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OLYMPICS: Ukraine Pushes To Exclude Russia From 2024 Paris Olympics

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KYIV, Ukraine — With the Olympics in Paris next year looming and Russia’s invasion appearing to be a protracted conflict, Ukraine’s sports minister renewed a threat to boycott the games if Russia and Belarus are allowed to compete, said Kyiv would lobby other countries to join.

Such a move could cause the greatest schism in the Olympic movement since the Cold War.

No country has declared a boycott of the 2024 Summer Olympics. However, Ukraine received backing from Poland, the Baltic countries, and Denmark, who opposed an International Olympic Committee plan to allow delegations from Russia and its ally Belarus to compete in Paris as “neutral athletes” without flags or anthems.

“We cannot compromise on the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes,” said Ukrainian Sports Minister Vadym Huttsait, who also chairs the country’s national Olympic committee, citing attacks on his country, athlete deaths, and the destruction of sports facilities.

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Ukraine Will Boycott The Olympics

His committee meeting didn’t decide to boycott, but they agreed to try to convince sports officials worldwide over the next two months, including talking about a possible boycott.

“As a last resort, but please keep in mind that this is my personal opinion,” Huttsait added, “if we do not succeed, we will have to boycott the Olympic Games.”

Paris will be the final Olympics under outgoing IOC President Thomas Bach, who is looking to leave a legacy after a tenure marked by disagreements over Russia’s status — first over widespread doping scandals and now over the Ukraine war.

Bach’s views were formed while he was an Olympic gold medallist in fencing, and his country, West Germany, boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. He has since condemned that decision.

Russia has cautiously welcomed the IOC’s decision to grant it a path to the Olympics but has demanded that it drop a condition that would exclude athletes deemed to be “actively supporting the war in Ukraine.”

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Russia Says Teams Will Compete

The head of the Russian Olympic Committee, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, who was on Huttsait’s team at the 1992 Olympics, thought that was unfair. The IOC once said that Russia and Belarus shouldn’t be allowed to compete in world sports for safety reasons. It now says that it can’t treat them differently just because of where they live.

The leaders of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania urged the IOC to ban Russia and warned of a boycott.

“I believe our efforts should be focused on persuading our other friends and allies that the participation of Russian and Belarussian athletes is simply wrong,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said. “The next step is to boycott. “I believe people will understand why this is required.”

“This threat of a boycott only leads to further escalation of the situation, not only in sport but also in the broader context,” the IOC said in a statement. Regrettably, politicians use athletes and sports as tools to achieve their political goals.”

“Why punish athletes from your country for the Russian government starting the war?” it asked bluntly.

In a statement next week, Poland’s sports minister, Kamil Bortniczuk, said that up to 40 countries could condemn Russian and Belarussian participation in Paris but that a boycott threat could be avoided. He told the state news agency PAP that the IOC was “naive” and should reconsider its stance.

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Denmark Also Wants Athletes To Stay Home

Denmark wants Russian athletes barred from participating in “all international sports as long as their attacks on Ukraine continue,” according to Danish Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt.

“We must not waver in our approach to Russia. The government’s position is unequivocal. “Russia must be prohibited,” he stated. “This also applies to Russian athletes competing under neutral flags. It is incomprehensible that the IOC appears to have reservations about the line.”

When asked about the boycott threats and the IOC plan, Paris 2024 organizing committee head Tony Estanguet said he couldn’t comment “on political decisions.”

“My job is to ensure that all athletes who want to participate are provided with the best security conditions and that they have the opportunity to live their dream,” he said in Marseille.

Last year, Ukraine boycotted some sporting events rather than compete against Russians.

Huttsait said a boycott would be very tough, saying it was “very important for us that our flag is at the Olympic Games; it is very important for us that our athletes are on the podium. So that we can demonstrate that our Ukraine was, is, and will be.”

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Athletes Prepared For A Boycott

Marta Fedina, a 21-year-old Olympic bronze medallist in artistic swimming, declared in Kyiv that she was “prepared for a boycott.”

“How will I explain to our defenders that I am even on the same sports field as these people?” she asked, referring to Russian athletes. She noted that the war had destroyed her swimming pool in Kharkiv, where she lived when Moscow invaded.

Speakers at the Ukrainian Olympic Committee’s assembly meeting expressed concern about Moscow’s use of Paris for propaganda, and some athletes have close ties to the Russian military.

If athletes from the two countries compete, “it should be absolutely clear that they are not representing the Russian or Belarusian states,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday. The Olympics will be held in Los Angeles in 2028.

If the IOC’s proposal is implemented, it will be the fourth consecutive Olympics in which Russian athletes compete without the national flag or anthem. After a series of doping scandals, the Russian teams at the Winter Olympics in 2018 and 2022 and the Summer Olympics in 2021 were all in trouble.

The last time many countries boycotted an Olympics was in 1988, when North Korea and others refused to attend the Summer Games in South Korea. Fears about the coronavirus pandemic kept the North Korean team from going to the Tokyo Games in 2021. As a result, the IOC barred it from the following Winter Games in Beijing, claiming that teams had a duty to attend every Olympics.

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Belurussian Athletes Under The Same Scrutiny

Although the IOC set the tone of the debate by publishing advice on how to help Russia and Belarus compete, decisions for the governing bodies of individual sports that organize events on the 32-sport Paris program must be made.

These organizations, many of which are based in Lausanne, Switzerland, where the IOC is based, run their qualifying and Olympic competitions and decide who can compete and who can’t.

Before the IOC’s Olympic qualifying events, the International Cycling Union agreed to allow Russian and Belarussian athletes to compete as “neutrals.”

Most sports, including track and field World Athletics and soccer FIFA, excluded Russian athletes and teams within days of the war’s start. Tennis and cycling have allowed many Russians and Belarusians to compete as neutrals. Other governing bodies are more closely aligned with the IOC or have historically had close commercial and political ties with Russia.

The umbrella group of Summer Games sports, ASOIF, may hold a key meeting on March 3 in Lausanne. It is chaired by Francesco Ricci Bitti, a member of the IOC when he led the International Tennis Federation, and includes World Athletics president Sebastian Coe.

The ASOIF declined to comment on Friday but stated this week that “it is critical to respect the specificity of each federation and their particular qualification process” for Paris.

SOURCE – (AP)

 

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Another Byron Win Has Hendrick On A Roll Heading Toward NASCAR Team’s 40th Anniversary Party

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AUSTIN, Texas – Hendrick Motorsports has much to be excited about as it approaches its 40th anniversary celebration in two weeks.

William Bryon dominated on Sunday at the Circuit of the Americas, earning his second NASCAR win. Alex Bowman finished in the top four for the third time in 2024 at COTA, while Kyle Larson won the Xfinity Series in a thrilling finale on Saturday.

That’s quite a leap ahead of the team’s planned festivities for race weekend at Martinsville Speedway, where Hendrick Motorsports won its first race with Geoff Bodine in 1984 while racing under the moniker All-Star Racing.

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Another Byron Win Has Hendrick On A Roll Heading Toward NASCAR Team’s 40th Anniversary Party

So far, the race has resulted in its party.

Byron is the only two-time winner in the season’s first six races. The first occurred in the Daytona 500, where Bowman and Hendrick finished 1-2 in NASCAR’s marquee event.

Byron’s victory at COTA was his 12th career win and first from the pole position.

“I mean, just seeing him qualify, he was so fluid. The same thing happened throughout the race. “Just seemed to put the car in all the right places,” Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon explained. “A lot of thanks to William for accomplishing such an excellent job. Takes the entire team, pit crew, and everyone. They’ve had a great start to the season. I can’t wait to see where they take it next.

The series will head to Richmond’s short track next week before returning to Martinsville on April 7.

“We’re going to shoot for the stars,” declared Byron’s crew chief, Rudy Fogle.

Hendrick hopes to have a strong showing at Martinsville, where team vehicles will be painted in unique red schemes, owner Rick Hendrick will drive the pace car, and Bodine and Gordon will serve as grand marshals.

In the last four years, a Hendrick driver has won a race in Martinsville. The team has won the most Cup Series races at any track on the circuit, with 28 total.

“Obviously Martinsville is big for the 40th anniversary,” he remarked.

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Another Byron Win Has Hendrick On A Roll Heading Toward NASCAR Team’s 40th Anniversary Party

Bowman triumphed there in 2021 and generated huge results during a crucial season. He has not won since 2022, has had two seasons of injuries, and will miss the playoffs in 2023.

“I don’t want to say, ‘Yeah, we’re back here 100%,’ but these last few weeks have been a step in the right direction,” Mr. Bowman said.

“I’m personally working as hard as I’ve ever worked,” he said. This year, I’m all in on every aspect, whether it’s extra shifts in the (simulator), correlating the tires, spending more time with the team, or training in the gym.”

Larson’s Xfinity victory was a surprise despite starting from the pole position. He had to start from the back because his squad needed to replace a broken brake rotor, but he fought his way through and took the victory in overtime.

hendrick

Another Byron Win Has Hendrick On A Roll Heading Toward NASCAR Team’s 40th Anniversary Party

Larson was the first NASCAR driver to win the pole and the race while leading only one lap. His victory was Hendrick Motorsports’ first in the Xfinity Series since the team returned in 2022.

The only blight on Hendrick’s successful weekend was Larson’s 17th-place result in Sunday’s race, which took him out of the Cup Series lead. Larson now ranks fifth, slightly ahead of Bryon.

All four Hendrick drivers are in the top 11, but Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs are the new season championship leaders.

SOURCE – (AP)

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Ohtani To Speak To Media For 1st Time Since Illegal Gambling, Theft Allegations Against Interpreter

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Los Angeles — Shohei Ohtani wants to talk to the media on Monday for the first time since allegations of illicit gambling and theft against the Los Angeles Dodgers player and his interpreter surfaced during the team’s trip to South Korea.

The Dodgers sacked their translator, Ippei Mizuhara, last week after the team opened the season with two games against the San Diego Padres in Seoul.

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Ohtani To Speak To Media For 1st Time Since Illegal Gambling, Theft Allegations Against Interpreter

Manager Dave Roberts encouraged Ohtani to address the issue openly. He stated that the two-way superstar made the decision.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Roberts explained. “I’m glad he’s going to speak up, share what he knows, and express his thoughts on the matter. I believe it will give us all a little more clarity.”

Mizuhara was let off the team after the Los Angeles Times and ESPN reported on his apparent ties to an illegal bookmaker and claimed from Ohtani’s attorneys that the Japanese star had been the victim of a “massive theft.”

Major League Baseball has launched an investigation into the matter. The Internal Revenue Service has stated that Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, an accused unlicensed bookmaker in Orange County, California, are under criminal investigation.

Will Ireton, the team’s performance operations manager, has taken over the translating duties from Ohtani. He had previously done the same for then-Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda, who is Japanese.

Ohtani made a quick cameo in the Dodgers’ clubhouse before Sunday’s Freeway Series opening against his former team, the Los Angeles Angels. The teams will play three exhibition games before the Dodgers meet St. Louis in their home opener on Thursday.

The crowd of 42,607 cheered Ohtani passionately each time he came to the plate in his first game as a Dodger in his hometown stadium. He went 0 for 2 as the designated hitter, walking once and striking out once before exiting.

He is also expected to play Monday in Los Angeles and Tuesday in Anaheim, where he was a two-time AL MVP before signing a $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers in December.

Roberts stated that Ohtani has yet to address his teammates as a group.

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Ohtani To Speak To Media For 1st Time Since Illegal Gambling, Theft Allegations Against Interpreter

“I think that he’s had one-off conversations with players,” Mr. Roberts added.

The manager claimed he checked in with Ohtani to see how he was doing.

“He’s kind of business as usual,” Roberts explained.

Ohtani has a double locker in the Dodgers’ clubhouse, between the shower room and fellow Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is scheduled to make his second start of the season against St. Louis on Saturday.

On Sunday, additional security was deployed in the overcrowded clubhouse. In addition to the players and a slew of journalists, eight temporary lockers were built up at one end for minor leaguers brought in from Arizona for the Freeway Series.

Overhead televisions were tuned to men’s NCAA Tournament events, baseball, and horse racing, with former Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Paul Lo Duca providing TV handicapping suggestions for the day’s races.

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Ohtani To Speak To Media For 1st Time Since Illegal Gambling, Theft Allegations Against Interpreter

The MLB gambling policy is displayed in every clubhouse. Betting on baseball, legal or illegal, carries a one-year ban from the sport. The commissioner can impose penalties for illicit betting on other sports. Sports gambling is outlawed in California despite the fact that it is permitted in 38 other states and the District of Columbia.

“The mood in the room is get ready for baseball because I don’t hear a lot of conversations and speculation,” Roberts told reporters. “That’s why I think tomorrow is going to be good for everyone.”

SOURCE – (AP)

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British Runner Jasmin Paris Becomes First Woman To Finish Barkley Marathons, Just 99 Seconds Before Time Limit Expired

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A British runner, Jasmin Paris, became the first woman to complete the famed Barkley Marathons on Friday.

According to Keith Dunn, who attends the race and publishes updates on X (previously known as Twitter), Paris completed the difficult course in 59 hours, 58 minutes, and 21 seconds, barely 99 seconds, before the 60-hour time restriction expired.

The 40-year-old veterinarian was photographed collapsing over the finish line as she finished the event.

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British Runner Jasmin Paris Becomes First Woman To Finish Barkley Marathons, Just 99 Seconds Before Time Limit Expired

Paris was one of five finishers in the 2024 Barkley Marathons, with Ukrainian Ihor Very first, Americans John Kelly and Jared Campbell second and third, and Greig Hamilton of New Zealand fourth.

Verys, who finished at 58:44:59, said that Dunn added a sixth loop.

Campbell, who finished the Barkley Marathons for the fourth time in 59:30:32, claimed the new part was “brutal.” “You are a bad man.”

Paris made waves in 2019 when she won the 2019 Spine event. She became the first woman to win the 268-mile event and shaved 12 hours off the previous record.

The Barkley Marathons are notable for their arduous, near-impossible nature. Many consider it the world’s toughest and most punishing foot race.

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British Runner Jasmin Paris Becomes First Woman To Finish Barkley Marathons, Just 99 Seconds Before Time Limit Expired

Every year, the renowned ultramarathon that racer Gary Cantrell created takes place at Tennessee’s Frozen Head State Park. James Earl Ray’s 1977 jailbreak during which he assassinated Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. served as inspiration for the path.

Ray barely walked eight miles just over two days after escaping Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary before being apprehended, prompting Cantrell to speculate that he could travel 100 miles in the same amount of time.

The course is lengthy and indistinct, the inclines steep, and the terrain harsh, but only if you can manage the confusing admission system and earn a seat at the starting line.

The race consists of five circuits of about 20 miles each, for a total distance of 100 to 130 miles in brushy mountains with an elevation gain of roughly 63,000 feet. Athletes complete the race over three sleepless days and nights, with no aid stations, phones, or GPS to assist with navigation. Getting lost, as well as falling and being injured in the brush, is normal.

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British Runner Jasmin Paris Becomes First Woman To Finish Barkley Marathons, Just 99 Seconds Before Time Limit Expired

The ultramarathon is marked with distinct unmanned checkpoints containing a paperback book. Athletes must rip out a page according to their bib number and have all the book pages in hand at the end of each loop to demonstrate that they reached each checkpoint.

Many need help to finish the races because of their difficulty, with no finishers between 2017 and 2023. It has a 99% dropout rate.

SOURCE – (CNN)

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