SWIMMING
Dressel sets two records
Caeleb Dressel on Saturday set a pair of short-course world records at the International Swimming League final in Budapest, Hungary. Expected to be one of the top stars at next summer’s Tokyo Olympic Games, Dressel became the first swimmer to eclipse 48 seconds in the 100m butterfly, touching with a time of 47.78 seconds. About 40 minutes later, he won the 50 freestyle in 20.16, eclipsing his own short-course record by 0.08. In the 100m butterfly, the 24-year-old Florida native broke the mark of 48.08 set by South Africa’s Chad le Clos at the 2016 Short Course World Championships. Le Clos finished second in Saturday’s race at Duna Arena in 48.45.
MOTO GP
Oliveira seals top home start
Miguel Oliveira is to start his home Portuguese Grand Prix from the front of the grid after emerging quickest in qualifying on Saturday to claim his maiden MotoGP pole. The Portuguese KTM-Tech3 rider, 25, is to be joined on the front row of the season-closer in Portimao by Franco Morbidelli and Australian Jack Miller. Joan Mir’s hopes of finishing with a flourish after claiming the world title last week appear slim after he failed to make it into Q2 which determines the make-up of the front four rows. The Spaniard is to start from a lowly 20th on the grid. “Every time I’m on the circuit I feel better and better, and it’s great to get my first pole here in Portugal,” Oliveira said. Morbidelli, who won last weekend in Valencia as well as at the Teruel MotoGP earlier this season, said that he had to work hard to get on the front row. “It was tough, but to end so well is a positive,” said the Italian, who was just 0.044 seconds behind Oliveira. “It was unbelievable to get into Q2 and then almost be on pole position.” Miller said that being on the front row would be crucial today on a circuit where “it’s hard to pass.” “There’s a lot of wind in the last corner so that can be scary, but the bike has been amazing all weekend. There isn’t anyone who isn’t having fun out there,” he said.
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
Figueiredo fight over fast
Not so long ago, the UFC men’s flyweight division was so thin and so boring that Dana White considered dropping the whole weight class. A brilliant Brazilian champion nicknamed the “God of War” has changed everything for the smallest men on the roster. Deiveson Figueiredo stopped Alex Perez with a guillotine choke in the first round at UFC 255 on Saturday night, defending his men’s 125-pound (56.7kg) belt for the first time with another impressive stoppage. Figueiredo (20-1) earned his record-tying seventh stoppage victory in the 125 pound division by clamping onto Perez’s neck out of a scramble at one minute, 57 seconds into the opening round. Perez (24-6) had nearly taken Figueiredo’s back an instant before the champ finished the entertaining fight with the flair and skill that have made him a rising mixed martial arts star in the UFC’s least popular weight class. “I came in here with no pressure,” Figueiredo said. “I know this is my belt. I know I’m going to be the champion for a long time. I came here to do what I told everybody I’m going to do. I said to everybody: ‘I’m going to finish this fight in the first round,’ and I finished the fight in the first round.”
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
Italian defender Marco Curto has been banned for 10 matches for racially abusing South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan while playing for Como 1907 against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a pre-season friendly in July. Curto, who is on loan from Como to Serie B club Cesena, would serve half of the punishment immediately with the other half suspended for two years. “The player Marco Curto was found responsible for discriminatory behavior and sanctioned with a 10-match suspension,” a FIFA spokesperson said. “The player is ordered to render community services and undergo training and education with an organization approved by FIFA.” Wolves said the club would
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