TENNIS
Coach jailed for rape
A coach who raped four girls aged 12 to 17 was on Wednesday jailed for 18 years by a French court. Andrew Geddes, 53, carried out his attacks at two clubs to the north of Paris, from the start of 2000 and from 2009 to 2014. The court heard his first victim was 12 when she met Geddes in 1999. She said she was raped and sexually assaulted nearly 400 times until she was 14 years old. It was a pattern that was repeated with three other victims, aged 15 to 17, when they were coached by Geddes. The victims said Geddes forced them to sever links with families and friends, and subjected them to a series of violent attacks in his car, in changing rooms or during training courses.
BASEBALL
MLB halts political giving
The MLB on Wednesday said it is suspending all political contributions in the wake of last week’s invasion of the US Capitol by a mob loyal to US President Donald Trump. The NFL also said it would reconsider its donations, but did not commit to suspending them. The MLB was the first of the major US professional sports leagues since the riot to say it would halt lobbying through its PAC, which has donated US$669,375 to US Senate and House candidates since the 2016 election cycle, with 52.4 percent of the money going to Republican candidates, according to Center for Responsive Politics data. Among its lobbying successes was a bill in 2018 that exempted minor league baseball players making as little as US$5,500 per season from federal minimum wage laws, pre-empting a lawsuit from three players filed four years earlier.
SWIMMING
Keller charged over riot
American Olympic swimmer Klete Keller was on Wednesday charged in US District Court for his role in last week’s Capitol riot. A former relay teammate of Michael Phelps, Keller was charged with disorderly conduct, entering restricted grounds and obstructing law enforcement, court records showed. In videos posted online, Keller could be seen standing in the Rotunda during the riot on Wednesday last week, wearing a dark jacket with a USA Olympics patch. Keller participated in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, winning a total of five medals, including two golds.
RUGBY UNION
Top League put on hold
Japan’s Top League was put on hold on Tuesday after scores of players tested positive for COVID-19, the latest setback for sports in the country just six months before the Tokyo Olympics. The postponement of the Top League, which features stars including All Blacks Beauden Barrett and Kieran Read, comes during a surge in cases, which has prompted a state of emergency in Tokyo and other parts of Japan. Sixty-seven cases have been reported by the Top League, which was due to start tomorrow. Officials have not identified those who tested positive, or said how many are players or staff. Officials said they hope to start playing early next month and complete the season as scheduled on May 23, possibly under a new, more condensed competition format. However, they cannot rule out a late finish, which could affect Japan’s national team, who are due to play the British and Irish Lions in Edinburgh on June 26.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in has pleaded with South Korea fans to get behind the team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after more boos were aimed at coach Hong Myung-bo despite leading them to qualification. South Korea reached next year’s finals in North America without losing a game, but that does not tell the whole story. The country’s soccer association has been in the firing line, having scrambled about to find a successor after sacking the unpopular Jurgen Klinsmann in February last year. They eventually settled on Hong, the decorated former skipper who had an unsuccessful stint as coach in 2013-2014, during which
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Ferrari’s F1 fortunes might be flagging, but the Italian team start this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans as favorites, targeting a third consecutive triumph in motorsport’s fabled endurance classic. Roger Federer is acting as celebrity starter with the tennis icon getting the 93rd edition of the jewel in four-wheeled endurance racing’s crown under way tomorrow. Twenty-four hours later, through daylight, darkness and dawn, the 21 elite hypercars are to battle it out over 300 laps (more than 4,000km) in front of a sold-out 320,000 crowd burning the midnight oil with copious quantities of coffee and beer. Ferrari made a triumphant return after
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