■DOPING
Three Brazilians banned
Three Brazilian athletes have been suspended for two years after testing positive for a banned substance, the Brazilian Athletics Confederation said on Thursday. Sprinters Bruno Tenorio and Jorge Celio Sena and heptathlete Lucimara Silvestre, who tested positive for recombinant EPO, waived their right to have their B samples examined to avoid a possibly more stringent punishment, the confederation said on its Web site, www.cbat.org.br. The suspension runs until June 2011.
■SWIMMING
Hardy sets world record
American Jessica Hardy set a world record of 29.95 seconds in the 50m breaststroke at the US Open Championship in Federal Way, Washington, on Thursday, setting the mark as a split time in the 100m breaststroke. Hardy broke the prior mark of 30.09 seconds set by Russia’s Yuliya Efimova last Sunday at the World Championships in Rome. Canada’s Amanda Reason had just in July trimmed the world mark of 30.31 by Australian Jade Edmistone from 2006. Hardy withdrew from last year’s US Olympic swimming trials after a positive drug test and was banned from competing for one year by a US arbitration panel. The International Swimming Federation and the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport seeking to double Hardy’s ban to two years. CAS has said it would rule before the end of next month.
■CYCLING
Ballan takes lead in Poland
Italy’s Allesandro Ballan of the Lampre team won a sprint finish for the fifth stage of the Tour of Poland in the rain on Thursday. Ballan’s success on the 163km stage from Strzyzow to Krynica Zdroj also gave him possession of the race leader’s yellow jersey. The world champion finished ahead of Spaniard Daniel Moreno and Dutch rider Pieter Weening, who are second and third in the overall standings respectively.
■FORMULA ONE
Schumacher keeps karting
Michael Schumacher continued preparing for his return to Formula One with a second day of kart racing in northern Italy on Thursday. “We had two very good karting days,” the seven-time world champion said on his Web site, www.michael-schumacher.de. “Arms, upper body, shoulders, neck — an excellent practice indeed.” The 40-year-old German is coming out of retirement to fill in at Ferrari while Brazilian Felipe Massa recovers from injuries sustained in a nasty accident in qualifying at last month’s Hungarian Grand Prix. Schumacher is not allowed to use Ferrari’s F60 car before the European Grand Prix in Valencia on Aug. 23 because the sport’s regulations ban track testing during the season.
■FOOTBALL
Snoop hangs with Ravens
Rap star Snoop Dogg joined the Baltimore Ravens at training camp practice on Thursday, watching from the sideline before ending practice by leading a chant within the team huddle. Snoop Dogg arrived at practice in Westminster, Maryland, with an entourage that included someone who held an umbrella over the star’s head. Snoop made himself comfortable on the sideline and watched for about an hour before joining the team in the middle of the field at the end of the session. After Snoop Dogg led the Ravens through a chant taught to him by linebacker Ray Lewis, practice ended with a whoop from the players — several of whom posed for pictures with the rapper.
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
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,
Throwing more than US$5 billion at a divisive new tour and walking away after five seasons does not look like good business, but LIV Golf was not all bad news for Saudi Arabia. Oil-funded LIV, which poached top stars and sent golf’s establishment into a tailspin, helped push the conservative kingdom into global view — one of its key aims, experts said. The exit, confirmed on Thursday after weeks of speculation, does not signal a flight of Saudi money from sport, even after the Middle East war that sparked Iranian attacks around the Gulf, they said. “Saudi Arabia is not
Arsenal stormed six points clear at the top of the English Premier League as Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres put Fulham to the sword in a 3-0 win, while West Ham United’s defeat at Brentford offered Tottenham Hotspur a lifeline in the battle for survival. The Gunners have stumbled toward the finish line in their quest for a first league title in 22 years, blowing a sizeable lead over Manchester City in a series of nervous displays. However, the return of Saka, making his first start in six weeks, freed up Mikel Arteta’s men in a dominant performance that shrugged
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