SPORT - The African Mirror

Aug

03

2021

Olympics-Biles retakes spotlight as world records fall, IOC probes Belarus

SPORT

STEVE KEATING and MITCH PHILLIPS SIMONE Biles retook the gymnastics stage on Tuesday after a week's absence, electrifying the Tokyo Olympics on a day that saw world records smashed and organisers probe Belarus's treatment of an athlete now in diplomatic protection. The return of the American, considered by many the greatest gymnast ever, ensured a blockbuster finale for the sport at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre as Biles scored 14.000 on the balance beam to take the bronze. She had abruptly dropped out of the team event earlier in the Games citing mental health issues and increasing the global spotlight on…

Aug

03

2021

By The African Mirror

Olympics-Athletics-Namibian sprinters resurrect ‘paradox’ of DSD rules

SPORT

MITCH PHILLIPS THE presence of Namibian teenagers Beatrice Masilingi and Christine Mboma in the Olympic women's 200 metres final weeks after they were banned from the 400m due to excess levels of testosterone has reopened the debate about DSD athletes. The two 18-year-olds are the latest to fall foul of the rules regarding female athletes with Differences of Sexual Development (DSD) after more than a decade of the sport's authorities wrestling with the issue. A DSD or intersex athlete is broadly described as one who has XY sex chromosomes, has a blood testosterone level in the male range and has…

Feb

20

2021

By The African Mirror

Osaka shines to claim second Australian Open crown

SPORT

IAN RANSOM NAOMI Osaka gave Jennifer Brady a lesson in Grand Slam tennis as she cruised to a 6-4 6-3 win to secure her second Australian Open title and cement her standing as the new queen of the women's game. Osaka's victory over the 22nd-seeded American at a floodlit Rod Laver Arena gave the Japanese third seed her fourth major crown at the age of 23. Fans hoping for a repeat of the pair's engrossing U.S. Open semi-final last year were left disappointed as Brady froze in the spotlight of her first Grand Slam final. U.S. Open champion Osaka played…

Feb

20

2021

By The African Mirror

African basketball: The road to Kigali clears up

SPORT

BOITUMELO RANTAO AFRICAN basketball championship (Afrobasket) qualifiers concluded their proceedings in Monastir, Tunisia with multiple teams including Nigeria, Mali, and first-time qualifiers South Sudan qualifying for the finals tournament in Kigali, Rwanda. Basketball’s eyes shifted to Yaounde, Cameroon as five-time champions Senegal continued their unbeaten run stamping their authority with a 69-51 victory over Kenya. Group B participants Kenya, under the guidance of the first-ever female head coach in a major continental competition, Liz Mills, impressed. They improved from the blowout loss against Senegal in the first Afrobasket qualifying window to a slim loss.. https://twitter.com/FSBBOFFICIEL/status/1362791085123244036 Elsewhere in group B Angola…

Jul

30

2021

By The African Mirror

Olympics: Djokovic’s golden dream ends on day of upsets marred by doping slur

SPORT

MITCH PHILLIPS, ROZANNA LATIFF and SIMON EVANS TOP-RANKED Novak Djokovic had his dreams of tennis gold dashed on Friday while Ethiopia's Selemon Barega felled the reigning world 10,000 metres Olympic champion, on a day of upsets that saw doping allegations surface at the swimming pool. Serbia's Djokovic was aiming to become the first man to complete the Golden Slam - Olympic gold and all four majors in the same year - but was undone by fifth-ranked German Alexander Zverev who fought back after losing the first set. The two men embraced briefly at the net and Zverev appeared to sob…

Jul

31

2021

By The African Mirror

Gymnastics-Biles spells out struggles, no clear word on further participation

SPORT

ELAINE LIES and GABRIELLE TETRAULT-FARBER STAR U.S. gymnast Simone Biles on Friday spelled out her struggles to perform, days after pulling out of the team and women's all-around competitions in Tokyo, but shed no clear light on whether she would take part in further individual events. Biles shocked the world on Tuesday when she did one vault at the start of the women's team final and then pulled out, later saying she had lost her way in the air. The U.S. team subsequently won silver. "It's honestly petrifying trying to do a skill but not having your mind & body…

Jul

30

2021

By The African Mirror

Olympics: Doping raises its head as BMX marred by crashes

SPORT

AMERICAN swimmer Ryan Murphy has stoked controversy at the Tokyo Games when he raised the spectre of doping after losing his second Olympic title to Russian rival Evgeny Rylov. Murphy, who won three gold medals at the 2016 Rio Games, said his 200 metre backstroke final was "probably not clean" after he lost to Rylov, competing as part of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). The comments threw an unwelcome spotlight on doping for Tokyo 2020 organisers as the blue riband athletics competition got under way, on a day further marred by accidents on the BMX track, including a horrendous spill…

Jul

30

2021

By The African Mirror

Olympics: China pulls ahead on gold medals as American Kendricks out for COVID-19

SPORT

SIMON EVANS and MITCH PHILLIPS THE rivalry of economic powerhouses China, Japan and the United States played out in an Olympic swimming pool on Thursday, where a world record in the women's freestyle relay put the Chinese ahead by one gold medal at the Tokyo Games. American joy at their own double gold in the pool was tempered as pole vaulter Sam Kendricks was ruled out of the Games due to a positive COVID-19 test, prompting members of the Australian athletics team to briefly isolate in their rooms and highlighting the ever-present risk of infection at the Games. China gained…

Feb

18

2021

By The African Mirror

Osaka to meet Brady in final as Williams exits in tears

SPORT

IAN RANSOM NAOMI Osaka ended Serena Williams' bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title with an imperious 6-3 6-4 win today, a victory that booked her spot in her second Australian Open final and left the American great in tears. In a rematch of their tumultuous 2018 U.S. Open decider, Osaka underlined her status as the new queen of women's tennis and soaked up the cheers from the Rod Laver Arena crowd as fans returned to the Grand Slam after a five-day lockdown. "It's just always an honour to play her and I just didn't want to go out…

Jul

28

2021

By The African Mirror

Olympics-Biles out of next event, mental health in Games spotlight

SPORT

DAVID DOLAN, ELAINE LIES and MARTIN PETTY SIMONE Biles withdrew from the individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday, a day after she shocked the world by pulling out of the team event. Olympians past and present flooded the U.S. gymnast with messages of support as the mental health of athletes -- and the extra pressures brought by the COVID-19 pandemic -- were in sharp focus at the Games. "The advice I would give is to reach out, to colleagues and friends," said Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics. "Don't be afraid to show vulnerability, it's a badge…