CYCLING
Vine takes Australia stage
Former winner Jay Vine and defending champion Jhonatan Narvaez yesterday completed a one-two for UAE Team Emirates XRG to dominate the second stage of the Tour Down Under near Adelaide. Australia’s Vine, the 2023 winner, powered up the Corkscrew Hill the second time with Ecuador’s Narvaez hanging in on his wheel to open up a race-winning break and scatter their rivals for an untroubled sprint into the Uraidla finish. It was a huge statement by the powerful UAE team with three stages left in the UCI World Tour season opener.
Photo: EPA
BASEBALL
Mets acquire Peralta
The New York Mets on Wednesday night acquired ace pitcher Freddy Peralta and right-hander Tobias Myers from Milwaukee in a trade that sent two prized young players to the Brewers. Milwaukee received pitcher Brandon Sproat and minor league infielder/outfielder Jett Williams. Both were rated among the top 100 prospects by Baseball America. Peralta gives the Mets a frontline starter after their rotation faltered in the second half of a disappointing season last year. He is set to make US$8 million this season and can become a free agent following the World Series. Meanwhile, Kyle Tucker signed a US$240 million, four-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, choosing the two-time defending World Series champions over the Mets and World Series runners-up the Toronto Blue Jays.
SWIMMING
Russian’s body found
The body of a Russian athlete who went missing during the annual Bosphorus Cross Continental Swim in Istanbul has been found, Russia’s consulate said yesterday. “The Consulate General of Russia in Istanbul regrets to report that, according to the results of the DNA examination, the body found on Jan. 20 ... belongs to the Russian swimmer Nikolai Svechnikov,” it said in a statement sent to the RIA Novosti news agency. The 29-year-old professional swimming coach had joined the 6.5km swim between Asia and Europe on Aug. 24 alongside more than 2,800 participants from 81 countries. The Turkish Olympic Committee, which organized the event, later said he “went missing during the race.” The Istanbul Governor’s Office said security footage and the timing chip attached to his foot showed he started the race, but he “had not made it to the finish line.” Despite days of searches by the coast guard and the maritime police, his body was missing until it was found on Tuesday morning not far from where the race ended, the consulate said.
SNOWBOARDING
Hirano suffers fractures
Japanese Olympic champion Ayumu Hirano is facing a race to be fit to defend his half-pipe title at next month’s Milan-Cortina Games after sustaining fractures and bruises in a crash. The dreadlocked 27-year-old, who beat retiring American legend Shaun White to win gold at the Beijing Olympics four years ago, was injured after wiping out at a World Cup event in Switzerland on Saturday. He was left with a bleeding nose and cut mouth after hitting his face hard on his first run in the final. The Ski Association of Japan on Wednesday said that Hirano had undergone medical checks, and had sustained “multiple fractures and bruises,” but had no bone misalignments.
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah on Saturday secured his sixth Dakar Rally car title in Saudi Arabia with Luciano Benavides scraping home by two seconds to claim the motorbike title. “We’ve worked very hard since last year. I might not be showing much emotion yet, but it’s there, deep down. We are so happy to win,” al-Attiyah said at the finish. Al-Attiyah, at the wheel of a Dacia, only had to avoid a final day slip-up to top the podium after bringing his career tally of stage wins to 50 on Friday. The 55-year-old, who took clay pigeon shooting bronze at the
RSS