Aleksandra Miroslaw is feeling the weight of expectation as the only Polish climber to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, but her preparations have been near faultless thanks to her puppy.
Miroslaw, who won her two world titles in speed climbing, is not alone in her quest for an Olympic gold medal — Loki makes sure her concentration levels never dip during training sessions, always keeping her on her toes.
“He is a little disruptor. He forces me to focus more on the training and learn how to switch off my mind from distractions,” Miroslaw told reporters. “This may bring positive results during competitions, but generally, it is just fun.”
Photo: Reuters
Sport climbing is to make its Olympic debut in Tokyo in a unique format where 20 male and 20 female athletes compete over three disciplines — speed, lead and bouldering — will be judged on their combined scores.
Miroslaw said she had hoped someone else would qualify from her country, but was still excited to take the plane to Japan as “a one-person climbing team.”
“I am very proud, but at the same time I feel it is a huge responsibility because all the focus is on me, my start, my training,” she said.
Photo: Reuters
However, “I am very happy that I have succeeded and I am going for the Games,” she said.
“I always go for competitions with a smile on my face thinking I will show what I have done, what I have achieved. I truly love the stress, it doesn’t paralyze me, it mobilizes me and it is there that I feel like a fish in water,” she said.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
RSS