ATHLETICS
Kenyan wins London race
Eliud Kipchoge won the London Marathon on Sunday, leading home a Kenyan top four ahead of defending champion Wilson Kipsang. Kipchoge, a former world 5,000m champion, completed the 42.2km route in 2 hours, 4 minutes, 42 seconds in overcast conditions in the British capital. “It was a tough race,” said the 30-year-old, who won the Chicago and Rotterdam marathons last year. “My training paid off and it went to plan. The crowd were wonderful and lifted me for my sprint finish.” Tigist Tufa became only the second Ethiopian woman to win in London, emulating Derartu Tulu’s triumph in 2001. The 28-year-old Tufa won her first major marathon in 2 hours, 23 minutes, 22 seconds, with two-time winner Mary Keitany of Kenya 18 seconds adrift. “The weather was very difficult for me, and I found it a very slow race until the end and I was pushed,” Tufa said. “I was unwell at the end, but I am very happy that I am OK now. I’ve always dreamed about winning the London Marathon.”
BADMINTON
Lee banned for doping
Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong-wei was yesterday handed a backdated eight-month ban for doping by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), keeping alive the former world No. 1’s dream of winning gold at the Rio Olympics next year. The 32-year-old Malaysian, twice an Olympic silver medalist, had been under a provisional suspension since November last year after testing positive for anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone during the world championships three months earlier. Lee, the winner of 55 titles around the world, had his case heard by a three-member panel in Amsterdam on April 11 and faced a two-year ban, which would have all but ended his career, but the Kuala Lumpur-based BWF opted for a softer sentence. Lee will be eligible to compete again on Friday. “The panel is convinced this is not a case of doping with intent to cheat,” the world governing body said in a statement.
ICE HOCKEY
Crosby makes Canada squad
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ center Sidney Crosby was added to Canada’s world hockey championship squad on Sunday after his team was eliminated from the NHL playoffs. Crosby, who won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player in 2007 and last year, became available when the Penguins were ousted by the New York Rangers after five games of their first-round series. The 27-year-old center has previously represented Canada six times during his illustrious career, most significantly at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, where he scored the game-winning goal against the US in the gold medal final. Crosby joins a strong Canadian roster that includes fellow forwards Claude Giroux (the Philadelphia Flyers), Taylor Hall (the Edmonton Oilers) and Tyler Seguin (the Dallas Stars).
MOTOR RACING
Schumacher Jr wins F4 race
Michael Schumacher’s 16-year-old son, Mick, on Sunday sprayed the winner’s champagne after capping an impressive debut weekend in German Formula Four with the first victory of his motor-racing career. Competing for the Dutch-based Van Amersfoort Racing team, the German lined up second on the grid for the last of three races at Oschersleben and made a quick getaway to lead from the start. Schumacher, who leads the rookie standings and is fifth overall in the championship, ended the 30-minute race behind the safety car with Australian teammate Joey Mawson second and fellow rookie Thomas Preining third.
HSIEH ADVANCES: In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei was to play in the second round last night, but Taiwan’s Ray Ho exited in the men’s doubles It is more than 10 years since Grigor Dimitrov reached his sole Wimbledon semi-final and back then it still seemed a reasonable bet that the Bulgarian once dubbed “Baby Federer” would win a Grand Slam title. There were semi-final runs at the US Open and Australian Open after that, but it has never quite happened and despite him still being ranked No. 21, it most likely never will. Dimitrov, 34, remains one of the most stylish players on the circuit though, with his elegant single-handed backhand and smooth all-court game a rare reminder of how tennis was before the power merchants turned
Spain are the favorites to win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, but star player Aitana Bonmati’s illness ahead of the tournament raises another question mark around a side which, despite their obvious quality, are not unstoppable. Having claimed the last two Ballon d’Or awards, Barcelona midfielder Bonmati is the game’s biggest star at present, so her absence in the final days before the start of Euro 2025 is a major setback. The 27-year-old came down with a fever in training last week, and was subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with viral meningitis. Bonmati was discharged on Sunday and joined up with
INJURY TURMOIL: Despite stunning French Open champions Paolini and Errani to advance, Chan was forced to pull out after her partner’s tearful women’s singles defeat Last year’s mixed doubles champions Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Poland’s Jan Zielinski on Monday crashed out of the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, leaving the Taiwanese star focused on pursuing a fifth women’s doubles title in London, while a partner injury forced compatriot Chan Hao-ching to give up on her doubles campaign. Hsieh and Zielinksi, who last year also won the Australia Open title, narrowly lost their opening set 7-6 (9/7), before Britain’s Joe Salisbury and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani stunned the former champions 6-3 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The Taiwanese-Polish duo had been dominant in the first two
Real Madrid’s FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund had taken three crazy turns during nine minutes of second-half stoppage time when Marcel Sabitzer chested the ball and sent a right-footed volley toward Thibaut Courtois’ post. Courtois leapt to his right, extended the long arm on his 2m frame and just managed to get his gloved fingertips on the ball, knocking it down. Courtois hit the ground as the ball bounded up. He looked skyward, planted his right hand to regain his balance, grabbed the ball with both hands on the second bounce and fell onto it with his chest. Sabitzer turned
RSS