NZ and Canada tie thriller in Pacific Four series
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The Guardian
6 hours ago
- The Guardian
Swimming worlds: Summer McIntosh wins 200 IM for second gold in as many days
Two days. Two gold medals. Summer McIntosh is off to a perfect start at the swimming world championships in her attempt to win five individual gold medals, a feat only achieved by American legend Michael Phelps. The 18-year-old Canadian took the 200-meter individual medley on Monday, clocking 2:06.69. The victory matched the gold she won Sunday in the 400 freestyle. Alex Walsh of the United States claimed the silver in 2:08.58 with bronze going to Mary-Sophie Harvey of Canada in 2:09.15. The winning time trailed McIntosh's world record of 2:05.70. And she was not content. 'Going in tonight, my goal was to get my hand on the wall first,' McIntosh said. 'So to get that done is good. I'm not super happy with my time. But honestly, at a world championships, my goal is just to go as fast as I can against my competitors. Still happy with the gold and hoping to keep up my streak next time.' Yu Zidi, a Chinese 12-year-old, finished fourth in 2:09.21, just missing a medal as she astounds the swim world with her times. She is also due to compete in the 400 IM and 200 butterfly, probably her strongest events. McIntosh will chase three more golds in the 400 IM, 800 free and the 200 butterfly over the next six days in Singapore. Gretchen Walsh broke through on Monday with the first gold in Singapore for the United States, taking the 100 butterfly in 54.73. The silver medalist a year ago in Paris, Walsh was just off her world-record time of 54.60 set earlier this year. Roos Vanotterdijk of Belgium took silver in 55.84 and Alexandria Perkins of Australia claimed bronze in 56.33. Walsh acknowledged in a post-race interview at poolside that the American team had been hit with a bout of what team officials called 'acute gastroenteritis.' It was picked up at a training camp in Thailand prior to arrival in Singapore. U.S. officials have confirmed the outbreak but have given few details and did not name swimmer nor say how many were affected. 'With the illness that's been going on – I faced it back the last couple days – my body has just been fragile, and I think that I've needed to give myself grace,' Walsh said. 'Luckily, I had the morning to recover and rest, and I used that, and that helped me enormously going into tonight, so I tried to make the most of it. 'It was not easy, and I'm just really proud of myself,' Walsh added, thrilled to be under 55 seconds. 'It took a lot of guts. I just wanted to go out there and do it for my team, just represent the flag well. It came out of somewhere, but I'm really, really happy.' Walsh's older sister Alex was almost even with McIntosh after 150 meters, swimming a strong breaststroke leg to make it a race. 'I was really excited on the breaststroke leg,' she said. 'I could see her and I knew I was kind of gaining on her because breaststroke is my best stroke. I was really excited and, obviously coming home on the freestyle, that's definitely where my biggest weakness (is).' Two other finals wrapped up Monday's schedule. Qin Haiyang, the world champion in 2023, defeated Paris Olympic winner Nicolo Martinenghi of Italy in the 100 breaststroke. Qin clocked 58.23 to give China its first gold in Singapore with the Italian swimmer finishing in 58.58. Denis Petrashov of Kyrgyzstan took bronze in 58.88. 'I've been injured and it's not been easy to get back to my best,' Haiyang said. 'I'm at best at 70%. I'm probably lucky. This definitely helps with my confidence.' In the men's 50 butterfly, Maxime Grousset of France edged Noe Ponti of Switzerland. Grousset clocked 22.48 with Ponti finishing in 22.51. Thomas Ceccon of Italy took bronze in 22.67. In the four semi-finals, Paris Olympics bronze medalist Luke Hobson of the United States led 200 free qualifying (1:44.80), with Paris champion David Popovici of Romania in fourth (1:45.02). Hubert Kós of Hungary headed a very fast men's 100 backstroke in 52.21. American Regan Smith led the women's 100 backstroke (58.21) ahead of two-time Australian Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown (58.44). Kate Douglass of the United States swam a personal best in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.49) and will be the top seed in Tuesday's final.
The Sun
6 hours ago
- The Sun
Eugenie Bouchard delays retirement with first win in two years as she prepares to quit tennis for different sport
PIN-UP Eugenie Bouchard has delayed her retirement plans by at least one more match after making a winning return in her home city. The 2014 Wimbledon runner-up will lay down her tennis racquet and transfer her skills to pickleball after the conclusion of the National Bank Open in Montreal. 6 6 Fans gathered on Monday night thinking they might get the chance to say goodbye to Bouchard, who was once one of the top players on the WTA circuit. More people have gotten to know her in recent years from stunning beach swimsuit photoshoots – the most famous was for Sports Illustrated – than from tennis appearances. Since her heyday, she has faded from the competitive arena and slumped to 1,062 in the world rankings due to inactivity. The 31-year-old chose this event as the best chance to say her proper farewells to the sport – she was given a wildcard by organisers – but she has managed to extend the party for a few more days. The Montreal-born player won a gripping three-setter 6-4 2-6 6-2 over two hours and 14 minutes against Colombian world No82 Emiliana Arango at the IGA Stadium. The place was rocking as she marked her first WTA victory since 2023 – and first success in her home city since 2016. This was also her second singles match this year. And she will now prepare to face Switzerland's former Olympics champion Belinda Bencic in round two on Wednesday. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 6 6 Bouchard – named after the Duke of York, Prince Andrew's younger daughter Princess Eugenie – said: 'I didn't know what to expect. 'I woke up this morning just telling myself: 'Look, I can't control the result.' 'I just want to have a good attitude, have good fight, and try to feel good with my shots, feel good with my game. 'No matter what happens, I wanted to walk off the court having enjoyed that kind of gritty battle, and it definitely turned into one of those battles. 'I enjoyed every second of it. 'There were definitely moments where I had to kind of almost block out the noise and just pretend it was a normal point that just happened. 'And just keep going because the crowd was very loud out there, and I really, really appreciated it.' HISTORY MAKER Eleven years ago, Bouchard became the first player to represent Canada to reach a Grand Slam singles final. She was crushed 6-3 6-0 by Czech player Petra Kvitova in the Wimbledon final on Centre Court. That same season she made the semi-finals of the Australian Open and French Open and reached the Last 16 of the US Open. Two years ago, she achieved a career high by helping Canada win the Billie Jean King Cup Final in Seville. Her career has been derailed by inconsistent play and injury, which included a serious shoulder surgery that kept her off the court for 17 months between 2021-2022. There was also a lengthy lawsuit against the United States Tennis Association (USTA) after she suffered a concussion when she slipped and fell in a US Open locker room in 2015. In February 2018, a jury decided Bouchard was partially at fault – it determined the USTA was 75 per cent to blame for the incident, with Bouchard 25 per cent to blame. 6 6
Reuters
6 hours ago
- Reuters
Itoje's Lions dreaming of peak performance in third Wallabies test
SYDNEY, July 29 (Reuters) - British & Irish Lions captain Maro Itoje says the tourists have not yet played their best rugby in Australia and are looking to this weekend's dead-rubber third test to produce a landmark performance and sweep the series. The Lions locked up series honours with a dramatic victory over the Wallabies in Melbourne last weekend but Itoje said there was no shortage of motivation heading into Saturday's clash at Stadium Australia. "I guess we want to be part of something very special," the lock forward told reporters on Tuesday. "Winning a test series, obviously, is extremely special, but what would be an absolute dream would be to go out there and perform to the level we think we can perform to and win the third game "Whilst the first two games have been great because we've got two wins, there's still a feeling that we probably haven't put it together in the way we know that we can. "And I think that's the exciting thing for us. We want to chase down that, that performance that we've been searching for." The Lions got back to training in Sydney on Tuesday after celebrating the series-sealing triumph at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Itoje, who was part of the Lions squad that drew the 2017 test series in New Zealand and lost narrowly in South Africa in 2021, said the achievement was "right up there" in his career highlights. "You want to be a part of being a Lion, that in of itself is a humongous achievement, but you want to be a part of a series-winning side, "Speaking to some of the guys from 2013, speaking to some of the golden oldies from '97, they look back and have such fond memories. "You want to be a winning Lion. You want to be part of that esteemed group." No Lions squad since the 1974 tour of South Africa has managed to go unbeaten through a test series, while the Wallabies have not been swept by the tourists since 1904. "This is a huge game," said Itoje. "The Wallabies ... have shown the quality side they are and I know they're going to be hungry. They're going to be up for it. "But we also want to make some history this weekend. If we can get another win, that would be amazing."
