IAAF president reacts to ruling on new female classification rules ahead of Doha Diamond League, where Semenya will race 800m

IAAF president Seb Coe has welcomed the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decision which will see the introduction of new rules on female classification in athletics.

On Wednesday, the CAS dismissed the challenges from both two-time Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya and Athletics South Africa (ASA) against the rules, which relate to restricting testosterone levels in female runners in certain events on the world stage.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of Friday’s Doha Diamond League, where Semenya will race as a late entry to the 800m, Coe said: “I think this is pretty straightforward and it is very straightforward for any international federation in sport.

“Athletics has two classifications. It has age, it has gender.

“We are fiercely protective about both and I am really grateful that the court of arbitration has upheld that principle.”

His comments came on the same day that Semenya posted a couple of cryptic tweets, including one referencing “walking away” in a hint that she could be considering quitting the sport, or no longer fighting the ruling.

“Knowing when to walk away is wisdom,” reads the quote on a graphic posted by the three-time world gold medallist. “Being able to is courage. Walking away with your head held high is dignity.”

?‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/gCzZap740L

— Caster Semenya (@caster800m) May 2, 2019

The “IAAF Eligibility Regulations for Female Classification (Athletes with Differences of Sex Development)” (DSD Regulations) had been due to come into effect on November 1, 2018, but were suspended.

The regulations will now start on May 8, five days after Semenya races in Doha.

After that date, Semenya and other female athletes with DSD will need to reduce their natural testosterone level in order to take part in women’s track events from 400m to the mile in international competition.

Dan, do some research! Athletics’ categories are male & female. There are no defined “genetic advantage” categories. IAAF have acted to preserve the female category and fair female competition. They deserve credit since most other sports federations have been afraid to thus far.

— Paula Radcliffe (@paulajradcliffe) May 2, 2019

“I know that the IAAF’s regulations have always targeted me specifically,” read a statement from Semenya, who won both 1500m and 5000m titles at the recent South African Championships.

“For a decade the IAAF has tried to slow me down, but this has actually made me stronger. The decision of the CAS will not hold me back. I will once again rise above and continue to inspire young women and athletes in South Africa and around the world.”

British number one Johanna Konta reached a career-first clay-court semi-final with victory over Hsieh Su-wei at the Morocco Open.

World number 47 Konta came from a set down to beat the Taiwanese second seed 6-7 (1-7) 6-4 6-4 in two hours and 13 minutes.

The seventh seed, 27, hit 48 winners and two aces to progress in Rabat.

Konta will play Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic in the semi-finals for their third meeting of 2019.

Tomljanovic - fourth seed in Morocco - beat Konta in straight sets in Brisbane before the Briton won in three sets at the Australian Open later in January.

It is her first semi-final appearance since her defeat by Daria Kasatkina at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow in October 2018.

Dragons are set to appoint Dean Ryan, the former Worcester director of rugby, as their new head coach.

The 52-year-old will take over at Rodney Parade in place of Bernard Jackman, who left in December 2018.

Ceri Jones has coached the Welsh Pro 14 region in an interim role since the departure of the former Ireland hooker.

Ryan has been the Rugby Football Union's head of international player development since July 2016, after three years at the Worcester helm.

The former England number eight is no stranger to Rodney Parade, as he took on the role of rugby consultant for Dragons in December 2012.

Ryan has also coached Bristol and Gloucester, and was Scotland assistant coach from 2012-13.

Dragons finished second bottom of Pro14 Conference B last season, with five wins from 21 games, despite a recruitment drive last summer that included the arrival of Wales internationals Ross Moriarty, Richard Hibbard and Aaron Jarvis.

However, Dragons did finish on a high by beating Welsh rivals Scarlets 34-32 in the Judgement Day regular season finale at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

It has been a period of upheaval for the Gwent outfit, with Dragons managing director Mike Davies also leaving his role in April after a year in the job.

BREWERTON, N.Y. — The recent trend of wet weather that doesn’t seem to want to loosen its hold on the area causing drenched grounds and speedway surface has led officials to cancel Friday, May 3 opener at the Brewerton Speedway.

All systems are a go for Fulton Speedway’s high-speed racing excitement season opener on Saturday May 4 presented by Ferris Industries.

Doing battle on the “Highbanks” will be the Tracey Road Equipment DIRTcar Modifieds, plus the DOT Foods DIRTcar Sportsman, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux RUSH Late Models and E&V Energy Novice Sportsman.

HAMPTON, Ga. — Many Atlanta Motor Speedway fans will be greeted by roomier, more accommodating seating when NASCAR returns to Georgia in 2020.

The speedway is installing drink rails to selected seats within its Upper Champions Grandstand; adding a convenient surface for fans to place snacks and beverages without obstructing their view of the action on the speedway.

Attendees seated in areas with a drink rail will also benefit from increased leg room and storage space for coolers and bags beneath the drink rail.

The seating upgrades are the third improvement to come from Atlanta Motor Speedway’s “20 in 20” initiative.

All told the speedway will be announcing 20 individual enhancements to increase fan value and the overall enjoyment of the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 NASCAR weekend on March 13-15, 2020.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Even before the green flag waves for this weekend’s General Tire Music City 200 at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, Lexi Gay is already a winner.

Gay, 18, is a thyroid cancer survivor who wants to inspire others to reach their dreams, no matter what circumstance.

A native of Canton, Ga., Gay recently announced that she will compete in limited starts this year in the ARCA Menards Series with Empire Racing Group, while also continuing her development in NASCAR Late Model competition.

However, before she could get ready for this season, Gay had to overcome adversity that almost derailed her promising racing career last year.

During a doctor’s visit in June of 2018, Gay was informed that her thyroid was enlarged. At first, doctors found nothing too concerning, but routine blood work and initials test did show irregularities.

Over the next few months more blood work, ultrasounds and scans were performed. A mass was found on her thyroid, later revealed to be a tumor.

This led to yet another round of tests and multiple biopsies to learn more.

On Oct. 31, while traveling for a sponsor appearance, Gay received the call from her doctor confirming that she had thyroid cancer. She immediately returned home to Georgia for further testing and had surgery in December to remove her thyroid and surrounding lymph nodes.

Fortunately, the surgery was a success and no additional treatments are needed.

Gay’s last body scan indicated she is free of cancer and doctors have cleared her to get back to racing. Although she will be on thyroid medication for the rest of her life, Gay is feeling great and her prognosis is excellent.

“I feel blessed in so many ways,” she noted. “I look back at what I went through last year and it was scary and was a lot of emotions that cancer patients or people not feeling well, fight every day. And, now, I’m so fortunate to have that chapter behind me and be back on my path in my racing career. Now that I have this platform of racing, I want to use it to share my personal cancer story with others. I want to be an example of someone who had to overcome an unexpected obstacle in life to still reach my goal of racing professionally.

“There are so many people who fight cancer every day. I want to help them, raise awareness and support them in their fight,” she continued. “Even bigger, I just want to let anyone know that you can overcome adversity and still reach your goals. I hope I can use my time racing professionally as a platform to really spread that message.

“That’s important to me.”

Gay, who has risen through the ranks from Bandolero racing at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway to some of the toughest short tracks in the Southeast, racing in limited late model and late model events, is now under the guidance of team leader Mike “Grumpy” Cheek and the team at Empire Racing Group.

She makes her ARCA Menards debut Saturday night with support from Gordo’s Cheese Dip.

“Hopefully this weekend, people can see that I’m racing against everyone else and have reached the next step in my career,” said Gay.” Maybe that gives someone who is fighting that extra motivation to keep fighting.

“If I can evoke that emotion or inspiration, then that’s just as great as winning the race.”

SONOMA, Calif. — In anticipation of its newest testing program, Flying Lizard Motorsports has partnered with Lamborghini Squadra Corse and has taken delivery of a brand-new Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo.

Starting this month, the team will offer a testing platform primarily based at its home track of Sonoma Raceway.

“We are excited to be partnering with Lamborghini Squadra Corsa,” said Flying Lizard Program Manager Darren Law. “Having a 2019 Super Trofeo this season will allow us to grow our test program at Sonoma Raceway. The goal this year is to spend time investing in research and development of the new car and working with customers. We have had a high level of interest from many drivers wanting to experience the performance of this car and we are interested to see where this relationship can lead.”

The IMSA Lamborghini Super Trofeo North American series kicked off in April at Barber Motorsports Park, and has garnered significant interest among sports car drivers and teams.

In an effort to further promote the new Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo and the growing race series, the new program will provide the opportunity for interested parties to test the car with the six-time American Le Mans Series champions.

“Lamborghini Squadra Corse are delighted to be able to partner with a team such as Flying Lizard Motorsport in an effort to further promote the Super Trofeo racing platform,” said Chris Ward, senior manager, Motorsport Automobili Lamborghini America. “Adding a venue like Sonoma with the support of a team like them for our prospects to try out the car in a test environment is really exciting and I’m sure will bear fruit in the immediate future. I look forward to welcoming the team to the Series soon with some new customers to further expand our already growing grid in North America.”

The team’s first test with the 620 horsepower, V10 machinery will take place at the beginning of May.

The Vegas Golden Knights have promoted Kelly McCrimmon to general manager, while George McPhee will remain in his role as president of hockey operations, it was announced Thursday.

McCrimmon, who previously served as assistant general manager, was one of the hottest GM candidates in the league. He drew interest from the Edmonton Oilers, and sources told ESPN that he would have been a front-runner for the expansion Seattle team.

"Together they have constructed a championship-caliber team in a very short time," Golden Knights owner Bill Foley said of McPhee and McCrimmon in a statement. "This personnel move ensures that our hockey operations group stays intact and positions our organization for long-term success."

The new role for McCrimmon will take effect Sept. 1.

The Golden Knights said McCrimmon will represent the team at the league's GM meetings and be the point of contact for other NHL general managers. He will report to McPhee, who will continue to be responsible for all hockey operations decisions.

McCrimmon, 58, was named Vegas' assistant general manager in August 2016. Many around the NHL pointed to him as a key voice in scouting and evaluation for the Golden Knights' wildly successful expansion draft.

The Golden Knights opened the 2017-18 season with 200-1 odds to win the Stanley Cup -- the longest in the league -- and became the first NHL team to make the postseason in its inaugural season since the Oilers and Whalers merged from the WHA in 1979-80, when just five of the league's 21 teams didn't make the playoffs.

The Golden Knights lost to the Washington Capitals in last year's Stanley Cup Final. They again made the playoffs in 2019 but were eliminated by the San Jose Sharks in the first round.

McCrimmon is the longtime owner, general manager and coach of the Western Hockey League's Brandon Wheat Kings. McPhee had previously served as the general manager of the Capitals.

Carli Lloyd will be back for her fourth FIFA Women's World Cup after United States coach Jill Ellis announced her 23-person roster for the 2019 edition this summer in France.

Ellis attempted to bridge the gap between experience and change with almost half of the players named to the U.S. roster set to participate in the sport's signature event for the first time.

The roster includes 11 first-time participants, three more than the team that won the World Cup four years ago and tied for the third-most rookies among U.S. entries in the women's tournament that began in 1991.

But the roster announced Thursday also includes eight players who started in the 2015 World Cup final against Japan. That experience includes Lloyd, the tournament's reigning Golden Ball winner and now the ninth American woman to appear in four World Cups. Six more players are appearing in their third World Cup -- including a potential starting forward line of Tobin Heath, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe. Morgan and Rapinoe share the captain duties with Lloyd.

? BACK FOR FOUR

23 players on the squad. A nation at our back. Our World Cup roster is here.#OneNationOneTeam #FIFAWWC

— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) May 2, 2019

Defenders Ali Krieger, Kelley O'Hara and Becky Sauerbrunn also make a World Cup roster for the third time, with O'Hara and Sauerbrunn likely to fill starting roles on the back line.

In all, 12 players return from the 2015 team that won the championship.

There is also experience of a sort among the newcomers. Only goalkeeper Adrianna Franch, midfielders Rose Lavelle and Samantha Mewis, forward Jessica McDonald and defenders Abby Dahlkemper, Tierna Davidson and Emily Sonnett have no prior major tournament experience. Mewis and Sonnett were Olympic alternates in 2016 who traveled with the team before and during that tournament in Brazil.

Those 2016 Olympics turned out to be something of an early look at 2019. Despite Ellis' stated desire to expand the player pool and open up competition after the U.S. was eliminated from that event in the quarterfinals, 15 of the 18 players named to the smaller Olympic roster also appear on the current World Cup roster.

Crystal Dunn, Lindsey Horan and Mallory Pugh, all first-time World Cup participants who are expected to play leading roles, made their major tournament debuts in the Olympics.

This year also marks the first time since the first Women's World Cup in 1991 that a U.S. team will compete in either the World Cup or Olympics without at least one of Briana Scurry or Hope Solo among its goalkeepers. Named to this roster, Alyssa Naeher and Ashlynn Harris were part of the 2015 team but did not play any minutes in the tournament.

Among the notable omissions were defender Casey Short, who started 13 of the team's 16 games as recently as 2017, and midfielder McCall Zerboni, an NWSL standout who became the oldest player to earn her first cap when she debuted in 2017. After giving debuts to current and recent collegians like Emily Fox, Hailie Mace, Savannah McCaskill and Andi Sullivan, Ellis also opted to instead complete the roster with veterans like Morgan Brian, Krieger, Allie Long and McDonald.

The average age of the World Cup roster is 28, the same as the roster four years ago. That despite the inclusion of Davidson, the youngest player on the roster at 20, and Pugh, 21. Both Davidson and Pugh are younger than any player on the 2015 roster.

The only holdover from the 2007 team, Lloyd is the oldest player on the current roster at 36.

The United States plays Thailand in its opening game on June 11 in Reims. It also faces Chile and Sweden in Group F play. The only other team in the group ranked among the top 30 in the world, Sweden eliminated the U.S. in the 2016 Olympic quarterfinal.

Women's World Cup Roster by Position (Club):

Goalkeepers (3): Adrianna Franch* (Portland Thorns FC), Ashlyn Harris** (Orlando Pride), Alyssa Naeher** (Chicago Red Stars)

Defenders (7): Abby Dahlkemper* (NC Courage), Tierna Davidson* (Chicago Red Stars), Crystal Dunn* (NC Courage), Ali Krieger*** (Orlando Pride), Kelley O'Hara*** (Utah Royals FC), Becky Sauerbrunn*** (Utah Royals FC), Emily Sonnett* (Portland Thorns FC)

Midfielders (6): Morgan Brian** (Chicago Red Stars), Julie Ertz** (Chicago Red Stars), Lindsey Horan* (Portland Thorns FC), Rose Lavelle* (Washington Spirit), Allie Long* (Reign FC), Samantha Mewis* (NC Courage)

Forwards (7): Tobin Heath*** (Portland Thorns FC), Carli Lloyd**** (Sky Blue FC), Jessica McDonald* (NC Courage), Alex Morgan*** (Orlando Pride), Christen Press** (Utah Royals FC), Mallory Pugh* (Washington Spirit), Megan Rapinoe*** (Reign FC)

* First Women's World Cup ** Second Women's World Cup *** Third Women's World Cup **** Fourth Women's World Cup

Kent 131 for 2 (Bell-Drummond 41) beat Surrey 127 (Elgar 62*, Milnes 3-37) by eight wickets

Last season's beaten Royal London Cup finalists Kent opened their south group win account for 2019 by trouncing Surrey by eight wickets at the Kia Oval.

In the battle to avoid this season's South Group wooden spoon, Kent skittled Surrey for 127 inside 36 overs with only Dean Elgar, the South Africa left-hander with 56 Test caps, making it past 15 for an unbeaten 62 from 94 balls. Kent then made light of the run-chase, coasting home with 22 overs to spare courtesy of a cameo 36 from 32 balls from their interim skipper, Heino Kuhn.

Chasing 128 at a modest asking rate of 2.56 an over, Kent had already reduced their target to double figures when Zak Crawley skied a catch to third man. Daniel Bell-Drummond and Matt Renshaw, the Australia Test batsman, continued their side's aggressive approach to the pursuit with a second-wicket stand worth 43 that ended when Bell-Drummond fenced at a Conor McKerr legcutter to be caught behind.

Despite the fast fading light and squally showers, Kuhn and Renshaw showed all their international experience to steer Kent to victory with an unbroken half-century stand to wrap up their side's win by 4.15pm.

Batting first after winning the toss on an overcast morning in SE11, Surrey made a poor start in the face of some impressive line-and-length bowling from Kent's new-ball pairing of Harry Podmore and Matt Milnes.

Podmore broke through in the third over of the day when Will Jacks, push-driving away from the body and with firm hands, dragged a delivery on to his stumps via an inside edge. Four balls later, Mark Stoneman nicked low to slip after being squared up by late away-sing from Milnes, who then rushed one through the gate to peg back Jamie Smith's middle stump.

Occasional seamer Bell-Drummond came on as a surprising first change, only to strike with his sixth delivery from the Vauxhall End, a short one that Rory Burns pulled obligingly to midwicket to make it 38 for 4. Surrey's demise continued when Jordan Clark nicked a Bell-Drummond legcutter through to the keeper and Ryan Patel skied Renshaw's first-ball full-toss to short fine leg.

Stuart Meaker pulled a Milnes bouncer down the throat of long leg then Renshaw got one to bounce and brush Freddie van der Bergh's outside edge for Crawley to pull off a reflex one-handed catch at slip.

Dean Elgar's 79-ball fifty with two fours and a six helped the hosts limp to a three-figure total, but the dogged accuracy of Fred Klaassen, the Dutch left-arm paceman, was rewarded when he demolished McKerr's stumps as the tailender swished across the line.

Elgar was left high and dry having hit only two fours and a six during his 108 minutes at the crease when former Test team-mate Morkel was skittled by a Klaassen yorker to end Surrey's innings more than an hour before the scheduled lunch interval. Bell-Drummond, Renshaw and Klaassen bagged two wickets apiece, with Milnes the pick of the attack with 3 for 37.

"To be fair it was quite bowler-friendly at the start of the day, but obviously you've still got to put the ball in the right place and I think 'Podders' did that nicely," Milnes said.

"We were maybe a bit surprised that Surrey decided to bat first, but they've got a quality top order and they wanted to back them. That said, we bowled very well at them and kept the early pressure up throughout. Out of my three wickets I think the Jamie Smith dismissal was the best. It felt quite a good delivery to bowl him, the wind helped a bit, but it nipped back off the pitch and bowled him through the gate.

"We're a young side and pride ourselves on our fielding and today we showed what we're capable of as an all-round unit. As far as I see it, we have the potential to be the best in the country."