– Neymar has declared himself “very happy” at Barcelona and says he would find it very difficult to leave the club.
– According to Sky Sports Italia, Leicester have offered £12.2million for AC Milan forward M’Baye Niang.
– Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool are open to doing some transfer business before Monday’s deadline.
– Inter Milan have reportedly agreed personal terms with Sevilla’s Ever Banega, whose contract expires in the summer.
– Chelsea manager Guss Hiddink has confirmed the club are closing in on a deal to bring New York Red Bulls defender Matt Miazga to Stamford Bridge.
– Bayern Munich are not going to respond to the loss of Jerome Boateng to injury by drafting in a last-minute replacement this transfer window, according to their chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
– According to L’Équipe, Championship side QPR have had an approach for Bordeaux striker Enzo Crivelli turned down.
– Aston Villa manager Remi Garde wants Gabby Agbonlahor to stay at the club beyond Monday’s transfer deadline.
– According to Sky Sports sources, Newcastle are on the verge of agreeing to take Atletico Madrid left-back Guilherme Siqueira on loan until the summer.
Manuel Pellegrini
– Manuel Pellegrini says Manchester City will not be dipping into the transfer market to find a replacement for the injured Kevin De Bruyne.
– Sunderland have agreed a fee with Bordeaux for forward Wahbi Khazri.
– Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has said the club would like to keep hold of striker Fernando Torres.
– Salvatore Sirigu will stay at Paris Saint-Germain this January, even if it jeopardises his Euro 2016 hopes, his agent reveals.
– Everton have had a £13m bid for Sporting Lisbon striker Islam Slimani rejected, according to reports.
– According to reports, Angers have reached an agreement with Juventus for the loan signing of Younes Bnou Marzouk until the end of the season.
– According to reports, Manchester United are ready to join the race for CSKA Moscow striker Ahmed Musa, with Leicester reported to have had an opening £15.1 million bid rejected.
– Antonio Nocerino’s agent admits the midfielder is “90 per cent certain” to leave AC Milan.
Alexandre Pato photo credit: .lemeilleurdupsg.com
– Chelsea interim manager Guus Hiddink does not think the expected signing of former AC Milan forward Alexandre Pato is a risk.
– According to reports, Sampdoria are interested in signing Fabio Quagliarella from Torino.
– Bordeaux have submitted an offer worth €2.5million for ESTAC Troyes’s goalkeeper Paul Bernardoni.
– Emil Hallfredsson is reportedly on the verge of leaving Hellas Verona to join Udinese.
– Leicester City have agreed an £11.5 million fee with Chelsea to sign forward Loic Remy, according to reports.
-Shakhtar Donetsk have warned Liverpool and Chelsea they will not sell Alex Teixeira for less than his £53million release clause.
Football tit bits:
– The former Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic has officially announced his retirement from football.
– FIFA has temporarily lifted the transfer bans imposed last week on La Liga sides Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid while world football’s governing body investigates the club appeals regarding the signing of youth players.
– Barcelona will meet Valencia in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, with Sevilla taking on Celta Vigo in the other last-four tie.
– Crystal Palace’s Connor Wickham will serve a three-match suspension after the Football Association charged him with
violent conduct following an incident with Tottenham’s Jan Vertonghen.
– Adidas have reportedly agreed to a £106million-per-year renewal of Real Madrid contract that eclipses Manchester
United’s current record agreement by some 40%.
Rafako Hussars Poland will be looking to register a morale-boosting home win in their second WSB match of Season VI as they take on last season’s beaten semi-finalists the Russian Boxing Team on Saturday night. The Russians will get their new campaign underway determined to build upon last season’s successes, but can expect a tough time from an experienced Hussars squad at the the Hala Mosir venue in Szczecin.
With both teams focussing on their home-grown talent, the Hussars’ German flyweight Hamza Touba will be the only foreign boxer representing either side on Saturday’s card. Returning to the Polish franchise having been drafted into the squad for Season V, Touba will be hoping to get his team off to a winning start against Russian Ovik Ogannisian.
Going second for the home side is their most experienced WSB boxer Dawid Michelus. Still only 22 years old, Michelus made his name during Season III registering three big wins, but he will need to use all of his WSB wiles against newcomer Gabil Mamedov, who has moved up four weight classes over the last few years.
Another one of Poland’s seasoned WSB veterans is Damian Kiwior, and fireworks are expected from his key welterweight match against Russian Boxing Team’s rising star Albert Karibian. With Polish star Tomasz Jablonski already qualified to Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the fourth contest of the evening sees Arkadiusz Szwedowicz move into his light heavyweight berth to face Russia’s 2015 AIBA World Championship bronze medallist Pavel Silyagin.
Finally on Saturday night, Pawel Wierzbicki, silver medallist in the 2012 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships, takes on the young Iaroslav Doronichev in what could be the deciding encounter of a thrilling night of boxing in Szczecin.
Miami Embed Codes / ESPN3 Link
From 11:00 (EST), 16:00 (UTC) on Saturday 30 January, the Medal Races from Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella will be broadcast live on the World Sailing TV YouTube channel as well as ESPN3 in the USA.
Foremost Nigeria artiste Fasasi Olarenwaju a.ka Sound Sultan has signed on for the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon Race billed to take place on February 6, 2016 in the Centre of Excellence.
Sound Sultan and some of his crew members, Harding Olumide (Karma) and Binfa Simon were at the Lagos Marathon office at the Teslim Balogun Stadium on Friday to complete their registration formalities even as organisers announced a general extension in the deadline for registration.
The window for registration which was formerly pegged to close on Thursday, January 28 has now been moved forward by a week to February 4 to accommodate many more interested participants across the world to sign-on.
Speaking ahead of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon Race, Sound Sultan commended the Lagos State Government and their partners for the worthy investment in ventures quite beneficial to the youths, via entertainment and Sports among others.
The multi-award winning star confirmed his willingness to take part in the February 6 race and also enjoined others yet to register to make the most of the extended period to get on board.
Access Bank Lagos City Marathon: Sound Sultan applauds initiative, signs for race
“I think, this is another good one coming from the Lagos State government as well as all their partners, I am happy with the idea of showcasing our city to the world with a marathon,” Sound Sultan submitted.
Chairman of Lagos State Sports Commission and head of the organising committee for the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, Deji Tinubu thanked Sound Sultan and his crew for coming by.
Tinubu expressed delight at the wide reception the Lagos marathon is garnering; adding that all hands are on deck to see that the February 6 race
After getting WSB Season VI off to a winning start against China Dragons in Week 1, Türkiye Conquerors will be hoping to repeat the perfomance against Group A favourites Cuba Domadores on Saturday night. Winning the last three bouts of their opening match will have left the Conquerors high on confidence while for the Domadores, unbeaten in the group stage last season, this will be a testing opening fixture in Istanbul.
The Cubans made their WSB debut in style back in Season IV, winning the team title in emphatic fashion. Only the tough Astana Arlans were able to halt them in the last match of Season V, and underlining their stature, seven of the squad have already qualified for Rio 2016, two of whom – Lazaro Alvarez and captain Julio Cesar La Cruz, both AIBA World Champions – make an appearance on Saturday.
First in the ring and making his WSB debut for Türkiye Conquerors’ will be Ferhat Pehlivan, brought in to the national squad back in 2006 and a quarter-finalist at the London 2012 Olympic Games. He faces 19 year-old Cuban Frank Saldivar, stepping in for Yosbany Veitia at flyweight after a solid semi-final win over Mexico Guerreros’ Orlando Huitzil last season.
Turkish lightweight Yasin Yilmaz only joined the elite team last year but has already earned himself a hard-hitting reputation, ending several bouts by Technical Knockout. He may well need to do the same on Saturday if he is to overcome three-time AIBA World Champion and WSB Season IV Team Champion Lazaro Alvarez in the second bout of the evening.
Türkiye Conquerors face tough test in WSB Week 3 as Cuba Domadores land in Istanbul
Young welterweight Serhat Guler faces a huge challenge in the form of Cuba’s reigning Olympic Champion Roniel Iglesias, and compatriot Nadir Unal will also need to summon the performance of his life if he is to halt the Domadores’ other three-time AIBA World Champion and WSB Team Champion Julio Cesar La Cruz, currently one of the best boxers on the planet.
The last bout of the night sees the veteran of two Olympic Games, Bahram Muzaffer, move up to super heavyweight to round off the match against the young but experienced Cuban Yohandi Toirac, in what has the potential to be a spectacular finale.
The 2016 IAAF World Indoor Tour will get underway in just over a week with the Karlsruhe indoor meeting in Germany set to raise the curtain on this new series on Saturday 6 February.
The four meetings in this year’s tour will all be staged during a two-week period in February and are:
– Karlsruhe indoor meeting (Karlsruhe, GER), Saturday 6 February
– New Balance Indoor Grand Prix (Boston, USA), Sunday 14 February
– Globen Galan (Stockholm, SWE), Wednesday 17 February
– Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix (Glasgow, GBR), Saturday 20 February
The tour will have half of the individual indoor championship disciplines as tour events each year across a two-year period and contains several innovative features.
IAAF President Sebastian Coe commented: “The creation of the IAAF World Indoor Tour marks an exciting new way forward for international indoor athletics. With the overall event winners gaining US$20,000 and a wild card for the next edition of the IAAF World Indoor Championships, we are offering an increased incentive to our top stars to participate indoors.”
“The World Indoor Tour partners the IAAF with four existing, world renowned and successful meetings in Europe and America, who with us are passionate and committed to growing the popularity and profile of indoor athletics.”
The 2016 tour winners will be eligible to compete at the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016 although, as always, their IAAF Member Federation will have the ultimate authority over whether to enter an athlete for this IAAF World Athletics Series event, or not.
Many reigning world champions, both indoors and out, have committed to participating in each of the four meetings of the IAAF World Indoor Tour.
Among the many stars set to go through their paces in Karlsruhe are: Renaud Lavillenoe, Shawn Barber, Raphael Holsdeppe and Dafne Schippers.
The 2016 tour will come to an end in Glasgow two weeks later and Great Britain’s trio of London 2012 Olympic Games and IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015 winners Mo Farah, Greg Rutherford and Jessica Ennis-Hill are sure to get a rousing reception on home soil.
Full details of the structure of the tour (which replaces the IAAF Indoor Permit series), including which events will be eligible for ranking points and prize money in 2016 and 2017, are available here.
In Group C’s all South American WSB clash on Friday night, Caciques de Venezuela travel to Buenos Aires looking to build on their opening round victory against Rafako Hussars Poland last weekend with a win over Argentina Condors.
The Condors will need to produce their best form if they are to secure a result from their first match of Season VI against a confident Venezuelan side, and the honour of opening up the evening’s proceedings will fall to flyweight Christian ‘La Joyita’ Roda as he faces Caciques’ 19 year-old American Confederation champion Yoel Finol.
The hosts’ lightweight boxer Brian Ivan Nunez follows Roda into the ring, and will be eager to exact revenge on Venezuela’s 20-year-old Luis Angel Cabrera, who defeated the Argentine in Season V.
The most highly anticipated bout of the match then comes between the two experienced WSB welterweight boxers Alberto Ignacio Palmetta and Gabriel Maestre. The Condors’ Palmetta, who has been training with coach Jorge Ochenduszka in the KO Gym, defeated Maestre in the semi-final of last year’s American Confederation Boxing Championships on the Venezuelan’s home turf, but Pan-American Games champion Maestre will be determined to return the favour this time around.
Caciques de Venezuela looking for season’s second away win against Argentina Condors
Sergio Lebenstajn has a tough bout against Venezuelan Albert Ramon Ramirez in the heavyweight match up, before Condors’ Kevin Nicolas Espindola takes on the highly experienced Edgar Ramon Munoz, part of the Venezuelan national side since 2002, in the last bout of the night.
England was on the verge of a quarter-final berth in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2016 with a 61-run win over a fighting West Indies in Chittagong on Friday. The match was produced by the ICC TV and aired around the world by 15 broadcasters.
England’s second successive win in Group C – it beat Fiji on Wednesday –was built around an impressive 282 for seven from 50 overs after it elected to bat first.
There were two half-centuries from Dan Lawrence (55) and Callum Taylor (59), and useful contributions from George Bartlett (48) and Sam Curran (39).
The West Indies made a strong comeback after Curran had taken two wickets in the first over, but was bowled out for 221 in the 44th over.
Gidron Pope (60) put on 82 runs for the third wicket with Keacy Carty (22) before Keemo Paul took the fight into the rival camp with a pugnacious 65 off 58 balls.
Lawrence followed his half-century with two wickets to be adjudged the player of the match, but the bowling honours went to seamer Saqib Mahmood who claimed four for 42.
“It got a bit nervous out there when their partnerships were going, but in the end it was a comfortable win,” said England captain Brad Taylor.
“I think the seamers did a great job in conditions that did not favour them, but the spinners allowed us to get a lot of dot balls. Everyone held their nerves in what was a good win.”
England need a point in its last match against Zimbabwe on Sunday to finish as group leader.
West Indies captain Shimron Hetmyer said the poor start set his team back. “We needed a good start to chase a total like that but we lost two wickets in the first over,” he said. “Keemo and Pope batted well and that is a positive we can take.”
The West Indies needs to win both its remaining matches convincingly to march into the Super League stage.
Zimbabwe U19 vs Fiji U19 at Chittagong
Zimbabwe began its campaign in Group C by cruising to a seven-wicket win over Fiji, sending the first-timer to its second successive defeat.
Off-spinner Wesley Madhevere grabbed five for 24 as Fiji was shot out for 81 in 27.4 overs, a score Zimbabwe surpassed in the 19th over with Brendan Sly remaining unbeaten on 29.
Zimbabwe takes on England in its second league match on Sunday, needing a win to strengthen its chances of progressing to the Super League quarter-finals, while Fiji clashes with the West Indies on the same day.
Namibia made a creditable start in Group A with a surprisingly easy nine-wicket rout of Scotland to keep its dream alive of making the Super League quarter-finals for the first time.
Namibia, whose best-ever finish in the tournament was 11th place in 2008 and had lost both its warm-up matches in Bangladesh, made short work of Scotland in a one-sided contest.
The Scots were reduced to 129 for nine after electing to bat, before a last-wicket partnership of 30 between Scott Cameron and Mohammad Ghaffar lifted them to 159 all out. Michael van Lingen took three wickets.
Nambia eased past the target in 26 overs following an opening stand of 95 between SJ Loftie-Eaton (67 not out) and Niko Davin (52). Skipper Zane Green was unbeaten on 39.
SCOTLAND UNDER 19 VS NAMIBIA UNDER19
Despite the early success, the Namibians will still need to win one of their two remaining matches against South Africa and host Bangladesh to ensure a place in the quarter-finals.
“It was a good team performance all-round,” said Green. “We started good with the bat and finished well with the ball. We really look forward to our other matches now.”
Scotland’s captain Neil Flack said he was disappointed at the defeat, but vowed to bounce back.
“We had a bad day, but credit to Namibia. It made us pay,” said Flack. “Our plans did not come through with the bat. We played a few silly shots. But trust me, we will bounce back.
“Cricket is a funny game, anything can happen. We are determined to make a strong comeback.”
Scotland must defeat both Bangladesh and South Africa to qualify.
The 11th edition of the biennial 16-nation tournament features nine Test-playing nations and seven Associate and Affiliate Members – Afghanistan, Canada, Fiji, Namibia, Nepal, Ireland and Scotland.
Teams have been divided into four groups with the top two in each advancing to the Super League quarter-finals and the other two qualifying for the Plate championships.
England U19 vs West Indies U19 in Chittagong photo credit: ICC
Scores in brief:
Group A – Namibia beat Scotland by nine wickets in Cox’s Bazar
Scotland 159 all out, 36.3 overs (Owais Shah 39, Haris Aslam 31; Michael van Lingen 3-19)
Namibia 162-1, 26 overs (SJ Loftie-Eaton 67 not out, Niko Davin 52, Zane Green 39 not out)
Group C – Zimbabwe beat Fiji by seven wickets in Chittagong
Fiji 81 all out, 27.4 overs (Wesley Madhevere 5-24, Blessing Mavuta 3-13)
Zimbabwe 84-3, 18.5 overs (Brendan Sly 29 not out, Jeremy Ives 23)
Group C – England beat the West Indies by 61 runs in Chittagong
England 282-7, 50 overs (Dan Lawrence 55, Callum Taylor 59, George Bartlett 48, Sam Curran 39; Gidron Pope 2-45)
West Indies 221 all out, 43.4 overs (Gidron Pope 60, Keemo Paul 65; Saqib Mahmood 4-42, Sam Curran 2-23, Dan Lawrence 2-38)
Saturday’s fixtures:
Group B – Afghanistan v Sri Lanka, Sylhet
Group B – Canada v Pakistan, Sylhet
Group D – India v New Zealand, Mirpur
Group D – Ireland v Nepal, Fatullah
Following the successful Draws for the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games at the House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland.
D’Tigress and Celta Vigo Basketball club Point Guard Sarah Ogoke says she’s confident the DTigress team have what it takes to represent Africa at the Rio Olympics after Nigeria got seeded alongside Belarus and Korea in Group C
“I am super confident in our ability and our chances of getting one of the 5 tickets to Brazil. Belarus and Korea will be tough opponents in the preliminaries, but i know we have enough talent to compete and get out of the group”.
“Our aim in France to end up in Brazil”. She added
Sarah Ogoke led Nigeria in assists at Cameroun 2015 with 4.4 assists per game, scoring 6.9 points per game then adding, 4.2 rebounds per game and 1. 4 steals per game.
Sarah Ogoke
The 12 team tournament which is billed for the city of Nantes, France from June 13 -19th will also see runners up at the 2015 Women Afrobasket, Cameroun slug it out with Turkey and Argentina in the preliminaries in group B.
The Full list of the Draws;
Group A: Cuba, New Zealand, France
Group B: Cameroun, Turkey, Argentina
Group C: Belarus, Korea, Nigeria
Group D: Venezuela, Spain, China
Ireland travels to Townsville in Australia to play in a crucial third round ICC Intercontinental Cup match against Papua New Guinea (PNG), which begins on Sunday, 31 January. Ireland needs, at least, a draw, with a first innings lead, if it wants to regain the top spot in the four-day first-class competition, which is a pathway to Test cricket.
Ireland is currently on 40 points, six behind Netherlands, having played one less game. An outright win against PNG would earn Ireland 20 points, taking it to 60, while a draw with a first innings lead would add nine points to its tally, enough to take it ahead of the Dutch.
In contrast, victory for PNG would lift it to 40 points, putting it level with its opposing team Ireland, and earn it a four-position promotion up the table.
What is equally relevant to both teams is the opportunity to build on their goal of winning the ICC Intercontinental Cup and qualifying for the ICC Test Challenge, which will be played against the 10th-ranked Test side on a home and away basis in 2018. A win in this series could make the Associate Member side the 11th Test nation.
PNG’s previous record in the ICC Intercontinental Cup reads one loss and one win. The loss came at the hands of Afghanistan in Sharjah late last year by a margin of 201 runs. However, PNG will look for inspiration from its famous victory which came against the current top-ranked side, Netherlands, last summer.
PNG captain Jack Vare-Kevere said the result against Netherlands is an indicator that PNG is capable of getting past even the best teams in the competition.
“Our players don’t play as much four-day cricket as Ireland or Netherlands, however, we are not over-intimidated by these top-ranked teams. We are starting to understand our strengths and weaknesses in this format.
“The players are now really enjoying playing in the longer format and they want to learn and improve every time we play against these strong countries,” said the 29-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman.
7 July 2015; Stuart Thompson, Ireland, makes a delivery to Jatinder Singh, Oman. ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015, Warm-up Match, Ireland v Oman. Stormont, Belfast. Picture credit: Brendan Moran / ICC / SPORTSFILE
PNG players are ranked amongst the top performers in the ICC Intercontinental Cup.
Mahuru Dai is the second highest scorer with 278 runs, behind Ireland’s Ed Joyce who has 436 runs. Amongst the bowlers, PNG medium-pacer Loa Nou is fifth overall with nine wickets in the tournament so far, and no wonder both the coach and captain believe it is possible to win this contest against Ireland.
That belief is holding strong despite knowing that fast bowler Boyd Rankin is returning to Ireland colours and is armed with the experience of a Test, 44 ODIs and 17 T20 Internationals.
PNG coach Dipak Patel said: “Our players welcome the challenge of playing against a player that has played Test cricket. Only time will tell if Boyd’s selection will make a difference.”
Opposite coach John Bracewell believed Rankin will make a huge difference to Ireland’s campaign. “Rankin is a big factor not only because he is an international player, but because he is an internationally proven bowler.”
Buoyed by Boyd’s return, Ireland already enjoys a blemish-free record in the ICC Intercontinental Cup to date, pulling off convincing wins against both Namibia and the UAE. In June last year, it defeated the Asian side by an innings and 26 runs, and in October it handed a similar fate to Namibia winning by an innings and 107 runs.
Ireland though is not making the mistake of under-estimating its opposition. “PNG is obviously a strong side, and although it doesn’t have much match experience, it is clearly a side going forward. We don’t rate it as banana skin, we rate it as true contenders and give it that respect.
“Every match is important to us regardless of whether it is against the Netherlands, PNG or UAE. Our aim is to win and if we win our games, we win the league.”
Another third round fixture between Afghanistan and Namibia will start on 10 April. The venue is yet to be confirmed.
In the forthcoming ICC World Cricket League Championship matches, Nepal will host Namibia at the University Oval, Kathmandu, for two 50-over games. These matches will be played on 16 and 18 April. The top sides from the ICC WCLC will progress to the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier, which will be held in Bangladesh in 2018.
Squads
Ireland (from)
William Porterfield (c), Andrew McBrine, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Andrew Balbirnie, George Dockrell , Ed Joyce, Tim Murtagh, Stuart Poynter, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson, Craig Young Coach – John Bracewell
PNG (from) – Jack Vare-Kevere (c), Charles Amini, Sese Bau, Mahuru Dai, Hiri Hiri, Vani Vagi Morea, Alei Nao, Loa Nou, Nosaina Pokana, John Boge Reva, Lega Siaka, Chad Aiwati Soper, Assadollah Vala, Norman Oreta Vanua Coach: Dipak Patel
On-field umpires– Buddhi Pradhan and Vineet Kulkarni
Match Referee- Stephen Bernard
Fixtures- ICC Intercontinental Cup
10-13 April – Namibia vs Afghanistan, venue tbc
Fixtures- ICC World Cricket League Championship
16 April – Nepal vs Namibia (50 over), University Oval, Kathmandu
18 April – Nepal vs Namibia (50 over), University Oval, Kathmandu
Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella acts as the Olympic continental qualification regatta for sailors from North and South America. Qualify here, you’ll be representing your country on the grandest of stages, miss out, it’s the end of the road.
Torrential rainfall and a chill in the air, Miami isn’t usually like this, but competition for World Cup honours and Rio 2016 Olympic spots are keeping the temperatures on Biscayne Bay hot.
Competitiveness from the front to the back of each fleet has been evident and every sailor has something to fight for. Whether it’s the coveted Rio spot, a Sailing World Cup honour, internal qualification for Rio 2016 or even striving to perfect their game, it’s all on in Miami.
Sailors were made to wait for racing on Thursday as torrential downpours killed off the breeze and produced large quantities of surface water. When the breeze materialised it enabled the sailors to commence racing at 15:20 local time in building conditions that ranged from 12-17 knots from the south east.
Jason Waterhouse and Lisa Darmanin (AUS) regained the Nacra 17 lead after they finished ahead of overnight leaders Mandy Mulder and Coen de Koning (NED) in both of the day’s races.
They have a seven point gap over the Dutch but a scintillating battle is developing towards the back of the pack.
Just one point separates South American Rio 2016 hopefuls from Guatemala and Uruguay with one day of fleet racing remaining.
Guatemala’s Jason Hess and Irene Abascal were in the driving seat for the Olympic spot but two poor results enabled Uruguay’s Pablo Defazio Abella and Mariana Foglia to hit them on the counter attack.
The Uruguayans finished 23rd and 31st, leaving them on 272 points, one behind the Guatemalans who had their worst day on the water after a 37th and a discarded DNF.
In terms of races won against each other, Hess and Abascal lead the stakes 6-5 after 11 and it will be head to head on the water on Friday to decide who takes the single South American Nacra 17 place.
Canada’s Luke Ramsay and Nikola Girke have a strong advantage in the North American qualification duel. They are more than 60 points clear of the only other hopeful, Puerto Rico’s Enrique Figueroa and Franchesca Valdes. Ramsay and Girke will want to stay out of trouble on Friday to book their nation another Rio 2016 place.
Billy Besson and Marie Riou (FRA) were Thursday’s Nacra 17 stars after double bullets. They are fourth overall.
A single race in the 49er Gold, 49er Silver and 49erFX was completed.
Diego Botin and Iago Lopez (ESP) and New Zealand’s Alex Maloney and Molly Meech held on to top spot in the 49er and 49erFX respectively. Race wins went the way of John Pink and Stu Bithell (GBR) in 49er Gold, Ryan Seaton and Matthew McGovern (IRL) in 49er Silver and Ida Marie Nielsen and Marie Olsen (DEN) in the 49erFX.
On the Rio 2016 Olympic qualification front, there is plenty happening in all three fleets.
Chilean brothers Benjamin and Cristóbal Grez Ahrens haven’t made things easy on themselves in their battle against Uruguay’s Santiago Silveira and Philipp Umpierre for the South American 49er Rio spot. A disastrous start and up and down results gave the Uruguayans the advantage after two days.
The Uruguayans were positioned to make the gold fleet with the Chileans back in silver ahead of Wednesday’s so they had it all to do. Match racing was the name of the game and the Chileans forced the Uruguayans hand with an OCS and BFD to squeeze them back into silver fleet.
Thursday was an opportunity for both teams to reset and from a single 49er Silver race, the Grez Ahrens brothers grabbed the initiative, leapfrogging the Uruguayans. A Chilean ninth compared to the Uruguayans 18th ensures they go into the final day of fleet racing with a six point advantage.
In the north, gold fleet racing will decide the spot. USA in the driving seat with Thomas Barrows, III and Joseph Morris seventh on 71 points. Canada follow with David Mori and Justin Barnes 29th on 104 points and British Virgin Islanders Alec Anderson and Christopher Brockbank are down in 31st.
American sailors Paris Henken and Helena Scutt as well as Emily Dellenbaugh and Elizabeth Barry have put their nation in a strong position to qualify in the 49erFX. Henken and Scutt are 18th on 142 points and their compatriots, 21st on 161. Their nearest rivals are U.S. Virgin Islanders Mayumi Roller and Agustina Barbuto who trail on 181 in 23rd. Aruba’s Odile and Philipine Van Aanholt hold 226 points in 32nd.
Chile’s Arantza Gumucio and Begoña Gumucio are the only South American entrants who have not yet qualified for Rio 2016 so will qualify this week.
Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, USA is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.
Laser and Laser Radial
A very fluid weather pattern (in more ways than one) made for a challenging, albeit short, day on the water for the Laser and Laser Radial fleets. The threat of thunderstorms kept the fleet ashore through the early afternoon. Once the sailors launched, the compressed time left the sailors with little time to properly research the breeze. Adding to the confusion, the weather changed just as the Radials were halfway up the first leg.
“In the beginning it was quite light,” said Evi van Acker (BEL). “But then the rain came and along came the wind. So it was quite windy in the race, which was nice to have a little bit of difference compared to the first three days.”
It was also quite shifty and, with the visibility reduced, tough for the sailors to formulate a plan of attack. As is often the case in difficult conditions, the cream rose to the top, with Marit Bouwmeester (NED) nipping Sarah Gunni Toftedal (DEN) by just two seconds and adding to her impressive string of four first-place finishes in the qualifying races. But Bouwmeester was hard-pressed to describe how she won the race.
“I don’t really know,” she said with a laugh. “The weather was quite tricky with the rain so I think I was just a bit lucky being on the right side of the wind shifts.”
Bouwmeester, who won the silver medal at the 2012 Olympics and the 2015 Laser Radial World Championships, is probably being modest. But her day did have one significant, and totally unexpected, hurdle that she handled with a veteran’s poise.
“A 470 trailer, they didn’t put it up right after the 470 went into the water and it fell down and it fell straight through my sail,” she said. “So just before [launching] I had a hole in the sail. But thank God it didn’t influence the racing too much
“I didn’t like it. I was like, ‘Bloody 470s.’ But there’s not much I can do about it. This guy gave me some sail tape and I tried to cover it up as good as I can.”
In third in the race, and sitting solidly in second overall was van Acker, who was a little more expansive when asked about the path to success in Race 6.
“I think play the shifts on the first beat and the first reach and the downwind,” she said. “But I could’ve done a bit better. So not super happy with today, but plenty to play for tomorrow.”
Van Acker is the defending Olympic bronze medalist, but there’s a lot of Laser Radial talent in Belgium and she won’t know until late spring whether she’ll return to the Olympics.
“We have a selection committee that will decide at the end of May or the beginning of June,” she said. “But as I said, I’m not really busy with the selection, just trying to do my best in every race.”
Currently sitting third in the overall standings is defending Olympic gold medalist Lilja Xu (CHN) who finished 35th, by far her worst race of the regatta. After discarding that finish she is just two points out of second and eight points off the lead.
Paloma Schmidt was the only South American sailor, who had not yet qualified for Rio 2016, to make the Laser Radial gold fleet. As a result, she has qualified Peru in the Laser Radial.
North American sailors from the Cayman Islands, Cuba, St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago missed out on the gold fleet as Bermuda’s Cecillia Wollman and Mexico’s Natalia Montemayor advanced.
Nine points separated them before Thursday’s racing but they ended up even on 95 points apiece after the single race. Wollman finished 39th and Montemayor, 40th. Results would lead to suggest some strong tactics coming in to play with three races on Friday to determine who will go to Rio de Janeiro this August.
After sailing a nearly flawless qualifying series, Rutger van Schaardenburg (NED) had his first significant bobble of the regatta when he was caught over the line before the gun and didn’t return to start correctly, recording a 50-point OCS. As he’s able to discard that score, he retains the overall lead, but the margin has narrowed. Jean-Baptiste Bernaz (FRA) is currently second overall after getting a fourth today.
While the Radials started in light breeze, the wind had picked up substantially by the time the Lasers started sailing. Still, the weather was difficult to read.
“I didn’t have [a really solid plan for the first beat],” said Bernaz. “I just say, ‘OK, let’s sail and watch; what you see is what you get.’ I was on the right, but when I saw the left gaining, I just go on the left side of the fleet. I was losing a lot and I re-gained what I lost. I was fourth at the top mark, third, then fourth again. It’s good to sail in front.”
Bernaz has been on a tear of late, with top-five finishes in his four of his last five major regattas. The lone blip, a 54th at the 2015 Laser World Championships, has knocked his world ranking down to 22nd, but he’s sailing like a medal contender at this event.
“It’s the year of the Games, some [Olympic selection series] for different countries, so everyone is 100 percent, maybe 110,” he said. “It’s a really hard fleet and it’s really hard to be consistent. Now we start the finals, so it’s the top 49, so it’s really hard, really compact.”
Sailing to his fourth second in the last four races, five-time Olympic medalist Robert Scheidt (BRA) moved into third in the overall standings.
“The first few races I had bad starts and it was difficult conditions, it was shifty and light, and I just made bad decisions at the beginning of the race,” he said. “I knew I had the speed to do better and the ability to do better. From the third day I started to sail more with the fleet, more consistent, better starts.
“Today was a full-on race, it started to blow very hard just a few minutes before the start and we knew we’d have to be out of trouble, have a clean start, and use the speed and hike hard. It was a tough race. The breeze kept increasing throughout the race. I just sailed clean, sailed a solid race. I’m really happy about that.”
Scheidt won three medals in the Laser class, gold in 1996 and 2004 and silver in 2000 before switching to the Star, where he won silver in 2008 and bronze in 2012. With the Star eliminated from the Olympic roster, he was forced to choose between missing the Rio Olympics or returning to the grueling 14-foot dinghy,
Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, USA is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.
“The goal is to try to do the Olympic Games in my home country,” he said. “Unfortunately the Star is not anymore an Olympic class. I wish it was. It’s not easy to come back to the Laser after a certain age. But I’m enjoying it. I’m still having fun out there. I’m still competing at a high level. Of course, it’s not easy because physically it’s a quite a demanding boat. Right now I’m in a good moment, free of injuries and really looking forward to the next six months.”
He hasn’t been as dominant as he was at his peak, when he won eight world championships, but Scheidt is a serious medal threat, and anyone who thinks the pressure of competing in his home country will compromise his performance should check Scheidt’s track record. Among other accomplishments, his final Laser world championship was won on Brazilian waters. He knows what to expect, and how to handle it.
“It’s going to be a different Olympics with the crowd the expectations, competing in Rio, a place I’ve sailed all my life, for an Olympic medal,” he said. “It’s going to be very special. That’s why I’m still doing it. That’s the reason why I’m still training hard, pushing hard. To be able to join the Olympics one last time would be a great thing for me.”
Mexico’s Yanic Gentry made the gold fleet in the cut and with none of his rivals from Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico making it, he has qualified his nation in the Laser.
All of the South American sailors aiming for Rio 2016 are in the silver fleet and no racing was possible on Thursday. As it stands, Venezuela’s Jose Gutierrez is 65th on 139 points, Uruguay’s Federico Yandian 66th on 140, Ecuador’s Matias Dyck on 145 and Colombia’s Andrey Quintero 84th on 180.
Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, United States of America, is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay. @Sailing Energy
Men’s and Women’s 470
With a win in today’s lone race, Lara Vadlau and Jolanta Ogar (AUT) moved into a tie for first place with the Brazilian team of Fernanda Oliveira and Ana Luiza Barbachan. Those two teams are starting to stretch away from the rest of the fleet. As this fleet is one of the smallest in the regatta, it will be hard, but not impossible, for anyone else to claw back into contention for the win. The other teams in the top five are Shasha Chen and Haiyan Gao (CHN), Marina Gallego and Fatima Reyes (ESP) and Sydney Bolger and Carly Shevitz (USA).
Onan Barreiros and Juan Curbelo Cabrera (ESP) were the only team in the top six of the Men’s 470 fleet to record a top-five finish today. As a result the Spanish duo pushed their lead over Stu McNay and David Hughes (USA) out to five points. Panaglotis Mantis and Pavlos Kangialis (GRE) are third, nine points further back. A point behind third is Matthias Schmid and Florian Reichstäder (AUT). While there are three races scheduled for tomorrow, it’s hard to imagine anyone outside that top four making a serious challenge for the lead.
It’s one on one in both North and South America for Rio 2016 Olympic qualification. Canada’s Jacob Chaplin-Saunders and Graeme Chaplin-Saunders, on 53 points, have a good advantage over Mexico’s Jeronimo Cervantes Belausteguigoitia and Ander Belausteguigoitia, on 90 points, in the North.
Looking south, the 21st placed Ecuadorians, Jonathan Martinetti and John Birkett, have work to do on the final day of fleet racing to catch the 17th placed Chileans, Andres Ducasse and Francisco Ducasse. The Chileans have a 16 point advantage.
Canada’s Allison Surrette and Alexandra Ten Hove are uncontested for the North American spot so will seal that place this week. Chile’s Nadja Horwitz and Sofia Middleton are poised to take the South American spot, holding a 36 point advantage over Argentina’s Mercedes Travascio and Delfinia Bellagio.
Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, USA is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay. @Sailing Energy
Finn
It was the grey beards who dominated today’s lone race in oldest of the Olympic classes. Olympic silver medalists Jonas Hoegh-Christensen (DEN) and Zach Railey (USA) went 1-2 in the race and now hold those same positions in the overall standings. But in reality, the top six, who are separated by just three points, are standing on a level playing field with three races scheduled for tomorrow and then the double-points medal race on Saturday. The other sailors in that top group are Jorge Zarif (BRA), Jake Lilley (AUS), Lei Gong (CHN) and yesterday’s leader Caleb Paine (USA).
The 11th placed Chilean, Antonio Poncell, is sandwiched in between his South American rivals from Argentina, Facundo Olezza in ninth and Juan Ignacio Biava in 11th.
Poncell holds 47 points which is 12 off Olezza and two ahead of Ignacio Biava. Canadian Finn sailors have no North American rivals in the Finn fleet with Finn fleet racing to conclude on Friday.
Paralympic Classes
Helena Lucas (GBR) has positioned herself nicely at the top of the 2.4mR leader board ahead of the final day of Paralympic racing on Friday.
A third consecutive race win leaves her three points clear of early leader Bruce Millar (CAN) however the London 2012 Paralympic gold medallist will have to tread carefully on the final day as she discards a 12th from the first race of the series.
Peter Eagar (CAN) occupies the final podium spot with a day remaining but is just a single point clear of Charles Rosenfield (USA).
Paul Tingley, Logan Campbell, Scott Lutes (CAN) opened up a six point advantage over 2015 Para World Sailing Champions John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas (GBR) after winning the single Sonar race.
Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden (AUS) are third overall heading into Friday’s final Paralympic races.
Men’s and Women’s RS:X
The Race Committee had to manually input the results from the RS:X race course into the results system after racing. Results will be available in due course.
– Newcastle United will have to pay £7million to lure Bafetimbi Gomis from Swansea City, according to reports.
– According to reports, Villarreal are keen to resign Denis Cheryshev from Real Madrid.
– Gary Cahill will not be allowed to leave Chelsea during this transfer window, according to reports.
– Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini has told L’Equipe that Seydou Doumbia will not be joining Marseille.
– West Ham United are reportedly ready to rival Norwich City for Inter defender Davide Santon.
– Atalanta captain German Denis says goodbye to fans ahead of a move to Independiente: “You don’t make history by yourself, thanks for everything.”
– Barcelona have made Juventus striker Paulo Dybala their main objective for the summer transfer window, according to reports in Spain
– Lyon have joined the race to sign Troyes attacking midfielder Jimmy Cabot, according to reports.
– Monaco are set to sign defender Jemerson from Atletico Mineiro, according to L’Equipe.
– Schalke chairman Clemens Tonnies has labelled reports claiming defender Joel Matip has already agreed terms with Liverpool ”a hoax”
– Alexander Pato underwent his medical last night but the deal is being held up by complications over his loan fee, according to reports.
– Quique Sanchez Flores has confirmed Watford were interested in Andros Townsend, but couldn’t match Tottenham’s asking price.
Luis Enrique, credit fcbarcelona.com
– Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has hinted the Spanish champions could add to their squad before Monday’s transfer deadline.
– West Ham boss Slaven Bilic hopes to compete a loan deal for Emmanuel Emenike in the next couple of days.
– St Étienne have confirmed that they have reached a fee agreement with Norwegian side Rosenborg for the signing of highly-rated young defensive midfielder Ole Kristian Selnaes.
– Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski will reject interest from Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea to wait for a move to Real Madrid once the Spanish side’s transfer embargo is lifted at the end of next season, according to reports.
– Porto want £38million for Giannelli Imbula, double of what Stoke City have offered for the midfielder, according to reports
Emmanuel Adebayor joins Crystal Palace
– Alan Pardew has dismissed fears that he has gambled by signing Emmanuel Adebayor, revealing the controversial striker has signed a performance-based contract at Crystal Palace.
– Tottenham are close to agreeing a deal with Fulham for Moussa Dembélé, according to reports.
– Swansea City head coach Francesco Guiodlin has confirmed talks are ongoing with Chievo’s Alberto Paloschi and could be finalised over the next 48 hours.
– West Ham manager Slaven Bilic says “no money in the world” could persuade him to sell Dimitri Payet this month.
– Arsenal have agreed a £23 million fee with Dynamo Kiev for Andriy Yarmolenko, according to reports in Ukraine.
– According to reports in Spain, Arsenal have been told to pay Real Madrid £25 million if they wish to sign Isco this month.
– Leicester City have turned their sights on Southampton striker Graziano Pelle, according to reports.
– Representatives from MLS side DC United spoke to Milan midfielder Antonio Nocerino today, according to reports.
– According to reports, Saido Berahino looks set to stay at West Bromwich Albion, with the Baggies not now likely to sell this month.
Football tit bits:
– Greg Dyke will stand down as chairman of the Football Association in the summer after deciding not to seek re-election at the end of his four-year term, amid a bruising battle over long overdue reform of the organisation.
– Swiss prosecutors say they have been given important evidence by a whistleblower in their investigation into FIFA and its suspended president Sepp Blatter.
Kevin De Bruyne
– Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne is likely to be out for six weeks after injuring his right knee.
– Louis van Gaal has angrily dismissed reports that he offered to quit as Manchester United manager last
weekend.
newfanzone 