Cycling-Pogacar wins fourth Tour de France title, Van Aert takes final stage
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The Star
21 minutes ago
- The Star
Triathlon-PTO announces investment by Saudi Arabia-backed sports fund
(Reuters) -The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO), a governing body which organises professional triathlons around the world, said on Monday that it had secured investment from Saudi Arabia-backed sports fund SURJ. Sources close to the deal valued it at around $40 million. "The funding will support the PTO's continued international growth, innovation in race formats, and long-term athlete and fan engagement," the PTO said in a statement. "It will also help accelerate the PTO's expansion into the MENA region, with Saudi Arabia a likely future host market for its flagship T100 Triathlon World Tour. "Today's announcement follows a $10 million investment from Cordillera Investment Partners in March 2025 and builds on previous rounds led by Divergent Investments, Warner Bros. Discovery, and health-focused venture fund Eckuity." The PTO and governing body World Triathlon jointly launched the "T100" race series last year, which features races comprising a 2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run. The series is made up of eight races and a final, which will take place in Qatar later this year. "The PTO is redefining endurance sport for modern audiences – blending elite racing with inclusive, mass participation formats, global storytelling and community engagement," SURJ CEO Danny Townsend said in a statement. "We're proud to support this next phase of growth and to explore how the model can inspire more people across the region to get active." SURJ Sports Investments, a unit of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), in February said it had bought a minority stake in sports streaming platform DAZN. Reuters reported in March that SURJ was considering investing in a new body which World Athletics may potentially set up to manage the sport's commercial rights. Women's rights activists and members of the LGBTQ community have accused Saudi Arabia of "sports-washing" and criticise the country's human rights record, even as it pumps huge amounts of money into sports including soccer, Formula One, tennis and golf. The country denies accusations of human rights abuses and says that it protects its national security through its laws. (Reporting by Mitch Phillips in London, additional reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Soccer-Newcastle players getting on with it amid Isak exit talk, says Howe
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Everton - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - May 25, 2025 Newcastle United's Alexander Isak reacts after missing a chance to score Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith/File Photo SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Newcastle United's players are professionals who will not let ongoing speculation linking striker Alexander Isak with a move away from St. James' Park affect their focus as they prepare for the Premier League season, manager Eddie Howe said. Isak, who bagged 23 league goals last season, only behind Liverpool talisman and Golden Boot winner Mohamed Salah (29), was left out of Newcastle's squad for their pre-season tour of Asia. The 25-year-old, capped 52 times for Sweden, joined Newcastle from Real Sociedad in 2022 and has since netted 62 times in 109 appearances across all competitions. After Newcastle's 3-2 defeat by Arsenal in Singapore on Sunday, Howe told reporters the tour was "business as usual" for the players. "You don't get a chance when you come on to these tours to think of anything other than training, the next game, the level is so high that even in these games we have to be very well prepared," he added. "We have to try and be at our best. So naturally, I think we're going to miss a player of Alex's quality and the group are going to feel that. There's no denying that. "And I can't sit here and claim that they (the players) won't. But they're a very professional group of players and they're doing brilliantly as far as I can see in terms of managing the situation." Newcastle, who qualified for Champions League football after finishing fifth in the Premier League last season, are next in action against a K-League XI in South Korea on Wednesday. (Reporting by Lion Schellerer in Singapore, writing by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Fencing-Russian Egorian wins gold at world championships as neutral athlete
(Reuters) -Russian Yana Egorian won gold in the women's sabre at the World Fencing Championships in Georgia on Sunday, where she was competing as a neutral athlete. Egorian, a gold medallist in both the individual and team sabre events at the Rio Olympics, claimed a 15-11 victory over Poland's Zuzanna Cieslar in the final in Tbilisi. Russian Kirill Borodachev won silver in the men's individual foil earlier in the competition, also as a neutral athlete. "I'm very happy. Today was very difficult, especially when I fenced with Lisa Pusztai (round of 64)," Egorian said. "I spoke with my coach, and he understood what I didn't do right, and after that I fenced better. Now I want to win the (next) Olympic Games." The decision by the sport's global governing body (FIE) to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals at the event sparked a backlash from Ukraine's fencing federation, which said it was considering legal action over the inclusion of athletes with Russian military ranks. More than 440 fencers from 40 countries signed an open letter urging the FIE to reinstate rigorous background checks on Russian and Belarusian athletes competing under neutral status. The FIE has said its decision "underscores the Federation's commitment to peace, fairness, and the global unity of sport". (Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
