Simone Biles and LeBron James are among athletes expected to bid ‘adieu’ to the Olympics in Paris

Simone Biles and LeBron James are among athletes expected to bid ‘adieu’ to the Olympics in Paris
Having returned from a two-year break last summer, Biles can add to her career haul of seven Olympic medals. (AP)
Short Url
Updated 26 July 2024
Follow

Simone Biles and LeBron James are among athletes expected to bid ‘adieu’ to the Olympics in Paris

Simone Biles and LeBron James are among athletes expected to bid ‘adieu’ to the Olympics in Paris
  • Add in that Andy Murray will be retiring after the Paris Games and that Rafael Nadal may bid goodbye to tennis too

PARIS: Icons of their sports. Voices for equality and social justice. Elite performers.
Simone Biles and LeBron James lead the list of athletes likely competing at their final Olympics.
Add in that Andy Murray will be retiring after the Paris Games and that Rafael Nadal may bid goodbye to tennis, too, and the stage is set for some emotional, high-profile goodbyes.
Here’s a look at some of the top competitors expected to say “adieu” to the Olympics — or their sport in general — in the French capital:
Simone Biles
At 27, Biles is the oldest American woman to make an Olympic gymnastics team since the 1950s. Having returned from a two-year break last summer, Biles can add to her career haul of seven Olympic medals — four of them gold — when she competes at the Bercy Arena.
LeBron James
At 39, James is about to become the first US men’s basketball player to compete at the Olympics in three different decades. To get an idea of what stage he’s at in his career, consider this: When James and the US team opened their Olympic training camp in Las Vegas, his son, Bronny, was making his pro debut for the Los Angeles Lakers in the California Classic summer league.
Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal
Murray’s goodbye to Wimbledon didn’t go the way he had hoped. The British player is hoping for a better result in the Olympic tennis competition on the red clay of Roland Garros, home of the French Open. Paris will mark Murray’s fifth Olympics, having won back-to-back singles golds in 2012 and 2016. While Murray has indicated that he plans to end his career after the Olympics, Nadal’s status is less clear. But playing the Olympics at the site where he won 14 French Opens — and where there’s a statue of him outside Court Philippe Chatrier — will be special no matter what Nadal does next. Nadal has won Olympic gold in both singles (in 2008) and doubles (in 2016) and will team up with Carlos Alcaraz for doubles in Paris.
Shelly-Anne Fraser Pryce
Jamaican sprinter Fraser-Pryce has announced that the Paris Games will be her fifth and final Olympics. The 37-year-old Fraser-Pryce, who has won eight Olympic medals, wants to spend more time with her husband and 6-year-old son, Zyon. Fraser-Pryce will run against Sha’Carri Richardson in the 100 meters.
Gianmarco Tamberi
One of the biggest showmen in track and field, the Italian high jumper Tamberi wants to go out on top by defending the gold medal that he shared with his good friend Mutaz Barshim in Tokyo. Both Tamberi and Barshim have indicated this will be their final Olympics.
Sarah Sjöström
At age 30, Swedish swimming standout Sjöström will be competing in her fifth Olympics. A winner of four medals at the Olympics, Sjöström is focusing on one individual event for Paris. She’ll race the 50-meter freestyle — an event she holds the world record in — plus three relays. Sjöström made her Olympic debut in Beijing in 2008 at the age of 14.
Tom Daley
Daley was Britain’s youngest athlete in 2008 at 14. Three years ago in Tokyo he won his first Olympic gold with partner Matty Lee in 10-meter synchronized and now he’s back for a fifth Olympics. Daley drew attention for knitting between dives in Tokyo as a way of relaxing.
Mikkel Hansen
With his shoulder-length hair and headband, the powerful left back Hansen is one of the most familiar faces in Danish sports. A three-time men’s world player of the year, a record he shares with longtime rival Nikola Karabatić, Hansen is considered one of the best handball players ever. He led Denmark to gold in Rio and then silver in Tokyo.
Teddy Riner
The French heavyweight judoka Riner is one of host France’s top medal hopes. He’s looking to add to his haul of five Olympic medals, including three gold. He’s also won a record 11 golds at worlds.


Verstappen fastest in final practice for Belgian GP, while Stroll crashes as rain keeps cars in garages

Verstappen fastest in final practice for Belgian GP, while Stroll crashes as rain keeps cars in garages
Updated 12 sec ago
Follow

Verstappen fastest in final practice for Belgian GP, while Stroll crashes as rain keeps cars in garages

Verstappen fastest in final practice for Belgian GP, while Stroll crashes as rain keeps cars in garages
Lance Stroll caused a red flag after he spun his Aston Martin off and smacked into the barriers
Verstappen put in the fastest time, with water spray lingering in the air behind his path

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium: Max Verstappen clocked the fastest time in a final practice session at the Belgian Grand Prix that was largely washed out by heavy rain on Saturday.
Lance Stroll caused a red flag after he spun his Aston Martin off and smacked into the barriers, bending his front left wheel.
Before that accident Verstappen put in the fastest time, with water spray lingering in the air behind his path. Oscar Piastri, in his McLaren, had the second best lap.
Stroll’s crash came with more than half the hour-long session remaining. But with puddles forming on the track, the cars stayed in the garages.
Drivers and engineers watched the drops fall before the cars ventured out with around two minutes remaining. No driver got in more than seven laps.
More rain is forecast for qualifying later, although it appears Sunday’s race will be held under dry conditions.
Lando Norris put in the fastest time in his McLaren during Friday’s practice, on a dry track.
Verstappen holds a relatively comfortable 76-point lead over Norris in the overall standings despite having gone three races without a win for the first time since 2021.
Verstappen has won here for the last three years on the long seven-kilometer track set in the forested hills of the Ardennes. But not only is he facing fast rivals, the three-time champion will start Sunday’s race with a 10-place grid penalty after Red Bull exceeded the number of engines for his car.

Sevilla beat Al-Ittihad 1-0 to take Antonio Puerta Trophy

Sevilla beat Al-Ittihad 1-0 to take Antonio Puerta Trophy
Updated 27 July 2024
Follow

Sevilla beat Al-Ittihad 1-0 to take Antonio Puerta Trophy

Sevilla beat Al-Ittihad 1-0 to take Antonio Puerta Trophy
  • La Liga club host annual match in honor of former player who died aged 22 in 2007
  • Match is latest pre-season friendly for both clubs ahead of the start of their domestic leagues in August

DUBAI: La Liga club Sevilla FC defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad 1-0 to claim the Antonio Puerta Trophy at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium in Seville on Friday night.

Lucas Ocampos  scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot after 42 minutes.

The annual friendly has been hosted by the Andalusian club since 2008 in honor of former player Antonio Puerta who died from heart disease in 2007 at the age of 22.

This was the 13th hosting of the match, which was not contested in 2015, 2018, 2020 or 2021. Sevilla now have won won the trophy 11 times.  

The match was also the latest outing for both clubs ahead of start of their respective domestic campaigns.

Al-Ittihad will play two more friendlies against Real Betis (Aug. 3) and Inter Milan (Aug. 7) before kicking off their Saudi Pro League season with a match against Al-Kholood on Aug. 24.

Sevilla will launch their La Liga campaign on Aug. 16 at Las Palmas.


Rahm leads by 2 after first round of LIV Golf UK

Rahm leads by 2 after first round of LIV Golf UK
Updated 27 July 2024
Follow

Rahm leads by 2 after first round of LIV Golf UK

Rahm leads by 2 after first round of LIV Golf UK

ROCESTER: Jon Rahm is accustomed to being in contention after most of his LIV Golf rounds this season. But for the first time since joining the league, he has the outright lead.

Thanks to a bogey-free 8-under 63, Rahm has a two-stroke lead over Abraham Ancer and Andy Ogletree after the first round at LIV Golf UK by JCB. Meanwhile, his Legion XIII is atop the team leaderboard by one stroke over Smash GC, HyFlyers GC and Fireballs GC.

Friday’s round was the 29th that Rahm has completed in LIV Golf. He has been inside the top 5 after 13 of those rounds, including a tie for the lead after the first round in Jeddah.

Six other times, Rahm has been inside the top 10. In each of his nine completed tournaments — he had to withdraw in Houston due to a foot infection — he has produced a top-10 result, and he is currently second behind Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann in the season-long points standings.

It is an impressive show of consistency that Rahm hopes will peak with his first individual LIV Golf title this week at JCB Golf & Country Club.

“Nothing much to say obviously but good things,” said Rahm, who entered the week off a tie for seventh at The Open Championship, his best major result of the year. “Played really good golf all day. With days like this, it almost feels effortless.”

Rahm played in the same group with his teammate and former Ryder Cup partner, Tyrrell Hatton, along with another Legion XIII player, Caleb Surratt, as the LIV Golf captains were grouped with their top-two teammates for the first round.

Not only did Rahm go low — the 8-under score matches his lowest LIV Golf round relative to par — but Hatton shot 66, bouncing back from an opening double bogey. The duo fueled Legion XIII’s 12-under total that also included a counting score of 72 from Kieran Vincent. Legion XIII has won three team titles during its inaugural season and is second in the points standings behind Crushers GC.

“It was the first time I played with any teammates in LIV Golf,” said Rahm, who had six birdies in his final nine holes to pull away from the pack. “I wasn’t sure how that was going to go. I was a little curious.”

Hatton said: “We’ve shared some pretty cool stages over the last few years, and we generally play well when we play together. So, it was nice for both of us to have a good round of golf and have some momentum going into the weekend.”

Ancer, the winner via playoff earlier this year in Hong Kong, finished with a flourish. The Fireballs star birdied four of his last five holes during a brilliant putting round in which he led the field.

Ogletree’s best finish during his first full LIV Golf season is a tie for third in Adelaide. He has battled a wrist injury that may require offseason surgery and forced him to make some swing adjustments to alleviate the pain.

“I’ve had a lot of days where I’ve played 13 and 14 really good holes and then kind of held myself back by a bad stretch,” said the HyFlyers member. “Today, I was in it all day and played some solid golf.”

Hatton and Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith are tied for fourth, while a group of seven players — including Smash GC Captain Brooks Koepka and local resident Sam Horsfield of Majesticks GC — are four strokes off the lead in a tie for sixth.

On a course that was unfamiliar to most players and expected to give up low scores grudgingly, 35 of the 54 players in the field broke par, with a stroke average of more than one shot under par.

It was not a surprise for Rahm. “You can’t really say surprising when the best players in the world show up at a course,” he said.

 
Standings and counting scores for Friday’s opening round:

The three best scores from each team count in the first two rounds while all four scores count in the final round. The team with the lowest cumulative score after three rounds wins the team title.


1. LEGION XIII -12 (Rahm 63, Hatton 66, Vincent 72)

 
T2. FIREBALLS GC -11 (Ancer 65, Garcia 68, Puig 69)

 
T2. SMASH GC -11 (Koepka 67, McDowell 67, Gooch 68)

 
T2. HYFLYERS GC -11 (Ogletree 65, Tringale 67, Mickelson 70)

 
T5. RIPPER GC -9 (Smith 66, Herbert 69, Jones 69)

 
T5. RANGEGOATS GC -9 (Wolff 67, Uihlein 68, Watson 69)

 
7. STINGER GC -8 (Oosthuizen 67, Burmester 68, Schwartzel 70)

 
8. TORQUE GC -6 (Munoz 68, Niemann 69, Pereira 70)

 
T9. CRUSHERS GC -5 (Casey 67, Lahiri 69, Catlin 72)

 
T9. CLEEKS GC -5 (Meronk 68, Bland 69, Samooja 71)

 
11. MAJESTICKS GC -4 (Horsfield 67, Stenson 70, Westwood 72)

 
12. 4ACES GC -1 (Varner 69, Johnson 71, Reed 72)

 
13. IRON HEADS GC Even (Na 70, Vincent 70, Kozuma 73)


Final four battle it out for MLBB Women’s Invitational title at Esports World Cup in Riyadh

Final four battle it out for MLBB Women’s Invitational title at Esports World Cup in Riyadh
Updated 27 July 2024
Follow

Final four battle it out for MLBB Women’s Invitational title at Esports World Cup in Riyadh

Final four battle it out for MLBB Women’s Invitational title at Esports World Cup in Riyadh
  • Hometown heroes Falcons Vega in the running for $180,000 first prize alongside Team Vitality, Victory Song Gamers and Omage Empress

RIYADH: Audiences are set to witness a monumental moment in professional women’s esports history as the Esports World Cup hosts the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women’s Invitational 2024 semifinals and Grand Final on Saturday.

One of the most highly anticipated competitions heading into the eight-week tournament at Boulevard Riyadh City, the MLBB Women’s Invitational debuted on Wednesday by welcoming 12 clubs on the world stage.

After three days of matchups, the last four standing are within touching distance of legacy status — with one assured of a place in the women’s esports hall of fame come Sunday morning.

The first semifinal between hometown heroes Falcons Vega and French club Team Vitality is at midday on Saturday. Saudi Arabia’s Falcons Vega head into the contest with confidence sky-high after whitewashing every opponent that they have faced — and many are tipping them to go all the way.

Awaiting the victors are the winners of the other semifinal featuring Victory Song Gamers of Russia and Filipino outfit Omega Empress. This showdown starts at 3 p.m. live from the SEF Arena where the grand final takes center stage hours later at 6 p.m.

The Esports World Cup is running from July 3–Aug. 25 with 22 tournaments across 21 titles during its eight-week duration.

Alongside the MLBB Women’s Invitational, audiences can also catch the Overwatch 2 quarter-finals and main tournament action from the PUBG Mobile World Cup 2024 on Saturday. Both these competitions end on Sunday before new tournaments headline Week 5, starting on Wednesday, July 31.


Emirati referee to officiate Dominican Republic vs Spain match at Paris 2024 Olympics

Emirati referee to officiate Dominican Republic vs Spain match at Paris 2024 Olympics
Updated 27 July 2024
Follow

Emirati referee to officiate Dominican Republic vs Spain match at Paris 2024 Olympics

Emirati referee to officiate Dominican Republic vs Spain match at Paris 2024 Olympics

DUBAI: Emirati referee Adel Al Naqbi has been selected by FIFA to officiate an intriguing clash between Spain and the Dominican Republic at the Summer Olympic Games Paris 2024 on Saturday. 

FIFA selected Al Naqbi to officiate the Dominican Republic vs Spain - Men's Group C Match 14 and he will be assisted by his countrymen Ahmed Al Rashidi (First Assistant) and Sabit Obeid (Second Assistant), according to WAM.  

Al Naqbi has officiated matches in the UAE football league as well as continental championships, most notably the AFC Champions League.

He also officiated several friendly international matches since 2016.  

The world football governing body has selected referees and assistant referees from 45 countries to officiate matches at the Olympic Football Tournaments Paris 2024.

Athletes from 184 countries will take stage to compete in various sports at the Paris Olympics over a two-week period between July 26 and Aug. 11.