2023 OLYMPICS
Ryder Cup 2023: Europe and USA Finalize Star-Studded Lineups
Article by Fabian Polvon
The anticipation is palpable as the Ryder Cup 2023 fast approaches. Slated for the stunning greens of Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy, this biennial golf clash will pit the crème de la crème of European and American golfers against each other from September 25 to October 1. Originally scheduled for 2022 but postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition promises exhilarating displays of skill and strategy. The teams, captained by legends Luke Donald for Europe and Zach Johnson for the USA, each comprise 12 golfing maestros: six based on their performance in the DP World Tour and the PGA TOUR, and six wildcard choices by the captains.
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Europe's lineup boasts some of golf's stellar names. Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, and Viktor Hovland, all of whom have ascended the ranks of the World Points List, are among the automatic qualifiers. They are joined by Robert MacIntyre, Yannik Paul, and Adrian Meronk from the European Points List. Complementing this formidable group are the captain's wildcard picks: Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry, Victor Perez, Rasmus Hojgaard, and Adrian Otaegui. On the other side, the American team shines equally bright. Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele, and Patrick Cantlay have secured their spots through commendable performances. Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, and Brian Harman are the other automatic qualifiers, while Jordan Spieth, Keegan Bradley, Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, and Justin Thomas are the chosen wildcards.
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The Ryder Cup's unique format promises three days of nail-biting action: two days of four-ball and foursomes and a final day of singles matches. Each match earns the winning team a point, and the squad with the most points will lift the coveted Ryder Cup. If the scores are even, Europe, the defending champions with their impressive 17 ½ to 10 ½ victory in Paris in 2019, will retain the trophy. As the event draws nearer, the question on everyone's mind is: Which team will reign supreme in Rome? The stage is set for one of golf's most celebrated events, and the world watches with bated breath.
Olympic stars Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles ready for 2023 U.S. Championships
Article by Fabian Polvon
The 2023 U.S. Championships, the most prestigious national event in American gymnastics, will feature some of the best athletes in the sport, including two Olympic medalists from Tokyo 2020 in 2021: Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles. Both gymnasts have recently competed at the U.S. Classic, a tune-up meet for the championships, where they showed impressive skills and routines on two events each.
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Suni Lee, the Olympic women’s all-around champion, performed on beam and vault at the Classic, scoring a 15.050 and a 14.600 respectively. She also debuted a new vault, a Yurchenko double full, which she plans to upgrade to a Yurchenko double-and-a-half twist (also known as an Amanar) at the championships. Lee has been dealing with some health issues that have affected her training, but she is confident that she can compete on all four events in San Jose and defend her national title.
Jordan Chiles, a team silver medalist and a close friend of Lee, also competed on beam and bars at the Classic, scoring a 14.400 and a 14.350 respectively. She showcased some new elements, such as a Maloney to Tkatchev to Pak salto combination on bars and a front aerial to split jump to straddle jump on beam. Chiles is aiming to make her second world championships team this year, after helping the U.S. win gold in 2022. She is also excited to debut her new floor routine, which features some upbeat music and dance moves.
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The 2023 U.S. Championships will be held from August 24 to 27 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The event will determine the national champions in each event and the all-around, as well as the members of the national team that will represent the U.S. at the world championships in Antwerp, Belgium in October. Lee and Chiles are among the favorites to make the world team, along with other Olympic veterans such as Jade Carey and Grace McCallum, and rising stars such as Kayla DiCello and Skye Blakely.
Robinson, McGillivray, Inaba, and Cleland’s performances lead them towards exciting competitions in the future
Article by Fabian Polvon
Four surfers, Robinson, McGillivray, Inaba, and Cleland, have secured their provisional spots for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, thanks to their performances in the World Surf League (WSL) 2023 season.
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Robinson, who won the opening event of the season at Pipeline, confirmed his place as the second highest-ranked Australian on the Tour after reaching the quarter-finals of Tahiti Pro, where the surfing competition for Paris 2024 will take place. McGillivray, who did not advance past the elimination round at Tahiti Pro, also secured his spot as the second highest-ranked South African on the Tour.
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Igarashi, who won the silver medal at Tokyo 2020, clinched his quota for Paris 2024 based on his WSL ranking after Tahiti Pro. However, since he had already qualified as the top-ranked male surfer from Asia at the 2023 World Surfing Games, his quota was passed to his teammate Inaba, who finished fourth at the same event. Smith, who also earned his quota through the World Surfing Games as the top-ranked African male surfer, finished among the top 10 surfers on the WSL ranking after Tahiti Pro. As there were no other African surfers who met the qualification criteria, his quota was passed to Cleland, who became the first Mexican surfer to qualify for an Olympic Games.
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The four surfers will join 10 other male surfers who had already secured their provisional quotas for Paris 2024 through the WSL ranking. They are Brazil’s Filipe Toledo and Joao Chianca, USA’s Griffin Colapinto and John John Florence, Australia’s Ethan Ewing, Italy’s Leonardo Fioravanti, and Japan’s Kanoa Igarashi.
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The final quotas for Paris 2024 will depend on the confirmation of the National Olympic Committees, who have the exclusive authority to select their athletes for the Olympic Games. The surfing competition for Paris 2024 will take place on the Teahupo’o wave in Tahiti, which is renowned for being one of the world’s biggest and most challenging waves.
Rebeca Andrade will make her way to 2023 gymnastics competition after critical injury
Article by Fabian Polvon
Rebeca Andrade, the Brazilian gymnast who made history at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, is ready to compete again at the 2023 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Melbourne, Australia. Andrade, who won gold on vault and silver in the all-around in Tokyo, will be the star attraction at the event that runs from 18 to 21 August.
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Andrade, 24, became the first Brazilian female gymnast to win an Olympic medal and the first Brazilian woman to win a gold medal at any Olympic sport. She also achieved the highest all-around score ever by a South American gymnast, with 57.298 points. Her vault gold medal was also the first for a non-European or non-American gymnast since 1992.
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Andrade’s Olympic success came after a long and difficult journey marked by three anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries that sidelined her for most of the previous Olympic cycle. She underwent surgery in 2015, 2017 and 2019, and had to overcome doubts and fears about her ability to return to her best level.
Andrade credits her family, her coaches and her faith for supporting her through the hard times. She also found inspiration in Simone Biles, the American superstar who won four gold medals at the Rio 2016 Olympics and who praised Andrade’s performance in Tokyo.
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Andrade’s next challenge is to maintain her form and consistency at the World Cup circuit, which is part of the qualification process for the Paris 2024 Olympics. She will compete on vault, uneven bars and floor exercise in Melbourne, where she will face strong rivals such as Jade Carey of the United States, who won silver on vault and gold on floor in Tokyo, and Ellie Black of Canada, who finished fourth in the all-around in Rio.
England wins 3-1 in FIFA Women’s World Cup over Australia
Article by Fabian Polvon
England reached its first Women’s World Cup final after defeating host nation Australia 3-1 in a thrilling semifinal match on Wednesday in Sydney. The Lionesses scored three goals in the second half to overcome a resilient Matildas side that had equalized through star striker Sam Kerr.
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The European champions started the game brightly and took the lead in the 36th minute when Ella Toone fired a shot into the top corner from a throw-in. It was Toone’s 17th goal in just 37 appearances for England and her third of the tournament.
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Australia, playing in front of a passionate home crowd, responded well and leveled the score in the 62nd minute when Kerr headed in a cross from Caitlin Foord. It was Kerr’s sixth goal of the World Cup and her 50th for her country.
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However, England regained the lead eight minutes later when Lauren Hemp scored with a low shot from inside the box after a clever pass from Georgia Stanway. Hemp, who was named the best young player of the tournament, celebrated her fourth goal of the competition.
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Australia pushed for another equalizer, but England sealed the victory in the 85th minute when Alessia Russo tapped in a rebound from close range after Hemp’s initial shot was saved by Lydia Williams. Russo, who plays for Manchester United, scored her first goal of the World Cup and her fifth for England.
England coach Sarina Wiegman praised her team’s performance and said they were ready to face Spain in the final on Sunday. Spain beat Brazil 2-1 in the other semifinal on Tuesday.
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Australia coach Tony Gustavsson also congratulated England on their win and thanked the fans for their support throughout the tournament. He said his team had made history by reaching their first World Cup semifinal and hoped they would bounce back in the third-place match against Brazil on Saturday.
The final between England and Spain will be played at Stadium Australia on Sunday, 8 a.m. eastern time, and the third place match between Australia and Brazil will be played at Newcastle Stadium on Saturday at 5 a.m. eastern time.
Winner of the 100m, Zharnel Hughes, says it’s not enough
Article by Fabian Polvon
Zharnel Hughes is one of the fastest sprinters in the world, and he has his sights set on breaking the records of his idol and mentor, Usain Bolt. The British athlete, who was born and raised in Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, has been training with Bolt’s former coach Glen Mills in Jamaica since he was 18 years old. He credits Bolt for inspiring him to pursue his dreams and for giving him valuable advice on how to improve his technique and mental strength.
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Hughes has already achieved impressive results in his career, winning gold medals in both the 100 meters and 4 x 100 meters relay at the 2018 European Championships, and in the 4 x 100 meters relay at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2019 World Championships. He also won silver medals in the 200 meters and the 4 x 100 meters relay at the 2022 European Championships, and bronze medals in the same events at the 2022 World Championships. He was part of the Great Britain team that narrowly missed out on gold in the 4 x 100 meters relay at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, finishing second behind Italy by a mere 0.01 seconds.
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However, Hughes is not satisfied with his achievements so far. He wants to challenge himself and reach new heights in his sport. He believes he has the potential to break Bolt’s world records of 9.58 seconds in the 100 meters and 19.19 seconds in the 200 meters, which have stood since 2009. Hughes has already improved his personal bests to 9.83 seconds in the 100 meters and 19.73 seconds in the 200 meters, which are also the British national records. He is confident that he can go faster with more training and competition. Now he’s looking forward to competing at the next World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July 2023; he hopes to challenge Bolt’s records.
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He is also excited about the prospect of representing Great Britain at the Paris Olympics in 2024, where he aims to win gold medals in both sprint events. He says he is motivated by his love for running and his desire to make his family, his country, and his mentor proud.