SPORT - The African Mirror

Dec

13

2020

Max Verstappen on maiden pole in last 2020 race

SPORT

BOITUMELO RANTAO RED Bull’s Max Verstappen, who has been among the fastest on the circuit throughout the season, was made to wait until the last race of the season for his first pole. The Dutch driver became the fourth different pole sitter in four weeks in the final weekend of the 2020 F1 season. Verstappen celebrated with his team for their performances throughout the season, “I think for the mechanics and everyone in the team this was a great boost, I didn’t really expect to fight for pole today but it was very satisfying”. The Mercedes duo found themselves in…

Sep

27

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria defeat Mali to complete AfroBasket three-peat

SPORT

BOITUMELO RANTAO AFRICAN powerhouse Nigeria defeated Mali 70-59 in a scorching Women’s African Basketball Championship (AfroBasket) final hosted at the City Arena in Yaounde, Cameroon. Nigerian forward Victoria Macaulay made a three-point shot 30-seconds into the anticipated final to open the scoring - and the two-time defending champions never looked back. D’Tigress (Nigeria’s Senior Women’s Basketball team) led the entirety of the final, momentarily looking stifled in the second quarter as Mariam Coulibaly mounted a comeback with Mali. Nigeria led 31-24 going into halftime after the Malian women fought back valiantly. Nigeria dominated from the third quarter and beyond, extending…

Sep

26

2021

By The African Mirror

Hamilton’s historic win at Sochi marks his 100th

SPORT

BOITUMELO RANTAO On a partly wet Russian afternoon, world champion Lewis Hamilton drove like a legend to win the Russian Grand Prix, retake the world championship race and became the first driver in F1 history to record 100 victories. After he took the chequered flag, Hamilton conceded that a century of victories was a hard toil all the way. “It was hard work,” he said.”. To get to a hundred…” Hamilton’s driving and Mercedes strategy won the race that many thought was going to be won by McLaren’s Lando Norris, who led the race until lap 50 of the 53…

Dec

10

2020

By The African Mirror

Egypt and Mali claim U18 AfroBasket Honours

SPORT

BOITUMELO RANTAO MALI’S U18 men’s national team won their second straight Federation International Basketball (FIBA) U18 African championship title after edging Senegal 82 - 80 in their finals matchup in Cairo, Egypt. https://twitter.com/FIBA/status/1336772508159270913 The young Malian team were defeated by their Senegalese adversaries earlier in the week, but rose up to take the title with a last minute dynamic style. Both teams have booked their place in the 2021 U19 World Cup. Mali were helped by their young star Bourama Coulibaly, who was named tournament MVP, for his standout performances throughout the week. https://twitter.com/EBBFED/status/1336791753505050627 The Women’s championship ran concurrently with…

Sep

24

2021

By The African Mirror

LaLiga wonderkids primed to steal the show

SPORT

The emergence of lively young talent in the Spanish LaLiga Santander has breathed fire into an exciting 2021/2020 season. Today, we shine the light on the most exciting budding prospects that are expected to lift the mantle and usher in a new era of flair and excellence. Pedri LaLiga is notorious for creating technical players who are excellent on the ball and work best in fluid systems. Pedri, who broke into Barcelona’s first team last season, was the driving force of their midfield, initiating the offense with a unique creative spark. The young midfielder came through at Las Palmas before…

Dec

10

2020

By The African Mirror

PSG and Istanbul Basaksehir players wear ‘no to racism’ t-shirts ahead of rescheduled game

SPORT

JULIEN PRETOT PARIS St Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir players wore 'No to racism' t-shirts before their rescheduled Champions League game, which was suspended on Tuesday when the teams walked off in protest after the Turkish club accused a match official of racism. UEFA said on Wednesday that it had appointed an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector to "conduct a disciplinary investigation regarding the incident". The incident was sparked when Basaksehir's assistant coach Pierre Webo was shown a red card for protesting against a refereeing decision and the Turkish side then alleged that the Romanian fourth official Sebastian Coltescu used a racist…

Dec

08

2020

By The African Mirror

England ODI series in S.Africa postponed over mental health fears

SPORT

NICK SAID ENGLAND’S One-Day International series against South Africa has been postponed amid concerns over the mental and physical health of the players, Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a joint statement. The announcement comes after the players were subjected to a number of COVID-19 scares with potentially five cases inside the teams' bio-secure environment in Cape Town, with one South Africa player and two hotel staff confirmed as positive. Two members of the England tour party also have "unconfirmed positive results" that require further investigation, the ECB said on Sunday. "The…

Sep

21

2021

By The African Mirror

SA Celebs and sports stars take polar plunge for SA Special Olympians

SPORT

BOITUMELO RANTAO CELEBRITIES and sports personalities braved icy waters, for a good cause, in Johannesburg, South Africa during the fifth annual Special Olympics South Africa (SOSA) polar plunge. The polar plunge, a dive in a pool with five tons of ice, was an effort to raise funds for the 2021 SOSA national team who are set to travel to Winter Games Russia. Over 150 celebrities, sports stars, industry members and corporations pledged to take the plunge in support of athletes living with intellectual disabilities. The Special Olympics is a global sports development organization operating in over 180 countries - serving…

Dec

07

2020

By The African Mirror

Kenya’s Kandie smashes half marathon world record in Valencia

SPORT

KENYA’S Kibiwott Kandie smashed the half marathon world record by 29 seconds on Sunday, becoming the first person to break 58 minutes at the Valencia Half Marathon. Kandie, who finished second at the world half marathon championships in Gdynia in October, finished the Spanish annual race in 57 minutes and 32 seconds, breaking the previous record of 58:01 set by compatriot Geoffrey Kamworor in September 2019. “I can’t believe it, I have beaten Kamworor’s world record by half a minute,” Kandie said. “Today is a great day for me and also for Kenya.” The top four men all ran under…

Sep

21

2021

By The African Mirror

Unleashing women superstars at FC Robo

SPORT

HUMPHREY NJOKU FC ROBO - a football academy as well as a men's and women's football club - is one of those institutions that in certain circles is recognised as a giant-slayer, while outside of those circles it is relatively unknown. That' should change. It would certainly be good for women's football in Africa if FC Robo was a lot more famous. Chidinma Okeke, Rasheedat Ajibade and Asisat Oshoala have all been through its doors. If those names don't mean anything to you, they should. Ajibade plays her football for Atletico Madrid, in the Spanish womens' league, Okeke plays for…