■ATHLETICS
Gran, 99, trains for games
A 99-year-old Australian great-grandmother is in training for the World Masters Games in Sydney, where she will turn heads as the oldest athlete. Sprightly Ruth Frith, who is nearly blind, plans to compete in five events at the seniors event in Sydney in October, by which time she will be 100. Since turning 85, Frith, who says she doesn’t believe in diets and “all that jazz,” has held world records for her age group in the shotput, discus, javelin, hammer, long jump, triple jump and 100m. She achieved 10.90m in 2006 in the discus — the actual world record for women is 76.80m. Frith is to appear in Sydney alongside her daughter, former Olympic athlete Helen Searle. The most nerve-racking thing about the Masters used to be having to wear shorts, Frith said, pleading support for the elderly at the event. “If you ever see creaky knees and grey-haired people walking around an oval or trying to throw, please don’t laugh. Just wave and say ‘good on you,’” she said.
■SOCCER
Advocaat to coach Belgium
Zenit St Petersburg coach Dick Advocaat was appointed Belgium manager on Wednesday and will take up the post at the start of next year, the Belgian Football Association said. Advocaat’s contract with Russian club Zenit expires in December. He will be given an initial two-year contract by the Belgian FA with the possibility of at least another 18 months should Belgium qualify for Euro 2012. Belgian media have reported that the 61-year-old Dutchman was keen on a move to Belgium to be nearer family and friends and that he would earn 600,000 euros (US$844,200) a year. Advocaat led Zenit to the UEFA Cup and European Super Cup double last year.
■SOCCER
Man City ditch big-name trio
German World Cup finalist Dietmar Hamann and former England internationals Darius Vassell and Danny Mills were among four players released by bigspending Manchester City on Wednesday. The trio were joined by former Rangers and Everton defender Michael Ball as club manager Mark Hughes pruned his squad ahead of potentially more big name signings to join those of Roque Santa Cruz and Gareth Barry. Hamann, who was a member of the German side that lost to Brazil in the 2002 World Cup final and the Liverpool side that won the Champions League in 2005, failed to play in the last months of the season because of a toe injury. Both Vassell and Mills also played in the 2002 World Cup finals but the 29-year-old striker has struggled for his place and has been linked with a move to Turkey. Mills, 32, left Leeds United for City in 2004 but rarely made a first team place his own and was loaned out to Hull City, Charlton and Derby. At Derby he picked up a serious knee injury in January last year and has not played since.
■BADMINTON
Organizers catch the drift
Organizers of next month’s world championships are scrambling to cool concerns that the air-conditioning system at the venue was causing shuttles to drift excessively. Players had complained about excessive drift during the India Open international event in March and organizers in Hyderbad want to fix the problem before the Aug. 10 to Aug. 16 tournament. “What we are doing is two-fold,” Indian badminton chief V.K. Verma said yesterday. “One is regulated release of cool air into the stadium and our engineers are working to see if the openings can be towards the spectators.” Cool air would be pumped in during breaks and then the air-conditioning system would be switched off, he said.
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Ninad Malwade was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
Taiwanese shortstop Cheng Tsung-che on Friday made history for the Boston Red Sox’s Triple A affiliate, hitting the Worcester Red Sox’s first cycle, while netting two runs, as they beat fellow Taiwan teammate Stuart Fairchild’s Columbus Clippers. The 24-year-old former Pittsburgh Pirates prospect went 4-4, completing a full cycle, starting with a triple in the second inning off Ryan Webb in the WooSox’s 9-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians’ Triple A affiliate. He scored in the same inning after teammate Vinny Capra, a fellow former Pirate, grounded out. The Pingtung County native followed that up with a walk in the third, an
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