Biles chases first Paris Olympic gold, fingers crossed over River Seine

Biles chases first Paris Olympic gold, fingers crossed over River Seine
As the Olympics continue in Paris, the River Seine's water quality remains a major area of concern for officials. Organizers of the triathlon event cancelled swimming practice Monday. Event organizers hope sunny weather will make swimming viable on Tuesday when the triathlon begins. (AP)
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Updated 30 July 2024
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Biles chases first Paris Olympic gold, fingers crossed over River Seine

Biles chases first Paris Olympic gold, fingers crossed over River Seine
  • The US team topped the rankings in qualifying and Biles wowed an A-list crowd in Paris on Sunday in her first appearance in the French capital
  • Organizers cancelled a second day of triathlon training on Monday because of the poor water quality and said they would make a last-minute decision on the men’s race after reviewing laboratory results overnight
  • On the fourth day of swimming, defending champion Kaylee McKeown of Australia and US world record-holder Regan Smith go head-to-head for 100m backstroke glory

PARIS: Simone Biles is tipped to win her first Olympic gymnastics gold since 2016 on Tuesday while Paris organizers will be nervously monitoring pollution levels in the River Seine ahead of the men’s triathlon.

America’s Biles appears to be back at the peak of her powers as she leads the US on what has been billed as a redemption mission in the women’s team final.

The 27-year-old, considered the greatest gymnast of all time, won four gold medals at the Rio 2016 Games.

But she battled the disorientating mental block gymnasts call the “twisties” at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics three years ago.

Biles dramatically pulled out of most of her events including the team final and the US settled for silver behind Russia after winning gold in 2012 and 2016.

Biles, a 23-time world champion, went home with a silver and a bronze, and while she won many plaudits for opening up on her mental health, there were critics who accused her of putting herself before her country.

“It has to be for us,” Biles said of the US’s bid to recapture their women’s team crown.

“It can’t be for anybody else. We do it for ourselves and the love of the sport and the love for representing the USA.”

The US team topped the rankings in qualifying and Biles wowed an A-list crowd in Paris on Sunday in her first appearance in the French capital, despite tweaking her left calf and competing with her leg taped.

The Seine, which snakes through the French capital, is supposed to stage the swimming leg of the triathlon competition, which begins on Tuesday morning with the men’s individual event.

French officials had hoped that holding triathlon and marathon swimming on the river, lined by some of Paris’s most famous landmarks, would create enduring images of the Games.

But organizers cancelled a second day of triathlon training on Monday because of the poor water quality and said they would make a last-minute decision on the men’s race after reviewing laboratory results overnight.

The waterway was polluted by heavy rain that drenched the opening ceremony on Friday and disrupted the early action on Saturday, leading to discharges of raw sewage.

However, Paris 2024 officials and World Triathlon said they were “confident” that pollution would drop before the start of the competition given the hot, sunny weather, which helps keep bacteria levels down.

Temperatures are due to soar to highs of 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, prompting weather chiefs to issued a weather warning for Paris and surrounding areas.

On the fourth day of swimming, defending champion Kaylee McKeown of Australia and US world record-holder Regan Smith go head-to-head for 100m backstroke glory.

It is one of three golds up for grabs at La Defense Arena.

The others are in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay and the men’s 800m freestyle, in which Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen is looking to become the first man from the country to claim an Olympic swimming gold.

The world champion posted the fastest time in the heats on Monday.

The England-born 23-year-old insisted he was not fixated on gold, and with it a place in Irish folklore.

“Any medal’s good, it’s my first race here, and it’s my first time actually being in contention for an Olympic medal, so I’ll take any medal, whatever color,” he said.

Gold medals are also up for grabs on Tuesday in fencing, judo, shooting and table tennis.

There is also the final of the women’s rugby sevens, after France clinched the men’s title in thrilling fashion.

In tennis, the “dream team” of Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz return to action in the second round of the men’s doubles.


Hidden talent: French Olympic star Marchand opts for disguise

Hidden talent: French Olympic star Marchand opts for disguise
Updated 6 sec ago
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Hidden talent: French Olympic star Marchand opts for disguise

Hidden talent: French Olympic star Marchand opts for disguise
  • Marchand: I need to organize myself a little more. I can’t do my shopping alone. I wear a cap and glasses. I try to hide a little
  • Marchand said that the Paris Olympics, which were widely praised for their smooth organization, had sparked a wave of optimism in the country

TOULOUSE: French Olympic swimming hero Leon Marchand said Wednesday his record-breaking exploits in the Paris pool have changed his life so much that he often needs to don a disguise to evade attention.

The 22-year-old won all four of his individual races at the Games — the 200m butterfly, 200m breaststroke and 200m-400m medley double.

It thrust him into elite company as the first male swimmer to do so at a singles Games since American legend Michael Phelps in 2008.

However, fame has its occasional downside.

“I’m going to lose a little freedom and spontaneity because I can’t go out to restaurants like I used to anymore,” Marchand said as Toulouse feted its new Olympic star.

“I need to organize myself a little more. I can’t do my shopping alone. I wear a cap and glasses. I try to hide a little.

“But when people do stop me in the street, it’s to say ‘thank you’. That’s kind and I take it to my heart.”

He added: “I have got used to it quite quickly even if the first weeks were difficult, because it’s a fairly radical change in status.”

Marchand said that the Paris Olympics, which were widely praised for their smooth organization, had sparked a wave of optimism in the country.

“France has changed and I hope it will last,” said Marchand.

“Sport is something quite special. It conveys an emotion that you can’t have anywhere else and the French realized this. We must continue to celebrate athletes, try to put more resources into infrastructure, more sport in schools.”


Man City and Inter Milan draw 0-0 in goal-shy Champions League. PSG score late to beat Girona

Man City and Inter Milan draw 0-0 in goal-shy Champions League. PSG score late to beat Girona
Updated 7 min 43 sec ago
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Man City and Inter Milan draw 0-0 in goal-shy Champions League. PSG score late to beat Girona

Man City and Inter Milan draw 0-0 in goal-shy Champions League. PSG score late to beat Girona
  • Just 13 were scored in six games one day after 28 were fired on Tuesday, including nine by Bayern Munich alone
  • A rare Thursday slate of Champions League games will see Barcelona go to Monaco, Atalanta host Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen visit Feyenoord

GENEVA: Where did all the goals go?

The 0-0 draws between Manchester City and Inter Milan in their rematch of the 2023 final, after Bologna and Shakhtar Donetsk also could not find a goal, capped an untypically goal-shy evening for the Champions League on Wednesday.

Just 13 were scored in six games one day after 28 were fired on Tuesday, including nine by Bayern Munich alone.

How unusual was this? Two 0-0 draws after just 12 of 144 games to be played in the new league phase is already halfway to the total of four in 96 games one year ago in the group-stage format that is now abolished. The entire competition averaged three goals per game last season.

Paris Saint-Germain and Girona also were heading for a blank until a horrible 90th-minute error by the Spanish debutant’s goalkeeper, Paulo Gazzaniga — spilling a cross by Nuno Mendes through his own legs — gifted a 1-0 win.

“We won’t get to where we want to overnight,” Girona coach Míchel said. “It requires hard work.”

Borussia Dortmund needed late goals from substitutes Jamie Gittens, twice, and Serhou Guirassy with a stoppage-time penalty to win 3-0 at Club Brugge.

The new format has welcomed new faces and long-absent friends in European soccer’s marquee competition.

Sparta Prague rose to the challenge of their first game for 19 years at this stage of the Champions League by beating Salzburg 3-0.

Bologna waited 60 years to return and deserved more for their attacking ambition against Champions League veteran Shakhtar. The Ukrainian champion had a penalty saved in the fourth minute by Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski.

Slovan Bratislava was overmatched in their first game since 1992-93, the first season of the Champions League rebrand from the old European Cup, and with Georgia defender Guram Kashia making his competition debut at age 37.

They could not keep out Celtic, who won 5-1 in Glasgow. Ireland internationals Liam Scales and Adam Idah, Japan forward Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda, and Arne Engels of Belgium scored for the champion of Scotland.

“The quality of the goals was sensational,” Celtic coach Brendan Rodgers said after just a fourth win in 33 Champions League games for the 1967 European Cup winner.

A rare Thursday slate of Champions League games will see Barcelona go to Monaco, Atalanta host Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen visit Feyenoord.

Six games on each of three straight nights are launching the new format. Now, 36 teams each play eight different opponents through January and are ranked in a single league table to decide which teams advance to the knockout phase.

Man City held in rare home shutout

There was nothing to separate the champions of England and Italy, 15 months after Man City beat Inter 1-0 in Istanbul to lift the European Cup trophy for the first time.

Ilkay Gundogan wasted two late chances for manager Pep Guardiola’s team, failing to convert two headed chances.

It was the first time City had failed to score at home in Europe’s elite tournament since being held 0-0 by Sporting Lisbon in March 2022, and just the second time at home in all competitions since then. The other was a 0-0 draw with Arsenal in the Premier League in March.

But the result saw City extend their six-year unbeaten home run in European games to 32, dating to a 2-1 loss to Lyon.

“I’m pleased with our performance, I liked everything,” Guardiola said.

Dortmund keep clean sheet, again, somehow

Dortmund’s defense had a Champions League-best six clean sheets last season on its way to the final, where Real Madrid found two late goals to take the title.

Somehow, goalkeeper Gregor Kobel kept out Brugge despite 18 goal attempts including a close-range shot by Hugo Vetlesen that rattled the cross bar in the 12th minute. Vetlesen’s effort ended a manic series of four shots in a matter of seconds from a corner including a diving save by Kobel.

The Switzerland ‘keeper’s five saves meant Dortmund did not pay for its own wastefulness in front of goal until taking the lead in the 76th from a Gittens shot that deflected off two defenders before looping past Simon Mignolet into the Brugge net.

Salzburg’s heavy load

Few clubs will play more international games this season than Salzburg, under their new coach Pep Lijnders, the former long-time assistant to Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.

Salzburg had to advance through two Champions League qualifying rounds in August — because their 10-year title run in Austria was ended by Sturm Graz — and will play at least three more games in June at the Club World Cup in the United States.

Salzburg qualified among 12 European teams going to the relaunched FIFA club event because of its consistent results in the past four Champions League seasons, but was upstaged in Prague.

“A few of our players were playing their first game for the club,” Lijnders said. “It’s a new team we need to build it.”

Sparta came through three qualifying rounds, and six games already, to reach this stage and made a sharp start Wednesday scoring within two minutes to set the tone for an easy win.


Tottenham mounts late comeback to beat Coventry 2-1 in the English League Cup

Tottenham mounts late comeback to beat Coventry 2-1 in the English League Cup
Updated 19 September 2024
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Tottenham mounts late comeback to beat Coventry 2-1 in the English League Cup

Tottenham mounts late comeback to beat Coventry 2-1 in the English League Cup
  • Brennan Johnson completed Spurs’ comeback with the winner in the second minute of stoppage time

COVENTRY, England: Tottenham avoided a shock defeat in the third round of the English League Cup after scoring two late goals to beat second-division Coventry 2-1 on Wednesday.
Djed Spence evened the score in the 88th minute at Coventry Arena after Brandon Thomas-Asante had fired the home team ahead in the 63rd.
Brennan Johnson completed Spurs’ comeback with the winner in the second minute of stoppage time.
Coventry had come agonizingly close to upsetting Manchester United in the semifinal of the FA Cup last season — losing on penalties after a 3-3 draw at Wembley.
And it was another heartbreak against Premier League opposition after Tottenham’s late rescue act.
“Coventry were outstanding with the energy they brought, we had to dig deep today and we found what we needed to win the game,” Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou said.
Elsewhere, Wolverhampton’s troubled start to the season continued with a 3-2 loss at Brighton that saw it eliminated from the competition.
Carlos Baleba and Simon Adingra gave Brighton a 2-0 lead at Amex Stadium and Goncalo Guedes pulled one back for Wolves before halftime.
Ferdi Kadioglu made it 3-1 in the 85th and Tommy Doyle scored a consolation for Wolves in the 90th.


Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr appoint former AC Milan boss Pioli

Saudi club Al-Nassr announced Wednesday the appointment of Stefano Pioli as coach of the side headed up by Ronaldo.
Saudi club Al-Nassr announced Wednesday the appointment of Stefano Pioli as coach of the side headed up by Ronaldo.
Updated 18 September 2024
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Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr appoint former AC Milan boss Pioli

Saudi club Al-Nassr announced Wednesday the appointment of Stefano Pioli as coach of the side headed up by Ronaldo.
  • The Italian replaces Luis Castro, who parted ways with the club on Tuesday after a slow start to the season, both domestically and in the AFC Champions League
  • “Pioli is Nassrawi,” Al Nassr said a statement on social media platform X

RIYADH: Saudi club Al-Nassr announced Wednesday the appointment of Stefano Pioli as coach of the side headed up by Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Italian replaces Luis Castro, who parted ways with the club on Tuesday after a slow start to the season, both domestically and in the AFC Champions League.
“Pioli is Nassrawi,” Al-Nassr said a statement on social media platform X.
“We welcome Stefano Pioli as our new coach.”

 

The 58-year-old was AC Milan boss from October 2019 to May 2024, and oversaw the club’s Serie A title-winning campaign in 2022.
Prior to his near five-year stint at the Rossoneri, Pioli coached Italian sides including Fiorentina, Inter Milan, Lazio and Bologna.
He started his managerial career in 2003 with Salernitana and had worked exclusively in his native Italy up until his appointment by Al-Nassr.
His Portuguese predecessor Castro was the third coach to depart Al-Nassr since Ronaldo’s groundbreaking arrival in early 2023 on a contract that was said to net him 400 million euros over two-and-a-half years.

 


The highly decorated Ronaldo is yet to win a Saudi trophy with the Riyadh club, with his sole silverware so far being last year’s Arab Club Champions Cup.
Al-Nassr, who finished a distant second in the last Saudi Pro League season, have drawn twice in three matches at the start of the new campaign and on Monday drew 1-1 with Iraq’s Al-Shorta in their AFC Champions League Elite opener.


Essex fined 100,000 pounds over racism at club between 2001-2010

Essex fined 100,000 pounds over racism at club between 2001-2010
Updated 18 September 2024
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Essex fined 100,000 pounds over racism at club between 2001-2010

Essex fined 100,000 pounds over racism at club between 2001-2010
  • Disciplinary body finds Essex guilty of failing to address racist or discriminatory language and conduct
  • Last year, Yorkshire were fined 400,000 pounds for their handling of racism allegations by a former player

Essex have been fined 100,000 pounds ($132,190) after admitting to a charge of racism at the county club which they failed to address between 2001 and 2010, England’s Cricket Regulator said on Wednesday.

Essex were charged in June after an investigation undertaken by the Cricket Regulator, a body responsible for monitoring compliance with the sport’s rules which operates independently from the rest of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

An independent Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) panel held a sanctions hearing and published its decision on Wednesday.

“Essex County Cricket Club has admitted a charge in breach of Directive 3.3, in relation to the systemic use of racist and/or discriminatory language and/or conduct during the period between 2001 and 2010 which Essex failed to address,” it said in a statement.

The CDC panel also cautioned and reprimanded Essex while 50,000 pounds of the fine was suspended for two years.

“There is deep regret for what occurred in the past but these events do not reflect the Essex Cricket of today,” Essex chair Anu Mohindru said.

“The club have accepted the sanctions and remains committed to tackling all forms of discrimination, and is fully aligned with the ECB’s goal of making cricket the country’s most inclusive team sport.

“We have made significant progress in achieving these aims in the communities we represent through our excellent outreach work, as well as building a workplace that values and respects every individual.”

Dave Lewis, the interim director of the Cricket Regulator, said the racism experienced at Essex was “abhorrent” while the evidence was “deeply disturbing.”

Lewis added that the sanctions had been decided following a “long and complex investigation” after the club had conducted its own investigation.

The people subjected to abuse had “shown real bravery in speaking out,” Lewis said, adding: ” I hope that this prosecution will help ensure that no one suffers again as they did and that racism of this kind is never normalized.

“The CDC panel took into account the fact that Essex had pleaded guilty to the charge and has already taken significant action to address these issues and become a more inclusive club.”

Last year, Yorkshire were fined 400,000 pounds and given a 48-point deduction in the County Championship by the CDC over their handling of racism allegations made by Azeem Rafiq.

The former England Under-19s captain, who is of Pakistani descent, told a British parliamentary committee in 2021 of ‘inhuman’ treatment at Yorkshire and said he had been a victim of institutional racism at the club.

($1 = 0.7565 pounds)