A round-up of other sports news in brief...
Maher qualifies directly for final
ROWING: Michael Maher qualified directly for the quarter-finals of the World Under-23 Championships at Racice in the Czech Republic with a second place finish in his heat yesterday, reports Liam Gorman.
The Commercial clubman, competing in the lightweight single scull, led for most of his race, but was passed by Nikolaos Afentoulis of Greece in the finishing stages. Italy’s Pietro Gorgoglione took the third direct qualification spot.
The Ireland lightweight double scull of Niall Kenny and Mark O’Donovan had the difficult task of finishing first or second in their heat to move directly into the A/B semi-finals. In the event Italy and Austria dominated the race, with Austria finishing first and the Italians second. Kenny and O’Donovan were fourth and will compete in a repechage today.
Powell insists he can steal Bolt's thunder in London
ATHLETICS: Usain Bolt’s last defeat in a race came a year ago this week. On that occasion, in Stockholm last July, his conqueror was Asafa Powell. This evening the two Jamaicans will once again go head-to-head, at the Aviva London Grand Prix, and Powell is confident he can repeat the performance, writes Anna Kessel.
“I think I can really go out there and do something spectacular,” said Powell.
“I just need to run my own race because if I do run my own race I will beat him and beat the field. I really want to be the king of sprints because I think I am.”
It is only 14 months since Powell was the 100m world record holder with 9.74sec, but after Bolt’s performances – twice breaking the 100m world record last year – Powell had been written off in some quarters.
Powell has been called a “choker”, plagued by psychological demons, and he admitted to “giving up” halfway through the last World Championships final in 2007 as he watched Tyson Gay pass him and finished in third place.
Powell rejects that accusation: “I don’t think I have a psychological problem,” he said yesterday – but conceded he will need to prove his mettle this summer with a big championship performance.
This year the 26-year-old has been tormented by injuries - describing his season's best time of 9.88sec in Rome two weeks ago as "running on one leg" Guardian Service
Haye confirms Valuev bout
BOXING: Britain’s David Haye will fight Russian WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev on November 7th, the former world cruiserweight champion said yesterday.
“Valuev is eight stone heavier than me and a foot taller than me. David only needed a slingshot and a stone to flatten Goliath, and I’m convinced my right hand generates more power than a stone,” Haye said.
Standing at 7ft (2.13 metres) and weighing 320 pounds (145 kg), Valuev is the tallest and heaviest ever world boxing champion and has yet to be floored or knocked out in his 16-year professional career, with only one loss in 50 bouts.
“Valuev’s known as “The Beast From The East” and there’s a reason he’s got that nickname – he’s a big, ugly, sweaty and hairy man from the Eastern Bloc,” Haye added.
The Briton, who has a 21-1 winning record, said that a venue for the clash had yet to be confirmed but was expected to take place in Germany.
Fina take first steps to ban supersuits
SWIMMING: Swimming has taken its first step towards banning the controversial “supersuits” that have sent dozens of world records tumbling with a landmark ruling by the sport’s governing body yesterday, reports Peter Nichols.
Fina’s technical congress passed a simple amendment that may begin the process of giving swimming back to the swimmers and end the debate over the advances in swimsuit technology that have led to 108 world records being set last year and nearly 30 more so far this year.
The congress, meeting at the world championships in Rome, voted to add the words “or swimsuit” to rule SW10.7, so that it now reads:
“No swimmer shall be permitted to use or wear any device or swimsuit that may aid his speed, buoyancy or endurance during a competition.”
The omission of those words from the original rule had allowed the manufacturers to produce costumes that clearly aided buoyancy and made the swimmers go faster. Guardian Service
Webber extends his Red Bull deal
FORMULA ONE: Mark Webber has signed a new deal with Red Bull Racing, committing himself to the team for the 2010 season.
The contract is reward for a superb season to date for the 32-year-old Australian, who scored his first F1 career victory 11 days ago in the German Grand Prix.
With Sebastian Vettel already signed up for 2010, Red Bull Racing are the first team to definitively confirm their driver pairing for next season.
Meseret targeting records in Berlin
ATHLETICS: Ethiopian Meseret Defar has targeted the women’s 5,000 and 10,000 metres world records at next month’s world championships in Berlin.
The 25-year-old, the 2004 Olympic 5,000 champion and current world champion, ran the fifth-fastest 10,000 metres of all time earlier this month and is confident of further success.
“God willing, I plan to set the best performance ever, most probably setting a new world record in the 5,000 and 10,000 metre events in Berlin,” she said.
One of her stiffest challenges is likely to come from compatriot Tirunesh Dibaba, the Olympic 5,000 and 10,000 champion and world record holder for the shorter distance.
“Their rivalry in the field is expected to be among the shining events in Berlin,” their national coach Wolde Meskel Kostire said.”Let the best athlete win, both are most precious to us.”
