ATHLETICS
Handover a ‘logistics’ issue
There is an “understanding” on how crucial data on drug use by Russian athletes is to be handed over to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), whose representatives arrived in Moscow on Wednesday, the Kremlin said. WADA officials are making their third visit to retrieve the Moscow laboratory data, which could help the agency file doping charges against numerous Russian athletes it believes doped in previous years. Russia missed a deadline to hand over the data by Dec. 31, meaning the Russian Anti-Doping Agency could face sanctions from WADA. “There were some working disagreements, which arose last time, related to which storage devices [the data] will be transferred onto and how, and so on. I would say these are not so much substantial matters as issues of logistics,” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said. “As far as we know via our sports authorities, there are intensive contacts under way and now understanding has been reached with the WADA representatives regarding how the work will continue.” WADA spokesman James Fitzgerald said that the three-person team had arrived in the Russian capital. “They look forward to starting their work tomorrow,” Fitzgerald told reporters by e-mail. WADA estimates that the team will stay three days, Fitzgerald said, but “it could be longer, could be shorter.”
CYCLING
Grove ‘over’ loss of record
A 90-year-old cyclist who was stripped of his world record after a failed drug test has questioned the wisdom of the US Anti-Doping Agency’s decision. The agency has admitted that Carl Grove’s failed test was probably due to his inadvertent consumption of contaminated meat, but said that it still had to issue him with a public warning, the least serious punishment available. Grove this week told reporters that he believes taxpayers’ money would be better spent on catching more serious offenders. “Us old guys are kind of like peanuts. I think that they’re wasting their time,” he said. “I think that somewhere there ought to be a cutoff and they ought to zero in on the stuff that is done for money reasons or whatever it may be. But I think after 65 or 70, you know, they ought to just give up.” Grove tested positive for epitrenbolone, a metabolite of banned substance trenbolone, at last year’s US Masters Track National Championships, where he won the 90 to 94 age group sprint title. The former US Navy Band saxophonist, who played for US presidents during his time in the armed forces, said that the decision had initially hurt him. “I was really kind of down for a while, but I’m over it,” Grove said. Grove said that he is determined to continue his cycling career. His next goal is the world record for the distance ridden in an hour in the 90 to 95 age bracket. Grove is to turn 91 on July 13.
TENNIS
Jason Jung falls in qualifiers
Taiwan’s Jason Jung yesterday crashed out of the Australian Open, which starts on Monday. In the second qualifying round for the men’s singles, world No. 120 Jung lost 2-6, 3-6 to world No. 185 Hiroki Moriya of Japan. Moriya broke Jung three times at the start of the match and ran away with the first set 6-1. In the second set, Jung managed to draw level at 3-3 in a seesaw battle, but eventually lost, ending his chance to advance in the tournament.
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