ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, JUNE 13, 2021 SPORTS 14

Horton won’t defend 400-meter gold medal 4 more divers earn berths on US team for Tokyo Olympics

INDIANAPOLIS, June 12, (AP): Mi- nizing committee. Much of that will be chael Hixon and Andrew Copobianco lost and has to be made up by Japanese earned berths for the Tokyo Olympics government entities. in men’s 3-meter synchronized div- ing at the U.S. trials on Friday night. Also: Jessica Parratto and Delaney Schnell ADELAIDE, Australia: Mack Horton won the women’s 10-meter synchro to won’t defend his Olympic 400-meter claim spots on the team. freestyle title in Tokyo after failing to Hixon, a silver medalist at the 2016 make the Australian team for the event. Rio Games, and recent NCAA cham- Horton finished third in the final on pion Copobianco won handily with the first night of the Australian selec- 1,289.27 points. Greg Duncan and tion trials on Saturday. Only the top Grayson Campbell took second at two — Elijah Winnington and Jack 1,168.80. McLoughlin — gained selection for Hixon and Copobianco capped off the Tokyo games beginning July 23. their list with a forward 4 1/2 somer- The opening night of the trials fea- sault tuck that earned 90.6 points for tured Australian records for Emma a dive with a 3.8 degree of difficulty. McKeon in the 100-meter butterfly Parratto, a 2016 Olympian, and and Brendon Smith in the 400-meter Schnell were consistent throughout individual medley. the final round, finishing with 930.00 Winnington won in 3 minutes, points. Katrina Young, who made the 42.65 seconds, ahead of McLough- Olympic team in 2016, and Murphy lin (3:43.27). Horton, who clocked Bromberg finished second at 888.54. 3:43.92, can still earn selection in the Krysta Palmer and Alison Gibson 200-meter freestyle to be contested made the U.S. team by winning the Sunday. women’s 3-meter synchro on Thurs- Earlier, McKeon broke her own na- day. tional 100-meter butterfly record and was on a world-record pace until fad- OLYMPICS ing in the last five meters. McKeon, who could race as many as eight events in Tokyo, won in 55.93 seconds, bet- Meanwhile, the question of allow- tering her previous Australian record ing any fans into Tokyo Olympic ven- of 56.18. ues is still being debated with a deci- McKeon won four medals — gold sion unlikely to be announced before and two silvers in relays and a bronze the end of the month. in the 200 freestyle — at the 2016 Rio This would be just a few weeks be- de Janeiro Olympics. fore the Olympics are to open on July At Tokyo, the medal races will be 23. Fans from abroad have already held in the morning with heats at night. been banned in what is shaping up as a But Australia’s selection trials have largely made-for-television Olympics. switched that around to the traditional Tokyo and several prefectures are morning heats and night finals, after under a state of emergency until June all previous domestic meets this year 20. Infections have slowed recently, raced to the Tokyo schedule. but the spread of variants is still a con- In this July 28, 2014 file photo, Maddie Groves of Australia swims to win silver in the Women’s 200m Butterfly final at the Tollcross International Swimming cern that could put pressure on already Centre during the Commonwealth Games 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland. Cody Simpson was dominating attention ahead of Australia’s Olympic swimming stressed medical facilities. trials, until Groves pulled out of the six-day meet following a series of social media posts condemning ‘misogynistic perverts’ in the sport. (AP) Dr. Nobuhiko Okabe, director gen- eral of the Kawasaki City Institute for Public Health, suggested on Friday he would lean toward few fans. He spoke on a panel put together by the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee. & Highlanders to meet in “Thinking in a different way, I think it’s an option to suggest to people to enjoy the games on TV - like telework- ing,” he said. “We could suggest a dif- ferent way of enjoying the games.” Okabe said it was not just a matter of fans in the venues, but what they do trans-Tasman final after leaving - heading to bars or res- taurants. “We don’t want people to move much,” he said. “That’s our wish as we hand Waratahs their 13th loss in a row think about anti-virus measures.” Organizing committee president Oregon’s Cole Hocker celebrates Seiko Hashimoto originally said she his win in the men’s 1,500 meters, , , June Manasa Mataele before breaking into the open absence the Rebels scored a try through scrumhalf would announce a decision in April ahead of Notre Dame’s Yared Nu- field. Joe Powell which made the ’ winning equa- about local fans but has repeatedly guse during the NCAA Division I 12, (AP): The Auckland-based Blues With the goal line beckoning, Ennor tried to ad- tion more complex. postponed it. Outdoor Track and Field Champi- will play the Dunedin-based High- just the position of the ball and managed only to In the end, the Crusaders had only themselves to Ticket sales were to account for onships, on June 11, at Hayward landers in the final of Super Rugby drop it cold, meaning a vital seven points went beg- blame. They had chances to win the match but left $800 million in income for the orga- Field in Eugene, Ore. (AP) trans-Tasman next weekend after ging. too many points on the field. There were other pivotal moments: in the 74th They started well with tries to scrumhalf Mitch New Zealand champions the Crusad- minute, winger Leicester Fainga’anuku appeared to Drummond and Jordan in the first five minutes, which LSU wins men’s NCAA track and ers fell short of a finals place in the have scored the vital try but saw it disallowed for a should have been the launching pad they needed for tournament’s final round. double movement; and in the 42nd minute, fullback a 33-point win. But in their desperation to achieve Will Jordan was tackled into touch in the right corner that margin, they departed from the usual precision of fi eld ‘championships’ team title The Blues, who led the competition for most their game plan and made too many errors. of the fi ve-round season, beat the by Rebels center Andrew Kellaway. Jordan also received a contentious yellow card for “Our plan was to be patient, hold the ball and not EUGENE, Ore., June 12, (AP): Oregon Carolina A&T won the 400 in 43.85 and 31-21 to clinch their fi nals place on Saturday a deliberate knock on in the 26th minute and in his force the issue,” Crusaders lock said. freshman Cole Hocker won the 1,500 USC’s Isaiah Jewett claimed the 800 in while the Highlanders unexpectedly claimed a “But it was a little bit disappointing, we didn’t quite at the NCAA track and field champion- 1:44.68. place a day earlier with a bonus-point win over get there. We had it in our hands tonight and unfortu- ships, and LSU took the men’s team title. Oregon’s Cooper Teare won the 5,000 the ACT . nately we came up short.” Hocker bested collegiate record in 13:12.27, setting a school record for The Blues started strongly but finished poorly in holder and defending champion Yared the Ducks while also beating the qualify- RUGBY their win over the Force which brings a Super Rugby Nuguse of Notre Dame with a finish in 3 ing time for the Olympics. final to for the first time since 2003. minutes, 35.35 seconds at his home sta- Earlier this week, LSU’s JuVaughn In the first half, they kicked accurately to pin the dium at Oregon’s Hayward Field. Harrison won the long jump with a leap The Highlanders’ win meant the - Force in their own half, plundered the Force’s lineout The showdown between Hocker and based Crusaders had to win their last match against and built up patiently, working the middle of the part Nuguse was one of the most anticipated the on Saturday with a bonus point before using flyhalf ’s long pass to probe races of the meet. Hocker then finished TRACK AND FIELD and a margin of at least 33 points to join the Blues in on the outside. fourth in the 5,000. the final. Backrower scored two first half LSU won its first title since 2002. Or- of 27 feet, 1¾ inches. On Friday, he took But while they won 52-26 and by eight tries to tries, helping the Blues to a 28-0 lead at halftime. egon was second. high jump at 7- 7 3/4. four, they fell seven points short of the necessary 33 The Blues then faltered, scoring only three points The top-ranked Tigers were boosted Harrison won both events in pulling point margin. in the second half while the Force scored tries through by sprinter Terrance Laird, who ran the off a rare double at the NCAA Indoor That threw the spotlight on several crucial inci- hooker Feleti Kaitu’u, center Tevita Kuridrani and 100 in 10.02. Micah Williams of Oregon championships. He hopes to qualify for dents in the match, especially in the 40th minute In this June 6, 2021 file photo, Chiefs Zane former Ireland international Rob Kearney. posted the top time in the heats, running in the Olympic team this summer. when Crusaders center dropped the Kapeli runs at the defense during the Super In the final match on Saturday, New Zealand’s similar cool conditions, but finished third LSU won the 400 relay in 38.48 sec- ball with the goal line open, not a defender in sight. Rugby Transtasman game between the Chiefs Chiefs beat New South Wales 35-7 to hand the Wara- behind Houston’s Shaun Maswanganyi. onds. The Tigers did not qualify for the The Crusaders had broken out from near their own and the Rebels at the Leichhardt Oval in Sydney, tahs their 13th loss in a row. Winger Sean Wainui Florida’s Joseph Fahnbulleh won the men’s 1,600 relay, which was the final line and Ennor had exchanged passes with winger Australia. (AP) scored four tries to lead the Chiefs. 200 in 19.91. Randolph Ross of North event of the day Friday.