ATHLETICS
Runner admits stabbing
An English champion fell runner yesterday admitted to the attempted murder of former rugby union player turned athletics administrator Ralph Knibbs. Lauren Jeska, 41, pleaded guilty to attempting to kill Knibbs, who was stabbed at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, England, in March. Jeska also admitted two charges of having a knife in a public place, during a video-link appearance at Birmingham Crown Court. Knibbs, British Athletics’s head of human resources and welfare, was in court to hear Jeska enter her pleas from a video suite at Foston Hall prison in Derbyshire, England. Judge Philip Parker was told Jeska had been the subject of psychiatric assessment, but that further reports would be needed before she was sentenced on Nov. 15. Fell running, also known as hill or mountain running, is an established sport in rural areas of Britain.
OLYMPICS
Ali to get posthumous nod
The first Jesse Owens Olympic Spirit Award will recognize the late Muhammad Ali. The Owens Award was started this year, the 80th anniversary of Owens’ four-gold-medal performance at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, and is to be presented annually to recognize Olympians who have served as an inspiration in society. Owens’ granddaughter, Marlene Dortch, will present the award at next week’s Best of the Games awards ceremony to Ali’s widow, Lonnie. Ali won the gold medal at the Rome 1960 Olympics, then took three world heavyweight championships — in 1964, 1974 and 1978.
RUGBY UNION
Thorn set for comeback
Rugby World Cup winner Brad Thorn is expected to make his return to top-class rugby at the age of 41 tomorrow after he was named in the Queensland Country squad to play in Australia’s National Rugby Championship. New Zealand-born Thorn ended his international rugby career after the All Blacks won the 2011 World Cup, but continued to play for Irish side Leinster, the Otago Highlanders and then English club Leicester Tigers until last year. Thorn never officially retired and when he joined the Queensland Reds he hinted he would be keen to participate in this year’s competition if needed. He did not play for the Reds but became a player-coach under former Wallabies loose forward Toutai Kefu for Queensland Country in Australia’s third tier competition and was named in the squad for tomorrow’s clash against the Western Sydney Rams.
NFL
Peterson to undergo surgery
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson on Wednesday said he will undergo surgery on his injured knee this week as his team acknowledged he might be sidelined for the rest of the season. Peterson, 31, told ESPN he was scheduled to go under the knife yesterday to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee following last weekend’s win over the Green Bay Packers. “[I’m] doing it with faith and optimism,” Peterson told ESPN. ESPN reported that Peterson, the leading running back in the NFL last season, had suffered what was known as a “bucket handle tear.” The typical recovery time for the injury was between three and six months, ESPN reported.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
RSS