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CJ Ujah seeks strong start to season in Yokohama

Published in Athletics

Friday, 10 May 2019 14:29

The global 4x100m gold medallist wants to put down a marker at this weekend’s IAAF World Relays

CJ Ujah might be using this weekend’s IAAF World Relays as a chance to test his form, but he’s also very aware that it is an opportunity for the GB team to make a real mark at the start of another important season.

The event offers Ujah his first outdoor race of the year, where the main aim is just “to get my legs moving and see where I am with my training and how it’s all going”. But he adds: “The British boys want to put down a marker and hopefully qualify for the Olympics.”

The 25-year-old Enfield & Haringey sprinter was Diamond League 100m champion in 2017, but 2018 was a learning curve as he experienced a false start in the World Indoors and then a fourth-place finish in the European Championships 100m before a relay win.

“2018 was a big learning year for me,” says the 2013 European junior champion. “I changed so much including basing myself in Arizona. It didn’t quite work out but I don’t have any regrets about trying it.

“As I look at 2019, I think the next three years are massive for me.

“I know what I can do in a world-class field as I approach 2019 and look ahead to 2020 and 2021.

“I have moved back to Loughborough to my old coach, Jonas Dodoo, who got me to where I am.”

While Ujah has clear ambitions in individual events, he is delighted to be part of the world champion sprint relay squad.

“We are quite a young squad and we’ve learnt a lot together,” says Ujah, who teamed up with Adam Gemili, Danny Talbot and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake to win the world title in London in 2017.

“Some of us have grown up together, juniors into seniors. So we’re pretty close and get on well together and we learnt from the years that we didn’t do so well. I don’t think we would be where we are today without those years of learning.

“Sometimes you have to go a bit backwards to go forwards but we are definitely heading in the right direction, with no complacency and everyone doing what they need to do. It’s just about going out there and running your best race.”

As he talks about the relay squad, he is excited but recognises that none of the 2017 gold medallists can take their place for granted.

“That’s a fact but that’s what keeps the fire burning and makes us want to do better,” says Ujah, who is joined in Yokohama in the GB World Relays 4x100m squad by Gemili, Mitchell-Blake, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, Sam Gordon and Richard Kilty.

“I know that if I’m not ready to go out there, others are. But I’m certainly in the mix and hoping each and every time to go on the track and compete for my country.

“They call us the golden generation of British sprinting and it is strong and competitive group, a great thing to be part of.”

This is his second time at the IAAF World Relays, having been in Bahamas in 2017, and he is hoping to do better.

“2017 didn’t go quite as well as we thought it would but then look what happened at the world championships that year,” he says. “This year we have a new face in the squad in Sam Gordon and he is fitting in really well.”

On this year’s event, he adds: “I’m sorry we haven’t entered a team in the 4x200m and I hope we will in the future because we’ve got the strength in depth for two squads.

“So I’d like to see us in the 4x100m and the 4x200m, having a bit of fun and taking some of the pressure off ourselves, because I think that if we take the pressure off and have fun with it we always surprise ourselves with our performance.”

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Madrid Open: Simona Halep beats Belinda Bencic to reach final

Published in Tennis

Friday, 10 May 2019 08:07

Simona Halep continued her bid to regain the world number one ranking by beating Switzerland's Belinda Bencic to reach the Madrid Open final.

The world number three overcame a second-set fightback from 18th-ranked Bencic to win 6-2 6-7 (2-7) 6-0.

Romania's Halep, 27, will overtake Naomi Osaka at the top of the rankings if she wins the title.

She will play either Kiki Bertens or Sloane Stephens - who she beat in last year's French Open final - on Saturday.

Halep has reached the Madrid final four times in her career and won the title in 2016 and 2017.

Bencic, who beat Japan's Osaka in the quarter-finals, had won her past two meetings against Halep.

However, Halep, who describes clay as her favourite surface, was dominant in the final set.

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Madrid Open: Dominic Thiem beats Roger Federer to set up Novak Djokovic meeting

Published in Tennis

Friday, 10 May 2019 11:08

Dominic Thiem saved match points to end Roger Federer's clay-court return and reach the Madrid Open semi-finals.

Swiss Federer saved match points in his quarter-final on Thursday but squandered two of his own in the second-set tie-break against Thiem.

Austria's Thiem eventually came through 3-6 7-6 (13-11) 6-4 to set up a meeting with world number one Novak Djokovic.

Fifth seed Thiem previously beat 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer in the Indian Wells final in March.

Fourth seed Federer, 37, was playing in his first clay-court tournament for three years.

Thiem, a predominantly clay-court player who lost to Rafael Nadal in last year's French Open final, recovered from a slow start against Federer.

He created five break points on the Federer serve in the second set, but the Swiss held to force an eventual tie-break.

Federer had match point at 8-7 and 10-9 in the tie-break but Thiem saved them both and won four of the final five points to ensure a deciding set.

Thiem broke Federer early and went on to serve out the match at the second attempt.

He will play Djokovic on Saturday after the Serb received a walkover to the semi-finals.

Djokovic had been set to face Marin Cilic but the Croat pulled out after suffering with food poisoning.

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Moving towards positive change

Published in Table Tennis

Friday, 10 May 2019 05:09

The six main topics discussed during the Forum were governance, mechanisms to increase the pipeline of women for decision-making positions, funding allocations, coaches and technical officials at Olympic Games, tracking and monitoring progress and, last but not least, collaboration between International Federations, National Associations and National Olympic Committees.

Table discussions provided a great platform to participants for exchanging experiences, sharing challenges and solutions as well as brainstorming about best practices in the effective implementation of Gender Equality, which aims to bring positive change in their respective Federations.

In addition to working sessions, the International Olympic Committee updated the delegates on the status of implementation of the Gender Equality Recommendations introduced last year during the third International Federation’s Gender Equality Forum and presented the outcome of the Gender Equality survey conducted at the end of 2018, which explains how International Federations are progressing on gender equality. The main common challenge found for International Federations is still a shortage of females involved in leadership positions.

Participants had a chance to listen to Beth Brooke Marciniak, United States Olympic Committee Board of Directors member and Global Vice Chair at Ernst and Young, who together with Marisol Casado, IOC Member and President of the International Triathlon Union discussed the importance of strengthening Gender Equality across the Olympic Movement and shared her experience highlighting sport’s contribution to gender equality globally.

“Women are the third billion emerging market after China and India.” Beth Brooke Marciniak

The Forum was not only a fantastic occasion to gather and link International Federation representatives with a common goal which is to uplift and strengthen Gender Equality within their Federations but also to empower and inspire its participants in order to make a positive difference together in the area of Gender Equality. Being a part of this Forum assured me of how important it is to spread awareness about gender balance and value the role of women in sport.

I am pleased to say that we are currently revamping the Women’s Development Programme within the International Table Tennis Federation with the aim to provide an improvement in this area.

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Army v Navy match may move from Twickenham after area 'trashed'

Published in Rugby

Friday, 10 May 2019 04:59

The annual Army v Navy rugby match may be forced to move to a different venue over concerns fans see it as "a drunken, al fresco fancy dress party".

After Saturday's game, residents around Twickenham Stadium were said to have been upset by fans passing out in the street and urinating in gardens.

Gareth Roberts, leader of Richmond Council, said the area was being "trashed" by those attending.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) said it would look at the complaints.

For the third year in a row, the Army won the match, but it was marred by reports of incidents including attempted theft and a woman taken to hospital after being hit in the head with a bottle.

Mr Roberts said he wanted assurances from the RFU that residents would "not experience another day of drunken, loutish behaviour which brings the RFU and our armed services personnel into disrepute".

"Match attendees now see this event primarily as a drunken, al fresco fancy dress party with the rugby match itself being of secondary importance," he said.

Mr Roberts said those in the area around the 80,000-capacity stadium, which also hosts England international matches, were "proud to live in the home of rugby".

"They are also proud of this borough's longstanding connection to our armed forces," he continued.

"However, when they see their town being trashed by people attending the Army v Navy game they find their pride and goodwill being put to the test.

"We have long held the belief that, if it is to continue, then the fixture should be rotated among other stadia and we will be putting that case to the RFU."

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A spokeswoman for the RFU said "significant steps" were taken "to improve this event including reduced licensing hours, earlier kick-off and bar closures plus no games before the main match".

She added that "behaviour at this year's match was better than previous years".

"We will have a full debrief of this event with the police and the council as we do every year and will look at every complaint individually," she said.

The Met Police said four people were arrested for offences which included assault and public order related matters.

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Cronin & Maitland fit for Champions Cup final

Published in Rugby

Friday, 10 May 2019 04:56

Hooker Sean Cronin has been passed fit to start for holders Leinster in Saturday's European Champions Cup final against Saracens at St James' Park.

Cronin has recovered from a calf injury as Leinster, aiming for a record fifth title, are unchanged from the semi-final win over Toulouse.

Sean Maitland returns from injury as Saracens seek a third title.

Mark McCall makes two changes from the semi-final with Will Skelton joining George Kruis in the second row.

England forward Maro Itoje replaces Michael Rhodes - who is out with a back injury - at blindside flanker alongside Jackson Wray and Billy Vunipola in the back row.

EPCR European Player of the Year nominees Alex Goode and Mako Vunipola start at full-back and loose-head prop for Saracens.

England captain Owen Farrell is at fly-half and his international team-mate Jamie George starts at hooker, while Brad Barritt will lead the side from the midfield.

Rob Kearney will start for Leinster at full-back with Jordan Larmour and James Lowe occupying the wing berths.

Tadhg Furlong will be making his 100th appearance in a Leinster pack that also includes Sean O'Brien, who will be playing his final European game for the province before his move to London Irish.

Sarries have won all eight of their Champions Cup matches this season and are looking to add to the titles they won in 2016 and 2017.

The final comes at the end of a trying two months in which Saracens' management of the salary cap has come under scrutiny and Billy Vunipola defended Israel Folau's controversial social media post.

Leinster have not lost a European final in five attempts, having won the Champions Cup four times and Challenge Cup once, and head coach Leo Cullen does not want his side to lose sight of that.

"It is a fine balance, you can't be just thinking about the opposition," he said.

"You need to understand what makes Leinster a hard team to play against and what it took to get us to a final in the first place."

Both Saracens and Leinster could still win domestic titles too, with the Premiership and Pro14 semi-finals taking place later this month.

"These games turn on small moments, it might be a magical moment," said McCall. "We've got to be ready to take advantage of those."

Match stats

Line-ups

Leinster: R Kearney; Larmour, Ringrose, Henshaw, Lowe; Sexton (capt), McGrath; Healy, Cronin, Furlong, Toner, Ryan, Fardy, O'Brien, Conan.

Replacements: Tracy, J McGrath, Bent, Ruddock, Deegan, O'Sullivan, R Byrne, O'Loughlin.

Saracens: Goode; Williams, Lozowski, Barritt (c), Maitland; Farrell, Spencer; M Vunipola, George, Lamositele, Skelton, Kruis, Itoje, Wray, B Vunipola.

Replacements: Gray, Barrington, Koch, Isiekwe, Burger, Wigglesworth, Tompkins, Strettle.

For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.

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'A physical game of chess' - who will win Champions Cup final?

Published in Rugby

Friday, 10 May 2019 03:28

Europe's two best sides will face each other this Saturday in a match former England winger Ugo Monye expects to be "a physical game of chess".

Defending champions Leinster aim to become the first side in history to win the Champions Cup five times, while Saracens could claim their third title in four years.

With more than 20 internationals and 10 British and Irish Lions between the two sides, it will be a closely-fought final in Newcastle.

But how can you possibly separate Leinster and Saracens? Monye and BBC rugby union correspondent Chris Jones explain where the game could be won and lost.

'X factor' finishing ability

Saracens are unbeaten in the Champions Cup this season and have already secured their place in the Premiership semi-final. Meanwhile Leinster have only lost one European game in the past two seasons and could do the 'double-double' - winning back-to-back Pro14 and Champions Cup titles.

Ugo Monye: If Saracens play to the peak of their power and Leinster do, who wins? I've not a clue. If they don't take their opportunities - and they won't get many - they don't have a chance. In a game with two evenly-matched teams, you need to find a spark somewhere. You need someone who can do something out of the ordinary.

Stylistically, you have two teams that play in an identical way. You've got to have a better work ethic. These two teams pride themselves on that.

Chris Jones: For every Maro Itoje, there's a James Ryan. For every Mako Vunipola, there's a Tadhg Furlong. There's Owen Farrell and Johnny Sexton. In a tight game, that 'X factor' finishing ability is going to be huge.

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall has said this week the game will be decided by "small moments" which, in his words, "might be a magical moment". This is where the back-three players come in, whether it is Jordan Larmour and James Lowe for Leinster, or Liam Williams and Alex Goode for Sarries.

Johnny Sexton v Owen Farrell

England captain Owen Farrell is Saracens' fly-half while World Rugby player of the year Johnny Sexton is Leinster's number 10. England came out on top when the pair went head-to-head in the Six Nations earlier this year and Farrell is the top points scorer in the Champions Cup this season with 79. But Sexton, who already has four Champions Cup titles to his name, is the all-time leading points scorer in finals with 63.

Ugo Monye: It could come down to something as simple as Sexton and Farrell's tactical kicking. It's not as obvious as Larmour beating 10 players to score a wonder try. Something like that, territory kicking or kicking for goal could make all the difference because these two teams are so well-matched.

The amount of kick pressure and territory pressure both teams put on you, you have to have a good exit strategy. Whether it's kicking to compete or kicking for territory - you have to get that right with the kick-chase.

Chris Jones: Both teams have a strong kicking game, which has been instrumental in their success over the past few years. While Leinster's kicking game may be a bit more varied than Saracens', Farrell showed in the semi-final he likes to mix up his kicking in the Sexton mould. Picking the right moments to kick in attack will be crucial.

But when it comes to the boot, scrum-half Ben Spencer is the key man for Sarries. A left-footer, he looks a clone of Richard Wigglesworth - who has been the premier box-kicker in Europe over the past few years - and is beginning to play like him as well.

Expect Spencer to do the bulk of the clearing to touch for the men in black, but he will also bombard Leinster with box-kicks, which the chasers will look to re-gather in an attempt to capitalise on a broken defence.

'The tsunami effect of runner after runner'

Saracens and Leinster are tied for the most tries scored in the competition with 32 each. But a lot of both sides' success comes from their powerful forwards and the pressure they put on their opponents.

Ugo Monye: Both teams' ruck efficiency is sublime. It's been more than 90% right throughout this competition and that's where they get their yards. They'll go one, two, three phases over the gainline, to the backs with lovely shape then they sting you out wide.

For Saracens, Brad Barritt gets over the gainline, all of a sudden you get a quicker ruck speed and then second phase you've got someone like Billy Vunipola coming round the corner. It starts at source, if you don't get that first ruck right you're chasing your tail a bit. Then you get this tsunami effect of runner after runner. It applies to both teams.

Chris Jones: Few teams keep the ball as ruthlessly and accurately as Leinster - with their frightening ruck efficiency at the heart of their Champions Cup success last year. Both teams have an armoury of dynamic ball carriers, so whoever dominates the gainline should win the match.

But it is more than that - both sides possess outstanding distributors among their forwards, who can occupy defences before releasing others into space. Tadhg Furlong for Leinster and Jamie George and Mako Vunipola for Saracens are as good as their All Black front-row counterparts when it comes to handling skills.

But we are also looking at the two best defences in Europe. Could those defences nullify each other, or will the quality of attack prevail?

It's going to be a great final.

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Jonathan Rea Paces Practice In Italy

Published in Racing

Friday, 10 May 2019 08:55

IMOLA, Italy – Jonathan Rea paced both practice sessions on the opening day of World Superbike action at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari Friday.

Riding for Kawasaki, Rea topped the overall practice charts thanks to his lap time in the second practice. His best lap of 1:46.374 put him at the top of the charts over Ducati’s Chaz Davies, who was .155 of a second off the pace set by Rea.

Much like Rea was fastest in both practice sessions Friday, Davies was second fastest in both sessions aboard his Ducati.

Third belonged to 2013 World Superbike champion Tom Sykes, who rode his BMW bike to a best time of 1:46.766.

Alvaro Bautista, who is thus far undefeated in World Superbike competition this season, was fourth fastest overall aboard his Ducati thanks to his quick lap during the second practice.

Toprak Razgatlioglu of Turkish Puccetti Racing completed the overall top-five during World Superbike practice Friday afternoon.

Team Goeleven’s Eugene Laverty, a 13-time World Superbike race winner, crashed during the opening practice Friday and broke both his wrists. No timetable for his recovery has been announced.

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LEMASTERS: Getting Jazzed About The Indy 500

Published in Racing

Friday, 10 May 2019 09:00

Ron Lemasters Jr.

CONCORD, N.C. — Getting jazzed for the Indianapolis 500 has never been my problem.

Back in the days when I attended the race — circa 1970 through 2000 — there was no bigger time of the year for me or my family. It began to build when the weather changed, and in central Indiana, that was a slow change indeed.

As the weather got warmer, so did the feeling that it was time for another installment of the spring classic. Better yet, it meant hours of watching, listening and just plain luxuriating in the month of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Everyone who has ever been to Indy, I would guess, falls in love with the history, the ambiance and the fact that there’ve been more than 100 Indy 500s run on the same ground. For me, it was the Holy Land. Thanks to my dad, who grew up within sight of 16th Street and Georgetown Road and was immersed in the lore and ceremony that it entailed, I followed in that tradition.

Like Christmas, there was an interminable wait for the doggone race to get there. Practice was cool and Pole Day was a big deal — where else can you and 250,000 of your closest friends hang out all day and watch cars turn 200-mph laps?

My favorite day was the last day of qualifying: There were so many cars and drivers trying to make it in the field that you just sort of hung on every story. Roger Rager’s valiant attempt to get in with a stock-block Chevrolet engine comes to mind. Shoestring didn’t even begin to describe that effort, but he made the field.

The story is, quite frankly, equivalent to the movie “Hoosiers,” a small-time team goes to the big dance and wins a lot of hearts before slaying the giants of the sports. It didn’t quite end that way, but it is very similar.

Back in 1980, the Minnesota open-wheel driver took advantage of USAC rules that allowed more turbo boost for stock-block engines, and his effort became quite the story.

“When USAC said we were going to run the stock block here, we had to find a motor that had been well-used …,” Rager told The Associated Press in 1996. “It all starts with the block.”

Without a big budget, Rager and his team got creative.

“My theory was if I got a block out of a truck or a heavy unit that had been hot and cold and pulled a lot of weight, that block would have already done everything it was ever going to do,” he told AP. “So we were at the junkyard, and there sat a bus, and it was a Chevrolet and it had what we wanted. We pulled two or three motors out of different vehicles, but that one looked to be in the best shape, so we used that block. After the thing was bored and line-bored and oil passages cleaned out and aligned, that was the one we felt most confident in.”

With good reason, it turned out.

Qualifying 10th at 186.374 mph, Rager was ahead of four-time winner A.J. Foyt in the field, as well as 1973 winner Gordon Johncock and the first man to top 200 mph at Indy, Tom Sneva, all in well-funded rides that had engines purpose-built for the race.

The way it went, you knew Rager was going to do something spectacular, and he did: he led two laps early in the race. That’s right … the engine block that had hauled countless tots to school on a daily basis led two laps at Indianapolis.

Alas, the Cinderella story reverted to a pumpkin 40 laps later. Jim McElreath spun and hit the wall in turn one — right in front of my family’s seats in the Southwest Vista — and Rager tried to avoid him. That sent his machine into the inside wall and out of the race with a 23rd-place finish.

That was also the day Sneva and Gary Bettenhausen, who started 33rd and 32nd in the field, finished second and third, respectively.

Stories like these, and there are thousands of them, are one of the main reasons it’s never a problem for me to get jazzed about the Indy 500 every year.

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Bottas Tops Spanish Grand Prix Practice

Published in Racing

Friday, 10 May 2019 09:43

BARCELONA, Spain – Valtteri Bottas continued his strong start to the season by leading both Formula One practice sessions Friday at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Bottas set the overall fast time of the day in his Mercedes entry during the second practice session. His fast lap of 1:17.284 was .049 of a second better than that of his teammate and reigning Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton.

Both Mercedes drivers were testing out new parts during the opening day of practice for the Spanish Grand Prix, but it didn’t appear to slow either driver down.

“It’s always an interesting day when you’re bringing new parts to the car to get a feel for it and see if they bring the performance they should,” said Bottas. “The car felt really good today, completely different to how it was in winter testing, and it seems like our cornering performance has improved. The balance around the lap is also better, so it looks like we’ve taken the right direction since the winter. Today was good, but it’s only Friday and Ferrari are very close. It feels like we’ve made a good step forward, but we need to wait and see what tomorrow holds.”

Charles Leclerc was third overall for Ferrari based on his fast lap in the second practice. Sebastian Vettel, Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate, was fourth overall. Max Verstappen’s Honda-powered Red Bull ended the day fifth overall.

The only major incident in either practice saw Lance Stroll crash his Racing Point entry in turn nine. The team was able to get his car back on track for the second practice, but without some of the upgraded parts the team planned to utilize.

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