ATHLETICS
Burrito blamed for ban
Shelby Houlihan, the US record holder in the 1,500m and 5,000m, said that she has been banned for four years. Houlihan’s announcement on her Instagram account on Monday arrived days before the start of US Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, Oregon, for the Tokyo Games. The 28-year-old said she was notified that a test sample returned a finding for the anabolic steroid nandrolone. She said she has since learned it has “long been understood by WADA [World Anti-Doping Agency] that eating pork can lead to a false positive for nandrolone... Pig organ meat [offal] has the highest levels of nandrolone.” “We concluded that the most likely explanation was a burrito purchased and consumed approximately 10 hours before that drug test from an authentic Mexican food truck that serves pig offal,” Houlihan wrote. “I did everything I could to prove my innocence.” She said she passed a polygraph and had a hair sample analyzed, but was told on Friday last week that the Court of Arbitration for Sport, “did not accept my explanation.”
BADMINTON
Markis Kido dies at 36
Indonesian doubles badminton champion Markis Kido has died at the age of 36 after collapsing during a casual match, the Indonesian Badminton Association said. Kido, who won gold in the men’s doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, passed out while playing in Jakarta on Monday evening, and was later pronounced dead at a hospital, the association said. Kido’s longtime doubles partner Hendra Setiawan described him as an “amazing and very talented player.” In an online tribute, Setiawan wrote: “Thank you so much for being a great partner in victory and defeat.” The cause of Kido’s death was not made public, but he had high blood pressure, the association said in a statement, citing his mother, Zul Asteria. “He seems to have given his life for badminton,” she was quoted as saying.
TENNIS
Wimbledon crowds to return
This year’s Wimbledon men’s and women’s singles finals would be played with full crowds in attendance on Centre Court, the All England Club said on Monday. They would be the first outdoor sporting events in the UK to have capacity crowds since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. “We are pleased to have worked closely with the government, public health bodies, and our local authority in Merton, to confirm that ... the Championships 2021 will begin on Monday 28 June with 50 per cent capacity across the Grounds, building to full capacity crowds of 15,000 on Centre Court for the Finals weekend,” the All England Club wrote.
TENNIS
Federer wins tune-up match
Roger Federer eased into the second round of the ATP grass court tournament in Halle on Monday with a straight-sets win over qualifier Ilya Ivashka. Federer, who turns 40 in August, had few problems in his first match this season on grass to seal a 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 first-round win over Belarusian Ivashka, ranked 90th in the world. “There is room for improvement, but I am happy with my first game here on grass. I feel good,” said Federer, who is bidding to win the Halle tournament for the 11th time. The Swiss is using Halle to tune up for his bid to win a ninth title at Wimbledon.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB