River Seine reopens to first Paris swimmers after century-long ban
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Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Jannik Sinner shows no signs at Wimbledon of being unable to move past his epic French Open loss
As well as Jannik Sinner is playing at Wimbledon, he doesn't appear to need much in the way of help. Still, he got some Saturday when his opponent, Pedro Martinez, was dealing with a problematic shoulder and often put in first serves at so-so speeds. The No. 1-ranked Sinner, who has dropped a total of 17 games so far, made his way to the fourth round for the seventh consecutive Grand Slam tournament – he's collected three such trophies in that span – and never was truly in trouble during a 6–1, 6–3, 6–1 victory over No. 52 Martinez. 'We all saw that he was struggling,' Sinner said, then noted about his own form: 'First week couldn't have gone better.' There's been zero sign of any sort of inability to move past last month's French Open final, which Sinner lost to Carlos Alcaraz in five sets despite taking the first two and holding three championship points. Against Martinez, Sinner went up 5–0 after 20 minutes. During that stretch of 29 points, Martinez managed just one winner while Sinner accumulated 10. That's when Martinez took a medical timeout and a trainer massaged the back of his right shoulder. The Spaniard was delivering first serves as slow as 76 mph compared with Sinner's high of 133 mph. That aspect of Martinez's game improved incrementally, but the only ever-so-brief moment of intrigue at Centre Court came in the second set, about 75 minutes in, with Sinner up a break and serving at 4–3. That's where Martinez managed to accrue his first four break points of the match. Sinner stayed as calm as can be – 'I don't think Sinner's changed expressions once in this match,' John McEnroe observed on BBC's telecast – and erased all four of those chances, held for 5–3, then broke to end the set. Soon enough, Sinner was heading into a contest Monday against Grigor Dimitrov or Sebastian Ofner, whose match was delayed by rain in the second set. What else happened Saturday at Wimbledon? No. 11 Elena Rybakina, the 2022 champion, was ousted in the third round by No. 23 Clara Tauson by a 7–6 (6), 6–3 score, yet another exit from a high seed. No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, an 18-year-old Russian, moved into Week 2 with a 6–1, 6–3 victory over Hailey Baptiste of the US. Andreeva will face defending champion Barbora Krejcikova or Emma Navarro next. Another fourth-round matchup was set up when No. 19 Liudmila Samsonova and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro advanced. Bouzas Maneiro, who defeated 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova in last year's first round, was a 6–1, 2–6, 6–3 winner over Dayana Yastremska, who eliminated No. 2 Coco Gauff in this year's first round. No. 22 Flavio Cobolli earned his debut trip to a major's round of 16 by defeating No. 15 Jakub Mensik 6–2, 6–4, 6–2. Who is scheduled to play Sunday at the All England Club? No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, coming off a riveting win against Emma Raducanu, returns to Centre Court to face No. 24 Elise Mertens as the fourth round begins. Sunday's last scheduled match in the main stadium features two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz against No. 14 Andrey Rublev. Over at No. 1 Court, 2024 US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz of the US, the No. 5 seed, begins play at 1:00 p.m. local time (8:00 a.m. ET) against unseeded Jordan Thompson of Australia.
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
River Seine Reopens to Public Swimming for 1st Time in a Century
For the first time in over a century, Parisians and tourists will be able to take a refreshing dip in the River Seine. The long-polluted waterway is finally opening up as a summertime swim spot following a 1.4 billion euro ($1.5 billion) cleanup project that made it suitable for Olympic competitions last year. Three new swimming sites on the Paris riverbank will open on Saturday — one close to Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral, another near the Eiffel Tower and a third in eastern Paris. Swimming in the Seine has been illegal since 1923, with a few exceptions, due to pollution and risks posed by river navigation. Taking a dip outside bathing areas is still banned for safety reasons. The Seine was one of the stars of the Paris Olympics in 2024, whether as the scene of the ambitious opening ceremony or the triathlon and marathon swimming competitions. That didn't go without challenging hurdles such as rainfall increasing levels of bacteria, which postponed some competitions. This city's authorities have given the green light for the public opening, with water quality results consistently in line with European regulations. Making splashes in Paris city center 'It's a symbolic moment when we get our river back,' said sports coach and influencer Lucile Woodward, who will participate in the first amateur open water competition in the Seine on Sunday. Woodward, who enjoyed a dip alongside Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo just before the start of the Olympic Games, is confident things will go well. 'We're going to enjoy swimming in it, being there and setting an example," she said. "Once people will see that in the end there are hundreds of people who have fun and enjoy it, everyone will want to go!' 'For families, going to take a dip with the kids, making little splashes in Paris, it's extraordinary,' Woodward added. Olympic athletes competing in the river was a spectacular reward for the cost of the cleanup effort. In the run-up to the Games, authorities opened new disinfection units and created a huge storage basin meant to prevent as much bacteria-laden wastewater as possible from spilling directly into the Seine when it rains. Houseboats that previously emptied their sewage directly into the river were required to hook up to municipal sewer systems. Some homes upstream from Paris also saw their wastewater connected to treatment plants instead of the rainwater system flowing directly into the river. Green flag for swimming Paris Deputy Mayor Pierre Rabadan said water is tested daily to confirm it's safe to swim. As on French beaches, different colored flags will inform visitors whether or not they can go in. 'Green means the water quality is good. Red means that it's not good or that there's too much current,' he said. Tests have been in line with European regulations since the beginning of June, with only two exceptions due to rain and boat-related pollution, Rabadan said. 'I can't make a bet on the numbers of days when we'll have to close this summer, but water quality seems better than last year,' he added. 'We're in a natural environment ... so weather condition variations necessarily have an impact." Last year, several athletes became ill after competing in the triathlon and open water races during the Olympics, though in most cases it was not clear if the river was to blame for their sickness. World Aquatics stressed the conditions met the sport's accepted thresholds. 'The legacy of these efforts is already evident, with the Seine now open for public swimming — a positive example of how sports can drive long-term community benefits,' the organization said in a statement to The Associated Press. Skepticism remains about water quality Dan Angelescu, founder and CEO of Fluidion, a Paris and Los Angeles-based water monitoring tech company, has routinely and independently tested bacterial levels in the Seine for several years. Despite being in line with current regulations, the official water testing methodology has limitations and undercounts the bacteria, he said. 'What we see is that the water quality in the Seine is highly variable,' Angelescu said. 'There are only a few days in a swimming season where I would say water quality is acceptable for swimming.' 'All we can say is that we can raise a hand and say look: the science today does not support the current assessment of water safety used in the rivers around Paris, and we think that there is major risk that is not being captured at all,' he said. Some Parisians also have shown skepticism toward the idea of swimming in the Seine. The feeling is often reinforced by the water's murky color, floating litter and multiple tourist boats in some places. Enys Mahdjoub, a real estate agent, said he would not be afraid of swimming, but rather "a bit disgusted. It's more the worry of getting dirty than anything else at the moment.' A dream come true Until the end of August, swimming sites will be open for free at scheduled times to anyone with a minimum age of 10 or 14 years, depending on the location. Lifeguards will keep a watchful eye on those first dips. 'It's an opportunity, a dream come true," said Clea Montanari, a project manager in Paris. "It'd be a dream if the Seine becomes drinkable, that would be the ultimate goal, right? But already swimming in it is really good.'
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Grid Penalty for Bearman at British Grand Prix After a Pit-Lane Crash Under a Red Flag
Oliver Bearman will head into his first home race in Formula 1 with a 10-place grid penalty after crashing on his way into the pit lane under a red flag. The 20-year-old Haas rookie lost control and spun into a barrier while coming into the pits after the third practice session had been stopped because of an earlier crash for Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto. The race stewards ruled that Bearman had failed to comply with red-flag rules when he accelerated significantly to race pace before coming into the pits. The stewards said the British driver had been trying to simulate coming into the pits in race conditions and had been going faster under the red flag than on his previous entry to the pits. Bearman said the crash happened because his brakes had gone cold under the red-flag conditions. 'While this may have been a factor contributing to the crash, we do not consider it to be a mitigating factor,' the stewards ruled. As well as the grid penalty, Bearman picks up four penalty points, giving him a total of eight. Reaching 12 penalty points means an automatic one-race suspension.
