SPORT - The African Mirror

Sep

22

2023

Women on top: How female athletes rescued top running nations in the 2023 World Athletics Championships medals table

ATHLETICS

WHILE the USA was the top-ranked country in Hungary, with 29 medals (12 gold, eight silver and nine bronze) and Kenya the most successful African nation, with 10 medals (three gold, as many silver and four bronze), it was the women athletes who brought home most of the medals in both cases. The year's premier athletics event saw America's women bag 14 medals compared to 13 for the men, while Team Kenya had six from their women and four from the men. Kenya would have missed gold completely, had it not been for in-form women runners, in the shape of…

Jul

15

2023

By The African Mirror

Morocco gets kind draw in Africa qualifiers for 2026 World Cup

FOOTBALL

WORLD Cup semi-finalists Morocco have been handed a gentle path to the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada after the draw was made for the African qualifiers in Abidjan. The top team in each of the nine groups, which each contains six countries, qualifies automatically for the World Cup. The four best runners-up will enter an African playoff stage, where the winners will feature in the inter-confederation playoffs to be held in March 2026. It means Africa is guaranteed nine places at the expanded 48-team finals, with a 10th side possibly added via the playoffs. Morocco has…

Jul

15

2023

By The African Mirror

Zambia call up teenage goalkeeper Lungu for Women’s World Cup

FOOTBALL

ZAMBIA has called up 18-year-old goalkeeper Leticia Lungu as a replacement for first-choice Hazel Nali, who was forced out of the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand with a knee injury, officials said. Lungu was part of a 35-player provisional squad but did not make the final cut as Nali, Kazakhstan-based goalkeeper Catherine Musonda and Nkwazi Queens' Eunice Sakala were selected. Nali tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during a training camp in Germany, a blow for the team as she had helped them reach their first World Cup and to finish third in last year’s Women’s Africa…

Jul

14

2023

By MARTYN HERMAN

An African in the Wimbledon final!

SPORT

TUNISIA'S Ons Jabeur believes the lessons she learned in two Grand Slam final defeats will stand her in good stead for Saturday's Wimbledon showdown with unseeded Czech Marketa Vondrousova. Jabeur showed incredible endurance on Thursday to absorb the brutal power of second seed Aryna Sabalenka to claim a 6-7(5) 6-4 6-3 victory after trailing by a set and 4-2. She is now back in a position she found herself in at last year's Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, requiring one win to become the first African woman as well as the first Arab to win a major. "Last year was my…

Jul

13

2023

By The African Mirror

Semenya says discrimination verdict was ‘long time coming’

ATHLETICS

THE verdict of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the case of Caster Semenya raises "serious questions" about the validity of World Athletics’ requirement that female athletes with high natural testosterone levels take drugs to lower it, the South African athlete said. The ECHR ruled, by a slender majority of four votes to three, on Tuesday that the double Olympic 800m champion's original appeal against World Athletics regulations had not been properly heard by the Swiss Federal Tribunal, criticising the process followed rather than the verdict reached. Semenya, 32, is an athlete with XY chromosomes and differences in…

Jul

13

2023

By The African Mirror

Al-Ahly win record-extending Egyptian League in a perfect season

FOOTBALL

AFRICAN Champions Al-Ahly secured a record-extending 43rd Egyptian League title, without playing, as their closest rivals Pyramids were beaten 2-1 by Ceramica Cleopatra. Al-Ahly, who won a record-extending 11th title in African Champions League last month, have now clinched five titles since last October with coach Marcel Koller enjoying his first season in Egypt. The Cairo giants have now 75 points from 29 games, with five matches to play, eight points ahead of Pyramids, who have two remaining games. Pyramids opened the score with a Karim Hafez free kick, before conceding near the end of each half through Forward Salah…

Jul

13

2023

By The African Mirror

Ricciardo replaces De Vries at AlphaTauri from Hungary

MOTORSPORT

AUSTRALIAN Daniel Ricciardo will return to a Formula One race seat with AlphaTauri from Hungary next week after replacing Nyck de Vries for the rest of the season, the Red Bull-owned team said. Ricciardo drove for the team from 2012-13 when they were known as Toro Rosso and then graduated to Red Bull from 2014 to 2018, winning seven races. He left McLaren last year after being replaced by compatriot Oscar Piastri and was due to spend 2023 on the sidelines as Red Bull reserve while deciding his future intentions. "I am stoked to be back on track with the…

Jul

10

2023

By ALAN BALDWIN

Verstappen takes Red Bull’s 11th win in a row

MOTORSPORT

MAX Verstappen won the British Grand Prix to stretch his Formula One lead to 99 points as unbeaten Red Bull equalled McLaren's 1988 record run of 11 victories in a row. McLaren's Lando Norris finished second in front of a roaring 160,000-strong home crowd at Silverstone, with fellow Briton and seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton third for Mercedes after starting seventh. "Eleven in a row. That's pretty crazy," said Verstappen over the team radio after what was also his sixth win in a row and eighth in 10 races this season. The double world champion bagged the fastest lap bonus…

Jul

09

2023

By BIRD STORY AGENCY

The rise of Nigerian rugby

SPORT

AFTER a long absence from serious regional or international rugby - dominated in Africa by South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Madagascar and Tunisia - Nigeria has startled stalwarts in the African rugby scene by making it into a qualifying tournament for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. A recent surge in performance indicates a promising future for the sport in Africa's most populous nation, with the Black Stallions just one tournament away from securing a spot in the 2024 Olympics. The team's talent, determination - and a new coach in Steve Lewis - were all on display at the Mauritius…

Jul

09

2023

By The African Mirror

De Gea leaves Manchester United after contract expires

FOOTBALL

DAVID de Gea has left Manchester United following the end of his contract, with the Spanish goalkeeper penning a farewell message to the Premier League club's fans on Saturday after 12 seasons with the Old Trafford side. De Gea's contract expired on June 30 but at the time the club said they were still in discussions with the 32-year-old shot-stopper over an extension. The Spaniard, who joined United in 2011 when Alex Ferguson was manager, was the current squad's longest-serving player having made nearly 550 appearances. "I just wanted to send this farewell message to all Manchester United supporters," De…