Pogacar to skip Vuelta to focus on Worlds defence
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Reuters
12 minutes ago
- Reuters
Marathon man Wellbrock eyes 1,500 gold, Meilutyte fastest in 50 breaststroke
Aug 2 (Reuters) - German iron man Florian Wellbrock will look to add to his bumper haul of gold medals from the world championships in Singapore after qualifying fastest for the 1,500 metres freestyle final on Saturday. The 27-year-old swept all before him in the open water programme last month, becoming the first swimmer to win all three individual events while helping Germany claim the team gold at Sentosa Island. Having moved to the pool, Wellbrock posted a time of 14:44.81 in the 1,500 to top a quality field including Tunisia's 800 champion Ahmed Jaouadi, who was 0.14 seconds behind. Bobby Finke, the American back-to-back Olympic champion, and Australian Sam Short will also be medal threats in a mouth-watering final on the final day of competition on Sunday. Defending champion Daniel Wiffen, Ireland's first male world medallist in swimming, was forced to withdraw from the event due to ongoing effects of appendicitis he suffered in June. In the women's 50 breaststroke, world record holder Ruta Meilutyte is eyeing back-to-back titles after finishing fastest in the heats. Thirteen years after winning the Olympic 100 gold at the London Games aged 15, the Lithuanian showed she is still a force in the shorter distance with a time of 29.82, the only sub-30 swim at the World Aquatics Championships Arena. Eastern Europe was well represented in the 50-metres events in the morning session, with Russian short course world record-holder Kliment Kolesnikov, competing as a neutral athlete, fastest in the backstroke heats with a time of 24.08. Russian athletes are allowed to take part in World Aquatics events under a neutral banner on condition they have not publicly supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine and have no affiliation to the Russian military. South African Pieter Coetze, who was second quickest in 24.36, is bidding for a third backstroke medal of the meet after winning the 100 and taking silver in the 200. Paris Olympics silver medallist Meg Harris of Australia qualified fastest for the women's 50 freestyle semi-finals in a time of 24.32, 0.07 seconds ahead of Dutch sprinter Milou Van Wijk. Dutchwoman Marrit Steenbergen, who upset Mollie O'Callaghan on Friday to successfully defend her 100 freestyle title, also eased through. The U.S. qualified fastest (3:21.48) for the final of the non-Olympic mixed 4x100 freestyle relay ahead of France and the Netherlands. Australia were bundled out in the heats, though, in a shock for the swimming powerhouse which holds the world record and finished runner-up to China last year with a second-string team. Later on Saturday, American great Katie Ledecky and Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh will battle for the women's 800 freestyle gold in one of six titles on offer on the penultimate day of the meet. Australian Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown will look to add the 200 backstroke title to her 100 crown and deny American rival Regan Smith in the final once again.
The Herald Scotland
40 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
2025 UK Athletics Champs carry more intrigue than they have for years
Going into this weekend, two Scots know their ticket to Tokyo is already confirmed. Josh Kerr, as reigning 1500m world champion, has automatic qualification into this year's World Championships and Megan Keith courtesy of her victory at the British 10,000m Championships in June but is absent this weekend, has ensured her place in the British team for the World Championships is also secured. For the rest, however, this weekend is vitally important. Selection is dependent upon athletes having secured World Athletics' qualification mark, as well as finishing inside the top two at this year's UK Championships. A third athlete can also be selected, at the discretion of the British selectors, as long as the athlete has the qualification standard under their belt. With Kerr absent from the 1500m start list - the Olympic silver medallist will instead contest the 5000m this weekend rather than his specialist distance - things are somewhat more open than they may have been otherwise. 2022 world champion, Jake Wightman, has been plagued by injury since winning that world title three years ago but the past few months had suggested the Edinburgh runner was finally approaching something close to full fitness once again. The 31-year-old had been favourite for the British title this weekend but his last-minute withdrawal due to a stomach bug is a blip in his season that he could have done without. Jake Wightmanwas a last-minute withdrawal from the UK Championships (Image: Getty Images) Wightman's withdrawal means that his compatriot, Neil Gourley, is now the Scot with the best chance of victory, with the Glaswegian aiming for his third consecutive and fourth overall British outdoor 1500m title. However, Englishman Elliot Giles will push Gourley hard for top spot. The women's 1500m will be equally interesting. Englishwoman Georgia Hunter Bell has been the stand-out British athlete this summer and as an Olympic medallist and British record holder over the distance, is tipped to successfully defend her 1500m outdoor title that she won for the first time last summer. Former British number one, Laura Muir, will be her closest challenger. Muir's competitive appearances have been few and far between this year due to an injury-hit winter and the Milnathort native has looked some way off her best when she has competed. But despite this, it seems unlikely that Muir won't do enough to book her ticket to Tokyo, even if she doesn't add to the four British outdoor titles she already has to her name. Kilbarchan's Jemma Reelkie will also be on the 1500m start line, as will Glaswegian Erin Wallace. The women's 800m carries a degree of jeopardy for Reekie in terms of World Championships qualification. With 800m Olympic champion, Keely Hodgkinson, missing this British Championships due to injury, assuming she'll be fit come the World Championships, she's all but guaranteed to be the selectors' pick. Which leaves no room for error for Reekie as she aims for a top two spot. Jemma Reekie will be hoping to win the 800m title (Image: Reuters) With Hunter Bell doubling-up and running the 800m as well as the 1500m this weekend, the Englishwoman is tipped to win the 800m British title for the fist time. Taking into account Reekie's experience and pedigree, she's expected to come at least second but with 2024 Olympian Phoebe Gill on the start line, a ticket to Paris is by no means guaranteed for the Scot. Reekie's compatriots, Wallace and Sarah Calvert could also push the favourites hard. In the 3000m steeplechase, new Scottish record holder, Sarah Tait is on for a top two finish but will need to drop nine seconds on her personal best to secure World Championships selection. In the sprints, Alyson Bell and Alisha Rees are in action, Nicole Yeargin is in the 400m while on the field, Nick Percy has already thrown the discus qualifying distance and only needs to finish inside the top two to ensure he's heading to Tokyo.
Daily Record
41 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Mario Lapointe reveals investment in Dumbarton goes beyond cash as owner bares his soul to management and punters
The new Dumbarton owner is bullish over the events which have transpired since he took the reins at The Rock in Jun Right now Mario Lapointe is a happy chappy. The new Dumbarton owner is bullish over the events which have transpired since he took the reins at The Rock in June after the Good Ship Sons ran aground in the form of liquidation and the subsequent forming as a newco after a 15-point penalty put paid to their League One status. Scottish football is no stranger to unexpected saviours but a French-Canadian musician who has made his money in the world of electronics is the unlikeliest spark for a club in need. But Lapointe is bullish over the Sons' future with ticket sales on the up, added investment in the club's youth set-up and pioneering pay it forward schemes directly engaging youths in the Dumbarton area. They will start the League Two season with a five-point penalty but the mood music around Lapointe's most ambitious project yet is rising after a Premier Sports Cup campaign which started with a win over Stirling Albion and ended with a victory over crisis-hit Hamilton. Montreal native Lapointe is a big personality but his role as custodian of Dumbarton doesn't come with a laissez-faire attitude – just ask the management team who hear from him after every game. Football advisor Neil Watt, appointed by Lapointe himself, and manager Stevie Farrell receive an instant debrief from the boss who is back in Scotland for their League Two opener against Clyde as they aim to quickly wipe out the deduction they were slapped with. Speaking exclusively to Record Sport, Lapointe said: "I'll be watching our games and I take notes and I take notes and after the game I'll write to our adviser Neil Watt and Stevie, our coach, and I'll share my notes. "I coached hockey 19 years and there's things in hockey that we cannot take a low effort or something like that or we're attached to details because it's a very fast game, ice hockey is very fast compared to football "I write what I see, just like I'm talking to you now, I'm a guy that's very direct. I don't beat around the bush too much. and so, I write exactly what I see. "And then to push my efforts, I'll make sure that if I have a solution for it, the solution will be there too, and I send it to them and they (management team) probably go, "Oh my god.", "And this is why I went to get Neil Watt at the same time. I had set five different aspects for me to evaluate our coaching staff and those five aspects. "So for me to be able to evaluate, let's say, the coaching staff, the confidence level, it's like statistics, you have a certain way of saying things, but what's your confidence level? for the coaching staff to receive it, it could not just be from this French Canadian guy that knows about hockey and coaching. It had to be also from a guy that agrees with it, or doesn't agree with it in Neil Watt, right now in our perspective, he's that guy. He's taking care of it. "He's the mentor of the coaching staff, but also he's a guy that's taking his notes as well, and he receives mine. And maybe our notes match sometimes, and perhaps they don't. I cannot be everything, which I am not the best at everything, but I'm pretty good at everything. But I surround myself with some of the best. I'll try to anyway. and that's what I tried to do in this case." The new man in town is an open book and appears willing to self-evaluate after admitting the emotions of his first voyage to the Shire resulted in emotions running high and a club legend offering a quiet gesture to avoid the owner boiling over in front of his public. Lapointe admits his primal reactions in the stands came as a surprise to himself. He added: "During the game, I'll say nothing. I'll watch. If I'm at the stadium, it's a different thing though because at the stadium, I did find myself getting mad a couple of times last time and that's not usually me. "But when you coach for so many years behind a bench, you're not a guy that lets yourself go so much because everything's planned and you're going at it, But when you're in the stands, it has been a while that I haven't been in the stands for a long time. It was good because I was sitting next to Murdo MacLeod and he put his hand on my shoulder a couple of times "So, I don't know if he noticed that, but he was really trying to calm me down, I think. And that's fine because I am a competitive guy. I like to obviously win and I don't mind losing. I've never been a bad loser, but every loss is an opportunity to find out why you lost and how you can do something different and right now I'm happy." Lapointe comes with no airs and graces despite his success in life and his modesty in the abode he rests his eyes on when he makes the trip from Canada to his new home. And his open doors policy has stretched to his social media presence, with Dumbarton fans invited directly to his personal Facebook page as he toyed with letting those beyond the stadium hear about the success of a team under new ownership. He said: "They say that change is hard to happen, and for me I don't have that problem of being uncomfortable. You know what I mean? if I send you where I live when I go to Scotland right now it was a mattress in an empty apartment and that was it, and I got it late and stuff and I couldn't care less. "I had a picture on my Facebook with a huge church bell that comes in the rack and a lot of people, 'my god, what does he want to do with that and stuff?' And I didn't buy it, of course. but in Montreal, one of the biggest things is that people have a losing team,..but when they score, the whole town knows because you can hear that bell ringing, and it puts a smile on your face every time."
