TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2017 SPORTS

SWIMMING A star is born — Dressel emerges from Phelps’ shadow

BUDAPEST: With Michael Phelps back freestyle, 4x100m mixed medley and cially his jaw-dropping treble of golds nearest rivals Britain, who have seven. Sjostrom underlined her status as in retirement, Caeleb Dressel stepped Sunday’s 4x100m medley. It put him over 98 minutes on Saturday night-is all Katie Ledecky also made history in the world’s best sprinter with freestyle out of his idol’s shadow to match the US level with US legends like Phelps, Ryan the more remarkable given that he was Budapest as she finished with 14 world world records over 50m and 100m. legend’s tally of seven golds at the Lochte, who won five worlds golds in virtually unheard of, even in the swim- golds in her career to eclipse Missy Sjostrom also set a new world record in world championships in Budapest. 2011, and Mark Spitz, who win seven ming community, before these Franklin, who has 11, as the most deco- the semi-finals of the 50m freestyle Dressel became the first swimmer to golds at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Budapest championships. rated female in championships history. with a time of 23.67sec bettering the win three world gold medals in one ses- “This is probably one of the top-five The 20-year-old freestyle queen won old mark of 23.73sec set by Germany’s sion on Saturday, then claimed his sev- best swim meets ever by an American HISTORY five golds, but by her own admission Britta Steffen in 2009. enth of the week in the men’s 4x100m male-the other four going to Michael “I don’t even know if he went to the the medal which stood out was her sil- “I’m really happy I could erase one of medley relay on Sunday to match Phelps and Ryan Lochte,” said the USA’s Olympics last year? He has definitely ver in the 200m freestyle-her first those textile-suit records,” said Phelps’ record tally from the 2007 world Olympic backstroke champion Ryan taken a really big step this year,” admit- defeat in 15 finals at a worlds, spanning Sjostrom. “A lot of people thought championships. Murphy. ted Sweden’s sprint queen Sarah three championships. those times from 2009 would be impos- Dressel’s tally includes three individ- “To be in that company is no small Sjostrom. Dressel’s performances have “That will light some fire under me sible to beat.” Sjostrom claimed two of ual titles in the 50m, 100m freestyle and achievement, hopefully this is just the been the icing on the cake for the USA, for the next couple of years,” said the seven individual world records 100m butterfly, plus four relays golds in beginning for him and he can have a who finished with 38 swimming medals Ledecky after losing to Italy’s Federica which fell at these world champi- the 4x100m freestyle, 4x100m mixed really great career.” Dressel’s feat-espe- in Budapest-over five times more than Pellegrini over 200m. onships.—AFP Juventus top Roma on penalties in friendly

NEW YORK: Juventus closed out the from Alex Sandro, dribbling around Roma International Champions Cup friendly tour- goalkeeper Allison and firing to make it 1-0 nament with a 5-4 win on penalties over in the 29th minute. Roma after the Italian clubs played to a 1-1 Roma’s Diego Perotti and Dzeko com- draw. Mario Mandzukic’s opening goal for bined for three promising exchanges but Italian champions Juventus was cancelled were unable to break through and Roma out by Edin Dzeko’s second-half strike. went into the break a goal down. The match, between last season’s top But Dzeko delivered the equalizer in the two teams in Serie A, offered a tantalizing 74th, tapping in a cross from Aleksandar glimpse of the upcoming domestic cam- Kolarov from close range. paign. Managers Massimiliano Allegri and But in the shootout, Marco Tumminello’s Eusebio Di Francesco named strong start- miss proved too much to overcome and ing lineups. Juventus handed Roma a second shoot-out Juventus were more active in the open- defeat of the tournament. The match drew ing minutes and were rewarded in the 29th some 33,000 fans to Gillette Stadium, home when Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic of the NFL’s Super Bowl champion New beat Federico Fazio onto a through ball England Patriots. —AFP

Neymar in Shanghai as transfer rumours grow

SHANGHAI: Neymar greeted fans in where he was scheduled to appear at an Shanghai yesterday as speculation mount- event for a fashion brand later. ed that the Brazil star could be set to quit Separately, China’s biggest online travel Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain for a company Ctrip had said it was cancelling world-record 222 million euros. an event with Neymar yesterday in The 25-year-old striker is at the centre of Shanghai because he and his advisers an apparent tug of war between the two were “busy with transfer issues”. People BAVEL: ’s players take part in a team training session in Bavel, on Sunday, ahead of Denmark’s UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 semi-final football European giants in what would be the close to the player subsequently told match against Austria on August 3, 2017. — AFP most expensive transfer fee in football his- media there had never been an arrange- tory. A training spat with new Barcelona ment with the firm. signing Nelson Semedo during a pre-sea- Even after the training-ground bust-up SOCCER son tour in Miami ramped up chatter that in the United States, after which Neymar Neymar could be about to swap Spain for appeared to storm off, his Barcelona team- the French capital. mates said they wanted him to stay at the Germany win not enough for Neymar, who has remained tight-lipped Camp Nou. “Neymar and I, we are very about the transfer rumours, posted a mes- close and I want him to stay and I know sage for Chinese fans on Weibo, China’s the situation,” defender Gerard Pique told equivalent of Twitter, after arriving for a ESPN FC. us, says Denmark’s skipper promotional visit. “Ni Hao China! I’m “Right now he doesn’t know what to Neymar Jr. and I’ve just arrived in China,” he do and we are trying to help him-the BAVEL: A day after a stunning win over eight- wrote yesterday. ones (on the team) that are more close to time champions Germany at the women’s Euro, “I’m in Shanghai at the moment. I would him-to take the right decision.” PSG’s pur- Denmark skipper Pernille Harder said the scalp like to send a huge hug to all my Chinese suit of Neymar has angered some in had left her team were hungry for more. “It was Liverpool supporters give fans, thank you very much for your sup- Spain, where football league chief Javier such a nice win, but now we’re looking forward port.” He posted messages in English and Tebas says he will file a complaint with also,” the 24-year-old forward told AFP at thumbs-up to standing areas Chinese and asked for suggestions as to UEFA for financial fair play breaches by Denmark’s training centre in Bavel. “It’s not what he should do while in Shanghai, the French club. —AFP enough for us, just to win against Germany.” LONDON: English Football fans pressing for decision.” However, McKenna added further Having conceded on three minutes, Denmark standing areas to be re-introduced received a discussions should take place given the sensi- came back to nix Germany’s dreams of a sev- major boost yesterday when Liverpool sup- tivity of the issue to those who lost loved ones enth title in a row with second-half headers by porters voted by a landslide majority for it to at Hillsborough. Nadia Nadim and Theresa Nielsen. happen. Their support is especially significant “We say to anyone who is campaigning for Harder, who plays for Bundesliga champions given the 1989 Hillsborough disaster which this to understand sensitivities and respect the Wolfsburg, said this was the biggest win of her resulted in 96 Liverpool fans being killed in views of those who disagree,” he said. “Those career. “When I play in Germany it’s more spe- crushes caused by over-crowding in the who have been through incredible heartache cial, but it was just so nice to win the game so Leppings Lane standing area. and tragedy have every right to be heard and we reached the semi-final,” she added. In a week-long poll run by the club’s to ask important questions about safety. Germany were unbeaten at Euro since July 3, biggest independent supporters’ group Spirit “It was important in our conversations to 1993 when they lost to Denmark 3-1 in the of Shankly (SoS), 88 per cent of the nearly have these answered. It would be wise for that bronze medal game. 18,000 fans who took part voted in favour of to take place elsewhere.” The vote comes in By making the semi-finals, Denmark have rail seating. Rail seating can be flipped down the wake of last week’s approval of third tier equalled their result from 2013. Harder said or locked into an upright position, with safety English side Shrewsbury’s move to create a this was due to “hard work and good discipline barriers separating each row, safe standing area, which would have a capac- in defence and then a lot of speed in the Clubs in England’s top two divisions have ity of around 500, in their Montgomery Waters offence.” been legally required to have all-seater Meadow arena. “As a team we can relax when have time to grounds since the measure was recommended The Sports Ground Safety Authority gave relax and think about other stuff than football by the 1990 Taylor Report into Hillsborough. their seal of approval last Wednesday. and then when we’re on the field we are doing “It’s an incredible turnout, we aren’t aware of Shrewsbury are looking to raise up to £75,000 it at 100 percent,” she said. “We’re never satis- such numbers voting before,” said SoS chair- (84,000 euros) to fund the cost of becoming fied, we always want to improve as a team and man Jay McKenna in a statement. the first all-seater stadium in England and also as individuals and that’s key for us.” “It demonstrates to us that we were right to Wales to introduce safe standing before the Compared with 2013, when Denmark lost to have this discussion and that supporters, fami- end of the 2017-18 season. SHANGHAI: Brazilian footballer Neymar Jr. looks on as he speaks to media at a fashion Norway on penalties in the semi-finals, the event in Shanghai yesterday. Neymar hit the red carpet in Shanghai as speculation lies and survivors want to have their say. After The Premier League recently wrote to its 20 team is different, Harder said. “We played differ- nine months of discussion, we have now had clubs asking if they would be interested in tak- mounted that the Brazil star could be set to quit Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain for ently back then, the tactic is different, it was a world-record 222 million euros. — AFP the vote and it will be taken as the position for ing part in a trial to reintroduce standing sec- more like we’re really good at possession, we Spirit Of Shankly. tions in their grounds. Scottish Premiership had the ball more in 2013, now we’re more “The size of the turnout majority means champions Celtic last season installed 2,600 direct.” that no one can be in any doubt that support- rail seats at Parkhead in a move that was con- Bolt eyes final hurrah Harder also has a new partner in the attack- ers have had their say and made an informed sidered a success. —AFP ing line, the Afghan-born Nadia Nadim, who LONDON: Sprint superstar Usain Bolt will Kingston and Ostrava. was a substitute at the 2013 tournament but seek a final golden hurrah when he takes to Bolt has opted not to defend his 200m has become a permanent fixture up front since the track at the IAAF World Championships world title, meaning he will not race then. “She’s a really good player, a strong hitter, in London this week. Bolt has dominated against South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk, so it’s nice to know that there is a good hitter sprinting since taking double individual the athlete Bolt has tipped to take over as like her in the box,” Harder said. While Nadim gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, going the next track and field superstar. “That’s scored against Germany, Harder is still waiting on to win a further six Olympic golds and one of the most disappointing things in my for her first goal at the tournament-but she is also picking up 11 world titles. career now,” he said. “He came along at this not bothered by her drought. “It’s important World records of 9.58 and 19.19sec in late stage and I didn’t get to compete that we score as a team, and I will rather like to the 100 and 200m when winning in the against him, because I think he’s one of the make assists than to score.” 2009 Berlin worlds were followed by the best now.” World and Olympic 400m cham- “Of course if the team needs it, I would love towering Jamaican winning consecutive pion Van Niekerk, who will attempt an to score, but if I could choose whether to win world golds in the 100, 200 and 4x100m audacious 200-400m double in London, the title or score, I’d rather win the title,” Harder relay in 2011, 2013 and 2015, with the added: “Usain has been a massive inspira- said. In the August 3 semi-final in Breda, exception of a false start in the 100m in tion. “But I’ve still got quite a long way to Denmark are facing Euro newcomers Austria, Daegu in 2011. go before I even get close to the heights who won their group ahead of giants France The 30-year-old scored triple gold at both the that Usain has reached.” and beat another favourite Spain on penalties 2012 and 2016 Olympics in London and Rio, his One of the stand-out moments of the after a goalless draw in the quarter-final. “They sole hiccup being stripped of his 2008 Olympic 2012 Olympics at the same stadium in east have been really good,” said Harder. relay gold after teammate Nesta Carter failed a London was ‘Super Saturday’, when Britain “I think they have been a big surprise of the drugs test. won three gold medals in the space of an tournament, they have such a good defence It is a staggering tally for a track athlete hour to set the packed stadium alight. and the high pressure, and they have some who has admitted he wants to go out on a Distance running legend Mo Farah, on an really good players in the front when they win high as athletics seeks to turn a new page. unbroken streak of nine global final wins the ball.” “My main aim is just to win (in London). I (the 5000m in 2011, and the 5/10km double The two teams met in a friendly on July 6 in just want to retire on a winning note,” Bolt in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016). will again Wiener Neustadt, Austria, and the home side : United States defender Julie Ertz (8) scores a goal past Brazil goalkeeper Barbara, said recently in Monaco, where he won the compete, but there is no Jessica Ennis-Hill, earned a convincing 4-2 win. “We lost in the left, as Brazil defender Adnressinha (17) defends during the second half of a Tournament of 100m in 9.95sec, dipping under the 10sec the heptathlete having retired, or long friendly game so of course we want a revenge,” Nations women’s soccer match Sunday, in San Diego. The United States won, 4-3.— AP barrier after two sluggish outings in jumper Chris Rutherford, out injured.—AFP said Harder. — AFP