My Profile » Discussions


t to be kidding me -- hes 4

  • July 19, 2019
    MOSCOW -- When Usain Bolt means business, he is still all alone out there. Bolt coasted to his third straight 200-metre world title on Saturday with the race basically wrapped up as soon as he entered the finishing straight. Jamaican teammate Warren Weir never got close to Bolts world leading time of 19.66 seconds, but crossing .13 seconds later for silver still left him enough time to join Bolt in a reggae dance to Bob Marleys "Three Little Birds." "The energy was great tonight," Bolt said. "The crowd was in to it," Curtis Mitchell of the United States took bronze in 20.24 seconds, but was never in the hunt for gold. Edmontons Angela Whyte highlighted Canadas performance on Saturday with a sixth-place finish in the womens 100-metre hurdles. "Im so happy I made the final, but now we re-evaluate and see what I need to do to really be in the medal mix," Whyte said. "Im just happy to be back at a world class level after knee surgery in 2008." Bolt will go for his fourth triple gold at a major championship when he joins the Jamaican team for the 4x100 relay on Sunday. "It should be even better," Bolt said. The wealth of Jamaican sprinting is such that they might well sweep their American rivals in unprecedented fashion, after Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce clinched a similar 100-200 double and has her final relay also late on the closing day of the championships. Opposition could hardly touch Bolt on Saturday, and once it was clear his right foot was OK after he dropped a starting block on it early in the week, everything was as good as gold. Even his start was strong as he quickly gained a decisive edge. And then in the finishing straight, Bolt fully let loose his giant stride, the one that has dumbfounded rivals since he won three gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His seventh world title leaves him one shy of American greats Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson, who lead the overall gold medal standings in the 30-year history of the event. On Sunday, Bolt can pull alongside them. And with 10 medals overall, Bolt can overtake Lewis at the top with two silvers compared to a silver and bronze for the American sprinter-long jumper. Even though he is only 26, Bolts maturity showed Saturday as the wild hot-dogging of the Beijing Games gave way to a sense of near-seriousness. His Lightning Bolt stance came late and besides the dance steps, everything was contained. "I got to face the fact that I am getting older so I have to try not getting injured during the season," Bolt said. The only thing that never changes is the gold. And it is that which the United States is missing, seeing Russia jump past in the gold medal standings with two great performances on Saturday. While the Russians were overtaking the heavily favoured American 4x400 relay time, Svetlana Shkolina overtook Brigetta Barrett in the high jump. The Russian won by three centimetres with a leap of 2.03 metres. Defending world champion Anna Chicherova, who is also the Olympic champion, had to settle for bronze after clearing 1.97. "The crowds roar for the 4x400 relay really put me up for my last attempt," Shkolina said. Emma Green Tregaro of Sweden, who wore rainbow-colored fingernails during qualifying to show support for Russian gays and lesbians in the face of an anti-gay law, finished fifth in the final, with red-painted nails. "It was harder to not paint them in the rainbow than it was to choose to paint them," Green Tregaro said. "Im surprised by the big reactions but Im happy about the big reaction because its mostly been very positive." With the closing day to come, Russia leads the gold medal standings with seven, ahead of the United States with six. Overall, the American team leads the host nation 20-15. Bolts medal pushed Jamaica into third place with four golds. The United States got its only gold on the night from 21-year-old Brianna Rollins, who surged at the end of the 100 hurdles to beat Olympic champion Sally Pearson in 12.44 seconds, edging the Australian by .06 seconds. Whyte finished in 12.78 seconds. "I got out relatively well, came off hurdle one and collapsed quite a bit," she said. "It wasnt the time I was looking for, I didnt execute as cleanly as I wanted to, but I responded well and battled back." Jessica Zelinka of London, Ont., was eliminated in the semifinal earlier Saturday with a time of 13.12 seconds. "Its the strongest Ive ever been, the fastest Ive ever been, lack of coaching has played a role here," Zelinka said. "Havent been able to sharpen up with my hurdling, otherwise I feel great." Early in the day, Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich became the first non-Kenyan since 2005 to win the mens marathon gold medal at the world championships. The Ugandan broke away from Boston Marathon winner Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia in the shaded park around Luhzniki Stadium to win his countrys first mens world title in the 30-year history of the championships. "I am so happy I won another gold medal for my country," Kiprotich said. "Now I am the Olympic and world champion." Another Ethiopian, Tadese Tola, took bronze on a warm afternoon in the Russian capital. Rob Watson of Vancouver was 20th. "I am super pumped about placing 20th, my ultimate goal coming in was a top 20 performance," he said. "When youre hurting and suffering but passing people it makes it that much easier, youre suffering for a cause, not just hanging on for dear life. "I was ranked 48th coming in, I just wanted to beat people in a race." Later in the evening, Ethiopian veteran Meseret Defar added the 5,000 world title to her Olympic gold medal, coming out of the slipstream of teammate Almaz Ayana to win with a strong finish. Defar, the 2007 world champion, finished in 14:50.19, beating silver medallist Mercy Cherono of Kenya by 1.03 seconds. Ayana did most of the heavy work for Defar but weakened near the end. She still won her first major championship medal in 14:51.33. Chris Conley Womens Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Leonard Fournette Womens Jersey . -- Vincent Lecavalier got everything but the desired result in his return to Tampa Bay. http://www.officialjacksonvillejaguarspro.com/Yannick-ngakoue-jaguars-jersey/ . -- Anaheim Ducks defenceman Luca Sbisa will be out at least six weeks with a torn tendon in his right hand. Josh Allen Womens Jersey .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Marqise Lee Jersey . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said.MADISON, Miss. -- Woody Austins spent the past few years living the life of a golf nomad, not knowing when his next opportunity to play on the PGA Tour would come. Those days are over for a while. The 49-year-old Austin won the Sanderson Farms Championship on Sunday for his first PGA Tour victory since 2007, beating Cameron Beckman and Daniel Summerhays with an 8-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff. "Its been a long road and a long time," Austin said. "Now Ive got a job again." Austin is the eighth-oldest winner in PGA Tour history and the oldest since Fred Funk won at 50 in 2007. The victory gave him a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour and a spot in the PGA Championship -- not to mention a $540,000 paycheque. Not bad for a guy who hadnt even made a cut on the tour this year. Austin came into the final round two shots behind Summerhays and Nicholas Thompson, but made up ground with a 5-under 67 to finish at 20-under 268. His final round didnt start particularly well -- he bogeyed No. 2 -- but he recovered with an eagle on No. 5 and birdies on Nos. 6 and 7 to vault back into contention. "My iron play is my strength and it was there this week," said Austin, who has four career victories. "I was able to manoeuvr the ball around, get the ball close to the flag. The most important part of the game is putting and I putted good this week, plain and simple." Beckman and Summerhays both birdied No. 18 to match Austin, and Beckman missed a 5-foot putt that would have forced a second playoff hole. Beckman shot 67, and Summerhays had a 69. Summerhays and Thompson started the day tied for the lead, two shots ahead the pack. But Thompson fell out of contention quickly with a double bogey on No. 5 and a bogey on No. 8. He finished fourth at 18 under, two shots back after a 71. Summerhays moved into the lead with a birdie on No. 9, but made bogey on 14 and fell behind until making birdies on both Nos. 17 and 18. It was the second straight week Summerhays failed to close a tournament after having at least a share of the lead on the final day. His ddrive on the playoff hole -- the 532-yard, par-5 18th -- found the bunker on the right side of the fairway and he hit into the water on his second shot.dddddddddddd He tied for fourth the week before at the John Deere, a stroke out of a playoff after bogeying the final hole. "Its tough to swallow for sure, but again, its my first playoff and there are all these new firsts," Summerhays said. "Hopefully I can continue to learn and grow." Summerhays praised Austin for making clutch putts in the final round. "Youve got to be kidding me -- hes 49 years old and kicking all our butts," Summerhays said. "Hats off to him." Austin wasnt the only veteran making a move on the final day. Beckman, a 43-year-old, recovered from a 72 in the opening round to post a 64, 65 and 67 in the final three rounds. He was tied for the lead at various times Sunday. He drilled an impressive 15-foot birdie putt to force the playoff, but his 5-foot putt on the playoff hole missed to the right. Billy Andrade charged up the leaderboard with a 65 to tie for fifth at 17 under. The 49-year-old started the day seven shots off the lead but climbed quickly by shooting 7 under through his first 11 holes. He finished with seven straight pars. It was the first day of the tournament that didnt involve a weather delay. But there was plenty of heat and humidity -- as well as some wind for the first time all week -- as players dealt with a soft course that received more than an inch of rain overnight. Austin managed it all and now has some decisions to make. He will turn 50 in six months, making him eligible for the Champions Tour. But Austin didnt sound like a guy ready to give up life on the PGA Tour. "Ive always told everybody I want to play out here," Austin said. "Im one of those people who doesnt like a number. I dont like the idea that people say, Oh, youre 50 years old, youre not good enough to play anymore and need to go play with the old guys ... For the past five years, Ive still felt that I have the ability to compete." He proved it on Sunday. ' ' '