lone women’s WSL qualifying event scheduled in the US for the 2017 season.
SWIMMING
Dressel grabs seventh gold
US swimmer Caeleb Dressel equaled compatriot Michael Phelps’ record of seven gold medals at a single world championships on Sunday. Dressel secured his record-equaling feat as the US won gold in the men’s 4x100m medley relay, in which he swam the butterfly leg. The 20-year-old had previously won individual gold medals in the men’s 50m and 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly, as well as in the men’s 4x100m freestyle, 4x100m mixed freestyle and 4x100m mixed medley relays.
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