FORMULA ONE
McLaren staff treated after fire
Three team members needed medical attention after a small fire in a garage during a private filming day at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo, Spain, on Friday, McLaren said. “The fire was quickly extinguished by the team and circuit emergency services attended immediately,” McLaren added on Twitter. The three employees were treated at the circuit medical center and released soon after. Formula One’s first pre-season test finished at the circuit on Thursday. The second four-day test starts on Tuesday, with the opening race of the season in Australia on March 17.
ATHLETICS
Court to rule in Semenya case
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Friday said it would deliver a decision in the controversial case pitting South African double Olympic champion Caster Semenya against the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Semenya is challenging proposals by the IAAF that aim to restrict female athletes’ testosterone levels. In a statement, the Lausanne-based court said that the week-long hearing, which wrapped up on Friday, was “one of the most pivotal CAS cases” the tribunal has heard. The three-panel would announce their verdict “on or before March 26,” the court said.
BASEBALL
Pitch clock use phased in
A 20-second pitch clock is to be phased in in three stages during spring training, with the start of ball and strike penalties depending on negotiations with the players’ association. The pitch clock would not be enforced this weekend, Major League Baseball said on Friday, adding that beginning early this week, umpires would issue reminders to batters and pitchers who violate the clock. MLB did not give a date for when it might start ball and strike penalties. The clock would start when a pitcher is in possession of the ball on the mound, and the pitcher must start his windup or move toward a set position within the 20 seconds. A hitter must be in the batter’s box and alert to the pitcher with at least five seconds left.
POLE VAULT
Record holder out with injury
Pole vault world record holder Renaud Lavillenie is to miss the European Athletics Indoor Championships that starts in Glasgow on Friday next week after failing to recover in time from a hamstring injury, the Frenchman announced on Friday. “I’m in a recovery period and that means I either make the same mistakes as I have these past two years — I try to jump, I potentially injure myself and then I lose time on summer preparation — or I learn from my mistakes and take my time,” said Lavillenie, who set the world record of 6.16m in February 2014.
OLYMPICS
Depressed Gold eyes rebound
Two-time US figure skating champion Gracie Gold on Friday said that she still struggles with depression, but is targeting the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games as she begins a comeback at age 23. Gold helped US women capture a bronze medal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, but told NBC’s Today show that she struggled with her self-image even then. She faces challenges on and off the ice knowing there are no easy solutions. “Treatment and therapy isn’t like this magic wand where it’s just, like, fixed,” Gold said. “The Beijing Games in 2022 would be like the ultimate dream — and if I could win a world medal... Winning a world medal would almost be more important to me than going to another Olympics.”
HEATED RIVALRY: The pair had met 14 times previously, with Sabalenka winning eight of the encounters and entering the final as the favorite to take the title Elena Rybakina took revenge over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to win a nail-biting Australian Open final yesterday and clinch her second Grand Slam title. The big-serving Kazakh fifth seed held her nerve to pull through 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne in 2 hours, 18 minutes. It was payback after the Belarusian Sabalenka won the 2023 final between two of the hardest hitters in women’s tennis. The ice-cool Rybakina, 26, who was born in Moscow, adds her Melbourne triumph to her Wimbledon win in 2022. It was more disappointment in a major final for Sabalenka, who won the US Open
GUNNING FOR A WIN: The victory sending Arsenal to the final for the first time in six years was cathartic for a team who had lost their previous four semi-finals Arsenal on Tuesday reached the League Cup final for the first time in eight years as Kai Havertz sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the semi-final second leg. Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium. It was a cathartic triumph for the Gunners, who had lost their previous four semi-finals in last year’s UEFA Champions League and League Cup, the 2022 League Cup and the 2021 UEFA Europa League. In their first final for six years,
Denver superstar Nikola Jokic returned from a 16-game injury absence to post a 31-point, 12-rebound double-double on Friday and propel the Nuggets to a 122-109 NBA victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic had not played since suffering a bone bruise in the left knee he hyperextended in a game against Miami on Dec. 29 last year. The Serbian big man did not miss a beat. He led all scorers, connecting on eight of 11 shots from the field, and also handed out five assists with three steals while playing just 24 minutes, 32 seconds as the
DEADLINE DAY: Rennes’ Jacquet had been linked with a transfer to Chelsea earlier this month, but was reportedly put off the move due to the Blues’ bloated squad Liverpool on Monday won the race to sign Stade Rennais defender Jeremy Jacquet on the quiet final day of the English Premier League transfer window, while Crystal Palace swooped for Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Jorgen Strand Larsen despite the collapse of Jean-Philippe Mateta’s move to AC Milan. The Reds agreed a reported fee of up to ￡60 million (US$82 million) for the highly rated Jacquet. However, the 20-year-old will not join the Premier League champions until the summer despite Liverpool’s need for defensive reinforcements. Jacquet had been linked with a transfer to Chelsea earlier this month, but was reportedly put off
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