CYCLING
Froome targets fifth Tour
Chris Froome on Monday said that he was “not finished yet” as his new cycling team Israel Start-Up Nation held a news conference ahead of a season in which the Briton is targeting a fifth Tour de France. Fighting back from a dreadful accident in June 2019, Froome would be 36 when the Tour rolls out of Brest, and much has happened since he last won a Tour de France in 2017. However, the steel that drove him to a magnificent seven Grand Tour titles was there in the Briton’s gaze when he outlined his plans. “Age is a state of mind. I feel relatively young in cycling years because I only got into the sport a little bit later,” he said.
SOCCER
Color-blind fans complain
Sunday’s Premier League game between Liverpool and Manchester United prompted “hundreds” of complaints from fans affected by color blindness, as they struggled to distinguish between the two kits on television, Colour Blind Awareness CEO Kathryn Albany-Ward said. United have used a white-and-black change kit this season, but switched to what supplier Adidas described as a “legend earth green” strip against Liverpool, who wore their traditional red outfit. “It happens all the time,” Albany-Ward told ESPN. “We have had Southampton versus Sheffield United and recently Liverpool versus Man United. But Sunday was the most kit clash complaints we have ever had... It affects one in 12 people.”
OLYMPIC GAMES
Medalist’s disclosure hailed
Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou praised Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou for dissolving “a conspiracy of silence” by reporting a historic allegation of sexual assault by a sports official. Bekatorou, who won a gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, last month told the Greek edition of Marie Claire that she experienced the abuse in 1998 when she was 21. Sakellaropoulou, who met Bekatorou on Monday, said that her courage offered hope to other women who had experienced similar abuse in their personal and professional lives. “I hope her brave revelation will blow like a rushing wind and sweep any hypocrisy, any cover up attempt away,” Sakellaropoulou said. “It is time to end the guilt of the victims and the impunity of the perpetrators.” Although Bekatorou has referred the case to a prosecutor, Greek law would bar any prosecution after so many years. However, since she made the allegations, other Greek athletes have also come forward and more recent cases may emerge as a result of the investigation.
ICE HOCKEY
Belarus loses cohost role
Belarus was on Monday stripped of its role as cohost of this year’s ice hockey world championship over “growing safety and security concerns related to both the rising political unrest and COVID-19.” Belarus had been due to cohost the event with Latvia in May and June, but ice hockey’s governing body, the IIHF, said that the decision to move the world championship from Minsk was “unavoidable ... due to safety and security issues that are beyond the IIHF’s control.” The ex-Soviet state has been shaken by protests against President Alexander Lukashenko’s 26-year rule ever since he claimed a sixth term in a disputed election in August last year.
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
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