分类： sports

The Ostrava Golden Spike, one of the most prestigious stops on the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold circuit, delivered tightly contested sprint action on Tuesday, with two of Jamaica’s top track talents turning in underwhelming performances amid a key pre-championship season.

Rising sprint star Brianna Lyston, making her first competitive appearance since a late-April meet in Clermont, Florida where she clocked a 2024 season-best 10.94 seconds in the 100m, crossed the line third in the women’s 100m final with a time of 11.18 seconds, competing in mild 0.5m/s tailwind conditions. The race was claimed by Poland’s home crowd favorite Ewa Swoboda, who took gold with a winning time of 11.09 seconds, while New Zealand’s Zoe Hobbs claimed second place with 11.12 seconds, edging Lyston out of the top two.

Off the track, a more notable development for Lyston came earlier this week, when the Jamaican sprinter was omitted from the entry list for this weekend’s Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) National Championships. She joins a growing list of elite Jamaican track athletes who have opted to skip the national qualifying event, a decision that sparks questions about her preparation and potential status for upcoming global championship competitions.

In the women’s 100m hurdles, another Jamaican standout, former World Athletics Championships silver medalist Britany Anderson, also finished outside the top three, crossing the line sixth with a time of 12.87 seconds in nearly calm wind conditions of -0.1m/s. The hurdles race was one of the closest competitions of the entire meet, with the top three finishers separated by just three hundredths of a second. Nadine Visser of the Netherlands claimed the gold medal with a winning time of 12.65 seconds, followed closely by Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska in second at 12.66 seconds, and South Africa’s Marione Fourie rounding out the top three with 12.68 seconds.

In a promising development for Brazil’s World Cup campaign, star forward Neymar has taken his first major step toward a comeback, holding his first on-field training session at the tournament Tuesday, months after he suffered a right calf injury that sidelined him for much of 2024.

Diagnosed with the injury back in late May, the 34-year-old all-time leading goalscorer for Brazil has followed a strict rehabilitation routine ever since the Brazilian squad touched down in the United States for the tournament. Tuesday’s light running session at the team’s New Jersey training base marked a clear milestone in his gradual recovery from the prolonged layoff.

Neymar has not yet cleared the hurdle to rejoin full team training, and was forced to sit out Brazil’s opening Group C match against Morocco this past Saturday, which ended in a 1-1 draw. His inclusion in the final tournament squad already raised eyebrows across global football circles: consistent fitness problems have kept the veteran winger from making a single appearance for the Brazilian national side since the start of 2023. This year alone, recurring injury issues have limited him to just 50 percent of his club’s matches across domestic league, cup, and Copa Sudamericana competitions.

Brazil now turns its attention to its second group stage fixture, scheduled to take place this Friday in Philadelphia against Haiti. The team will close out its Group C campaign against Scotland on June 24 in Miami, with Neymar’s recovery timeline remaining a key talking point heading into the critical next phase of the tournament.

Ahead of Portugal’s opening 2026 World Cup group stage clash against DR Congo, national team head coach Roberto Martinez has doubled down on his unwavering support for 41-year-old icon Cristiano Ronaldo, who is set to make history as the first men’s player to compete at six different World Cup tournaments. With a young, talent-dense squad that has earned Portugal a place among the pre-tournament favorites to lift their first-ever World Cup trophy, Ronaldo’s continued role in the starting lineup has sparked widespread debate across global football circles.

Critics of Ronaldo’s continued inclusion point to his recent dry spell at the highest level of international competition: the five-time Ballon d’Or holder, who holds the all-time men’s international goal record with 143 strikes, has not found the back of the net in his last nine appearances at major global tournaments. Detractors also note that he contributes minimal defensive work when Portugal is out of possession, a gap that could leave the side exposed against top opposition.

For Martinez, however, there is no question that Ronaldo remains Portugal’s top choice in the final third. In comments delivered at a pre-match press conference, the coach framed the veteran as a global benchmark for young footballers everywhere. “He is an example and a reference for football. For all those children on the street who begin to feel the love for sport, following the example of Cristiano Ronaldo is wonderful,” Martinez said.

The coach added that despite this being Ronaldo’s sixth World Cup campaign, the forward approaches preparation with the same hunger and intensity that marked his first appearance on the sport’s biggest stage. “It is his sixth World Cup, but I can say that internally it seems to be his first World Cup in terms of intensity, in terms of emotional output, of how important it is for him to be prepared to lead the group,” Martinez explained. “Within the team he is a vital player because he is the finisher, he is the player in the penalty area, he is the player who has those movements that can open spaces for other players. Within our attacking game, his numbers reflect the importance he has.”

That sentiment is echoed by Portugal’s young star core, led by Manchester United captain and recent Premier League Player of the Year Bruno Fernandes. Fernandes, who grew up watching Ronaldo compete, recalled first seeing the forward play at UEFA Euro 2004, hosted in Portugal when Ronaldo was just 19 years old and helped carry the side to the tournament final. “All of us in this national team we have grown up watching Cristiano Ronaldo play and for us it’s such an honour to play next to him now in the same team,” Fernandes said. “We’re all here to support him and to support Portugal to go as far as possible.”

Portugal’s squad boasts one of the deepest and most talented rosters in this year’s tournament. Beyond Fernandes’ standout form, the side fields a elite midfield that includes Vitinha and Joao Neves, who just claimed their second consecutive Champions League title with Paris Saint-Germain, and Bernardo Silva, who is set to transfer to Real Madrid after nine trophy-laden seasons with Manchester City. Fernandes emphasized that the squad’s combination of individual elite talent and team cohesion makes them a legitimate contender, adding that the side has every right to dream of lifting the trophy. “We have a very strong team, great individual quality, and beyond the individual quality and the strengths that we have as individual players, I think we are a very cohesive team, a very united team,” Fernandes said. “Obviously our dream is to be there (winning the World Cup) and I think that dreaming is not forbidden.”

After facing DR Congo, Portugal will round out Group K play against tournament first-timers Uzbekistan and Colombia. Martinez, however, warned against overlooking Portugal’s opening opponent, pointing to recent high-profile upsets in early tournament matches—including Spain’s surprising 0-0 draw with underdog Cape Verde—to underscore that no World Cup match is a guaranteed win.

“We’ve got very little to win tomorrow from the outside. If you win against Congo, it’s expected. If you win by one, it’s a big problem. If you draw, it’s a catastrophe. If you lose, this is the end of the world,” said Martinez, a Spanish national. “They come with no expectations, they are enjoying being here. We’ve seen incredible performances from teams like Qatar, Cape Verde, exemplary performances, that shows you that there are no easy games in a World Cup.”

The coach also confirmed long-circulated reports that he will step down from his role following the World Cup, as his current contract is set to expire at the end of the tournament. “My contract ends after the World Cup. This is not news, this is just a fact,” Martinez added. “We’re now focused on finishing the work that we’ve begun three-and-a-half years ago. When I came to Portugal the focus was to try to win everything, but most importantly to prepare for the World Cup.”

BERLIN, Germany — Just hours after officially confirming she will team up with sister Venus for Wimbledon doubles, 44-year-old tennis icon Serena Williams faced a straight-set exit at the Berlin Open on Tuesday. Williams and her Czech partner Karolina Muchova fell 6-4, 6-4 to the pairing of Giuliana Olmos of Mexico and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe, in only Williams’ second outing since her surprise comeback announcement earlier this month.

The opening set slipped away from Williams and Muchova after Williams dropped serve in her second service game. In the second set, a mid-set break of Muchova’s serve proved decisive, leaving the pair unable to mount a comeback and close out the match in Olmos and Routliffe’s favor.

Despite the loss, Williams offered a notably positive assessment of her physical performance post-match. “I felt pretty good out there. I felt actually more nimble and more sturdy and quicker than the first match in Queens,” she told reporters, adding that she felt solid overall in terms of physical conditioning and speed — two attributes she noted are critical for fast-paced grass court play.

This Berlin run marks Williams’ second tournament appearance since she ended a two-year retirement and announced her return to competitive tennis in June. Her first comeback match at London’s Queen’s Club last week ended in a opening-round win, but her run was cut short when doubles partner Victoria Mboko suffered an injury that forced the pair to withdraw.

When asked why she opted to pair with Muchova, a top Czech player, for the Berlin event, Williams delivered a characteristically witty response: “Czech players have given me nothing but trouble throughout my whole career. So if you can’t beat them, join them.”

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion originally stepped away from professional tennis in 2022, saying she wanted to prioritize time with her family. When she announced her comeback, she cited a desire to compete in front of her two young daughters as the core motivation for her return.

Though flashes of the dominant power game that made Williams a generational force in women’s tennis for 20 years were visible on court, the nearly four-year break from full-time competition left Williams searching for rhythm, particularly in the early stages of the match. She steadily improved as the contest progressed, however, refining her footwork and unleashing the blistering serve and powerful forehand that were the hallmarks of her historic career.

With the All England Club set to name one final singles wildcard for Wimbledon, which kicks off on June 29, speculation has mounted that Williams could pursue a singles run at the iconic Grand Slam. The tennis legend quickly shut down those rumors, however. “You think I’m ready for singles?” she asked reporters. “I need to get to work.”

Williams last claimed a Grand Slam singles title at the 2017 Australian Open, and her most recent Wimbledon singles win came in 2016. When she takes the court at Wimbledon next month alongside Venus, the pair will be defending a legendary doubles legacy: together, the Williams sisters have claimed 14 Grand Slam doubles crowns, six of which have come at the London grass court major.

EAST RUTHERFORD, U.S. – As top-tier favorites gunning for their third FIFA World Cup title following back-to-back final appearances, France faces a stern opening test against Senegal on Tuesday – a fixture that carries decades-old warnings of how overconfidence can derail even the most talented squads.

The echoes of 2002 still ring in French football memory. Entering that Japan and South Korea-hosted tournament as heavy favorites to defend their 1998 crown, Les Bleus suffered a devastating 1-0 opening defeat to Senegal in Seoul. Plagued by a key injury to legendary playmaker Zinedine Zidane, France never bounced back, crashing out of the group stage in humiliating fashion without registering a single goal across three matches.

Didier Deschamps, who captained France’s 1998 World Cup-winning and 2000 European Championship-winning squads before retiring from international play, was not part of that 2002 disappointment. Now, 22 years later, the 55-year-old manager stands on the cusp of ending an unprecedented 11-year tenure in charge of the national side, stepping down from his post once this tournament concludes. Deschamps understands better than most that the mindset his star-studded squad brings to their opening kickoff at MetLife Stadium, with Manhattan’s iconic skyline visible just beyond the stadium walls, will make all the difference.

Speaking to reporters on the eve of the match at the venue, Deschamps emphasized that while the opening fixture carries significant weight, it is not make-or-break for France’s campaign. “Starting with a win in a four-team group is ideal and always the objective,” he said. “But the one thing we can’t measure or quantify is the emotional aspect. Some players might tense up with the atmosphere around the match. The ideal thing is to be focused but also relaxed.”

Deschamps was clear in his assessment of Tuesday’s opposition, calling Senegal “a very, very high-level opponent.” He also reaffirmed the discomfort he expressed weeks earlier with widespread media and fan predictions that France will automatically advance to the July 19 tournament final. “People are already talking about us being there on July 19 and I don’t really like that, not at all in fact,” he said. “Yes we might be one of the best teams, but I know only too well that there are important steps before you can think about going that far.”

France touched down at their U.S. training base in Boston last Wednesday, coming off a confident 3-1 victory over Northern Ireland in their final warm-up friendly that saw young standout Michael Olise net a hat-trick. Even so, the side received a wake-up call just days before that win, dropping their first match in a full year with a 2-1 home defeat to Ivory Coast.

Over the past seven World Cup tournaments, France has advanced to the final four times, lifting the trophy twice and falling just short twice, both losses coming via penalty shootout. They claimed the title in 2018 in Russia, then lost a dramatic final to Argentina on penalties in the 2022 Qatar edition.

Since Qatar, Les Bleus have integrated a wave of exciting new talent into their squad, headlined by Olise. The London-born Bayern Munich playmaker is set to feature in the number 10 role, forming a devastating attacking trio alongside Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele on the right flank and captain Kylian Mbappe leading the line up front.

Mbappe, the Real Madrid superstar, will earn his 99th cap against Senegal and enters the match level with Brazilian legend Pele as the sixth-highest all-time leading goal scorer in World Cup history, with 12 goals. Only Miroslav Klose, Ronaldo Nazario, Gerd Mueller, Just Fontaine, and Lionel Messi sit above Mbappe on the rankings. The French captain netted four goals in 2018 and eight more in 2022, including a historic hat-trick in the Qatar final.

France’s depth in attack is one of their biggest strengths, with additional options including Rayan Cherki, Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue, Marcus Thuram, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Maghnes Akliouche. At the back, William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano form one of the tournament’s most physically imposing center-back pairings, while Aurelien Tchouameni of Real Madrid anchors a hard-tackling, dynamic midfield.

Veteran midfielder N’Golo Kante, 35, is one of just three remaining members of the 2018 World Cup-winning squad in this year’s roster, and he says the current campaign feels like a entirely new experience. “This is my second World Cup. In 2018 it was all new and it was beautiful to win it. This time it’s different,” he said. “We have new players, but it is still just as beautiful. And I really want to make the most of it and win again.”

Ranked among the top four teams in the FIFA rankings, France earned a seeded spot in the draw, but their path out of Group I is far from guaranteed. After facing Senegal, they will take on underdog Iraq before closing out group play against Erling Haaland’s Norway – a tough group where even a moment of complacency can lead to early elimination.

The full slate of matches scheduled for Tuesday kicks off with the France-Senegal clash at 2:00 pm local time, followed by Iraq against Norway at 5:00 pm. In Group J, Argentina will face Algeria at 8:00 pm, and Austria will take on Jordan at 11:00 pm.

LOS ANGELES – Just six days after the historic expanded 48-team FIFA World Cup kicked off across the United States, Canada and Mexico, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced a striking early milestone: more than one million fans have already passed through stadium turnstiles to watch the tournament’s matches.

Infantino shared the milestone with his social media followers on Instagram Tuesday, expressing enthusiastic gratitude for the ongoing turnout from fans around the world. “Wow! 1 million fans in stadiums!” he wrote in the post, adding that the packed crowds had turned this iteration of the men’s World Cup into the most inclusive edition in the tournament’s history. “A huge thank you to all our passionate supporters who continue to fill the stadiums — you have brought the most inclusive FIFA World Cup to life,” his post read.

As of Infantino’s announcement, 16 of the tournament’s 104 total scheduled matches have been completed across the three host nations. The landmark 1 million fan mark comes despite widespread controversy that marred the lead-up to the first-of-its-kind expanded World Cup. Leading up to kickoff last Thursday, tournament organizers faced fierce backlash over exorbitant match ticket prices that put attendance out of reach for many casual fans. Additionally, strict U.S. visa entry policies created significant barriers for fans from several countries, preventing many supporters from traveling to the North American tournament to see their teams compete.

The early attendance milestone offers a point of optimism for FIFA as the tournament enters its second week of group-stage play, even as organizers continue to address the pre-existing concerns that overshadowed the tournament’s opening.

LOS ANGELES, U.S. – A fierce debate over the future of global anti-doping governance has erupted this week, as the head of the United States’ national anti-doping body has publicly condemned sweeping reforms proposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), arguing the changes would undermine independent testing and put the integrity of major international competitions — including the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games — at risk.

The controversial proposals come as part of a 19-point set of recommendations released by WADA’s own Working Group on National Anti-Doping Organizations Operational Independence (WGOI), convened to address longstanding concerns about perceived conflicts of interest in global anti-doping testing protocols. The working group’s report notes that many stakeholders, including competing athletes, have raised red flags over a system that leaves national anti-doping organizations (NADOs) solely responsible for testing their own country’s top international athletes. To resolve this perceived bias, the report proposes a new structural framework that reassigns core testing responsibilities away from host nation NADOs and grants expanded authority to international sport federations and independent third-party bodies during major events.

Under the 19th and most contentious recommendation, host nation anti-doping bodies would be completely sidelined from testing their own country’s athletes at major events held on home soil. All key functions — from developing and monitoring testing plans, to selecting athletes for screenings, to administering tests and managing result analysis — would be transferred out of NADO hands, to be taken over by what the report frames as an “independent, non-partisan body.” The working group argues this restructuring will eliminate both actual and perceived conflicts of interest, strengthen the global anti-doping system as a whole, and rebuild trust among competing athletes.

But the proposal has drawn sharp pushback from Travis T. Tygart, Chief Executive Officer of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). In a formal statement released Tuesday, Tygart denounced the plan as a dangerous retreat from independent anti-doping enforcement, arguing that WADA leadership is pushing aside truly independent national bodies to hand testing control back to sport governing bodies and private service providers.

“This is a dangerous step backwards that risks compromising the fairness of major events and athletes’ fundamental right to fair competition,” Tygart said. He added that framing the restructuring as progressive reform is a deliberate attempt to mislead clean athletes, sports fans and the general public, who he says deserve a system built on real independence and accountability, not one that shields sports governing bodies from public scrutiny and lets the global anti-doping watchdog avoid accountability for its own decisions.

Tygart’s criticism is echoed by top U.S. policy officials. He highlighted a public letter released Monday by Sara Carter, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, which raised urgent alarms that the reforms would weaken the authority of national anti-doping organizations and erode public confidence in doping testing in the lead-up to the 2028 Summer Olympics, set to be hosted in Los Angeles. Carter called on WADA to abandon plans to use the WGOI report as a foundation for rewriting core rules of the global anti-doping program.

For Tygart, the proposed overhaul is more than just a bad policy shift — it is a deliberate insult to clean athletes and all countries that consistently and fairly enforce global anti-doping rules. The standoff sets the stage for a high-stakes debate over the future of anti-doping governance just two years before the Los Angeles Games, a competition that will be under intense global scrutiny for its handling of performance-enhancing drug violations.