BOXING
Wladimir Klitschko retires
Former heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko has announced his retirement from boxing. Klitschko, 41, dominated the heavyweight scene for a decade, but lost to Britain’s Anthony Joshua in April after being knocked out in the 11th round. “As an amateur and a professional boxer, I have achieved everything I dreamed of, and now I want to start my second career after sports,” Klitschko said in a statement released by his management yesterday. Klitschko was 64-5 in a career that began in 1996 after he won Olympic gold in Atlanta.
CYCLING
Van Poppel wins fifth stage
Dutch rider Danny van Poppel on Wednesday won the fifth stage of the Tour de Pologne, just edging Slovak duo Luka Mezgec and race leader Peter Sagan at the line. The stage, the shortest on the race at just 130km, was marked by a huge pileup just 900m from the end, a consequence of the tight, twisty layout. Sagan, taking part in his first race since being booted off the Tour de France, leads the overall standings by 14 seconds from Belgium’s Dylan Teuns.
CYCLING
Trentin wins on his birthday
Italian Matteo Trentin on Wednesday celebrated his 28th birthday by winning the 153km second stage of the five-day Vuelta a Burgos in Spain. Trentin sprinted to the finish line ahead of Britain’s Adam Blythe and Dutchman Tim Ariesen, who came second and third respectively. In-form Team Sky rider Mikel Landa finished safely in the peloton after winning Tuesday’s opening stage to maintain his two-second overall lead from Russian Sergei Chernetski.
GOLF
McIlroy fires caddie friend
Rory McIlroy said he got rid of a caddie so that he could keep a friend. McIlroy parted ways with J.P. Fitzgerald after The Open Championship and is to use his best friend, Harry Diamond, as his caddie at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the PGA Championship next week. Still to be determined is how long he uses Diamond, and what McIlroy does after the PGA Championship. McIlroy said there was not one incident that led to him switching caddies. Players and caddies go through ups and downs, and they were starting to happen far too frequently, he said. McIlroy and Fitzgerald worked together for nine years. McIlroy said they remain friends and he did not want their roles as player and caddie to change that.
SOCCER
Totti shirt sent into space
AS Roma legend Francesco Totti’s iconic No. 10 shirt, which he wore for the final time on May 28, has been launched into space, the Serie A club said on Wednesday. The 40-year-old played his final game after 24 years with the capital city side in a 3-2 win against Genoa. As a tribute to “immortalize” the forward, a rocket carrying the No. 10 jersey from his final game was launched from French Guiana. “Mission complete: on Tuesday night history was made as Francesco Totti’s final shirt as a Roma player was successfully launched into space,” the club said. Totti played a total of 786 matches for Roma after joining in 1989, scoring a club record of 307 goals, and won the 2006 FIFA World Cup with Italy. The former attacking midfielder is to become a director of the Italian club.
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans. The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game. “We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about £2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Less than a week after splashing out a world-record fee for Naomi Girma, Chelsea has spent big again to bring England midfielder Keira Walsh back to the English Women’s Super League. Walsh left European champions Barcelona after more than two years to join Chelsea for a reported £400,000 (US$496,000) on Friday. Walsh was the world’s most expensive player for two years after moving to Barcelona from Manchester City for a reported £400,000 in 2022. That status now belongs to Girma, the US defender who cost Chelsea a reported £900,000 to sign from the San Diego Wave. Still, it means 27-year-old Walsh — a technically