Lyles targets Olympic medal haul to underline ‘rock star’ status

Noah Lyles, right, of the US, poses for photos while traveling along the Seine River in Paris during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics Friday. (AP)
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Updated 29 July 2024
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Lyles targets Olympic medal haul to underline ‘rock star’ status

  • Lyles winning a treble gold (100, 200 and 4x100m relay) at last year’s world championships in Budapest led to World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe dubbing the 27-year old American as an ‘absolute rock star’
  • The cameras will again be on Lyles in Paris as he seeks to improve on his Tokyo Games showing, where he came away with a bronze in the 200m

PARIS: Noah Lyles will look to banish his Tokyo demons when he takes to the Olympic track in Paris in his continuing bid to fill the void left by Usain Bolt.

Lyles took a major step toward that dream by winning treble gold (100, 200 and 4x100m relay) at last year’s world championships in Budapest.

It led to World Athletics president Sebastian Coe dubbing Lyles, whose contract renewal with Adidas this season was described as the biggest since Bolt’s with Puma, an “absolute rock star.”

Dread-locked rapper more than rock star, the 27-year-old American’s efforts in the Hungarian capital were captured in Netflix’s docuseries entitled “Sprint.”

It firmly shone the spotlight on the self-assured Lyles, who looks more than ready to bring track back into the wider public consciousness and whose brashness was clear for all to hear in a litany of quotable soundbites.

“You have to have the mindset of an icon,” Lyles said of being a top sprinter in “Sprint.”

“I’m a true believer in that the moment isn’t bigger than me, the moment was made for me.”

While many pundits insist that such an outlook is hardly rare for elite athletes, there is no doubt his brazen approach rubs many other people up the wrong way, not least legions of NBA basketball players — and their fans — after Lyles had questioned their claim to be real “world champions.”

Either way, the cameras will again be on Lyles in Paris as he seeks to improve on his Tokyo Games showing, where he came away with a bronze in the 200m.

“That bronze still burns a hole in my chest,” Lyles said last weekend after winning the 100m in a personal best of 9.81 seconds into a slight headwind at the London Diamond League.

“I will be carrying it around during Paris just to remind me that this is not the color we are coming back with.”

His victory in London, however, left Lyles in buoyant mood, and in no fear of Jamaican Kishane Thompson, the fastest man of the year after his 9.77sec in Kingston last month.

“I beat everyone that I touch,” he said. “I don’t see why the Jamaicans are any different. This is what I pray for, this is what I live for and I back myself up, don’t I?“

Lyles, who suffered from chronic asthma as a child, added: “I know exactly where I am ahead of Paris.

“The more eyes on me, the better I perform, or at least that’s what my therapist says. When the TV cameras are on me and people are there, I am not losing.”

The American is still hoping to complete an audacious bid for medals in four events in Paris, adding the 4x400m relay to his repertoire.

He ruffled feathers in the world indoors in Glasgow in March when, after claiming 60m silver behind teammate Christian Coleman, he was selected for the 4x400m relay squad that also won silver.

It was a callup that left the US federation accused of favoritism.

“Let’s just say a lot of people in the US were very, very, very upset that I ran the 4x400 and to that I would say, ‘run faster, push me out!’,” Lyles said.

Bolt retired from the sport in 2017 having won 11 world and eight Olympic golds.

Lyles, whose Budapest sprint double was the first since Bolt’s at the Beijing worlds in 2015, said: “Usain Bolt has done it and him saying to me that he sees what I am doing and he respects it, it is amazing.

“I am the guy who wants to move past being track-famous. I want people to see me on the track, but in GQ and my docu-series, and realize I’m a cool guy too.

“Medals are the first step because then people pay attention to you.

“Then you can go into different directions: fashion, music. You can start collaborating with other people, artists and the world.”

Lyles needs to continue his fine form into the Paris Olympics — the ultimate global championships for the American spectator — simply because to continue garnering attention, he needs to keep winning medals.

That was the go-to strength and allure of Bolt: His ability to dominate and win multiple gold medals at global championships.

Paris podiums beckon for Lyles.
 


Sri Lanka’s Mathews hails ‘dream run’ in final Test against Bangladesh

Updated 16 June 2025
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Sri Lanka’s Mathews hails ‘dream run’ in final Test against Bangladesh

GALLE: Sri Lanka are set to begin a two-Test series against Bangladesh in Galle on Tuesday that will mark the end of Angelo Mathews’s “dream run” in the game’s longest format, as the cricket season resumed following South Africa’s World Test Championship triumph at Lord’s.
The red-ball matches between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be followed by a white-ball series of three one-day internationals and three T20s.
Hosts Sri Lanka begin the contest as firm favorites, eager to turn a fresh page after a stuttering end to the previous WTC cycle.
Sri Lanka were firmly in the mix for a place in the WTC final until December before the wheels came off spectacularly.
Two defeats in South Africa followed by a twin collapse at Galle against Australia saw them tumble down the rankings.
“We had one hand on a spot in the final but a few brain fades at crunch moments cost us dearly,” Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva told reporters on Monday.
“We’ve learnt our lessons. A strong home start lays the foundation for success on the road.”


Sri Lanka’s squad includes six uncapped players, with at least one debut cap set to be handed out.
Spin remains Sri Lanka’s strength, with Prabath Jayasuriya the key and selectors also calling up off-spinner Akila Dananjaya.
Bangladesh enter the series without stalwarts Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto is realistic about the challenge.
“Tamim and Shakib — those are massive boots to fill,” he said. “But this is a chance for the young guys to put their hands up.”
Shanto, who is playing in Galle for the first time, said the team have “prepped well and we’re ready for the challenge.”
The Test will also be the swansong of Sri Lanka’s veteran Angelo Mathews, who is retiring after 118 Tests.
The former skipper also played his first Test on the famous pitch perched beneath the fortress in Galle in 2009.
“It’s been a dream run,” said 38-year-old Mathews.
“The wins in England in 2014 and whitewashing the Aussies in 2016 stand out. I’ve seen so many youngsters come through the ranks,” he said.
“I truly believe Sri Lanka’s future is in good hands.”
Sri Lanka have won 20 of the 26 Tests they have played against Bangladesh, who have only managed a solitary win along with five draws.
The second Test will begin in Colombo on June 25.


German regulator pushes for more fan control of soccer clubs like Bayer Leverkusen

Updated 16 June 2025
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German regulator pushes for more fan control of soccer clubs like Bayer Leverkusen

  • Top German soccer clubs including Bayer Leverkusen and Leipzig face the prospect of handing over more control to fans after a regulator intervened

BONN: Top German soccer clubs including Bayer Leverkusen and Leipzig face the prospect of handing over more control to fans after a regulator intervened.
A statement Monday from Germany’s antitrust regulator, the Federal Cartel Office, said it wants to see tighter enforcement of the rule known as 50-plus-1 which requires a soccer club’s membership to have majority voting rights over how the team is run.
The regulator said recent European court rulings suggest permanent exemptions from 50-plus-1 for last year’s champion Leverkusen and fellow top-tier club Wolfsburg seem “no longer possible.”
It said efforts should be made in the future to ensure the club’s professional soccer operations come under the control of membership organizations, but didn’t name any deadline.
Leverkusen and Wolfsburg were founded as workers’ teams at major companies which own the clubs, with pharmaceutical giant Bayer at Leverkusen, and car manufacturer Volkswagen at Wolfsburg. Their long-term involvement led to the clubs getting exemptions from 50-plus-1.
The regulator also said the German men’s soccer league needs to ensure the clubs it oversees “offer their fans the opportunity to become a new full member with voting rights.”
That appears to affect Leipzig and its relationship with drinks giant Red Bull, though they weren’t directly named by the regulator in Tuesday’s statement.
The club was founded by Red Bull in 2009 and is part of its international network of soccer clubs. It grants voting rights to far fewer people than most German clubs. Local media reported that only 23 members had the right to vote at Leipzig as of last year.


Saudi Arabia edges Haiti 1-0 in Gold Cup on penalty kick

Updated 16 June 2025
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Saudi Arabia edges Haiti 1-0 in Gold Cup on penalty kick

Saleh Al-Shehri’s penalty kick in the 21st minute held up as the winner as Saudi Arabia shut out Haiti 1-0 in CONCACAF Gold Cup Group A play on Sunday night in San Diego.
Al-Shehri drew a foul in the penalty area on Frantzdy Pierrot in the 18th minute, then converted a right-footed shot to the bottom left corner to lift Saudi Arabia (1-0-0, 3 points) in the opener for both teams.
Haiti had an opportunity to pull even in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, but Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi (four saves) denied Dany Jean in the center of the goal on a right-footed shot from outside the box.
Haiti (0-1-0, 0 points) posted a decisive edge in corner kicks (11-1), but Saudi Arabia finished with more shots on goal (5-4) and shot attempts (13-7).
Haiti goalkeeper Johny Placide finished with three saves.


A penalty shattered Palestinian World Cup dreams for 2026. The squad has inspired hope

Updated 16 June 2025
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A penalty shattered Palestinian World Cup dreams for 2026. The squad has inspired hope

  • The Palestinian team needed to win its last three Group B games in Asian qualifying to advance to another continental playoff round

AMMAN: An engrossing qualifying journey of 16 games and the obstacles of a war came crashing down in an instant for Oday Dabbagh and his Palestinian team.
Their legacy will long continue.
Players left the field in tears in the immediate aftermath at the King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman, Jordan, last Thursday after their quest for a first appearance at a World Cup evaporated on a contentious penalty awarded deep in extra time. Fans looked on, stunned.
“It’s very hard,” Dabbagh, the team’s star striker, told The Associated Press. “It was massive for us to get to the next stage — we prepared well, we had a positive atmosphere, and we had the fans with us. We gave everything, but it was gone in a moment.”
Needing to win its last three Group B games to reach the playoffs for the last two of Asia’s automatic spots at the World Cup, the No. 101-ranked team in the world beat Iraq in Basra in March, Kuwait in Kuwait City on June 5. Five days later, it was leading 1-0 against Oman in Jordan in the 97th minute.
The Palestinians had never been in a better position in qualifying for a World Cup. Then Oman was awarded, and scored, a penalty to make it 1-1 in the last real act of the game.
Not long after the dejected players had picked themselves up, the Palestine Football Association (PFA) made an official complaint to soccer’s world governing body, FIFA, about the penalty. It didn’t change the fact, however, that the long road trip was over.
“We tried to put smiles on the faces of Palestinians amid their great pain,” head coach Ihab Abujazar said. “The heroic players are our pride and glory, a symbol of all that is beautiful in the Palestinian nation.”
Playing Away
It may have been different if the Palestinian team, admitted into FIFA in 1998, was able to play home games in front of its fans in Gaza or the West Bank in the third round of qualifying. The Israel-Hamas war meant that couldn’t happen. And so the many of the team’s home games have been taking place in the nearby Jordanian capital of Amman, home to a large community of Palestinians.
“It is easier to play in your home,” Dabbagh, who helped Aberdeen win the Scottish Cup last month, said. “But the circumstances there are so difficult so we choose to play in Amman as it is close to Palestine, the people are the same, and we have a lot of fans there.”
There’s been no domestic soccer in the Palestinian territories since the war started in 2023. Hundreds of athletes are among the more than 55,000 Palestinians killed in the conflict and sports facilities have been destroyed.
“Everything that goes on makes us all sad,” Dabbagh said. “As players, we try to focus on football during the games, but we use what is happening as motivation to bring happiness to the people of Palestine.”
All but two of the roster of 27 national squad players are contracted to foreign clubs either in the region or in Europe, a change from the start of the conflict when a number of players weren’t able to leave the West Bank or Gaza to report for international duty.
Over the past year or so, the Palestinian squad has assembled for training camps in Algeria, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to prepare for World Cup qualifying.
The top two teams in each of three Asian groups in the third round earned direct spots for next year’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The third- and fourth-place teams in each group advanced to a playoff for two more places. A win would have secured fourth spot in the group for the Palestinians. The last-minute draw meant they finished a point behind Oman in fifth.
What’s next?
Now their focus has to shift to the 2027 Asian Cup, which will take place in Saudi Arabia. The Palestinian team has already qualified for the tournament.
Dabbagh is ready to show that the team is set to remain a force in Asian soccer and continue to be ambassodors for millions of people.
“We will keep using football as a message to show the world that there are other things in Palestine” he said. “We will keep going. The dream is not over, it is just delayed.”


Kubica wins ‘mental battle’ to triumph at Le Mans

Updated 16 June 2025
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Kubica wins ‘mental battle’ to triumph at Le Mans

  • In a thrilling 93rd edition of the race, which saw the top four separated by just over 20 seconds going into the final 15 minutes, Kubica and his AF Corse co-drivers Philip Hanson and Ye Yifei (#83) finished just 14.084sec ahead of Porsche
  • Kubica was one of Formula One’s brightest prospects when he won the 2008 Canada Grand Prix but a harrowing accident in a rally in Andorra in 2011 almost cost him his life

LE MANS: Former Formula One driver Robert Kubica has long since tackled the demons of a near-fatal accident 14 years ago but Sunday’s victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans is arguably his greatest achievement yet.

The 40-year-old Pole roared to victory in his bright yellow “privateer” Ferrari to give the Italian marque a third consecutive win in the most famous endurance race in the world.

In a thrilling 93rd edition of the race, which saw the top four separated by just over 20 seconds going into the final 15 minutes, Kubica and his AF Corse co-drivers Philip Hanson and Ye Yifei (#83) finished just 14.084sec ahead of a Porsche (#6) driven by Kevin Estre, Matt Campbell and Laurens Vanthoor.

In so doing they knocked the two factory Ferraris, who started the race as favorites, into third and fourth.

“It’s been a long 24 hours but an enjoyable one. Grazie mille, grazie a tutti,” said Kubica over the team radio as he took the chequered flag.

Kubica was one of Formula One’s brightest prospects when he won the 2008 Canada Grand Prix but a harrowing accident in a rally in Andorra in 2011 almost cost him his life.

Trapped upside down in his car before being freed and whisked to hospital, Kubica suffered several serious injuries and underwent a partial amputation of his right forearm.

“What happened was very unfortunate, but I was very lucky,” he said after Sunday’s victory.

“It took me quite a few years, not only to recover physically but also mentally.

“What happened happened and I have to accept it. One of the worst periods of my life was when my mind wouldn’t accept the fact that my arm was failing.”

He returned to racing cars, however, winning the WRC2 championship and taking part in sports car races. In 2017 he moved back into Formula One, testing for Renault before racing for Williams in 2019.

But Sunday’s win which made him the first Pole ever to win Le Mans tops any of his other achievements behind the wheel.

“It was quite difficult to live with, but I’m happy to have achieved my personal goals,” he said.

“The best thing I’ve achieved in my life — it’s nothing to do with racing — it’s more the battle I won with my mind.”

Both of Kubica’s co-drivers were also first-time winners with Ye the first Chinese driver to triumph.

“I’m at a loss for words,” said Ye who arrived in Le Mans at the age of 14 on an exchange program to try and become a professional driver.

“It’s going to take me some time to realize everything that’s happened today. Right now I feel like I’m dreaming. Maybe in two seconds I’ll wake up and none of this will exist.

“In China, the car industry has come a long way. When my father was my age, there were no cars on the roads, and we’re talking about the 1990s. Becoming a professional driver was impossible.”

With three of the top four, it was certainly a good day for Ferrari but there will undoubtedly be some at headquarters in Maranello who might not be so happy.

As the winning car was not entered directly by the manufacturer, but by the AF Corse team, Ferrari will not take the points for victory in the World Endurance Championship.

Cadillac locked out the front row of the grid but #12 of Will Stephens, who had taken pole, had to settle for fifth with the second car (#38), featuring former Formula One world champion Jensen Button, coming home in eighth.