The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Furyk among 11 golfers to secure trip to 2012 Masters
- Magnussen and Franklin put Phelps in the shade ahead of London 2012
- Citroen sign up Belgian driver Neuville
| Furyk among 11 golfers to secure trip to 2012 Masters Posted: 20 Dec 2011 03:46 PM PST AUGUSTA (Georgia): American Jim Furyk, the 2003 US Open winner, was among 11 golfers to secure a trip to the 2012 Masters by finishing among the year-end top 50 in the world golf rankings issued on Monday. Furyk qualified for a 17th consecutive Augusta National Golf Club invitation next April by edging into the list at 50th in the world, two spots below where he began the weekend but just high enough to reach the Masters field. Also sneaking in at 49th was Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano. Japan's Ryo Ishikawa (pic) just missed making the Masters field, finishing at 51st in the year-end rankings. England's Ian Poulter, coming off a victory on Sunday at the Australian Masters, qualified at 16th in the rankings, as did his countrymen Simon Dyson, who was 28th on the final list for 2011, and Paul Casey, who was 20th. Others adding the Masters to their 2012 travel plans included South Koreans Kim Kyung-Tae at 25th and Bae Sang-Moon at 30th, Spain's Alvaro Quiros at 22nd and Miguel Angel Jimenez at 44th, American Rickie Fowler at 32nd and Italian Francesco Molinari at 41st. South African stars Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, both two-time US Open champions, did not crack the year-end top 50 and must seek another path back to Augusta National, where Els had made 18 consecutive Masters starts. Els, who also has a British Open title on his career ledger, slipped from the year-end top 50 for the first time since 1993 by standing 56th in the final list, three spots beneath Goosen. Remaining ways to qualify for the Masters include winning a PGA event not staged opposite a World Golf Championships tournament in the first three months of 2012 or reaching the rankings top 50 after the Arnold Palmer Invitational, staged two weeks before the Masters. — AFP Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Magnussen and Franklin put Phelps in the shade ahead of London 2012 Posted: 20 Dec 2011 03:48 PM PST LOS ANGELES: With young stars like James Magnussen and Missy Franklin on the rise as the 2012 London Games approach, 2011 served to show Olympic swim great Michael Phelps just how much work he has to do. Phelps, whose 14 Olympic gold medals include his unprecedented haul of eight golds in Beijing, was forced to play second fiddle at the World Championships in Shanghai to team-mate Ryan Lochte, who starred with five golds. He also had to share the spotlight with 16-year-old Franklin, who enjoyed a breakthrough meet, and Magnusson — who thrilled swimming-mad Australia by winning the coveted men's 100m freestyle title. Magnussen, 20, also spearheaded Australia's 4x100m freestyle relay world gold, his exploits building confidence in the flagging Australian men's swimming programme as the sport's eyes turn toward London. Magnussen now has his sights on the 100m free world record of 46.91 set by Brazilian Cesar Cielo in 2009 when high-tech polyurethane suits were still allowed. While the super-suits era is over, swimming didn't escape controversy in 2011, as Cielo was caught up in a drugs row on the eve of the World Championships. Cielo escaped a suspension despite a positive test for the diuretic furosemide, which is banned in sport as a possible masking agent. The Court of Arbitration for Sport accepted Cielo's assertion that the drug was in a contaminated caffeine supplement prescribed to him by his doctor. However, not all were pleased with the decision, with one rival swimmer giving Cielo a "thumbs down" signal after his 50m butterfly triumph in Shanghai. Now that the rules mandate textile suits, the World Championships saw just two world records fall — compared to the ridiculous 43 set two years earlier in Rome. One of those belonged to Chinese teenager Sun Yang, who wiped out Australian icon Grant Hackett's 10-year-old 1500m freestyle record. Five of China's 14 medals in Shanghai were gold — putting them second in the medals table behind the United States and signalling their intentions to make a splash in the competition pool in London. America's effort, featuring 16 gold medals and 29 overall, was spearheaded not by superstar Phelps but by the low-key Lochte, who beat Phelps in the 200m freestyle and then in world record time in the 200m individual medley. True, Phelps nabbed four gold medals among his seven total, but the 26-year-old acknowledged he had plenty of work to do. "There are a lot of things that are going to really help me for motivation over the next year and there are a lot of small things that I can change," he said. "We have 12 months to prepare for London, and that's what I plan on doing." Despite her youth, Franklin stamped herself an international star with three golds among her five medals in Shanghai. She followed that up in October by breaking the short course 200m backstroke world record. The bubbly teenager was presented her award as outstanding US Swimmer of the Year by Janet Evans, a four-time Olympic champion who starred at the 1988 Seoul Games and this year mounted a comeback. The 39-year-old mother of two wasn't the only golden oldie eyeing a return to glory in the pool as Aussie great Ian Thorpe, compatriot Libby Trickett and American Brendan Hansen also opted to plunge back into the pool. Thorpe stunned the swimming world when he retired at age 24. "At that time, I didn't think I'd compete again ... so I surprised myself that I wanted to do this," he said, adding he had witnessed incredible progress in swimming during his retirement. "What's fantastic about this progression is that it's from all over the world. It's not one or two countries ... but it's really spreading throughout the world." With that in mind, British swimmers continued to show they aim to claim their share of the spoils in home waters next year. Rebecca Adlington, a double Olympic gold medallist in Beijing, won the 800m freestyle world title and was voted Sportswoman of the Year by Britain's sports journalists. — AFP Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Citroen sign up Belgian driver Neuville Posted: 20 Dec 2011 02:55 PM PST BRUSSELS: Thierry Neuville became the first Belgian driver to sign up for the World Rally Championship since Francois Duval in 2005 when he was hired by Citroen on Monday for at least nine of the 13 rallies next season. The 23-year-old – winner of two of the second tier IRC championship last season – is seen by Citroen as an investment for the future just as Frenchman Sebastien Ogier was. The 27-year-old Ogier, who finished third in this year's World Rally Championships after notching up five victories, signed for Volkswagen after being released from his Citroen deal this month. Ogier had made clear towards the business end of the season as he closed in on Citroen's lead driver and eight-time world champion Sebastien Loeb that he was not happy at the preferential treatment given to his compatriot. Neuville, though, did not sound like a potential troublemaker following the announcement. "I am still finding it hard to believe," said Neuville. "The 2011 season was very positive, with two wins in legendary and difficult rallies like the Tour of Corsica and Sanremo. "It is imperative that I move up another gear and I am proud that Citroen Racing have placed their confidence in me for 2012." Citroen Racing director Olivier Quesnel said that the team believed he was worthy of the risk. "We decided that the moment had come to give him his opportunity at the highest level," he said. "Like Sebastien Ogier recently, Thierry will have at his disposal a team which will permit him complete his learning curve." Neuville is the third new arrival at Citroen. He follows Finland's three-time world championship runner-up Mikko Hirvonen and Qatar's Dakar Rally champion Nasser Al-Attiyah. — AFP Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan