MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2015 SPORTS Rudisha on Kenya team for worlds NAIROBI: Olympic champion David percent fit.” Rudisha is on Kenya’s team for the athletics Rudisha clocked 1 minute, 43.89 sec- world championships in Beijing this month onds, around three seconds slower than despite another defeat, this time at the the world record he set at the 2012 London national trials. Olympics. Rudisha has battled a series of The world record-holder in the 800 injuries since his devastating victory in meters was beaten by Ferguson Rotich at London and missed the 2013 world cham- the trials on Saturday in a race watched by pionships in Moscow. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. His last defeat on Kenyan soil over 800 It followed back-to-back defeats for meters was at the junior trials in 2006. Rudisha at Diamond League meets to rival Kenya has selected a 46-member team for and Olympic silver medalist Nijel Amos of the worlds in China, which run Aug. 22-30. Botswana. Also on the team are 1,500 meters two- At the trials, Rudisha led for 600 meters time defending world champion Asbel in the final before being run down by Kiprop, 800-meter world champ Eunice Rotich to finish second, similar to his two Sum, and two-time Olympic champion losses to Amos. steeplechaser Ezekiel Kemboi. “I’m struggling in the last 100 meters Kemboi has won three straight world and that is what I will work on,” Rudisha titles in the 3,000 meters steeplechase and said. “The three weeks I have ahead of the is aiming to be the first man to win four world championships are enough. I’m 90 straight gold in the event. —AP Garcia stops Malignaggi NEW YORK: Undefeated Danny Garcia MRI. “I know it’s broken. I heard it pop,” said stopped Paulie Malignaggi in the ninth Mora, who fell to 28-4-2. “I heard my knee round of their welterweight fight Saturday pop and I want to see a replay because I night at Barclays Center. know my ankle is broken.” Immediately fol- Garcia improved to 31-0 with his 18th lowing the fight, Jacobs unequivocally KAZAN: Netherlands’ Sharon Van Rouwendaal (right, bronze), US Katie Ledecky (center, gold) and Australia’s Jessica Ashwood (silver) pose dur- knockout. Malignaggi dropped to 33-7. expressed his disinterest in a rematch. ing the podium ceremony of the women’s 400m freestyle swimming event at the 2015 FINA World Championships. —AFP With Malignaggi against the ropes, Garcia “No reason to go backwards,” said threw a flurry of punches before referee Jacobs, who was knocked down by a left to Arthur Mercante Jr. stopped it at 2:22 of the the face in the first round. “Did a guy with ninth. Garcia and Malignaggi traded shots nine knockouts really knock me down?” Ledecky retains 400m almost immediately. But Garcia had the Also, light heavyweights Travis Peterkin better of the exchanges, including opening (15-0-1) and Lenin Castillo (12-0-1) fought cuts surrounding Malignaggi’s right eye. to a majority draw; Rafael Vazquez (16-1) Malignaggi landed his best punch in the stopped Mario Macias (26-17) at 1:50 of the freestyle world title seventh, a hard right to the chin that Garcia first round in their featherweight fight; shook off. While the crowd of 7,237 fans heavyweight Adam Kownacki improved to was disappointed with the result of the 11-0 with a knockout of Maurenzo Smith KAZAN: Teenage triple world-record holder second to realise that, but at the same time I by the overall results. We have just got to go main event, Danny Jacobs’ performance in (12-10-3) at 2:26 of the second round; Katie Ledecky of the United States retained her can’t complain about another world champi- back and analyse it. the semi-main event had the crowd roar- Heather Hardy moved to 14-0 with a stop- 400m freestyle title at the world swimming onship medal. “This gives me a lot of confidence “Jimmy looked pretty good coming in, I felt ing. page decision of Renata Domsodi (12-7). championships yesterday to continue her domi- to do well the rest of the week. It gets me excit- good going out. “I died real bad at the end of my Jacobs improved to 30-1 when he Junior lightweights Titus Williams and nance of the distance events. Ledecky’s victory ed to do well.” leg, which is not uncommon. “I didn’t really see stopped Sergio Mora at 2:55 of the second Thomas Velasquez won in their pro debuts, gave the United States their 100th gold medal in Having won the 400, 800 and 1500m freestyle the rest of the relay, I was still kind of rolling round. Jacobs landed a right hook to the with Williams topping Micah Branch (2-15- women’s events at all world aquatic champi- Olympic titles at London 2012 while just 15 around in a bit of a lactic acid blackout.” side of Mora’s head, who crumpled to the 1), Velasquez stopping Gabriel Braxton (2- onships. years old, Ledecky then completed the same set Having won the silver medal two years ago canvas and was taken from the ring by 11-1) in the fourth. Junior middleweight The 18-year-old, who holds the world records at the 2013 world championships when she end- when the world championships were held in stretcher because of right ankle and knee Prichard Colon (15-0) stopped Michael over 400m, 800 and 1500m, led by two body ed up winning four gold medals including the Barcelona, the USA had been one of the injuries. Mora was taken to a hospital for a Finney (12-4-1) in the second.—AP lengths at the halfway stage and won gold in 4x200m freestyle relay title. favourites for gold in Kazan along with reigning three minutes, 59.13 seconds to set a new cham- She set world records over the 800m and champions France and hosts Russia. pionship record. 1500m freestyle in Barcelona two years go, then The USA had been so confident of qualifying Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands bettered both last year and also set a new record that they rested their top stars, which is not claimed silver at 3.89 secs back with Australia’s in the 400m at the Pan-Pacific Games last uncommon in the heats, but paid the price for Jessica Ashwood taking bronze at 4.21. August. resting Olympic 100m freestyle champion “This gets the momentum going and I could- Meanwhile, Anthony Ervin admitted the USA Nathan Adrian and 15-time world gold medallist n’t be happier,” beamed Ledecky, who has only men’s relay team were stunned after failing to Ryan Lochte. just graduated from high school. reach the 4x100m freestyle final for the first time Ervin said there was no hint of the disaster to She scooped the fifth world title of her career in world championships history yesterday. follow in their training and preparation, but the with a commanding display and she admitted The experienced USA quartet of Jimmy 2000 Olympic 50m freestyle champion was she was disappointed not to break her own Feigen, Ervin, Matt Grevers and Conor Dwyer struggling for breath in the mixed zone. world record, having come within a second of it. won their heat, but their time of three mins, “We had felt good going in,” panted the 34- “I think it’s a very competitive event and I 16.01 secs was only the 11th fastest with only year-old. “We all thought we were feeling good could feel the other girls racing really hard so the top eight teams going through to Sunday and confident. “We thought we were going to that gets me going. It was a fast race,” she said. night’s final. send a little bit of a message this morning. “We “When I touched the wall, I kind of felt that I “I honestly don’t know,” said a stunned Ervin saw the clock and it was just like ‘whoa!’. “The had it (broken her world record), so it took me a when asked for an explanation. “We’re stunned number just seemed so off.”—AFP Triathlon tests Rio’s Olympic readiness RIO DE JANEIRO: Elite triathletes from around weekend, the triathlon put athletes and the Souza, a trim 78-year-old with a white mus- the world raced off Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana public in close contact, while the cycling and tache. “But it’s good for Rio,” he said. The only Beach Sunday in a dress rehearsal for next running courses required the shutting down of thing he’d change? The thumping music. “I just year’s Olympic Games. normally busy streets. wish they put on more samba,” he said. The event was vital for athletes looking to “Being an outdoor sport, being on the sea Pollution in Rio’s Guanabara Bay, where sail- secure spots on their national Olympic teams and being on the streets, it’s really important ing events are set to take place, is described by but just as much a test of the city’s ability to for us to see that if it works on paper it also independent environmental experts as a disas- stage the world’s biggest sporting event in works in reality as well,” said Gergely Markus, ter. The situation is much better in the open sea Danny Garcia exactly 12 months. sports director at the International Triathlon off Copacabana Beach but even there the quali- With Rio’s iconic Sugarloaf Mountain tower- Union.