Spanish veteran Ruth Beitia, 37, on Saturday wrote her name in the history books by winning the Olympic high jump event in Rio de Janeiro, the biggest victory of her 20-year career.
Beitia’s victory makes her the oldest ever winner of a jumping event at the Olympics. Mirela Demireva of Bulgaria took the silver medal, while Blanka Vlasic of Croatia took the bronze.
The evergreen Beitia — who made her international debut for Spain in 1996 — won on countback after clearing 1.97m with three other women.
Photo: EPA
“I’m aware that I’m 37 years old!” she said. “I think I’m one of the oldest women to win an Olympic gold medal. “Of course, I’m very proud to still be continuing up to now. Even at my age, I have the same enthusiasm and happiness.”
The victory came four years after Beitia retired from the sport following a bitterly disappointing fourth at the London 2012 Olympics.
Beitia returned to competition several months later to earn a bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow.
She came into the Olympics fresh from a victory in the European Championships in Amsterdam with a season’s best jump of 1.98m.
Beitia said the gold was the product of “26 years of work and pulling hair out.”
“I won it thanks to the work my coach Ramon Torralbo, my other half,” she said.
“The second chance he’s given me has been the opportunity to show all the work we’ve done over so many years,” she said.
“When I made my comeback after retirement I removed the stones from the backpack, I just enjoyed it with a smile,” she added.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
RSS