A huge crowd rose to their feet in appreciation as Michael Jung (GER) and his wonderful horse La Biosthetique Sam jumped the perfect clear round to win the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (GBR), sixth and final leg of the FEI Classics™ 2014/2015.
Jung, who will be defending his European title next weekend, is the first German rider to win a British CCI4*, and he received a great reception from the crowd, who recognised a phenomenal horseman in action and had been surrounding him all weekend asking for ‘selfies’ and autographs.
“To come to Burghley is amazing, to ride the Cross Country was wonderful and to win here at an event which is such a great tradition in the sport is just fantastic. This will be one of the highlights of my life,” said Jung. “I really enjoyed it here and hope I will have horses for it next year.”
This is the 21st international event he has won with the 16-year-old Sam, which he describes as “being like a good friend – every time he gives me 100%.”
One of the all-time greats: Michael Jung and La Biosthetique Sam, winners of the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (GBR), sixth and final leg of the FEI Classics™ 2014/2015. Jung also finished second in the FEI Classics™ 2014/2015 behind his compatriot Ingrid Klimke. (Trevor Meeks/FEI)
Jung also finished second in the FEI Classics™ 2014/2015 behind his compatriot Ingrid Klimke, who was at Burghley to receive her cheque for $US 40,000 in the main arena.
Jung was under huge pressure coming into the arena as Tim Price (NZL) had conjured a beautiful clear round from the improving Ringwood Sky Boy to finish runner-up behind the German for the second time this year, following Kentucky (USA) in April.
“Sky Boy has been improving and I hoped that would show itself on the flat,” explained Tim. “He has always been a good Cross Country horse but to be still here today, in second place, is wonderful. He is not a natural showjumper but he is learning to try hard at the right moment.”
The talented Christopher Burton (AUS), who has never previously completed Burghley, had a perfect day with two clear rounds to finish third and fourth on TS Jamaimo and Haruzac.
“I haven’t had a very good run here before – I came here as a young rider from Australia in 2004 and fell off at the third fence, so just to see the finish flags was a pretty good feeling,” he said.
Jonelle Price (NZL) slipped from third to fifth when Classic Moet hit the first part of the treble, but clear rounds elevated Sir Mark Todd to sixth on Leonidas ll, Cedric Lyard (FRA) to seventh on Cadeau du Roi, Kristina Cook (Star Witness) to eighth and best British rider, and Sam Griffiths (AUS) and Paulank Brockagh to ninth.
William Fox-Pitt (GBR) had a fence down on Fernhill Pimms but still rose three places to 10th. However, for the first time since the inception of the FEI Classics™ in 2008 he missed out on a cash prize. The Badminton winner finished on the same score, 24 points, as Tim Price, but the New Zealander took precedent in fourth place on the final leaderboard as, according to the rules, he had gained his points at fewer competitions.
Ingrid Klimke (GER) is the first German rider to win the FEI Classics™ since the series began in 2008. She won Pau in 2014 (Horseware Hale Bob) and Luhmühlen (GER) this year on FRH Escada JS, and finished second (on Horseware Hale Bob) at Badminton. (Trevor Meeks/FEI)
How the FEI Classics™ was won
Ingrid Klimke (GER) is the first German rider to win the FEI Classics™ since the series began in 2008. She won Pau in 2014 (Horseware Hale Bob) and Luhmühlen (GER) this year on FRH Escada JS, and finished second (on Horseware Hale Bob) at Badminton.
Michael Jung (GER), second, won Kentucky on FischerRocana FST, and was third at Luhmühlen and first at Burghley on La Biosthetique Sam. Jonelle Price was fourth at Pau and second at Luhmühlen (Faerie Dianimo) and fifth at Burghley (Classic Moet). Her husband Tim was second at Kentucky (Wesko) and second at Burghley (Ringwood Sky Boy).
“I didn’t plan this or expect to win it,” said a delighted Klimke after receiving her cheque. “Now it seems that Germans are able to win CCI4*s! Chris Bartle [our trainer] makes us go all over the world and that gives us confidence. It’s great to win extra money like this, which will go straight back into my horses and therefore into the sport.”
While So much as been said about the amount of money that as been spent during the 2015 Summer transfer window, our man Paul Ayorinde Who kept on filling daily Football transfer reports for your pleasure has now now compiled a full list of all the major and even not so major transfer deals that happened during the summer transfer window.
Remember that you can Follow Paul on twitter @El_pauleta and also follow @Newfanzonwe for instant follow back, you can also like our Newfanzone Facebook page
Done Deals:
– Everton have completed the signing of David Henen from Olympiakos on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee
– Hoffenheim have completed the signing of striker Mark Uth from Heerenveen
– QPR have announced the signing of Sebastian Polter from Mainz 05
– AC Milan completed the signing of Carlos Bacca from Sevilla on a four-year contract.
– Marseille have completed the signing of Lucas Ocampos from Monaco
– Lyon have announced the signing of Claudio Beauvue from Guingamp on a four-year deal
– UAE side Al-Ain have completed the signing of former Ajax forward Ryan Babel.
– Cameroonian international Stephane M’Bia has signed for Turkish club Trabzonspor on a three-year deal after leaving Sevilla on a free.
– Olympique Marseille have announced the signing of Karim Rekik from Manchester city
– Real Madrid have announce they have taken up the option to re-sign Lucas Vazquez from Espanyol on a five-year deal
– Nantes have completed the signing of Kolbeinn Sigthorsson from Ajax on a five-year deal for €3million
– AC Milan have completed the signing of Luiz Adriano from Shakhtar Donetsk on a five-year contract
– Torino have announced the signing of Joel Obi from Inter Milan on a four-year contract
– Inter Milan have announced the signing of Geoffrey Kondogbia from Monaco
– Eintracht Frankfurt have completed the signing of defender David Abraham from Hoffenheim on a three-year deal
– Lille have announced the signing of attacker Sehrou Guirassy from Stade Lavallois on a four-year contrac
– Celtic have completed the signing of Saidy Janko from Manchester United on a four-year deal.
– Valencia defender Victor Ruiz has joined Villarreal on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee
– Sunderland have signed defender Sebastian Coates from Liverpool on a four-year contract.
– Roma have announced the signing of Iago Falque from Genoa.
– Inter Milan have completed the signing of defender Joao Miranda from Atletico Madrid.
– Swansea City have completed the signing of Eder from Sporting Braga for an undisclosed fee
– Hamburg have completed the signing of Lewis Holtby from Tottenham Hotspur
– Watford have signed Matej Vydra on a permanent basis from Udinese on a five-year deal.
– FC Porto have completed the signing of Giannelli Imbula from Marseille on a five-year deal for €20million
– Bournemouth have announced the signing of defender Sylvain Distin on a one-year contract.
– Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko has joined Roma on a season-long loan deal with a view to a £14m permanent move.
– Southampton completes the signing of Oriol Romeu from Chelsea on a three-year contract.
– FC Zurich have completed the signing of Vinicius Freitas from Lazio on a season-long loan deal.
– Benfica have signed Raul Jimenez from Atletico Madrid on a five-year deal.
– Everton have signed defender Mason Holgate from Barnsley on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee.
– Chile midifielder Charles Aranguiz has completed his move to Bayer Leverkusen from Internacional on a five-year contract.
– Augsburg have completed the signing of free-agent Daniel Opare on a three-year deal.
– Watford sign Nathan Ake on a season long loan from Chelsea.
– Villarreal have signed Spanish striker Roberto Soldado from Tottenham Hotspur on a three-year deal.
– Middlesbrough have signed striker David Nugent from Leicester City on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee.
– Adama Traore joins Aston Villa from Barcelona on a five-year deal
– Fiorentina have confirmed the signing of Dnipro striker Nikola Kalinic on a four-year deal.
– Lyon have announced the signing of Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa from Roma on a five-year contract.
– Tottenham have signed Clinton Njie from Lyon on a five-year deal subject to a work permit.
– Celtic have signed Scott Allan from Hibernian on a four-year deal.
– PSV have completed the signing of Espanyol defender Hector Moreno on a four-year deal.
– Eibar have signed midfielder Simone Verdi from AC Milan on a season-long loan deal.
– Norwegian side Rosenborg BK have completed the signing of midfielder Andres Konradsen from Rennes.
– Chelsea have completed the signing of Baba Rahman from Augsburg for an undisclosed fee.
– Watford sign Alessandro Diamanti on a season-long loan from Guangzhou Evergrande.
– Swansea City have completed the signing of Botti Biabi from Falkirk for an undisclosed fee.
– Udinese have completed the signing of midfielder Marquinho from Roma on a four-year contract.
– Real Madrid have announced the signing of Mateo Kovacic from Inter Milan on a six-year contract.
– Belgian midfielder Christian Bruls has joined Standard Liège on a season-long loan from Rennes.
– Genoa have completed the signing of Diego Capel from Sporting Lisbon on a two-year deal.
– Borussia Monchengladbach have completed the signing of midfielder Nico Schulz from Hertha Berlin on a four-year deal.
– Torino have announced the signing of Andrea Belotti from Palermo.
– Palermo have completed the signing of Uros Djurdjevic from Vitesse.
– Bastia have completed the signing of goalkeeper Jesper Hansen from Evian.
– Bologna have signed Filippo Falco from Lecce.
– Roma have announced the signing of Antonio Rudiger on a season-long loan from Stuttgart.
– Newcastle forward Remy Cabella has joined Marseille on a season-long loan.
– Leicester have signed midfielder Gokhan Inler from Napoli on a three-year deal.
– Newcastle United have completed the signing of Florian Thauvin from Marseille on a five-year deal.
– Villarreal have completed the signing of Cedric Bakambu from Bursaspor.
– Juventus have completed the signing of Alex Sandro from Porto on a five-year contract.
– Espanyol have signed Marco Asensio from Real Madrid on a season-long loan deal.
– Roma have signed Norbert Gyomber on a season-long loan deal from Catania, with an option to make the transfer permanent.
New Chelsea signing Pedro photo credit chelseafc.com
– Chelsea have completed the signing of Pedro from Barcelona on a four-year contract.
– Manchester City have announced the signing of defender Nicolas Otamendi from Valencia on a five-year contract.
– Costa Rican attacker John Jairo Ruiz has completed a loan move to Ukrainian side Dnipro from Lille.
– Bologna have completed the signing of Mattia Destro from Roma.
– Lazio have re-signed Stefano Mauri on a two-year contract.
– Cagliari have signed Alberto Cerri on a season-long loan deal from Juventus with an option to buy.
– Sporting Gijon have signed Barcelona midfielder Alen Halilovic on a one-year loan.
– Panathinaikos have completed the signing of midfielder Mehdi Abeid from Newcastle United for an undisclosed fee.
– Chelsea have completed the signing of Brazilian youngster Kenedy from Fluminense.
– Hoffenheim have completed the signing of Eduardo Vargas from Napoli on a four-year contract.
– Glasgow Rangers have signed midfielder Gedion Zelalem from Arsenal on a season-long loan deal.
– Bologna have signed Godfred Donsah from Cagliari, on loan with mandatory option to buy.
– Marko Marin has joined Trabzonspor on loan from Chelsea for the rest of the season.
– Juventus have confirmed the signing of winger Juan Cuadrado from Chelsea on season-long loan deal.
– AS Monaco has completed the signing of Fabio Coentrao on a season-long loan deal from Real Madrid.
– Roma have signed Lucas Digne from PSG on a season-long loan deal with an option to buy.
– Atalanta have completed the signing of defender Rafael Toloi from Sao Paulo.
– Real Sociedad have completed the signing of Asier Illarramendi from Real Madrid on a six-year deal.
– Burnley have signed Joey Barton on a one-year deal.
– Stuttgart have signed centre-back Toni Sunjic from Kuban Krasnodar.
– Dynamo Moscow have signed striker Pavel Pogrebnyak from Reading.
– Paris Saint-Germain have completed a deal for Monaco left-back Layvin Kurzawa on a five year contract.
– Marseille have completed the signing of Lucas Silva from Real Madrid on a season-long loan deal.
– Sevilla have completed the signing of free-agent Fernando Llorente on a three-year deal.
– Atalanta have completed the signing of Gabriel Paletta from AC Milan on a season-long loan deal.
– Granada have completed the signing of Cristiano Biraghi from Inter Milan on a season-long loan deal.
– AC Milan have announced that Mario Balotelli has joined the Rossoneri from Liverpool on a one-season loan deal.
– Stade de Reims have announced the signing of central midfielder Hassane Kamara from Chateauroux.
– Palermo have announced the signing of Alberto Gilardino from Guangzhou Evergrande.
– Everton have signed Leandro Rodriguez from River Plate Montevideo on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee.
– Schalke 04 have completed the signing of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Bayern Munich on a season-long loan deal.
– Monaco have completed the signing of Marcos Lopes from Manchester City.
– St Étienne have announced the signing of Kévin Malcuit from Ligue 2 side Niort on a four-year contract.
– Fiorentina have signed free agent Joan Verdu Fernandez.
Son Heung-min joins Tottenham Hotspurs.photo credit @spursofficial
– Tottenham have signed Son Heung-min from Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year contract.
– Sunderland have signed midfielder Ola Toivonen on a season-long loan from French side Rennes.
– Villarreal have signed Denis Suarez from Barcelona.
– Celtic have announced the signing of Tyler Blackett on a season long loan from Manchester United.
– Bologna have completed the signing of winger Anthony Mounier from Montpellier.
– West Brom have completed the signing of Jonny Evans from Manchester Utd on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee.
– Atletico Madrid have completed the signing of Matias Kranevitter from River Plate on a five-year contract.
– Borussia Dortmund have signed defender Park Joo-ho from Mainz.
Kevin De Bruyne
– Manchester City have completed the signing of Kevin De Bruyne from Wolfsburg on a six-year contract.
– Bayern Munich have signed midfielder Kingsley Coman on a two-year loan deal from Juventus.
– Wolfsburg have completed the signing of Dante from Bayern Munich.
– Valencia have completed the signing of defender Aymen Abdennour from Monaco on a five-year deal.
– Las Palmas have signed Ghanaian winger Mubarak Wakaso from Rubin Kazan.
– Lyon have signed midfielder Sergi Darder from Malaga.
– Inter Milan have completed the signing of Wolfsburg winger Ivan Perisic.
– Norwich have signed Matt Jarvis on a season- long loan from West Ham
– Everton have completed the signing of Aaron Lennon from Tottenham.
– Manchester United have signed teenage defender Regan Poole from League 2 club Newport County for an undisclosed fee.
– Watford striker Matej Vydra have joined Reading on a season-long loan deal.
– Carpi have announced the signing of former Juventus and Roma striker Marco Borriello.
– Watford have completed the signing of Victor Ibarbo on a season-long loan.
– Adlene Guedioura has completed a permanent return to Watford from Crystal Palace, signing a three-year deal.
Anthony Martial has joined Man Utd for a record fee of 36 million pounds (highest for a teenager in the BPL)
– Manchester United have completed the signing of 19-year-old forward Anthony Martial from AS Monaco on a four-year contract with the option of another year.
– Sunderland have completed the signing of DeAndre Yedlin from Tottenham on loan until the end of the season.
– Watford have announced the signing of Belgian striker Obbi Oulare on a five-year deal from Club Brugge.
– West Ham have announced the signing of winger Michail Antonio from Nottingham Forest on a four-year deal.
– Aston Villa have announced the signing of West Bromwich Albion defender Joleon Lescott on a two-year deal.
– Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Papy Djilobodji from Nantes for €4million.
– Aston Villa have completed the signing of goalkeeper Matija Sarkic from Anderlecht.
– Southampton have signed Virgil van Dijk from Celtic on a five-year deal.
– Leicester City have signed Nathan Dyer from Swansea on a season long loan deal.
– Bournemouth have completed the signing of striker Glenn Murray from Crystal Palace on a three-year deal.
– West Ham have announced the signing of Nikica Jelavic from Hull City on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee.
– West Ham have signed Chelsea winger Victor Moses on loan.
– Deportivo La Coruna have completed the signing of former Newcastle midfielder Jonas Gutierrez on a free transfer.
– Everton have completed the signing of River plate defender Ramiro Funes Mori on a five-year deal.
Alex Song, photo credit blaugrana.gr
– West Ham have announced the signing of Alex Song from Barcelona on a season-long loan deal.
– Porto have completed the signing of Miguel Layun from Watford.
– Roma have signed 18-year-old striker Ezequiel Ponce from Newell’s Old Boys for €4.2m on a five-year deal.
– Real Betis have completed the signing of Ricky van Wolfswinkel from Norwich City on a season-long loan deal
– Real Betis have completed the signing of Joaquin from Fiorentina on a three-year contract.
– Nice have announced the signing of Ricardo Pereira on a two-season long loan from FC Porto with an option to buy.
– Felipe Melo has joined Inter Milan on a permanent basis from Galatasaray
– Juventus have completed the signing of Hernanes from Inter Milan on a three-year contract.
– Lille have completed the €1m signing of Lenny Nangis on a four-year deal from Caen.
– Adem Ljajic has joined Inter Milan on loan with option to buy from Roma.
– Lyon have completed the signing of Oliver Kemen from Newcastle Utd on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee.
– AC Milan have loaned Hachim Mastour to Spanish side Malaga for two seasons.
– Getafe have announced the signing of striker Stefan Scepovic on a season-long loan from Celtic
– Norwich have announced the signing of striker Dieumerci Mbokani from Dynamo Kiev.
– Marseille have signed Mauricio Isla from Juventus on a season long loan.
– Augsburg have signed South Korea international Koo Ja-cheol from Mainz on a two-year contract.
– Frosinone have signed Chilean Nicolas Castillo on loan from Club Brugge
– Porto have signed Jesus Corona from FC Twente on a five-year deal
– Fiorentina have completed the signing of Jakub Blaszczykowski from Borussia Dortmund.
– Sevilla have completed the signing of Marco Andreolli from Inter Milan on a season-long loan deal with an option to buy.
– Manchester City defender Jason Denayer has joined Galatasaray on a season-long loan.
– Alessandro Matri has officially moved to Lazio on loan from AC Milan.
– Granada have signed Doria from Marseille on a season-long loan deal with a €7m option to buy.
– Metz have completed the signing of Zambian striker Emmanuel Mayuka from Southampton on a three-year deal.
– Olympiacos have completed the signing of Brown Ideye from West Bromwich Albion for an undisclosed fee.
– West Brom have signed goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard on a two-year deal from Manchester United.
– Rayo Vallecano have completed the signing of Pablo Hernandez from Al-Arabi on season-long loan deal.
– Sunderland have confirmed that Emanuele Giaccherini has joined Serie A side Bologna on a season-long loan.
– Villarreal have signed forward Adrian Lopez on loan for the season from Porto.
– Carpi have completed the singing of Cristian Zaccardo from AC Milan on a two-year deal.
– Bayer Leverkusen have completed the signing of Javier Hernandez from Manchester united on a three-year deal.
Taiwo Awoniyi celebrates with Flying Eagles after winning the Super 4 in Abuja Sunday he also joined Liverpool in the summer
– Liverpool have announced the signing of Taiwo Awoniyi. He has been loaned out to FSV Frankfurt for the 2015/2016 season
– Hamburg have completed the signing of Aaron Hunt from Wolfsburg on a three-year deal.
– Nantes have announced the signing of defender Lorik Cana on a two year deal on a free transfer.
– Wolfsburg have confirmed the signing of Dante from Bayern Munich on a three-year deal.
– Bordeaux have completed the signing of defender Pablo for an undisclosed fee from Gremio on a four-year deal.
– Wolfsburg have completed the signing of Julian Draxler from Schalke.
– Sunderland have completed the signing of Italian forward Fabio Borini from Liverpool on a four-year contract.
– Athletic Bilbao have completed the signing of Raul Garcia from Atletico Madrid on a four-year deal.
– Bologna have confirmed the signing of midfielder Saphir Taider from Inter Milan on a season-long loan deal with a mandatory buyout.
– Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has joined Schalke on a season- long loan from Bayern Munich.
– Paderborn have signed midfielder Oliver Kirch from Borussia Dortmund.
– Bosnia international winger Izet Hajrovic has moved from Werder Bremen to Eibar on a one-year loan deal.
– Club Brugge have completed the signing of striker Jelle Vossen from Burnley for an undisclosed fee.
– AS Roma have confirmed the signing of William Vainqueur from Dynamo Moscow for €3million.
Cameroon lead Pool B at Men’s AAG with Cape Verde win
Brazzaville, Congo, September 6, 2015- Cameroon and Algeria went steadily to the second victory in Pool B of Men’s Volleyball competition at All Africa Games as both teams defeated Cape Verde and Seychelles respectively in Day 4 at Henry Elende Hall in Brazzaville, Congo on Sunday to stand at the top positions of the pool.
Cameroon beat Cape Verde in straight sets (25-16, 25-14, 25-16) to lead the pool with 6 points from 2-0 win- loss ratio, while Algeria stunned Seychelles 3-0 (25-16, 25-10, 25-16) to come second with 5 points from 2-0.
Ghana overpowered Rwanda 3-1 (25-20, 29-27, 22-25, 27-25) in exciting encounter to come third with 3 points from 1-1, followed by Cape Verde 2 points from 1-1 and both Seychelles and Rwanda 1 point from 0-2.
Ghana celebrate the victory against Rwanda
Men’s competition
Ghana v Rwanda 3-1 (25-20, 29-27, 22-25, 27-25)
Ghana fought for 114 minutes to claim a tough victory over fighting Rwanda 3-1 (25-20, 29-27, 22-25, 27-25) in Pool B. Ghana surprised the experienced Rwandan team with their tight blocks against the Rwandan famous spikers to win two sets before the Rwandan team rebounded in the third set to narrow the score to 2-1. Ghana regained their rhythm in the fourth set to win the match 3-1.
After the first win Ghana became 1-1 win- loss ratio, while Rwanda dropped to 0-2. Ghana dominate the blocking activity as they had 17/8 advantage in stuff blocks that was the key of the victory. Richard Amanor led the winners scorers with 20 points followed by Issah Alhassan 16. Rwanda’s Nelson Murangwa led the match scorers with 21 points followed by Christophe Mukunzi 20.
Algeria celebrating
Algeria v Seychelles 3-0 (25-16, 25-10, 25-16)
Algeria topped Seychelles 3-0 (25-16, 25-10, 25-16) in Pool B match lasting 69 minutes. Algeria improved their win- loss ratio to 2-0, while Seychelles dropped to 0-2.
Algeria used the experience of their players to control the net action through the blockers and the spike service they played. Algeria had a 13/3 advantage in stuff blocks beside 41/29 in attack success.
Amine Oumessad contributed 16 points for Algeria as the best scorer in his side followed by outside hitter Ayob Dekkiche 10. Kennith Simon led the losers with 10 points.
Cameroon v Cape Verde 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-16)
CAVB President with Cape Verde team
Cameroon hammered Cape Verde 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-16) in Pool B after outstanding performance for the winners using their strong spikes and services. With the win Cameroon improved to 2-0 with 6 points, While Cape Verde dropped to 1-1 with 2 points.
Didier Sali topped Cameroon scorers with 10 points followed by Nathan Wounembaina 8 points, while Valter Lima was the best in cape Verde side with 6 points.
What made the victory easy for the west Africans was their unstoppable spike servcie that made them 8/0 in aces throughout the match.
Congo team celebrating the win against Nigeria
All Africa Games Men’s best Performances
Top Scorer by Day
Day 1: 25- Valdir Reis of Cape verde v Seychelles on September 2
Day 2: 23- Christophe Mukunzi of Rwanda v Algeria on September 3
Day 3: 20- David Kouehouassazo of Congo Brazzaville v Nigeria on September 5
Day 4: 21- Nelson Murangwa of Rwanda v Ghana on September 6
Top Scoring Performances
25- Valdir Reis of Cape verde v Seychelles on September 2
23- Christophe Mukunzi of Rwanda v Algeria on September 3
21- Nelson Murangwa of Rwanda v Ghana on September 6
20- Christophe Mukunzi of Rwanda v Ghana on September 6
20- Richard Amanor of Ghana v Rwanda on September 6
20- David Kouehouassazo of Congo Brazzaville v Nigeria on September 5
19- Ould Charchali of Algeria v Rwanda on September 3
16- Amine Oumessad of Algeria v Seychelles on September 6
16- Issah Alhassan of Ghana v Rwanda on September 6
16- Mathew Ejeh of Nigeria v Congo on September 5
Top Individual Serving Performances
3- Marchal Kwizera of Rwanda v Ghana on September 6
3- Khalid Elfayomi of Egypt v Botswana on September 5
Top Team Serving Performances
9- Egypt v Botswana on September 5
8- Cameroon v Cape Verde on September 6
6- Rwanda v Ghana on September 6
5- Algeria v Rwanda on September 3
5- Nigeria v Botswana on September 3
4- Cameroon v Ghana on September 2
4- Cape Verde v Seychelles on September 2
Rwandan supporters
Top Individual Blocking Performances
7- Amine Oumessad of Algeria v Seychelles on September 6
5- Jordan Agbevanu of Ghana v Cameroon on September 2
4- Issah Alhassan of Ghana v Rwanda on September 6
4- Jordan Agbevaru of Ghana v Rwanda on September 6
4- Helio Sanchez of Cape Verde v Cameroon on September 6
4- Valdir Reis of Cape verde v Seychelles on September 2
Top Team Blocking Performances
17- Ghana v Rwanda on September 6
16- Cape Verde v Seychelles on September 2
13- Algeria v Seychelles on September 6
13- Congo v Nigeria on September 5
11- Nigeria v Congo on September 5
11- Egypt v Botswana on September 5
11- Algeria v Rwanda on September 3
10- Ghana v Cameroon on September 2
Highest Scoring Sets
Day 1: 25-23 Cape Verde v Seychelles (4th Set) on September 2
Day 2: 29-27 Rwanda v Algeria (1st set) on September 3
Day 3: 38-36 Egypt v Botswana (3rd set) on September 5
Day 4: 29-27 Ghana v Rwanda (2nd set) on September 6
Highest Scoring Matches
Day 1: Cape Verde v Seychelles 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 18-25, 25-23, 15-12) – 211 points
Day 2: Algeria v Rwanda 3-2 (27-29, 25-17, 25-19, 24-26, 15-10) – 217 points
Day 3: Congo Brazzaville v Nigeria 3-1 (25-20, 29-27, 19-25, 25-23) – 193 points
Day 4: Ghana v Rwanda 3-1 (25-20, 29-27, 22-25, 27-25) – 200 points
The last day of the 2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France ended with a bang as seven different countries won World Championship titles.
The blue riband women’s eight from the United States won the World Championship title and extended their winning streak to a total of ten consecutive World and Olympic titles. New Zealand’s women’s eight won their first ever medal (silver) in this boat class. Canada took bronze. The men’s eight ended in a stunning victory for Great Britain who made it three World Championship titles in a row. Olympic Champion Germany nearly overtook the British in the last couple of strokes of the race. The Netherlands followed Germany into third. “We just executed our race plan,” said Great Britain’s Matthew Gotrel. “It was the best row we’ve ever had. We had a lot of pressure, but it is the best job I’ve ever had.”
photo credit Detlef Seyb/myrowingphotos.com
The men’s single sculls came down to a stunning two-way duel between Olympic Champion Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand and World Champion, Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic. Synek won in the last three metres of the race. Lithuania’s Mindaugas Griskonis took bronze. The women’s single sculls went to Kim Crow of Australia, extending her unbeaten season. Olympic Champion Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic was second and Jingli Duan of China was third.
Croatia’s rowing heroes Valent and Martin Sinkovic successfully defended their World Championship title in the men’s double sculls. The Sinkovic’s were pushed so hard by silver medallists, Lithuania and bronze medallists, New Zealand that they nearly broke their own World Best Time. The women’s double sculls was won for a second year in a row by New Zealand. The crew of Zoe Stevenson and Eve MacFarlane took gold ahead of Greece and Germany.
Switzerland won an impressive gold in the lightweight men’s four, dominating a boat class field that is usually known for being incredibly close. Behind the Swiss, 2014 World Champions Denmark, won silver and France took bronze.
Topping the overall medals table for the 2015 World Rowing Championships was Great Britain with a total of 15 medals, five of them gold. Last year’s overall winners New Zealand finished second with nine medals, five of them gold. Germany was third winning three gold medals and a total of nine.
photo credit Detlef Seyb/myrowingphotos.com
Earlier in the day the B-finals concluded the qualifying places for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Overall 32 countries qualified boats for the Olympic Games along with 16 for the Paralympic Games. Great Britain has qualified the most getting 12 spots out of the 14 boat classes that will be raced at the Olympics. The United States have qualified ten boats including all six of the women’s boat classes. Germany and New Zealand both qualified nine boats. Doing the best for Latin America was Cuba with two boats qualified for Rio.
There will be further Olympic qualification chances at the continental qualification regattas as well as the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in May 2016.
Netherlands and Scotland go head to head next week in the longer formats of the game in pursuit of their dreams for a Test status as well as a place in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 when they lock horns in the four-day first-class ICC Intercontinental Cup and the ICC World Cricket League Championship.
The European rivals, who shared the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier trophy a couple of months ago in Malahide to qualify for next year’s ICC World Twenty20 in India, square-off against each other in a second round ICC Intercontinental Cup fixture in Voorburg from 8 October, which will be followed by two 50-over matches in the ICC World Cricket League Championship to be played in Amstelveen on 14 and 16 September.
In the Intercontinental Cup, Netherlands with seven points sits in sixth place, while 2004 winner Scotland is fourth on 13 points. This means the side that collects 20 maximum points will jump to the top of the table. This outcome will surely inject fresh impetus to their ambitions of winning the ICC Intercontinental Cup and qualify for the ICC Test Challenge, which will be played against the 10th-ranked Test side on a home and away basis in 2018. If the ICC Intercontinental Cup winner wins the ICC Test Challenge, then it will secure Test status until the next ICC Test Challenge, which will take place in 2022.
In the ICC World Cricket League Championship, a sole possession of top spot will be up for grabs as both sides share number-one position with four points each. The top sides from this tournament will progress to the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier, which will be held in Bangladesh in 2018.
Rival captains Peter Borren of Netherlands and Scotland’s Preston Mommsen agreed that July’s tournament will have no bearing in the forthcoming matches and both sides will have to start from scratch.
“I don’t think us sharing the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015 title has any relevance at all to the ICC Intercontinental Cup match. That was a different format. Both teams had a fantastic tournament, but this is a new series, and that is where our focus is now,” said the 32-year-old Borren, who will be playing his 22nd first-class match.
He continued: “Our four-day cricket has been a disappointment to me for some time. Our white ball cricket has been great, but we haven’t cracked the longer version. Four-day cricket is difficult, I would love to see an improvement in the mental application that the format requires. Other than the 20 points, I would really love to see our batters spend entire sessions at the crease and to see our bowlers come back hard in their third spells of the day.”
Mommsen, the 27-year-old top-order batsman, said: “We played some good cricket during the Twenty20 qualifier, so did the Dutch. Of course, it was a shame we couldn’t complete that final. However, that was a different format while different skills will be tested over the next few days, especially in the four-day format. Whenever we play the Dutch, we know we have to be at our best and the next few games will be no different.
“Indeed, this competition (ICC Intercontinental Cup) now creates a pathway to Test cricket, so every game we play, every point we can take, will be crucial to us moving closer to Test cricket. We have to remain focused on playing solid and consistent cricket. There’s no point looking too far ahead, but, of course, that remains a bigger goal for this team.”
Mommsen said his side had the ability to succeed in the longer versions of the game. “We have some special talent coming through, especially with the ball, so we’re looking forward to seeing how our younger players develop over the next few years as they start to get more and more opportunities.
“This is a team that definitely has the skills and ability to play a winning brand of cricket in the longer version of the game. It’s been very positive, and we’ve shown a lot of intent. There’s no reason why certain aspects of our white ball game cannot be transferred into our four-day cricket. We have an exciting squad and we will continue to adopt that style of cricket.”
Squads
Netherlands (from) – Peter Borren (captain), Rahil Ahmed, Wesley Barresi, Mudassar Bukhari, Ben Cooper, Quirijn Gunning, Vivian Kingma, Paul van Meerkeren, Roelof van der Merwe, Stephan Myburgh, Max O’Dowd, Michael Rippon, Pieter Seelaar and Matthijs van Schelven.
Scotland (from): Preston Mommsen (captain), Richie Berrington, Kyle Coetzer, Matthew Cross, Joshua Davey, Alasdair Evans, Hamish Gardiner, Michael Leask, Con de Lange, Matthew Machan, Calum MacLeod, Gavin Main, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Robert Taylor, Craig Wallace and Mark Watt.
Umpires – Peter Nero and Chettihody Shamshuddin
Match Referee – David Jukes
Intercontinental Cup Table
Team Played Won Lost Draw Points
Ireland 1 1 – – 20
Namibia 1 1 – – 20
PNG 1 1 – – 14
Scotland 1 – – 1 13
Afghanistan 1 – – 1 7
Netherlands 1 – 1 – 6
Hong Kong 1 – 1 – 0
UAE 1 – 1 – 0
ICC World Cricket League Table
Team Played Won Lost Points
Netherlands 2 2 0 4
Scotland 2 2 0 4
Hong Kong 2 1 1 2
Kenya 2 1 1 2
UAE 2 1 1 2
Namibia 2 1 1 2
Nepal 2 0 2 0
PNG 2 0 2 0
Five questions with Natalyia Kuzmina, President of the FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics Technical Committee
Eastern Europe has traditionally been a bastion of Rhythmic Gymnastics, but we have been seeing that gymnasts from the Americas and Asia are beginning to challenge this domination a bit. How do you explain this ?
Kuzmina: “You’re right: there has been visible progress in Asia, not only in Uzbekistan but in Korea, Japan and other countries. But there has also been notable progress in America. I was at the Pan American Games in July in Toronto, and I was very surprised to see that there were 6,000 spectators who came to see the Rhythmic events, not just the relatives of the athletes but local people, because Canada does not have a big Rhythmic tradition. The gymnasts from the Pan American countries as well have made a great deal of progress and have a lot to look forward to, as do those from Africa. We are very aware at the FIG that this sport must be universal. We have put in place FIG Academies and judges courses to help spread knowledge and training techniques. It’s very important that the coaches and choreographers from leading countries organise seminars and give courses on how to compose a routine and use the apparatus. I am expecting to see many continents in the All-around final here in Stuttgart.”
Yana Kudryavtseva, Russia,
Yana Kudryavtseva (RUS) has been the dominant gymnast of the past two World Championships. What makes her such an exceptional gymnast ?
Kuzmina: “It’s true that she is unique. Yana has exceptional apparatus elements and harmony with music. She has excellent coaches and benefits from wonderful training conditions put in place by the Russian Rhythmic Federation. Its President and Head coach, Irina Viner, has a long-term vision and has put in place an organisation and methods so that the gymnasts are always well prepared. In Russia as well, there are music specialists, specialists for choreography and a big medical center in the vicinity if they need to see doctors. That too is unique.”
What needs to be done to continue to develop Rhythmic outside Europe ?
Kuzmina: “Courses are one thing, but we also have to think of ways to render our programme more exciting and attractive to all federations. We should revise the code of points in order to support the principle of universality. This idea may seem new, but why not try to develop team Rhythmic Gymnastics competitions for men like they do in Japan? Or pairs with two apparatus? Or Mixed Pairs? There are a lot of ideas coming from our federations. One must know how to evolve. We cannot just leave the situation as it is, because we know that the competition is strong between sports to continue to be part of the Olympic programme.”
Five judges from the 2014 World Rhythmic Championships in Izmir were just sanctioned by the FIG Disciplinary Commission for biased judging. What does this say to you ?
Kuzmina: “Obviously, we’re not happy about this. We have fought to have fair, objective judging in Rhythmic Gymnastics. We should organise a more practical education system for new judges. The judges from Asia or South America especially don’t have a lot of opportunity to get experience. All the judges must be objective and honest. A judge must judge only what he or she sees, without taking into account the name of the gymnast or which country or continent she comes from. But I think that over the years we have made progress. It’s not enough to penalize the judges, because judges are only human and they make errors. The main thing is educating them and then giving them ample practice.”
Natalyia Kuzmina, President of the FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics Technical Committee
The FIG Rhythmic Technical Committee is preparing a new code of points for the 2017-2020 Olympic cycle. What changes would you like to see in the new code ?
Kuzmina: “That’s a difficult question. We would like to eliminate the repetition of elements. We have a special scientific workgroup that has done some research and collected a lot of data. The important thing is the handling of the apparatus, because we are a sport that uses apparatus. So we would like to focus on the manipulation of the apparatus as well as the artistic side of the sport: the use of music and how the gymnast works with it. That’s what I hope to see in the future.”
Egypt and hosts Congo Brazzaville were the heroes of day 2 at Men’s Volleyball competition at All Africa Games after both teams set a thrilling wins against resurgent Botswana and Nigeria teams respectively in Pool A of the competition held at Henry Elende Hall in Brazzaville, Congo on Saturday.
Egypt faced a gradually arising Botswana team to win a third set marathon and the match 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 38-36). Congo Brazzaville supported by a full house of home crowd beat Nigeria 3-1 (25-20, 29-27, 19-25, 25-23) to capture first win.
Egypt celebrating
Men’s competition
Egypt v Botswana 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 38-36)
Egypt hardly overcame the Botswana resistance to win in straight sets (25-14, 25-20, 38-36) in Pool A of Men’s All Africa Games. The losers’ performance improved set by set after losing the first 25-14 to score 20 points in the second before they missed 10 set points in their way to lose the competition longest set 38-36.
Reda Haikal led the Egyptian scorers with 14 points followed by Ahmed Maghawry 11. Kabo Moetse scored 14 points in the losers attempts, followed by Happy Ribbin 7.
Egypt improved their win- loss ratio to 2-0, while Botswana dropped to 0-2.
Congo in action against Nigeria
Congo Brazzaville v Nigeria 3-1 (25-20, 29-27, 19-25, 25-23)
Congo Brazzaville fought for minutes to trounce Nigeria 3-1 (25-20, 29-27, 19-25, 25-23) in a thrilling encounter that made the spectators on their toes. The hosts claim first win to become 1-0 in win- loss ratio, while Nigeria, the winner of day 1 against Botswana dropped to 1-1.
Congo’s attacker David Kouehouassazo led the winner’s scorers with 20 points making the best scoring performance in day 3, followed by Frank Ndotomat 15 points. Mathew Ejeh led the nigerian scorers with 16 points
Nigeria setting against Congo
All Africa Games Men’s best Performances
Top Scorer by Day
Day 1: 25- Valdir Reis of Cape verde v Seychelles on September 2
Day 2: 23- Christophe Mukunzi of Rwanda v Algeria on September 3
Day 3: 20- David Kouehouassazo of Congo Brazzaville v Nigeria on September 5
Top Scoring Performances
25- Valdir Reis of Cape verde v Seychelles on September 2
23- Christophe Mukunzi of Rwanda v Algeria on September 3
20- David Kouehouassazo of Congo Brazzaville v Nigeria on September 5
19- Ould Charchali of Algeria v Rwanda on September 3
16- Mathew Ejeh of Nigeria v Congo on September 5
15- Rodney Kong of Seychelles v Cape Verde on September 2
Top Individual Serving Performances
3- Khalid Elfayomi of Egypt v Botswana on September 5
2- Steven Cruz of Cape Verde v Seychelles on September 2
Botswana in action
Top Team Serving Performances
9- Egypt v Botswana on September 5
5- Algeria v Rwanda on September 3
5- Nigeria v Botswana on September 3
4- Cameroon v Ghana on September 2
4- Cape Verde v Seychelles on September 2
Top Individual Blocking Performances
5- Jordan Agbevanu of Ghana v Cameroon on September 2
4- Valdir Reis of Cape verde v Seychelles on September 2
Top Team Blocking Performances
16- Cape Verde v Seychelles on September 2
13- Congo v Nigeria on September 5
11- Nigeria v Congo on September 5
11- Egypt v Botswana on September 5
11- Algeria v Rwanda on September 3
10- Ghana v Cameroon on September 2
Highest Scoring Sets
Day 1: 25-23 Cape Verde v Seychelles (4th Set) on September 2
Day 2: 29-27 Rwanda v Algeria (1st set) on September 3
Day 3: 38-36 Egypt v Botswana (3rd set) on September 5
Highest Scoring Matches
Day 1: Cape Verde v Seychelles 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 18-25, 25-23, 15-12) – 211 points
Day 2: Algeria v Rwanda 3-2 (27-29, 25-17, 25-19, 24-26, 15-10) – 217 points
Day 3: Congo Brazzaville v Nigeria 3-1 (25-20, 29-27, 19-25, 25-23) – 193 points
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