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.”
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
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
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
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
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