The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Doha bids to host 2020 Summer Olympics
- Kittel wins Spanish Vuelta's 7th stage
- Garrido snatches lead at Gleneagles
| Doha bids to host 2020 Summer Olympics Posted: 26 Aug 2011 06:08 PM PDT DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Doha became the fifth city to launch a bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics after it was given permission to propose an autumn time bracket. The International Olympic Committee agreed to the Qatari city's request for a Sept. 20-Oct. 20 timeframe to avoid the height of the summer when the temperature can far exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the desert country. Qatari Olympic Committee President Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said Friday he wanted to "personally thank" the IOC and its President Jacques Rogge for their help. "To simply have a chance to enter the bidding process is a step closer to realizing something very special for our nation," he said. Doha will compete with bids from Rome, Madrid, Tokyo and Istanbul. The deadline for cities to express their interest is Sept. 1 and the IOC will elect the 2020 host city on Sept. 7, 2013. Dubai, South Africa and the United States have announced they will not enter a bid. Qatar has already won the right to host the first football World Cup in the Middle East in 2022, even though that is due to be held in June. The country has proposed air-conditioned stadiums to beat the heat. Doha also bid for the 2016 Olympics, but failed to make the shortlist. The games were eventually awarded to Rio de Janeiro. "We have listened and learned from our 2016 attempt to bid for the Games," said Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Secretary General of the QOC. "We know that it is imperative that we guarantee ideal conditions for athletes, support staff, technicians and spectators, and ensure events are scheduled appropriately for all stakeholders and that is what we will do." The Olympics are usually held in August but they have been held later in the year before. The 1964 Games in Tokyo and the Mexico City Olympics four years later took place in October, while the 1988 Seoul Games began Sept. 17. |
| Kittel wins Spanish Vuelta's 7th stage Posted: 26 Aug 2011 06:00 PM PDT TALAVERA DE LA REINA, Spain (AP) — German rider Marcel Kittel won the seventh stage of the Spanish Vuelta on Friday, while Sylvain Chavanel maintained the leader's jersey for the fourth consecutive day. The Skil Shimano rider edged ahead of the pack for the victory after Tyler Farrar of the United States fell in the final meters, provoking an accident in the peloton just before the finish line. Kittel finished the 183-kilometer (114-mile) leg from Almaden to Talavera de la Reina in four hours, 47 minutes, 59 seconds. "It's like a dream," said the 23-year-old Kittel. "We are so proud of each other. We did really good teamwork today." Peter Sagan, of Liquigas-Cannondale, came close to claiming his second straight stage, but finished runner-up. The day's race did not produce any major changes among the leaders of the general classification. Quickstep rider Chavanel protected his 15-second lead over Daniel Moreno and his 16-second advantage over defending champion Vicenzo Nibali. A group of four cyclists broke away early in the stage, establishing an advantage of almost nine minutes, before being caught with 10 kilometers to go. "Although the stage was classified for sprinters the route was anything but easy," Chavanel said. "There was also a wind factor that antagonized the pack all day long. However we stayed in control all day." The pile up on the final stretch included, among others, Nibali and fellow contender Joaquin Rodriguez, who stayed within 23 seconds of the lead. "All of us who want to be at the top of the classification were very nervous (in the accident)," said Rodriguez, adding that he had hurt his right hand when braking. Saturday's eighth stage is a 177.3-kilometer (110-mile) mountain course from Talavera de la Reina to San Lorenzo de El Escorial in central Spain. |
| Garrido snatches lead at Gleneagles Posted: 26 Aug 2011 05:57 PM PDT GLENEAGLES, Scotland (AP) — Ignacio Garrido broke away from a pack of frontrunners with a late birdie to take the outright lead after the second round of the Johnnie Walker Championship at a wet and chilly Gleneagles on Friday. The 39-year-old Spaniard rolled in his fifth birdie of the day at the par-3 No. 17 to post a 3-under 69, with his 8-under total leaving him a shot clear of a group of five players that included rejuvenated Dane Thomas Bjorn (69). A member of Europe's 1997 Ryder Cup team, the 197th-ranked Garrido's finest hour on a personal level came in 2003 when he won the PGA Championship at Wentworth — his second tour title. The fact that he has had a modest season to date, save for a fifth place at the Irish Open, is probably the reason he is not getting carried away with his revival in fortunes on the PGA Centenary course that will host the Ryder Cup in 2014. "It's very easy to do that in this game and one of the things you learn is to just stay in the present. It's been one of the key things these two days, that I've managed to hit one shot at a time and not look too far ahead," he said. "It's not an easy course and it doesn't give you many birdies. But my game's been solid." Overnight leader Mark Foster (71) was among the players level with Bjorn on 7 under, with Ireland's Peter Lawrie (69), Italy's Lorenzo Gagli (68) and England's Kenneth Ferrie (69) also just off the pace. Defending champion Edoardo Molinari of Italy just made the cut, which was set at level par, after a second-round 70 but his 2010 Ryder Cup teammate Ross Fisher (1 over) and Jose Maria Olazabal (4 over) — Europe's captain at the Ryder Cup in Medinah next year — were the big names to miss out. A total of 51 players were forced to finish their first rounds early Friday after thick fog had wiped out 160 minutes of play on the opening day, although Garrido was safely in the clubhouse tied for second after a 67. Opening his second round with a bogey on par-4 No. 1, he birdied three of the next six holes and picked up his other shot at No. 11. Bjorn rediscovered his British Open form after an unhappy stint in the United States to shoot a second straight round in the 60s. After rolling back the years to finish fourth at Royal St. George's six weeks ago, the 70th-ranked Bjorn struggled in the U.S. by tying a lowly 68th at the Bridgestone Invitational and then missing the cut at the U.S. PGA Championship. Returning to European soil, he is back in his element, impressing in the rain and cold in central Scotland as he bids for a second victory of 2011 following his win at the Qatar Masters in February. "I played extremely well that week at the Open and got a lot of confidence. But I found myself in a position I always do where I then go to America and all of a sudden have to hit the ball straight up in the air. I found it impossible," said Bjorn, an 11-time winner on the European Tour. "My confidence took a knock in America and I didn't feel comfortable at all with my golf. I went home and worked for a few days, came here and found a few things I need to do to control the ball again. I'm playing decent golf." Bjorn dropped just one shot on Friday, on No. 15 (his sixth hole of the day), but three birdies around the turn propelled him up the leaderboard. He then picked up a fourth shot at the long par-4 No. 7. Ferrie mirrored Bjorn's scoring to move into contention for a first win since 2005, with his recent switch to a belly putter paying dividends, while Gagli — a graduate from the second-tier Challenge Tour — shot 68 to continue a strong recent run that saw him finish third in the Scottish Open, eighth in the Irish Open and fifth in the Czech Open last week. Colin Montgomerie shot a 73 for 1 under, keeping the tournament chairman and 2010 Ryder Cup captain in his home event for the weekend. But Olazabal, Montgomerie's successor, picked up a two-shot penalty on No. 2 for hitting the wrong ball, making a double-bogey 7 in a second straight 74 that means he'll miss the cut. |
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