Lawrie flirts with magical 59 in Dutch Open first round
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Former British Open champion Paul Lawrie flirted with the European Tour’s first 59 before eventually posting a nine-under-par 61 in the opening round of the Dutch Open in Zandvoort on Thursday.
Sprint queen Schippers may take on long jump
BRUSSELS, (Reuters) – Dutch sprint queen Dafne Schippers, who won the 200 meters gold medal and the 100 silver at last month’s world championships in Beijing, is contemplating taking on the long jump next season.
Sharapova qualifies for WTA year-ender
(Reuters) – World number three Maria Sharapova will compete in her eighth WTA Finals next month in Singapore after officially qualifying this week, the women’s tennis governing body said on Thursday.
Sparkling start helps American Thompson tie for Evian lead
PARIS (Reuters) – Lexi Thompson made the most of a storming start to the Evian Championship on Thursday as the American sprinted into a tie for the lead with South Korean Lee Mi-hyang on five-under-par 66 in Haute Savoie, France.
Bannister’s record-breaking shoes sold for $412,000
LONDON (Reuters) – The pair of running shoes worn by Roger Bannister when the Briton ran the first sub-four minute mile in 1954 were sold by auctioneers Christie’s on Thursday for 266,500 pounds ($412,062.30).
Austria’s double Olympic champion Raich retires
LONDON (Reuters) – Austria’s former world and Olympic ski champion Benjamin Raich announced his retirement on Thursday, citing a lack of motivation to continue racing at the age of 37.
Gatlin says he’s closing in on Bolt ahead of Rio
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – U.S. sprinter Justin Gatlin believes he is steadily catching up with Olympic and world champion Usain Bolt as the two head towards a likely showdown at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games next year.
Wawrinka fourth player to seal ATP Tour Finals spot
LONDON (Reuters) – French Open champion Stan Wawrinka has become the fourth player to qualify for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London.
FFA confirms Australia-U.S. matches scrapped
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Football Federation Australia (FFA) have confirmed the women’s team will not tour the United States for matches against the world champions next week after failing to break an impasse with the players’ union over pay and condition…
Ex-U.S. tennis star James Blake slammed to ground as victim of mistaken identity: report
(Reuters) – Former tennis star James Blake was slammed to the ground, handcuffed and detained for about 15 minutes in New York City on Wednesday before police realized they had the wrong man in an identity theft ring, New York’s Daily News reported.
