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Lexi Thompson looks to make waves in Tampa Bay at Aramco Team Series presented by PIF

Lexi Thompson looks to make waves in Tampa Bay at Aramco Team Series presented by PIF
Major winner and Solheim Cup star Lexi Thompson is to spearhead an array of golf talents at Tampa Bay in Florida in the Aramco Team Series presented by the Public Investment Fund from March 8-10. (Supplied)
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Updated 08 March 2024
Arab News
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Lexi Thompson looks to make waves in Tampa Bay at Aramco Team Series presented by PIF

Lexi Thompson looks to make waves in Tampa Bay at Aramco Team Series presented by PIF
  • Golfer is chasing her 16th professional win, second triumph in series
  • ‘It was a no-brainer to put myself in contention for the event,’ she says
Updated 08 March 2024
Arab News
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FLORIDA, US: Major winner and Solheim Cup star Lexi Thompson is to spearhead an array of golf talents at Tampa Bay in Florida in the Aramco Team Series presented by the Public Investment Fund from March 8-10.
Gearing up for its fourth year, the series is taking place at Tampa Bay for the first time, with the elite of women’s golf set to compete at Feather Sound Country Club, Clearwater.
Chasing her 16th professional win, Thompson is looking to add a second Aramco Team Series presented by PIF trophy to her collection.
The favorite will not be short of hungry competition with last year’s winner Carlota Ciganda seeking to prove her worth once again.
Thompson said: “With the Aramco Team Series returning to Florida this year, it was a no-brainer to put myself in contention for the event. It’s always great to be able to compete at home with that local support, especially to do so in such a unique tournament that has so much collaborative spirit.”
To triumph at home in the Aramco Team Series would be a highlight for the sporting star.
She added: “To be a part of an event that not only celebrates skill but also champions women’s golf, at home and beyond, is truly special.”
Shane Crawford, the general manager at Feather Sound Country Club, said: “Hosting an event of this caliber allows us to contribute to the continued growth of golf here in Tampa, and we look forward to creating an unforgettable experience for participants and spectators alike.”
Established in 2021, the Aramco Team Series presented by PIF is a unique three-day event in which teams of three professionals and one amateur combine, battling for the prestigious team trophy. The overall top performing golfer challenges for the individual title and a win on the Ladies European Tour.
The series spans five locations across three continents this year: Tampa Bay, Seoul, London, a city in Asia yet to be announced, and Riyadh — with a $1 million prize purse at stake in each event.
The Florida event is the only opportunity for European golfers on the LET to get solid experience on US soil before heading back there to do battle for the Solheim Cup later in the year.

Topics: Aramco team Series PIF Solheim Cup Lexi Thompson

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After months of grumbling, Parisians join the Olympics party

After months of grumbling, Parisians join the Olympics party
Updated 40 sec ago
AFP
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After months of grumbling, Parisians join the Olympics party

After months of grumbling, Parisians join the Olympics party
  • The mood has shifted noticeably in the capital since the rain-soaked opening ceremony on July 26, with better weather, spectacular venues and the emergence of new national sporting heroes
  • The boisterous “Champions Park,” an Olympics innovation that sees medalists greet the public after their events, has been packed out with 27,000 people daily
Updated 40 sec ago
AFP

PARIS: After all the doubts, the grumbling and the gloom, Paris has finally embraced the Olympics, with some of its famously cynical residents even returning early from holidays to take part in the fun.

“My brother’s coming back early because I told him it’s brilliant,” 42-year-old Morad Sahbani told AFP as he pushed a pram at a packed fanzone in northwest Paris where thousands of locals were cheering on French medal hopefuls.

“I knew it was going to be good. We French like to criticize ourselves a lot, but in the end we do it well,” he added. “These Olympics have been a success... Lots of people regret not being here.”

The mood has shifted noticeably in the capital since the rain-soaked opening ceremony on July 26, with better weather, spectacular venues and the emergence of new national sporting heroes like swimmer Leon Marchand helping spark national pride.

Many wealthy Parisians fled the city for long summer vacations in July, deliberately avoiding what they expected to be Olympic transport gridlock, tourist overload and a security crackdown.

But those who stayed say they are enjoying the relaxed summer vibes, the intermingling with foreign sports fans, as well as free entertainment for anyone unable to afford the often astronomical ticket prices.

Fanzones with giant screens are packed and around 160,000 people are booking slots each evening to see the Olympic cauldron rise near the Louvre museum for free.

The boisterous “Champions Park,” an Olympics innovation that sees medalists greet the public after their events, has been packed out with 27,000 people daily.

“We’ve been really enjoying it,” Celia Damase, a 41-year-old mother of two, said at the fanzone in the northwestern 17th district.

Her children have been making use of free sports activities put on by Paris authorities and “the city feels friendlier than usual,” she said.

The concept for the Paris Games was to use the city as a stage and backdrop for the Olympics, rather than build new infrastructure at out-of-town locations, which was the model of many host cities in the past.

Much of the sport has taken place at temporary central locations, with skateboarding at the Place de la Concorde, fencing in the Grand Palais exhibition space, and beach volleyball in front of the Eiffel Tower.

“We don’t need new stadiums,” said Agathe Chaigneau, a 50-year-old Parisian art dealer as she crossed the gilded Alexandre III bridge, the start point for the triathlon and marathon swimming.

“They’ve turned the city into a giant stadium. It’s marvellous,” she added.

Inside and outside venues, athletes and reporters have been left startled by the enthusiasm of the crowds.

Benoit Arrault, an air conditioning technician, attended the rugby 7s where France won a first gold under talismanic captain Antoine Dupont at a packed 80,000-capacity national stadium.

“I’ve never known an atmosphere like it at a rugby game,” the 43-year-old told AFP.

Around 500,000 people lined the streets for the cycling road race last weekend, while big crowds are expected again for the marathons on Saturday and Sunday.

French triathlon bronze medalist Leo Bergere said he had been surprised by the decibels as he ran through the city last week.

“It hurt our ears all the way round,” he told reporters with a smile.

With the plaudits building up, organizers are enjoying the chance to remind their critics that they had confidence all along.

Throughout the build up, they had insisted that the worries and complaints were a normal part of the Olympics host city experience, while Games supremo Tony Estanguet also blamed a national tendency for pessimism.

Paris deputy mayor Pierre Rabadan reminded reporters this week that he had spent a lot of time defending the Olympics from “widespread skepticism.”

“But we were convinced that we could produce this result,” he said, saying the public enthusiasm city authorities had always believed in was “now a fact.”

Not everything has gone to plan: the River Seine has regularly failed water quality tests, disrupting the triathlon.

The opening ceremony sparked a row about whether its artistic director had mocked Christianity with a drag queen dance routine.

Taxi drivers and restaurant owners say their businesses have been badly affected. The country still has no permanent government and political infighting surely awaits in September.

But for now, locals like Martine Pinto, a 46-year-old who runs a shop, are enjoying the moment.

“Everyone thought you wouldn’t be able to move around, that transport would be difficult and in the end it’s all fine. I think there are definitely people who regret leaving,” she told AFP.

Topics: Paris Olympics

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US exit beach volleyball at Paris Olympics without a medal after men’s quarterfinal loss against Qatar

US exit beach volleyball at Paris Olympics without a medal after men’s quarterfinal loss against Qatar
Updated 08 August 2024
AP
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US exit beach volleyball at Paris Olympics without a medal after men’s quarterfinal loss against Qatar

US exit beach volleyball at Paris Olympics without a medal after men’s quarterfinal loss against Qatar
  • The 21-14, 21-16 loss to the Qatari team of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan in the quarterfinals on Wednesday made it the first American medal shutout
  • Defending men’s champions Anders Berntsen Mol and Christian Sandlie Sorum of Norway also impressed under the lights
Updated 08 August 2024
AP

PARIS: Miles Partain and Andy Benesh couldn’t stop the slide so the US are leaving beach volleyball at the Paris Olympics without a medal for the first time.

The 21-14, 21-16 loss to the Qatari team of Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan in the quarterfinals on Wednesday made it the first American medal shutout since the sport was added to the Olympic program at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Partain and Benesh carried American hopes with both women’s teams and the other men’s team already out of the tournament.

“I wish one of our teams did (win a medal),” Partain said. “We did the best we could.”

Benesh said the lack of American medals in the sport at the Paris Games was not necessarily because of a drop in the team’s level, but more because the general standard of play has gone up.

“It’s a little bit different than it was 20 years ago. There’s a lot of competition around the world,” Benesh said. “As a fan of beach volleyball it’s fun to watch, people are playing with different styles in men’s and women’s (competition).”

The American pair led 12-11 in the first set at Eiffel Tower Stadium, but some sloppy shot-making allowed the Qataris to pull away. Younousse and Tijan drew roars from the night-time crowd with some of their improvised moves.

“Qatar played really well,” Benesh said. “We just didn’t execute as well as them.”

The Qataris still have a chance to do better than in Tokyo three years ago, when their bronze was the first Olympic medal in beach volleyball for any Middle Eastern country.

“We are living our dream. We don’t have any expectations, we are just dreaming,” Younousse said. “It’s an amazing opportunity to play here in front of the Eiffel Tower with this amazing atmosphere.”

Defending men’s champions Anders Berntsen Mol and Christian Sandlie Sorum of Norway also impressed under the lights. They won 21-16, 21-17, beating Pablo Herrera Allepuz — a silver medalist at the 2004 Athens Games — and Adrian Gavira Collado of Spain.

Mol showed some soccer skills countryman Erling Haaland might have been proud of, rescuing a seemingly lost point with a smart flick of his right foot. The ball squirted up and Soerum won the point, then hugged Mol.

Norway clinched the first set when Mol pounced at the net for a smart block. Soerum’s spike at the net then won the match as a breeze cooled fans after some intense heat in the French capital. Mol celebrated with a spectacular backflip and Sorum didn’t bother trying to match him, settling for a comedic-looking backward roll.

They face the German pair of Clemens Wickler and Nils Ehlers in Thursday’s semifinals, while the Qataris will play Swedish jump-set specialists David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig.

In the women’s quarterfinals earlier Wednesday, the top-ranked Brazilian team of Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda Santos Lisboa beat Anastasija Samoilova and Tina Graudina of Latvia 21-16, 21-10.

The Brazilians sank to their knees and then hugged each other after winning on the second match point when Samoilova’s serve hit the net.

“It was difficult to read their serve, there was a lot of variation,” Silva Ramos said through a translator. “But we recovered well.”

The Latvian pair had taken an early 6-0 lead over the Brazilians, but it didn’t last.

“Obviously they are better than that as a team, and brought it back to their level,” Graudina said.

Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson of Canada reached the semifinals by beating Daniela Alvarez Mendoza and Tania Moreno Matveeva of Spain 21-18, 21-18.

Canada clinched a back-and-forth first set when Moreno Matveeva served long. After winning on their second match point, the Canadians dipped under the net and celebrated in front a handful of their flag-waving fans.

In Thursday’s semifinals, the Brazilians will face the Australian team of Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy — silver medalists at the Tokyo Games three years ago — while the Canadians take on Nina Brunner and Tanja Hueberli of Switzerland.

Topics: Paris Olympics

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Lin moves into Olympic gold medal fight, Hall lands 400m track title

Lin moves into Olympic gold medal fight, Hall lands 400m track title
Updated 08 August 2024
AFP
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Lin moves into Olympic gold medal fight, Hall lands 400m track title

Lin moves into Olympic gold medal fight, Hall lands 400m track title
  • Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting called it “a tough journey” after claiming a unanimous points decision victory over Esra Yildiz Kahraman of Turkiye at 57kg in her semifinal
  • On the track, American sprinter Quincy Hall lunged at the line to win a gripping men’s 400 meters
  • At Golf National, home favorite Celine Boutier delighted the crowds as she cruised into a three-shot lead after the opening round of the women’s golf event
Updated 08 August 2024
AFP

PARIS: One of the two boxers who have sparked a gender eligibility row won again at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday to ensure she has a shot at a gold medal.

Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting called it “a tough journey” after claiming a unanimous points decision victory over Esra Yildiz Kahraman of Turkiye at 57kg in her semifinal.

That win came 24 hours after Algeria’s Imane Khelif reached her final.

After the decision came through, the Turk made an X sign with her fingers, just as another of Lin’s beaten opponents had done in a previous bout.

Kahraman refused to say afterwards what it meant. In most cases, males have both an X and Y chromosome, while females have two X chromosomes.

Lin and Khelif are competing in Paris despite being disqualified from the world championships last year by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after reportedly failing gender eligibility tests.

On the track, American sprinter Quincy Hall lunged at the line to win a gripping men’s 400 meters.

Hall became the fourth fastest one-lap runner in history when he denied Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith gold in a time of 43.40sec.

It ended a 16-year drought for the USA in the event. Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga took bronze.

“I don’t give up,” said Hall. “I just got grit. I grind. I got determination.

“Anything that I can think of, that’s what gets me to that line. I think of all the hurt, all the pain.”

Noah Lyles put himself in a position to go for an Olympic sprint double on Thursday, looking comfortable in finishing second in his semifinal behind Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo.

Lyles, who won the closest 100m final in modern Olympic history by just five thousandths of a second on Sunday, will be hot favorite to become the first man since Usain Bolt at the 2016 Rio Olympics to achieve the 100m-200m double.

In other athletics action in the Stade de France Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali joined an elite group of Arab double gold winners by taking his second consecutive 3,000m steeplechase title.

Only his Moroccan compatriot Hicham El Guerrouj, who won 1500m and 5,000m gold at Athens 2004, and Tunisian swimmer Oussama Mellouli (1500m freestyle in Beijing 2008 and 10km marathon in London 2012) have achieved the feat.

Jamaica’s Roje Stona achieved an upset men’s discus win and Nina Kennedy took Australia’s first ever pole vault Olympic title.

Keegan Palmer of Australia won his second consecutive Olympic men’s park skateboard title with some spectacular moves.

American rapper Snoop Dogg was among the fans at the Place de la Concorde venue to see if Palmer could retain the title he won when skateboarding made its Olympic debut in Tokyo three years ago.

The US-born 21-year-old did not disappoint, leading from start to finish. American Tom Schaar won silver and Brazil’s Augusto Akio bronze.

Keegan said his goal was to skate on to the 2032 Brisbane Olympics — providing he can keep his younger rivals at bay. “Definitely the goal is to do Brisbane because it’s where I grew up, it’s where I learned to skate,” he said.

“But you’ve just got to keep up with these kids coming through because skateboarding is a young generation sport.”

At Golf National, home favorite Celine Boutier delighted the crowds as she cruised into a three-shot lead after the opening round of the women’s golf event.

Boutier poured in eight birdies in a brilliant seven-under-par round of 65.

South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai is second, while reigning champion Nelly Korda battled back from a poor opening stretch of holes to finish on even par, seven strokes behind Boutier.

The first gold of the weightlifting program went to Li Fabin, who retained his Olympic 61-kilogramtitle.

In track cycling, Australia ended a 20-year wait to claim the Olympic men’s team pursuit gold medal while the road race champion from these Games, Kristen Faulkner, helped power the United States to the women’s title.

On another lightning quick day at the velodrome, Dutch star Harrie Lavreysen shattered the men’s sprint world record, stopping the clock at 9.088sec.

Host nation France were eliminated in men’s handball, an event they had hoped would produce a gold medal, when the reigning champions lost 35-34 to Germany.

In other developments, Australian Olympic field hockey player Tom Craig was arrested on suspicion of buying cocaine from a dealer in Paris. His team said he was later released with a warning from a French judge.

In the medals table, the USA moved onto 27 golds, two ahead of China while Australia moved into third place with 18 golds.

Topics: Paris Olympics

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Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali retains Olympic steeplechase title

Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali retains Olympic steeplechase title
Updated 07 August 2024
AFP
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Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali retains Olympic steeplechase title

Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali retains Olympic steeplechase title
  • El Bakkali timed 8min 06.05sec for victory with American Kenneth Rooks taking silver in 8:06.41
  • The 28-year-old El Bakkali arrived in Paris with a target on his back, having won the last three global championships
Updated 07 August 2024
AFP

PARIS: Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali retained his Olympic 3000m steeplechase title on Wednesday to become just the third Arab to win double gold.
El Bakkali timed 8min 06.05sec for victory with American Kenneth Rooks taking silver in 8:06.41 and Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot claiming bronze (8:06.47).
The 28-year-old El Bakkali arrived in Paris with a target on his back, having won the last three global championships.
After first triumphing at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, when he became the first non-Kenyan runner to win the Olympic steeplechase title since 1980, he confirmed his status with back-to-back victories in world championships in Eugene and Budapest.
His second Olympic gold in the French capital leaves him in rare company among Arab athletes to have doubled up at the Summer Games.
Only his Moroccan compatriot Hicham El Guerrouj, who won 1500m and 5,000m gold in Athens 2004, and Tunisian swimmer Oussama Mellouli (1500m freestyle in Beijing 2008 and 10km marathon in London 2012) have achieved the feat.

Topics: Paris Olympics Morocco Soufiane El Bakkali

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Brazilians smash beach volleyball opponents in Olympic march

Brazilians smash beach volleyball opponents in Olympic march
Updated 07 August 2024
AFP
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Brazilians smash beach volleyball opponents in Olympic march

Brazilians smash beach volleyball opponents in Olympic march
  • The top-seeded Brazilians quickly regained and overtook lost ground to secure the first set
  • The duo made it look easy as they romped to victory in just 32 minutes
Updated 07 August 2024
AFP

PARIS: Women’s beach volleyball favorites Brazil resolutely ended the Olympic hopes of their Latvian opponents in the women’s quarter-finals Wednesday, continuing their unbeaten streak in a defiant Paris Games.
Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda Santos Lisboa fought Latvian pair Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova in a game which showcased their deserved reputation as world-class players.
The pair took a while to find their footing, however, making clunky errors in the opening minutes that saw the Latvians claim an easy first six points — before the fightback began.
The top-seeded Brazilians quickly regained and overtook lost ground to secure the first set, and by the second set there was no doubt who was in charge.
The duo made it look easy as they romped to victory in just 32 minutes, winning the second set 21/10 to the delight of an army of Brazilian fans filling the stands of the stadium in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
Supporters in green and yellow T-shirts, hats and wigs waved flags, whooping and whistling every point as though it was a gold medal.
The Brazilian victors ran around the stadium after the game, posing for photos and high-fiving fans who lingered despite the best efforts of security to usher them out.
Silva Ramos and Santos Lisboa first teamed up in 2014 to win the gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games, but competed with different partners in Tokyo 2020 — with less successful results — and decided to reunite again for Paris.
They will now face Tokyo 2020 silver medallists Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar from Australia in the semifinals on Thursday at 9:00 p.m. (1900 GMT).
In the day’s earlier quarter-final, Spain’s Daniela Alvarez Mendoza and Tania Moreno Matveeva took on a dominant Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson from Canada.
Every point hard was fought-for as the score sheet crawled up matching point by point, with fans on their feet as an ecstatic Canadian pair snatched victory to secure the final point.
Wearing distinctive one-shoulder white bikinis and colorful reflective sunglasses, Humana-Paredes and Swiss-born Wilkerson bettered their Tokyo record, where they made it as far as the quarter-finals.
They will now play Switzerland’s Tanja Hueberli and Nina Brunner in the earlier semifinal on Thursday evening.
The first two women’s quarter-finals were played Tuesday in a tense session where Hueberli and Brunner ended the campaign of the women’s world champions, US duo Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng.
The second round of the men’s quarter finals will be played later Wednesday.

Topics: Paris Olympics Beach Volleyball Brazil Latvia

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