SURFING
Shawn Dollar breaks neck
World record-holding big wave surfer Shawn Dollar was in hospital on Wednesday with a broken neck after an accident surfing in California, his management company said. In a statement posted on the Titans of Mavericks surfing contest’s Facebook page, Dollar was said to be in stable condition after breaking his neck in four places and suffering a concussion while surfing in large waves off of California’s central coast. “I’m so thankful I’m alive and present today,” Dollar said in the statement. “Being surrounded by my loved ones through this time has been paramount for me.” Dollar, 34, also thanked the fellow surfers who came to his aid “in my scariest and darkest hour.” “I’m thankful to learn that even with these severe injuries I will make a full recovery,” he said. According to the statement, Dollar was surfing on Monday when “a strong south swell reportedly produced strong waves with unfavorable mixed conditions.” Dollar was put “in a critical scenario that caused him to act accordingly to protect himself,” the statement said. The San Jose Mercury News reported that Dollar struck his head on a rock. Dollar was recognized by Guinness World Records after dropping in on a 19m wave at the Cortes Bank, 160km west of San Diego, on Dec. 21, 2012.
ATHLETICS
Tejeda stripped of medal
Peru’s Olympic Committee says 29-year-old distance runner Gladys Tejeda has been stripped of the gold medal she won in Toronto in July’s Pan American Games because of doping. The committee said in a statement on Wednesday that Tejeda had tested positive for furosemide, a diuretic on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list because it is used to mask other drugs. Tejeda had set a games record of 2:33.03. The statement said that Tejeda would be temporarily suspended from international competition. A hero at home after the victory, Peru’s government had awarded her with a US$22,000 check. Tejeda was out of the country when the sanction was announced.
SOCCER
Delph injures hamstring
Manchester City midfielder Fabian Delph could miss up to nine games for club and country after he pulled up with a hamstring injury during England’s win over Switzerland in a Euro 2016 qualifier on Tuesday, British media reported. Delph has yet to start for his club since completing a controversial move from Aston Villa due to a hamstring injury he picked up in a pre-season friendly, although he has made two appearances for Manuel Pellegrini’s side off the bench. The 25-year-old was forced off within the first minute of England’s 2-0 win at Wembley and is expected to miss Champions League ties against Juventus and Borussia Moenchengladbach and a League Cup clash against Sunderland. He could also miss Premier League matches against Crystal Palace, West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United and England’s remaining Euro 2016 qualifiers against Estonia and Lithuania. On a more positive note for City, Brazilian midfielder Fernando is closing in on full fitness after recovering from a groin injury that he battled with for most of last season. The 28-year-old last featured for his club on May 10 and said he needed pain-killing injections before most of his 33 appearances. “I’ve been working hard to recover. I’m feeling much better now with no pain, so I will resume normal training this week and hopefully be available at some point within the next fortnight,” Fernando told the club Web site (www.mcfc.co.uk).
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
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