TENNIS
Serena Williams wins prize
Serena Williams has been awarded Spain’s Princess of Asturias Prize for Sports for her stellar tennis career, organizers said yesterday. The 43-year-old American won 73 career singles titles, including 23 Grand Slams. She in 2022 said that she was stepping away from tennis to focus on her family and business interests. The 50,000 euros (US$56,684) award is one of eight annual prizes covering different areas, including arts, literature and science among others.
MOUNTAINEERING
Climber released in Nepal
Ukrainian climber Andrew Ushakov, who completed a journey from sea level to the summit of Mount Everest in a record four days, has been released on bail following his arrest for carrying undeclared foreign currency, a Nepalese official said on Tuesday. “If he chooses to raise hands [not fight the case in court] he forfeits the bail money,” Nepalese Department of Revenue Investigation Director-General Chandi Prasad Ghimire said. He had previously said the bail was set at US$60,000 — three times the amount allegedly carried by Ushakov, 40, when he was taken into custody on Sunday. Ushakov, a structural engineer who lives in the US, flew from New York to Nepal on May 15 before scaling Everest without the usual period of several weeks of acclimatization.
CYCLING
Roglic out of Giro d’Italia
Giro d’Italia favorite Primoz Roglic on Tuesday abandoned the race after suffering a crash on a downhill section alongside Richard Carapaz on stage 16. The 203km ride from Piazzola sul Brenta to San Valentino was plagued by heavy rainfall, leading to several crashes. The 2023 winner’s title bid had already suffered a major blow after a crash on Saturday, his third in a week.
OLYMPICS
Berlin seeks 2036 Games
Berlin has formally presented its bid to host the Olympics in the same stadium where Jesse Owens starred during the 1936 Games under the Nazis. Berlin Senator for Interior, Digitalization and Sport Iris Spranger on Tuesday said the city wants to put on a sustainable Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036, 2040 or 2044, by refurbishing existing sports venues. She gave few details during a presentation, saying the bid was still at concept phase. Many Berliners oppose staging the Olympics at all, regardless of them potentially taking place on the 100th anniversary of the Games already hosted by the Nazis. An initiative called “NOlympia Berlin” has announced plans to block it by collecting enough signatures to force a referendum.
GYMNASTICS
Olympian Retton arrested
Olympic gymnastics champion Mary Lou Retton was arrested for driving under the influence earlier this month, records on the West Virginia Judiciary Web site showed. The 57-year-old was charged with “driving under influence of alcohol, controlled substances, or drugs” on May 17 after police responded to reports of someone driving a Porsche erratically. Retton was slurring her words when police stopped her, and officers saw a container of wine on the passenger seat of her car, the report said. She refused to take a breath test and was released after posting a US$1,500 bond.
Badminton world No. 3 Anders Antonsen clinched his first Indonesia Open title yesterday after beating Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, while South Korea’s An Se-young won her second championship in Jakarta. The 28-year-old Dane sank world No. 7 Chou at the Indonesian capital’s Istora Senayan arena, winning 22-20, 21-14 in a 60-minute match to secure the prestigious Super 1000 event. Antonsen came out on top in a tightly contested first game before cruising to victory in the second. In a more closely fought women’s singles final, South Korean ace and world No. 1 An fought back from one game down to beat China’s
Italy crashed to a 3-0 loss away to Norway, as the four-time FIFA World Cup champions made a disastrous start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign on Friday, while Belgium had to settle for a draw in North Macedonia. Alexander Sorloth, Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland all scored in the first half in pouring rain in Oslo as Norway made it a night to forget for Italy, who missed out on the past two World Cups. “I have no explanation. Our supporters don’t deserve this kind of match. We need to do some soul-searching. It’s unacceptable,” Italy captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi
‘STILL’: In front of a packed New Jersey arena attended by Donald Trump and Mike Tyson, UFC 316 delivered high drama as Merab Dvalishvili retained his title Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili scored a second-round submission win over Sean O’Malley to retain his bantamweight title at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 316 on Saturday, with Kayla Harrison also winning by submission in the co-main event, tapping out Juliana Pena to claim the women’s bantamweight crown. In front of a packed crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, which included US President Donald Trump and retired heavyweight great Mike Tyson, Dvalishvili, a 34-year-old from the country of Georgia, won the belt in a convincing, although not aesthetically pleasing, unanimous decision. Dvalishvili (19-4) sat on top of the cage and shouted
Manchester City on Monday completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported ￡31 million (US$41.8 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016-2017, City are hoping
RSS