12 Established 1961 Sports Tuesday, November 28, 2017 Shibutanis cruise at Skate America for second Grand Prix victory Miyahara back on top with Skate America win LAKE PLACID: The Shib Sibs say they’re right on with a score of 181.63. The duo was upset with the track for the Pyeongchang Olympics. First, a stop in judges’ scores on the short program Saturday and then Japan for a teaser showdown with the world’s best. struggled in the free dance, with Cappellini’s skate American ice dancers Maia and Alex Shibutani skated blade getting caught on Lanotte’s pants during a lift. into next month’s Grand Prix Final with ease Sunday, Lanotte said he let the short-program scores throw winning Skate America for their second victory in the him off during the free dance. series with a program that could earn them gold in Russia’s Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov South Korea. were third at 176.53. Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul The two-time U.S. champions were a hit with fans Poirier were fourth at 166.54, and Kaitlin Hawayek and and judges all weekend, twizzling and spinning their Jean-Luc Baker of the U.S. next at 163.53. The other way to wins in the short and free dance programs. The American pair, Rachel and Michael Parsons, was ninth siblings won the free skate out of nine teams. Japan’s Sunday with 115.07 points Satoko Miyahara won the and finished at 194.25 overall. ladies competition, finally They also won the Grand recapturing her top form Prix event in Russia this year. following a lingering hip “This was the week that injury to cement herself as we wanted to have at this This was the an Olympic favorite. particular point in the sea- Miyahara won the free son,” 26-year-old Alex week that we skate with a score of 143.31, Shibutani said. The edging Japan’s Kaori Shibutanis took bronze at wanted to have Sakamoto with a few last season’s Final, and they’ll impressive combinations, try to do better against a including a triple lutz-dou- LAKE PLACID: Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of the United States compete in the Ice Dance Free Dance dur- strong field in Japan. Their ble toe loop-double loop. ing day three of 2017 Bridgestone Skate America at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York. —AFP top competition includes Vancouver winners and Sochi A three-time national champion, Miyahara skipped silver medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir from Four Continents and worlds this year because of her covered her face. champion and to go to the Olympics, and that’s some- Canada, and France’s Gabriella Papadakis and hip and finished fifth at the Grand Prix event in Japan. “It was kind of just exactly what I’d been practic- thing that I absolutely can do with the right amount of Guillaume Cizeron - each of those duos also won two She said she’s feeling better daily, and it showed in her ing,” Tennell said. “I was just really happy I was able to training.” US skater Karen Chen finished eighth after a Grand Prix stops. Two other American couples, programs this weekend. Sakamoto had a score of put it out there and feel like I did my job.” season-best score in the free skate. She had to ice her Madison Chock and Evan Bates, and Madison Hubbell 210.59, scoring especially well on her jumps, including Reigning Skate America champ Ashley Wagner halt- right knee Saturday after a fall in the short program and Zachary Donahue, have qualified. The Shibutanis a double axel-triple toe loop-double toe loop combi- ed her free skate and withdrew because of an infection and said she powered through a few big bruises to are still looking for ways to sharpen their routine nation in the free skate. Bradie Tennell emerged as a on her right ankle. The 26-year-old American didn’t skate Sunday. Russia’s Polina Tsurksaya and Serafima ahead of Pyeongchang. potential U.S. champion at her Grand Prix debut. The appear to be injured, but stopped during a spin sec- Sakhanovich were fourth and fifth, respectively, and “We know that this program still has room to grow,” 19-year old finished third at 204.10 with a season-best tion. She said after she was in “nauseating” pain. Canada’s Gabrielle Daleman finished sixth. Daleman 23-year-old Maia Shibutani said. Italy’s Anna 137.09 in the free skate. Tennell shot her hands in the “It’s not a quick-fix kind of a situation,” Wagner was third after the short program and was disgruntled Cappellini and Luca Lanotte also qualified for the Final air when she finished her program, then smiled and said while choking up. “My main goal is to be national by her scores in the free skate. — AP Sport begins new chapter with hardline approach to doping LOS ANGELES: Over half of the 377 1. Doping allegations against China and weightlifters at the world championships Russia are under investigation by the that begin today in the United States will World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). be drug tested as the sport begins a new However, Russia, like the Chinese, has chapter to try to retain its Olympic status always denied any involvement in state- after decisions taken by the governing sponsored doping. IWF. By the time of the last lift on Dec. 5 at the worlds in Anaheim, California, the NEW RULES International Olympic Committee (IOC) Under new rules approved by the IWF will have begun deliberations on whether on Saturday, countries will face bans of up weightlifting should feature at the Paris to four years “if they do not fulfil their 2024 Games. anti-doping responsibilities”, which would “We accept that in the past the inci- keep them out of the Olympics. A new dence of doping in weightlifting has Olympic qualifying system will also been too high,” says Hungarian Tamas require athletes to compete more often Ajan, president of the International than some do now. Weightlifting Federation (IWF) since Kazakh Ilya Ilyin, stripped of his gold 2000 and secretary general for 24 years medals from Beijing and London after before that. testing positive, was absent from interna- Ajan, 78, was speaking in Anaheim at tional competition for more than two the weekend, where the IWF adopted a years between those two Games. There hardline approach to doping at an execu- will be more out-of-competition testing, tive board meeting. It will target “less than and a more detailed record of athletes’ a dozen high-risk countries where there is coaching and support personnel. an entrenched culture of doping that goes The IWF’s anti-doping programme will beyond weightlifting”. The countries be handed over to an Independent Testing involved were not named. Authority. “Today marks the start of a new Of the 49 weightlifting positives in the chapter for international weightlifting,” re-testing of samples from the 2008 and said Ajan. “The Olympic Movement can 2012 Olympics - more than any other trust that we are doing, and will continue sport - 43 were from nations formerly part to do, everything in our power to address of the Soviet Union. the incidence of doping in our sport.” KFH’s participation in the conference Russia was banned from the Rio 2016 A Clean Sport Commission set up by Games for repeated offences that the IWF, including two German scientists, “brought weightlifting into disrepute” and an American lawyer, and the president of is also among the nine nations excluded the German Weightlifting Federation KFH participates from the world championships for having among its seven members, made the rec- three or more of those 49 positives. ommendations adopted this weekend, and Russian Weightlifting Federation president will monitor progress over the next four in Kuwait Int’l Maxim Agapitov said at the European years. In June the IOC asked for an IWF Junior Championships in Albania on Oct report by December on how the govern- Arabian Horse Festival 22: “We are building a new future, but I ing body plans to deal with doping. Unless accept we have to take responsibility for it is deemed “satisfactory” at an IOC so many positives in the past. It is in the meeting in Lausanne on Dec. 5-6, KUWAIT: Kuwait Finance House (KFH) participated in past but it so happens that we must weightlifting will lose its Olympic status the Kuwait International Arabian Horse Festival organ- answer for it.” after Tokyo 2020. ized by Bait Al Arab Kuwait Stud Show Arena as part of China is also banned from the world Because of the bans, and North Korea’s its continuing efforts to support the major events and championships in Anaheim and, like decision not to enter, 13 of 15 current world forums held in Kuwait, especially sport-related events. Russia, has been accused of state-spon- champions will not compete in Anaheim, The festival attracts huge number of visitors from sored doping. When the IFW said it was leaving Tunisia, Mongolia and New the GCC and other Arab Countries. imposing a one-year ban on Chinese Zealand, who have no pedigree in the sport Moreover, it includes two competitions; the first one lifters from mid-October, the Chinese at this level, to contend for medals. The U.S. is the Egyptian Horses championship Kuwait that took Weightlifting Association (CWA) issued a hope to win their first men’s world champi- place on November 17-18, while the second from statement expressing “regret” at the deci- onships medals in 20 years.