Sports

Round One Report American Johannes Veerman and Mitch Waite of England share the lead at the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open after carding seven under par rounds of 64 in the first European Tour event to be held on the Mediterranean island. Cyprus became the 50th nation to host the European Tour in its 48-year history as the first round began today, with Veerman and Waite edging ahead on a low-scoring day in Paphos. Waite carded an eagle, seven birdies and two bogeys to

Joshua Cheptegei's world 5000m record of 12:35.36 set at the Wanda Diamond League in Monaco on 14 August has been ratified. The Ugandan, now 24, took two seconds off Kenenisa Bekele’s mark of 12:37.35, set 16 years earlier in Hengelo. Amazingly, it was Cheptegei’s first race since setting a world 5km record on the roads on 16 February, also in Monaco. Paced through the early stages by Roy Hoornweg (2:31.87 at 1000m) and Matthew Ramsden (5:03.77 at 2000m), Cheptegei, the reigning world cross

Gleneagles will host The Senior Open Presented by Rolex for the first time when the iconic Scottish venue welcomes Europe’s only Senior Major Championship in 2022. The King’s Course on the 850-acre Perthshire estate will host the 35th edition of the tournament from July 21–24, 2022, a year after Sunningdale Golf Club welcomes the Championship’s return after its cancellation in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Gleneagles is no stranger to elite golf events, having hosted The 2014 Ryder Cup – the prestigious

Last week’s Italian Open runner-up Laurie Canter hopes his good form can continue as the European Tour visits Cyprus for the first time in its 48-year history for the inaugural Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open. The Englishman held the 54-hole lead last week at Chervò Golf Club, but was pipped to the post on the final hole by Ross McGowan. Nevertheless, the 30-year-old is feeling positive after his second runner-up finish in the space of five weeks, adding to his Portugal Masters result. Canter

Vodafone Qatar continues to support the country’s sports sector, with Company named as the Official Sponsor of the 2020 Padel Tournament, organized by the Qatar Olympic Committee, which will take place from 27 to 31 October at Al Sadd Sports Club. A mix between tennis and squash, Padel is the fastest growing racket sport in Qatar and the world due to the fun, easy and social nature of the sport. As part of Vodafone Qatar’s sponsorship, its GigaNet network will power the venue

World Junior Champion Mostafa Asal and fellow Egyptian Zahed Salem have withdrawn from the upcoming Qatar Classic. Both players are currently self-isolating after close family members have tested positive for COVID-19. Neither player has received a positive test at this time. Frenchman Victor Crouin takes up Asal’s spot in the draw and he will play England’s George Parker in round one. Crouin’s place is taken by USA’s Todd Harrity, who will go up against Lucas Serme. Former World No.1 James Willstrop takes Salem’s

This year's finest athletics achievements will be celebrated at the World Athletics Awards 2020, to be staged as a virtual event on Saturday 5 December and streamed live on the World Athletics YouTube channel. This year’s ceremony will recognise exceptional achievement in what has been an extraordinary and unprecedented year, both on and off the fields of play, and celebrate the athletes who met the challenges of 2020 head-on to produce some of the finest performances in the history of our sport. Once again,

The Court of Arbitration for Sport rules against Blake Leeper competing in Olympic Games and World Athletics Series Competitions with current mechanical aids (prosthetics) World Athletics’ rules permit competitive use of aids such as prosthetics if they do not give the user an artificial competitive advantage over those not using such aids. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rejected Mr Leeper’s argument that those rules are designed to discriminate against disabled athletes, and instead has fully accepted that they are intended

The Al Shaqab Racing’s runner Lucky Lycra (IRE) (Olympic Glory x Pearl Banks) ended her career in a blaze of glory by securing a well-deserved group success in the Grosser Preis der Mehl-Mulhens-Stiftung (Gr3) at Hanover, Germany on Sunday, 25 October 2020. The François Rohaut’s charge had landed the Prix Joubert (L) over 2,800m (1m 6f) as a three-year-old, and she was lightly campaigned this season. On Sunday, her young rider, Thomas Trullier, 20, decided to make this a true test by setting

The World No.1 spot will be up for grabs during the 2020 Qatar Classic, PSA Platinum tournament when three-time champion Mohamed ElShorbagy looks to wrestle it back from the grasp of fellow Egyptian Ali Farag at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex between November 1-7. Farag, the 2018 champion, will overthrow ElShorbagy as the world’s leading male player on the day the tournament kicks off courtesy of his run to the final at the CIB Egyptian Open last week in front of

Syed Azlan Amjad has broken through on the PSA Challenger Tour to lift his first ever title, after he won the QSF 3 Open on home soil at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha. Amjad has fond memories of the venue, as he was a wildcard at the 2019 PSA Men’s World Championship, held at the Khalifa Complex. The Qatari No.2 reached the second round of the Worlds last year. In this Challenger Tour event, which was held for Qatari-based

A faultless Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) didn't put a foot wrong for a formidable second victory of 2020 at the Gran Premio Liqui Moly de Teruel, no one able to stay with the Italian as he also put himself right back in the title fight. Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins took second place to make it back-to-back podiums, with teammate Joan Mir picking up another P3 at MotorLand to extend his Championship lead in yet another dramatic premier class race… That drama

Ross McGowan sealed an emotional victory at the Italian Open, his first win in 11 years, as the Englishman holed a 20-foot putt at the last to overcome his playing partner Laurie Canter after a thrilling final day battle at Chervò Golf Club. The 38-year-old holed a plethora of long-range putts throughout the week in Brescia and once again, he had his putter to thank on the final day. His chance looked to have gone at the long par three 14th hole, where

On race day at the Gran Premio Liqui Moly de Teruel, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta answered a couple of key questions about the remaining races of the season and the situation for the FIM MotoGP™ World Championship regarding the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, confirming there are no changes expected to the calendar. With how the Covid-19 situation is evolving in Europe, and especially in Spain, many fans are wondering... what will happen with the remaining races? Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta: "At

Ireland’s Ron Delany and Hungary’s late Laszlo Tabori, two of the standout middle-distance runners of the 1950s, were friends and rivals. A recent discovery in the USA has reignited memories of the connection between these mile running greats and resulted in two significant additions to the World Athletics Heritage Collection. The USA was at the nub of Delany and Tabori’s relationship and the scene of many of their races. Delany, the 1956 Olympic 1500m champion, studied commerce at Villanova University in Pennsylvania under

The European Tour has withdrawn Joachim B. Hansen from today’s final round of the Italian Open after the Dane was identified as a contact of his caddie Adam Drummond, who has tested positive for COVID-19. Hansen, who has not exhibited any symptoms, tested negative on site but has been withdrawn from the tournament as a precaution following consultation with public health authorities in Italy. In accordance with Italian public health guidelines, Hansen and Drummond will both self-isolate for a total of ten days

Takaaki Nakagami has qualified on pole for the first time since he stepped up to MotoGP™ in 2018. This is the first pole position for a Japanese rider in MotoGP™ since Makoto Tamada was on pole position at the 2004 Valencia GP. Nakagami will be aiming to become the first Japanese rider to finish on the podium in MotoGP™ since Katsuyuki Nakasuga was second in Valencia back in 2012. With Pol Espargaro at the Austrian GP, Franco Morbidelli at the Catalan GP and

Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) kept his fine form rolling on Saturday at the Gran Premio Liqui Moly de Teruel, taking a maiden MotoGP™ pole position and becoming the first Japanese rider on pole in the premier class since Makoto Tamada at the 2004 Valencia GP. The number 30 also makes it three maiden polesitters this year, a first in a single MotoGP™ season since 2013, and ends Honda's longest premier class run without a pole since they returned to the class in

Please find attached sanctions for Moto3™ riders Barry Baltus (CarXpert PrüstelGP), Alonso Lopez (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) and Khairul Idham Pawi (Petronas Sprinta Racing) for riding slowly in Moto3™ Q1 at the Gran Premio Liqui Moly de Teruel.They have each been given a Long Lap Penalty for the Moto3™ race on Sunday. Sanction - Baltus Sanction - Lopez Sanction - Pawi

JDG In the colours of her owner and breeder, Al Shaqab Racing, JALELA (FR) (Mister Ginoux x Nefertarie) demolished the opposition in the Prix Nevada II, a Group 3 race for Purebred Arabian fillies at Toulouse on Saturday, 24 October. Quickly up to the lead, she was then settled in behind the leader, GUINESS D’VIALETTES (AF Albahar x USA Des Vialettes), by jockey Jerome Cabre in the mile race on the turf track which read 3.3 (good to soft) on the going-stick. Moving