SUNDAY-MARCH 07, 2021 Sport 05

Gordon Elliott: Irish trainer UK Open: sets women's scoring record as NBA handed year- Peter Wright and Gary Anderson crash out on day one fines

long ban after Lisa Ashton produced a wom- beat Mark McGeeney 10-6 in en's world record average while round four as the last player stand- Jazz investigation Peter Wright and Gary Anderson ing from those that started in were among the high-profile ca- round one. into dead horse sualties on day one of the UK Ashton made a stunning start stars for photo Open, which also saw Michael to the competition, defeating van Gerwen and 6-2 in the second ripping In a statement issued late on progress as Raymond van Barn- round. Sunday evening, Elliott confirmed eveld suffered defeat in his tele- 'The Lancashire Rose' aver- the image was genuine and apolo- vised return. aged 100 in the triumph, in what gised "profoundly for any offence The major competition, often was her first televised win since officials that this photo has caused", while dubbed 'The FA Cup of ' due she won her PDC Tour Card last The NBA fined Utah seeking to explain what he said to an open draw taking place at year. Jazz stars Donovan Mitch- was the "context" of events that the end of each round, is taking She became the first woman led to the picture. ell and Rudy Gobert a total place behind closed doors at the to win at the UK Open since Deta of $45,000 on Friday for crit- The image was roundly con- Marshall Arena in Milton Key- Hedman in 2005, while her aver- icizing the officials after demned by racing authorities in nes. age of 100.30 was a world record Britain and Ireland, with the The big guns - specifically the for a female player. Wednesday’s 131-123 over- IHRB announcing an immediate top 32 in the PDC Order of Merit The win saw Ashton progress time loss to the 76ers in Phil- investigation and the British - entered the fray on Friday to the third round, but she fell to adelphia. Horseracing Authority issuing a Mitchell was fined temporary suspension on Elliott's evening, receiving byes into the on a 6-2 runners until its conclusion. fourth round. scoreline. On Tuesday, leading owners In the final contest of the Barney, fresh from his first Cheveley Park Stud removed their night, former world champion PDC ranking title since 2013 last id Evans, with the Australian star ki announced himself in style ear- as Jitse van der Wal hit 'the nine' horses from Elliott, with the un- Snakebite was beaten 10-5 by a week, failed to mark his televised getting defeated 6-1. ly in the day. The 17-year-old, against him in the following game. beaten Envoi Allen one of those rampant , who fin- return with a win. The five-time Recent Q-School graduates who was not even born when the Bialecki and Van der Wal be- to join Henry de Bromhead. ished the game with a ton average world champ fell to a 6-3 defeat and inaugural UK Open took place in come just the sixth and seventh In addition to the suspension, to reach the last 32. at the hands of the in-form Alan were defeated in the second round, 2003, recorded the perfect leg dur- players to have hit nine-darters at Elliott was also ordered to pay Anderson had found himself Soutar, who went on to beat while Keane Barry and Jelle Klaas- ing a 6-2 first-round win over Scot- the UK Open, joining Phil Tay- costs of 15,000 euros. on the wrong end of a thriller as 10-5 later that en were among those to bow out land's Jim McEwan. lor, Mervyn King, Gary Ander- Delivering its verdict, a state- he lost 10-9 to Dirk van Duijven- evening. suffered a in the next stage. However, Bialecki was then son, and ment from the IHRB referrals bode after the Dutchman survived shock defeat at the hands of Dav- 17-year-old Sebastian Bialec- given a taste of his own medicine, in an elite club. committee said in its view "there two match darts to seal the win in is also a sinister aspect to this a last-leg decider. case. The committee are satisfied Van Gerwen came from 8-7 that the publication of this pho- down to overcome Scott Mitchell tograph is part of a concerted at- Five things to look out for at Paris-Nice 2021 tack on Mr Elliott, the full cir- 10-8 in a less-than-stellar perfor- cumstances of which are un- mance, while his successor in the Primož Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) by as he takes a ing, and Paris-Nice will begin to domestiques including his Giro known". world No 1 slot Price coasted to a returns to racing for the first time break from cycling. offer an answer. That Giro victo- right-hand-man , new "This has been canvassed not 10-5 win over Peter Hudson. since winning the Vuelta a España As the first step towards his ry was not only the first time Hart signing , and Rich- for the purposes of defence or One of the matches of the last November, to begin what ultimate goal of victory at this had finished in the top 10 of a ie Porte on his return to Ineos all absolution but in order to explain evening session came courtesy of could be a career-defining season year’s Tour, Roglic and Jumbo- , but the first time he’d working for him. $25,000 for public criticism the publication of a photograph Michael Smith and Joe Cullen, the for the Slovenian. He’ll start as Visma will be expecting a strong done so in any WorldTour stage Whether or not Hart can han- of the officiating and for his that has existed since 2019." former - having found himself 5-1 favourite, as he does for pretty start. Was ’s race. Significantly, in the vast ma- dle the extra expectations of lead- conduct while exiting the In considering sanctions, it down - edging it 10-9 with an 11- much every stage race he starts. stunning overall victory at the jority of his previous appearanc- ing a team may shape how Ineos court. said "the committee recognises dart deciding leg after his oppo- Since April 2018, he’s been on an Giro d’Italia last year a one-off, es, he rode in the role of domes- Grenadiers choose to deploy him that the sanction must be arrived After the two-time All- nent had missed double 10 for a extraordinary run of success in or should the Briton now be con- tique with no ambitions of a high this season, making Paris-Nice po- Star guard drew two tech- at taking into account all of the 128 checkout to clinch the victo- non-Grand Tour stage races, win- sidered one of the world’s top finish himself. This year’s Paris- tentially a dress rehearsal for the circumstances, and the aggravat- nical fouls and was ejected ry. ning the overall classification in stage racers? That’s one of the big Nice will therefore be a new expe- . Could he follow in with 30.8 seconds left, he ing and mitigating factors includ- Former UK Open champion seven of the last nine he has com- questions British fans are mulling rience for Hart, as he is set to lead the footsteps of , who ing Mr Elliott's personal circum- “recklessly” knocked over was beaten 10-5 peted in. This will be his first ever over as the 2021 season gets go- the team, with a squad of quality won Paris-Nice in 2019, and went stances, in order to achieve a pro- a water cooler while leaving portionate result". by despite a Paris-Nice, and the crosswinds for on to win the Tour de France later 101.7 average, and Premier League which the race is notorious could that season? the court, the league said in The IHRB said Elliott had a news release issued by "expressed what we believe to be champion saw his pose a different kind of challenge Last year’s Paris-Nice was a tournament end prematurely at than he’s used to, but the Slove- strange, eerie affair. It took place executive vice president of a genuine remorse and accepts that basketball operations Kiki he is unlikely to forget this epi- the hands of a 10-6 loss to Danny nian has generally risen to every just as the Covid crisis was coming sode in his life", with the commit- Noppert. other challenge he’s encountered to a head, and continued despite VanDeWeghe. tee adding it believed he "genuine- On the back of winning his these past few years, and the calls for it to cease as the serious- “It’s tough to go out ly accepts that he was extraordi- first senior PDC ranking title in punchy climbs and time trial stage ness of the pandemic became clear, there and see how hard we narily foolish to participate in the Bolton last week, will surely suit him. until finally stopping a day early. compete and have a game way he did". prevailed 10-6 against Jermaine Two of the riders set to sup- The cancellation of that final, moun- like that taken from us,” It added: "Whilst the incident Wattimena, Ryan Searle recorded port him at the Tour de France — tainous stage also helped ensure Mitchell told reporters after in question was unforgivable, it a 103.5 average en route to a 10-7 road captain and key that two riders who do not usually the game. “I never ever was, nonetheless, an event which win over , and James climber — will compete for GC, Max Schachmann want to blame a ref, blame took place without deliberation or Wade required a 102.4 average to both be present, while climbing (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Tiesj Be- an official. We could have forethought over a time period of see off 10-9. domestiques and noot (then Sunweb) sealed first and done more. But this is get- some seconds. There was a point- There was also a dream debut will both look to earn second on general classification. ting out of hand.” ed absence of common sense." for 22-year-old John Brown, who the slot in that line-up left vacant cyclingweekly reuters COVID precautions alter Alaska’s Djokovic confirms return Iditarod dog-sledge race course to Tour at Miami Open World number one Novak He will surpass Roger Feder- of the French Open in end May. full-time in Alaska, told Reuters competitors, he said. Djokovic has said he will return er’s all-time record for most weeks From Miami, where he has news agency. “The mushers are fairly easy to the court at this month’s Mi- as ATP world number one on won six titles, Djokovic will head COVID-19 planning for this to socially distance,” he said. ami Open having recuperated Monday, holding the top spot for to Monaco for the Monte-Carlo year’s race started at the end of Coronavirus aside, this year’s from a muscle tear suffered dur- the 311th week. , running from April 11- last year’s contest, when partici- field is highly competitive, Leif- ing his Australian Open title de- According to a partial sched- 18, before returning home to Bel- pants came home “to a different seth Ulsom said. He is one of the fence. ule posted on his website grade for the ATP 250 Serbia world”, said Rod Urbach, the Idi- four returning champions, a group The 33-year-old Serbian suf- www.novakdjokovic.com, Djok- Open. tarod’s chief executive. that includes four-time winners fered the injury during a third ovic is entered for the ATP Mas- The Tour is returning to Bel- Cancelling was not an option, Dallas Seavey and Martin Buser, round match at Melbourne Park ters 1000 event on the hardcourts grade for the first time since 2012, Urbach said. Instead, the Iditarod and 2019 champion Pete Kaiser. but that did not stop him from in Miami from March 22-April 4. and the Serbia Open will be held created a “robust” COVID plan Also expected to compete are clinching a record-extending ninth It is the first of three events he at Djokovic’s tennis center from that, as of this week, had been the Iditarod’s top women – Aliy Australian Open title and his 18th will play in before heading to Eu- April 19-25. updated 21 times, he said. Zirkle, planning to retire after this Grand Slam. rope for the claycourt swing ahead Reuters The biggest change for this year’s race, and Jessie Royer, who year’s 49th edition of the race is finished third the past two years. the course. Instead of running to Plentiful snow this season has Nome, the Bering Sea town that allowed for ample advance train- is normally the finish line, the ing, Leifseth Ulsom said. “We’ve The word “Iditarod” derives dogs have entered, a much smaller 2021 route will be an out-and-back had a really good winter, the best from an indigenous Alaskan name field than usual, as many mushers loop taking teams to an uninhab- we’ve had in a long time,” he said. for a “far distant place”. Due to were unable to clear coronavirus- ited checkpoint called Iditarod and The Iditarod, as it has every precautions made necessary by related travel obstacles. And there the abandoned mining settlement year, faces criticism from animal the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be almost no spectators cheer- of Flat, then back to the starting rights activists condemning the year’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog ing teams on in person, as trail point in Willow, about 121km (75 event as cruel to dogs, putting Race, which starts on Sunday, will access will be strictly limited. miles) north of Anchorage. The pressure on race sponsors. In Jan- be an especially distanced event. Once mushers and their dogs total distance is about 1,384km uary, Exxon Mobil announced it The trail for the world’s most take off, however, a lot will be (860 miles), roughly 160km (100 was ending its longtime sponsor- famous sledge dog race has been back to normal for them, said 2018 miles) shorter than the traditional ship after this year’s race. drastically rerouted to avoid al- champion Joar Leifseth Ulsom, course. All participants must test Urbach said the Iditarod has, most all the communities that nor- one of this year’s favourites. for COVID repeatedly and remain nevertheless, gained some new mally serve as checkpoints, and “It’s not like we are very so- in an Iditarod “bubble”, Urbach sponsors and is drawing revenue the traditional ceremonial start in cial people. We spend most of our said. That is especially important from a subscription service that Anchorage has been eliminated. time out with the dogs,” Leifseth for race officials, veterinarians and sends video directly to fans. Only 47 mushers and their Ulsom, a Norwegian who lives volunteers who far outnumber the aljazeera