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Established 1961 Sport TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20، 2018 Team LeBron rallies to beat Team Heynckes brings treble South Korea and Japan 13Stephen in All-Star classic 14 spirit to resurgent Bayern 15 celebrate skaters’ bonhomie GANGNEUNG: Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Canada’s Scott Moir compete in the ice dance short dance of the figure skating event during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung yesterday. — AFP Virtue, Moir set new ice dance record Papadakis, Cizeron trail by less than two points phy gold last week, scored 83.67 points for their siz- Olympic medals, gold from Vancouver in 2010 and sil- Asked about the showdown with Papadakis and zling Latin-themed routine, breaking their previous ver in Sochi four years ago, as well as a 2014 team sil- Cizeron, who share the same coaches and practice at record mark of 82.68. ver to go with last week’s gold. the same rink in Canada, Moir said: “We’ve marked They edged out their French rivals, whose stellar These Olympics have been billed as a showdown them as our rivals for a long time, from the start of this skate had the audience between the Canadian comeback. “We watched their worlds when we weren’t clapping along to the Ed and French pairs, with there and we have nothing but respect for these two.” Sheeran soundtrack that figure skating experts Papadakis and Cizeron appeared a little disappoint- accompanied their Two American believing a loss for ed after their skate, with the former saying, “It felt great dance, by less than two Virtue and Moir would but could have been better.” They said the rivalry was points with Papadakis pairs in virtual signal a generational sometimes frustrating but more often helpful. GANGNEUNG: Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir and Cizeron awarded change in the sport. “Yeah, it has been something that has been really made a perfect start in their bid to add another 81.93 by the judges. dead-heat hard to work with but really inspiring at the same time,” Olympic medal to the four they already possess by “It feels great but RESPECTFUL Cizeron said. “It really pushes us to go over our limits breaking their own ice dance short programme world even better than the for third RIVALRY and it has been an interesting journey. It brings out our record to skate ahead of the field yesterday. world record is the feel- The Canadians told competitive energy but that’s what we look for in sport The pair have tasted defeat just once since coming ing we had when we reporters last week that I think. Every athlete wouldn’t be as good if he didn’t out of retirement in late 2016, when a loss to France’s ended the programme,” after December’s sting- have someone to push against.” Americans Madison Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron at the Virtue told Reuters. ing loss to the French, Hubbell and Zachary Donohue claimed third place with Nagoya Grand Prix Final last December was enough to “We’re really pleased they went back and a 77.75 score that was just enough to put them above make them tweak their programme. with that performance. On the world’s biggest stage changed things in their programme, mainly to improve compatriots Maia and Alex Shibutani by 0.02 points. Virtue and Moir, who are competing in their last when the pressure is mounting, it’s nice to be able to their transitions to make both the short and free skates The free skate takes place today before the ladies event Olympics and played a key role in Canada’s team tro- deliver like that.” Virtue and Moir have two individual more fluid and seamless. kicks off a day later. —Reuters ered by Olympic officials deciding whether to lift shared gold when they dead-heated in the two-man Russian dope Russia’s ban in time for Sunday’s closing ceremony. bobsleigh-the first time two teams have shared the title “Should this case be proven... that will also be part since Nagano 1998. Robert Johansson and his bushy case rocks of the consideration as to whether there will be an handlebar moustache anchored Norway to victory in allowance for them to march in the closing ceremony the men’s team ski jump, while Havard Lorentzen won under their flag,” said International Olympic Committee the men’s 500m speed skating as Norway went clear Olympics, Shiffrin spokesman Mark Adams. Russia were banned from the on the medals table with 11 golds to Germany’s 10. Olympics after investigations revealed an extensive Shiffrin arrived in Pyeongchang capable of challeng- trims schedule doping plot culminating at the Sochi 2014 Winter ing, Michael Phelps-style, for five gold medals, but it Games, where the hosts topped the medals table. But has been a tough Games so far for the American. After 168 Russian athletes declared clean after extensive vet- bombing in the slalom and pulling out of the super-G, PYEONGCHANG: A doping case involving a medal- ting were allowed to compete in Pyeongchang as neu- she announced her withdrawal from the downhill yes- winning Russian curler rocked the Pyeongchang Winter trals, under the banner of “Olympic Athletes from terday as looming bad weather forced yet another Olympics yesterday, as Mikaela Shiffrin’s turbulent Russia”. “Only athletes for whom there was no suspi- schedule change. Games took another twist when she pulled out of the cion were invited to the Games,” Adams said, adding: It means that Shiffrin, who won the giant slalom, downhill skiing. “Unfortunately wherever there’s competitive sport, can finish with a maximum of two individual golds, Alexander Krushelnitsky’s failed drug test came to you’ll have people cheating. with just Thursday’s combined event left on her sched- light a week after he won mixed doubles bronze with “But I think you can be pretty confident we have a ule. “As much as I wanted to compete in the Olympic his wife, Anastasia Bryzgalova, and could extend very, very thorough testing process in place and we downhill, with the schedule change, it’s important for Russia’s suspension from the Olympics. The case, now have the experts with the expertise who are doing me to focus my energy on preparing for the com- with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, will be consid- that.” Among yesterday’s events, Canada and Germany bined,” said Shiffrin.—AFP Aleksandr Krushelnitckii.

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