AP, BEIJING
There were plenty of shocks in the women’s long jump in Beijing yesterday with world indoor champion Naide Gomes of Portugal the main victim during a brutal day of qualifying.
Joining the year’s top performer on the sidelines was five-time world indoor champion Tatyana Kotova, who finished 14th with only the top dozen advancing.
PHOTO: AFP
Triple jump bronze medalist Hrysopiyi Devetzi of Greece was also eliminated in 15th place, and triple jump world champion Yargelis Savigne of Cuba lagged in 18th.
“It’s a shame. A final should be with the best ones,” said Carolina Kluft of Sweden, who did advance.
Anju Bobby George of India, the 2003 world championship bronze medalist, hurt her foot on her last warmup jump and failed on all three attempts.
PHOTO: AFP
She said the surface was too fast and “we’re not getting the rhythm.”
“It’s good for the runners, not so good for the jumpers,” she said.
US jumper Brittney Reese had the top mark of 6.87m, ahead of Maurren Higa Maggi of Brazil at 6.79.
The runway also took Reese by surprise.
“It was good I scratched my first jump,” Reese said. “I had to adjust and once I did, I pulled out a big one.”
Heptathlon silver medalist Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine was third at 6.76, edging triple jump runner-up Tatyana Lebedeva.
And after failing to make the triple jump final, Kluft saved her Olympics by getting comfortably through in the long jump.
“I just want to jump my best and try to break my PB. We’ll see how far that takes me,” Kluft said, referring to her mark of 6.97.
The 2004 Olympic heptathlon champion switched away from her best event to try a new challenge.
Gomes was a strong favorite to add the Olympic gold to the indoor title she won in March.
She set a season’s best of 7.12m in the run-up to the Olympics last month.
But she imploded at the Bird’s Nest, fouling on her first two attempts before she stutter-stepped during her final attempt for a jump of 6.29 that left her 32nd overall.
“I am not happy but it’s life,” Gomes said.
Only those reaching 6.75 or the top 12 jumpers qualified for Friday’s final.
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
RSS