Mbappe inherits Real Madrid's number 10 jersey after Modric exit
For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
14 hours ago
- Arab News
Marchand breaks world record in 200 individual medley; US, Australia win more world gold
SINGAPORE: Léon Marchand smashed the 200m individual medley world record in Singapore on Wednesday with another breathtaking swim while Australia and the United States celebrated more gold. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport Marchand set the mark swimming in the semifinals and, in theory, could break it again in Thursday's finals. He won four Olympic gold medals a year ago in Paris, but he's swimming only the 200 and 400 medley – and relays – in Singapore. Planning the lighter schedule in what he calls a 'transition year' keeps him fresh to chase the world marks. Marchand didn't just break the 14-year-old record, he shattered it. 'What's crazy is that it's a whole second — and it's still hard to believe,' he said. '1:52 on the 200 meters — that's insane.' Marchand will swim the 400 IM on Sunday, the final day of the world championships. He holds that record of 4:02.50 set in the 2023 worlds in Fukuoka, Japan. And it seems likely to go. 'Today I felt really good before the race,' he said. 'In the water, I felt light, I was taking in a lot of water and technically everything felt clean.' Asked about swimming a lighter schedule he replied in an understatement: 'It was probably the right decision.' Marchand was about 1.8 seconds under the world record after 150 meters and powered home with the final freestyle leg. Though this race did not yield a world title — that will come on Thursday in the final — it did win Marchand a check for $30,000. 'In the end I went out hard from the start,' he said. 'But I stayed super-relaxed. I didn't make many mistakes. I didn't realize I was going that fast but I gave it absolutely everything. Arms at full speed all the way to the wall. At that point I wasn't even thinking about technique anymore.' More than Marchand Despite being only a semifinal, Marchand overshadowed the five finals on Day 4 of the worlds — the halfway mark with four days more to go. Those finals produced medals for the United States, Australia, Italy, Tunisia, and the Neutral Athletes. American Luca Urlando picked up the third gold medal for the United States in the championships, winning the 200 butterfly in 1:51.87. Krzysztof Chmielewski of Poland was second in 1:52.64 with bronze for Harrison Turner of Australia in 1:54.17. Urlando has battled back from several surgeries for his first big title on the world stage. 'It was a great race – all great — a great moment,' he said. 'I'm trying to have as much fun as I can with it.' He was asked how he overcame the setbacks and he replied: 'The belief that I could get back to a moment like this. Internal belief.' Mollie O'Callaghan of Australia, the defending Paris Olympic champion in the 200 freestyle, repeated her title in the worlds, pulling away in the last 50 to finish in 1:53.48. Li Bingjie of China was the silver medalist in 1:54.52, with bronze going to American Claire Weinstein in 1:54.57. O'Callaghan has had a difficult time coming back after the Olympic victory, dealing with the stress and the post-games letdown. 'I've had an amazing coach Dean (Boxall) to guide me through this difficult time,' O'Callaghan said. 'It's hard for a lot of people to come back after the Olympics.' Weinstein, like many of the Americans, has been dealing with what team officials call 'acute gastroenteritis' picked up at a training camp in Thailand before arriving in Singapore. A new name, missing name Ahmed Jaouadi of Tunisia won the 800 free, clocking 7:36.88 — the third fastest time ever swum in the event. Sven Schwarz of Germany claimed silver in 7:39.96 with fellow German Lukas Martens taking bronze in 7:40.19. American Bobby Finke, the three-time Olympic gold medalist, was fourth, far off the pace in 7:46.42. Sam Short of Australia, who had the second-quickest qualifying time in the 800, pulled out of the race with what the team said was food poisoning. One big shock came in the men's 100 freestyle semifinals where world-record holder Pan Zhanle of China failed to reach the top eight for Thursday's final. American Jack Alexy had the best time of 46.81 with David Popovici across in 46.84. Pan finished in 47.81, far off his world-record time of 46.40 set last year in Paris. In the men's 50 breaststroke, Simone Cerasuolo of Italy won in 26.54 with silver for Kirill Prigoda swimming as a Neutral Athlete, and bronze for Qin Haiyang of China. McIntosh and Yu In the women's 200 butterfly semifinals, Canadian Summer McIntosh qualified in 2:06.22. Yu Zidi, the 12-year-old Chinese, swam 2:07.95 to make the final eight. Her time was the eighth best. McIntosh has already won two gold medals and is trying for five in Singapore. Yu finished fourth earlier in the championships in the 200 individual medley. In the final event, the Neutral Athletes won the mixed 4x100 medley relay in 3:37.97. China was second (3:39.99) and Canada was third (3:40.90). The United States failed to reach Wednesday's final after finishing 10th in qualifying. They were Olympic champions last year in Paris. Britain and France also missed reaching the final. SINGAPORE : Leon Marchand smashed the 200m individual medley world record in Singapore on Wednesday with another breathtaking swim while Australia and the United States celebrated more gold. Racing in the semifinals at the world championships, the Frenchman clocked 1min 52.69sec to wipe more than a second off the previous record of 1:54.00 set by Ryan Lochte in 2011. Marchand beat Michael Phelps's long-standing 400m medley record at the world championships in Japan two years ago. 'Actually I can't believe it right now,' said Marchand, who won four individual golds in front of his home fans at the Paris Olympics a year ago and was the face of the Games. 'I knew I was going to be close to my PB (personal best) because I felt really good today and preparation has been pretty good. 'But 1:52 is unbelievable for me.' Marchand, 23, took an extended break from swimming after Paris and only returned to competition in May. He is focusing on the individual medley events in Singapore and had said he was gunning for Lochte's record. Marchand got his world championships campaign under way on Wednesday morning, clocking a time of 1:57.63 in the heats. He said he would go all-out for the record in the semifinals rather than conserve his energy for Thursday's final.
Arab News
a day ago
- Arab News
Mbappe inherits Real Madrid's number 10 jersey after Modric exit
Kylian Mbappe will follow Real Madrid greats Ferenc Puskas, Clarence Seedorf and Luis Figo by wearing the iconic number 10 jersey after Luka Modric's departure to AC Milan, the LaLiga club said late on Tuesday. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport
Arab News
a day ago
- Arab News
England and India fight fatigue as gripping Test series goes to the wire
LONDON: England and India head to the Oval for the decisive fifth and final Test of a hard-fought campaign on Thursday, with both teams battling mental and physical fatigue. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport A congested schedule of five Tests in less than seven weeks has proved gruelling, especially for the fast bowlers from both teams, with every match going the distance so far. Remarkably, India can still end the series all square at 2-2 after salvaging an unlikely draw in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, keeping the hosts on the field for 143 overs in their second innings. Tensions spiked at the end of the game when India allowed Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar to complete their centuries after England captain Ben Stokes offered to shake hands on a draw, adding spice to the Oval Test. Here are the key talking points ahead of the fifth Test in London. Jasprit Bumrah's back injury earlier this year prompted India to announce the fast bowler would only feature in three games during the current series. The world's top-ranked Test bowler made his third appearance on a docile pitch in Manchester and has little time to recover after bowling a gruelling 33 overs, during which he took two wickets. But India coach Gautam Gambhir says all of his squad's quicks are fit for the finale including Akash Deep, who took 10 wickets in Bumrah's absence during India's 336-run win in the second Test at Edgbaston before suffering a groin injury in the next match at Lord's. England must decide whether to risk express paceman Jofra Archer, who has bowled nearly 90 overs in two Tests after more than four years of injury-enforced exile. The home team took just four wickets on a flat Old Trafford pitch during India's battling second innings, with seamer Brydon Carse also worked hard. Jamie Overton has been added to an England squad that already has extra pace options in Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson. Can England stop skipper Ben Stokes from bowling himself into the ground at the Oval? The Old Trafford match was a personal triumph for the all-rounder, who became just the fourth England cricketer to score a hundred and take five wickets in the same Test. Stokes has now sent down 140 overs — the most he has bowled in any series — — and is the leading wicket-taker on either side with 17 scalps. Yet in Manchester he was in evident pain, often clutching his thigh as well as nursing a bicep injury. With the skippercentral to England's hopes of regaining the Ashes on their upcoming tour of Australia, concerns remain over his workload. 'Bowling, being in the field is tough work, so I am pretty sore,' said Stokes after the fourth Test. 'We are going in 2-1 up but we want to put that last big performance in.' Captaincy appears to be doing wonders for the career of previously inconsistent India batsman Shubman Gill. The elegant 25-year-old scored his fourth century of an extraordinary debut series as skipper at Old Trafford. He came in with the tourists in dire straits at 0-2 in their second innings, responding with a marathon 103 in 238 balls that laid the foundations for a great escape. Gill has set a new record for the most runs scored by an India batsman in a series against England of 722, surpassing team-mate Yashasvi Jaiswal's tally of 712 in 2023/24. At the Oval he could eclipse Sunil Gavaskar's all-time India series record of 774 runs, set in a four-match campaign against the West Indies in 1971. One downside for Gill is that he will be without vice-captain and prolific runscorer Rishabh Pant, who sustained a foot fracture in Manchester.
