COMMONWEALTH
Athletes face deportation
A group of African athletes who went missing during the Games must give themselves up or face deportation, Australian Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton said yesterday. Eight athletes from Cameroon, two from Uganda and a Rwandan para-powerlifting coach went missing after the Games, local media reported. The athletes will be in Australia illegally from midnight yesterday, when their visas expired, unless they have taken legal steps to stay. Some of the athletes had contacted a refugee advice center in Sydney, the Daily Telegraph reported. “Some have been to us for advice,” Refugee Advice and Casework Service solicitor Ben Lumsdaine told the paper.
FORMULA TWO
Driver says halo saved him
Japanese driver Tadasuke Makino said the new “halo” head protection device might have saved his life in the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday. The driver escaped uninjured after the car driven by compatriot Nirei Fukuzumi was launched into the air during the sprint race. The car came down on top of Makino’s cockpit, with the left-rear wheel hitting the halo, a titanium ring that shields the driver’s head, but has been criticized by some on aesthetic grounds. Makino told motorsport.com he thought the tire would have hit his helmet without the halo. International Automobile Federation race director Charlie Whiting agreed that Makino could have been the first beneficiary of the device. “We will do an incident investigation on that one because judging by the photos we’ve seen, and the accident itself, it looks very much as if it could have been a lot worse without the halo,” he said.
CYCLING
Allergy forces retirement
France’s double Olympic mountain bike champion Julien Absalon on Monday announced his retirement from the sport citing his allergy to pollen. “I’ve been suffering from allergies to pollen in the south of France for the past three years, mostly at the start of the season,” Absalon told the L’Equipe.fr Web site. Absalon is also allergic to pollen in the north of Europe, a condition that leaves him “struggling to breathe” and “with a taste of blood in my windpipe.” Although a therapeutic use exemption certificate would allow him to relieve the symptoms, he said: “I don’t like to take too many medicines... My main aim is now to focus 100 percent on my team Absolute Absalon and dedicate myself to managing it full time.”
FOOTBALL
Manning, Giants settle suit
Eli Manning, the New York Giants and Steiner Sports, a memorabilia company, on Monday reached a settlement that ended a civil lawsuit accusing the quarterback of fraudulently passing off helmets as “game-used.” No financial terms were announced. “The compromise agreement, entered into by all parties, should not be viewed as supporting any allegations, claims or defenses. All parties are grateful to have the matter, which began in 2014, concluded and are now focused on football, the fans and the future,” the Giants said in a statement. Plaintiffs Eric Inselberg, Michael Jakab and Sean Godown alleged that in 2010, Manning sent an e-mail asking a Giants equipment manager for two helmets that “can pass as game-used.” Manning has a deal with Steiner Sports to provide memorabilia.
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
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
TAIWANESE WIN: Chan Hao-ching and Wu Fang-hsien and their partners won their first-round matches in the women’s doubles at the All England Lawn Tennis Club Late-night finishes and five-set matches are becoming a habit for Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon this year. On Wednesday, he wrapped up his win over Gabriel Diallo before the match was suspended — making sure the fifth-seeded American would not have to come back on court for a fourth straight day. Fritz overcame a bloodied elbow to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/0), 4-6, 6-3 on No. 1 Court a day after he finished off another five-set win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in a match that was halted on Monday at about 10:15pm after Fritz forced a fifth set with Wimbledon’s 11pm curfew looming. He
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
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