Nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis will be a guest of honor at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, from October 26 to November 1.
Lewis is one of the greatest track and field athletes of all time, having set world records in the 100m dash, 4x100m and 4x200m relays, and in the indoor long jump. He also won two gold medals at the Pan American Games in 1987, in the long jump and 4x100m relay.
The 62-year-old Lewis is currently a coach at the University of Houston, where he mentors more than 100 young athletes, including Mexico's Cecilia Tamayo, who will compete in the 100m and 200m at the Santiago 2023 Games.
"I'm so looking forward to coming down to Santiago for the 2023 Pan Am Games," Lewis said in a statement. "I went to the Pan Am Games more than once, and it was my first international team, so it's really exciting to get down there."
Lewis's appearance at the Pan American Games is part of a select group of sporting legends who will be present as guests of Panam Sports.
"Carl Lewis, the Son of the Wind, is a tremendous athlete and icon of the sports world," said Panam Sports President Neven Ilic. "For us it is a tremendous honor to have him here. We are going to have many surprises, and Carl is one of the first that we are announcing."
Lewis's presence at the Pan American Games is sure to add excitement to the event and inspire athletes from all over the Americas.
Brian Ellison has three options for Tashkhan having seen his stable star get back to winning ways at Chester last weekend.
The mud-lover defied a big weight to win a valuable handicap, his first success since claiming a big pot at Haydock in July 2021.
In the interim he has performed with great credit in staying races like the Long Distance Cup at Ascot, the Yorkshire Cup and the Gold Cup at Ascot.
However, Ellison always has the problem of knowing the five-year-old is simply not the same horse unless he gets to race on soft ground.
He could now shoulder top-weight of 10st 2lb in the Cesarewitch at Newmarket, with the Long Distance Cup or the Prix Royal-Oak at ParisLongchamp alternate options, with conditions crucial to the decision.
“It all depends on the ground where next, we won’t run him anywhere unless it rains as we know what a different horse he is,” said Ellison.
“He’s in the Cesarewitch, he’s in at Ascot and he could go to France, so wherever the ground comes right he could run in any.
“When he runs on fast ground it takes him a while to get over it but I’ve got him back right again now – thankfully the rain came at Chester. That was a good performance against in-form horses and he was giving them a lot of weight.
“He’s come out of it great which is the main thing. I know he’d have a lot of weight in the Cesarewitch but if it went heavy I’d still think about.
“I’ve stopped looking at weather forecasts, the rain wasn’t forecast for Chester and it poured down.
“You’d think the ground would be soft in France, but it wasn’t last weekend and we went at the beginning of the season when they told us it was heavy, but it was good jumping ground to me.
“If I had to pick one it would be Ascot, if it’s soft there he’d run. We’ll just go where the soft ground is.”
Gareth Thomas knows from painful experience the misery that Georgia’s forwards can inflict on opponents.
Wales need one point from Saturday’s Pool C finale against Georgia in Nantes to guarantee topping their group.
With a quarter-final place having already been secured for the fourth successive World Cup under head coach Warren Gatland, they are building towards an expected last-eight appointment with Argentina or Japan.
But before that there is unfinished business for Wales, even though Georgia are already out of the tournament following losses to Australia and Fiji either side of a draw with Portugal.
Ospreys prop Thomas will line up at Stade de la Beaujoire as the solitary survivor from Wales’ starting pack against Georgia in Cardiff 326 days ago.
He played just over an hour of what became one of Welsh rugby’s darkest days – a 13-12 defeat that effectively signalled the end for Gatland’s predecessor Wayne Pivac.
Two Jac Morgan tries helped Wales build a nine-point lead, but they were overhauled when Luka Matkava kicked a penalty two minutes from time that put Georgia in dreamland.
Asked about Georgia’s scrum threat, Thomas said: “Yes, 100 per cent. That is what won them the game against us in the autumn last year.
“They are just such a physical side. Set-piece stuff we have to be on top of our game, as we know they are going to come strong.
“We have come a long way since the start of the summer, but we know this week will be a big test for us.”
Only an eternal optimist would have predicted Wales’ status as World Cup quarter-finalists just over a year after that Principality Stadium debacle.
A poor Six Nations followed, when victory over Italy in Rome staved off the wooden spoon, but Gatland has once again weaved his magic.
A 12-year first stint in the job produced Six Nations titles, Grand Slams, two World Cup semi-finals and a brief spell as world number one team.
And three games into their World Cup campaign, Wales have a 100 per cent record and are strongly fancied to make the last four.
Thomas added: “We want to keep the momentum going that we’ve had over the last few weeks here, trying to hold onto that and push and grow as a team as we go forward to the quarter-finals.
“We are a completely different team to what we were last year.
“There has been a massive improvement in the squad, but we know that they are a very good side and we have to be on top of our game to be successful this weekend.
“It is the time we have spent together and the amount of work we have put in together. You cannot fault the amount of effort that has gone in this summer.
“The confidence within the team at the minute is something I haven’t felt before. We are in a good place.”
England must face down a Samoa side that has been reinforced by rugby’s updated eligibility rule but Kyle Sinckler still views the change as an improvement to the game.
Tighthead prop Sinckler is poised to start England’s final World Cup group match in Lille on Saturday when he could go toe to toe with fellow Bristol forwards Steven Luatua and Chris Vui.
Luatua won 15 caps for New Zealand from 2013 to 2016 but his Test career was revived when in 2022, World Rugby allowed players to transfer national allegiance upon completing a three-year stand down period.
Former All Blacks Lima Sopoaga and Charlie Faumuina are also in Samoa’s World Cup squad, while their fly-half Christian Leali’ifano represented Australia at Japan 2019.
Tonga have benefited as well from a rule that extends the international careers of talented Islanders through the availability of another of Sinckler’s Bristol team-mates in Charles Piutau, amongst others.
“Knowing Stevie personally, I know that playing for Samoa means a huge amount to him. Charles, because he made the decision to go back and play for Tonga,” Sinckler said.
“They’re massively appreciative to have played for the All Blacks but the sense that I got from them was that they wanted to give something back to their community and where they’re from.
“Look at the Tonga game against South Africa and how competitive they were and look at Samoa in the World Cup and how competitive they have been.
“It’s nothing but good for rugby in my opinion, those guys going back and strengthening those so-called tier two nations. It doesn’t feel like that when you play against these teams!
“The likes of Charles, Steven Luatua, Charlie Faumuina and Christian Leali’ifano are all world-class players. It’s good to see them playing and it’s good for rugby.”
Sinckler was welcomed with open arms by Luatua and Vui when he joined Bristol from Harlequins in 2020 but the all-action front row knows the friendship will be put on ice at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
“They are pretty chilled out to be honest, they don’t say too much,” Sinckler said.
“But don’t be fooled by their nice and chilled-out demeanour – they can definitely flick the switch. And when it’s time to go, those guys can definitely really go.
“Both have leadership roles at Bristol. They don’t tend to say too much, they lead by example. They are two massively physical players and great line-out options.
“They have great hands and good offloading skills, but they honestly couldn’t be any more different from how they are off the field because they are literally the most chilled out personalities you’ll ever meet.”
Stuart Williams’ winning machine Quinault is taking aim at the Howden Challenge Cup in a bid for a remarkable eighth success of the season.
The three-year-old has been a hero for connections this year, being beaten only once in his last eight starts in a superb campaign that has seen him climb through the ranks from a class six event to heritage handicaps.
His rating has risen with him as he started the year on a mark of 59 and now runs off a rating of 102, with 5lb-claimer Luke Catton set to ride again as Quinault tackles the same course and distance he encountered when taking the bet365 handicap last time out.
On that occasion he defeated a good horse in Ed Walker’s Popmaster, a subsequent Listed winner in the Dubai Duty Free Cup at Newbury and therefore a favourable addition to the Quinault form line.
Williams said of the gelding: “He’s in great form, he’s got an entry at Ascot on Saturday and the plan is at the moment is that he’ll take up that entry.
“I was over the moon with him last time, he’s been a superstar for us this year.
“Whatever he does now from here on out this year is just a bonus, he’s been absolutely brilliant.”
Mark Cavendish will postpone his retirement plans to race on in 2024 and target a record-breaking 35th Tour de France stage win.
The Manxman confirmed the long-rumoured news in a short video on Wednesday morning, saying, “Just one more year, hey?”
The 38-year-old had announced during the Giro d’Italia in May that he intended to end his glittering career this winter, and went into this summer’s Tour seeking the stage win that would move him clear of Eddy Merckx after he equalled the Belgian on 34 stage wins in 2021.
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But a day after coming just a few metres short of victory in Bordeaux, hampered by a mechanical issue in the finale, Cavendish crashed on stage eight and suffered a broken collarbone, ending his race.
Speculation that he might race on has swirled ever since, fuelled by his Astana-Qazaqstan team boss Alexander Vinokourov saying he was eager to retain the Manxman’s services for another season.
On Wednesday the team issued a social media post showing video clips of Cavendish at the Tour and saying “It’s not over yet”.
Cavendish then followed it with a short video in which he said he had been persuaded to race on by his family.
“I was ready, I was at peace but the more I’ve ridden this summer, I just love riding my bike,” Cavendish said. “I’ve spoken to the kids, ‘What should Dad do?’ And it was, ‘Carry on, it’s not a question’, so here we are. Just one more year, hey?”
Cavendish said the support of his team had also helped him make the decision.
“I’d guessed that was me done this year, I’d announced my retirement and I was looking forward to not having to get up and train in any weather conditions and not be away from home, spend time with the kids,” he said.
“Ultimately I’d miss racing, I love racing but I was happy, I was in a happy place and I knew I could go out on top. Obviously it wasn’t the finish I was hoping for, crashing at the Tour but it is what it is.
“We’d grown incredibly as a team, Astana-Qazaqstan this year and it felt like a family, so much so that the first thing Vino (Vinokourov) said to me when I crashed in France was, ‘Why don’t you do one more year?'”
Cavendish has not raced since his crash at the Tour as he recovered from surgery to repair his collarbone, but is expected to line up at the Tour of Turkey which starts on October 8.
Cavendish joined the Astana team in 2023 after a planned move to B&B Hotels collapsed, and took victory on the final stage of the Giro d’Italia in May, days after announcing his retirement plans.
Although he had previously stayed quiet on his future plans, the Astana team had continued to build a lead-out train to support his sprinting ambitions, signing Max Kanter and Davide Ballerini. They have also been linked with Michael Morkov, who helped Cavendish win four stages of the Tour in 2021.
That was the year that Cavendish defied the odds to move level with Merckx’s record, having only joined what was then the Deceuninck-QuickStep team on a short-term minimum salary deal after being left without a contract going into the season, fearing his career was over.
But when an injury to Sam Bennett ruled the Irishman out of the Tour, Cavendish seized the chance to roll back the years with a remarkable sporting comeback, winning stages four, six, 10 and 13.
They were his first stage wins at the Tour since 2016, and completed a long comeback from a battle with the Epstein-Barr virus and a subsequent diagnosis of clinical depression.
Mark Cavendish will postpone his retirement plans to race on in 2024 and target a record-breaking 35th Tour de France stage win.
The 38-year-old had announced during the Giro d’Italia in May that he intended to end his glittering career this winter, and went into this summer’s Tour seeking the stage win that would move him clear of Eddy Merckx after he equalled the Belgian on 34 stage wins in 2021.
But a day after coming just a few metres short of victory in Bordeaux, hampered by a mechanical issue in the finale, Cavendish crashed on stage eight and suffered a broken collarbone, ending his race.
Speculation that he might race on has swirled ever since, fuelled by his Astana-Qazaqstan team boss Alexander Vinokourov saying he was eager to retain the Manxman’s services for another season.
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On Wednesday the team issued a social media post showing video clips of Cavendish at the Tour and saying “It’s not over yet”.
The team will publish more details regarding Cavendish’s plans later on Wednesday.
Cavendish has not raced since his crash at the Tour as he recovered from surgery to repair his collarbone, but is expected to line up at the Tour of Turkey which starts on October 8.
Cavendish joined the Astana team in 2023 after a planned move to B&B Hotels collapsed, and took victory on the final stage of the Giro d’Italia in May, days after announcing his retirement plans.
Although he has stayed silent on his future plans, the Astana team have continued to build a lead-out train to support his sprinting ambitions, signing Max Kanter and Davide Ballerini. They have also been linked with Michael Morkov, who helped Cavendish win four stages of the Tour in 2021.
That was the year that Cavendish defied the odds to move level with Merckx’s record, having only joined what was then the Deceuninck-QuickStep team on a short-term minimum salary deal after being left without a contract going into the season, fearing his career was over.
But when an injury to Sam Bennett ruled the Irishman out of the Tour, Cavendish seized the chance to roll back the years with a remarkable sporting comeback, winning stages four, six, 10 and 13.
They were his first stage wins at the Tour since 2016, and completed a long comeback from a battle with the Epstein-Barr virus and a subsequent diagnosis of clinical depression.
Daniel Anderson was denied a fairy-tale ending to his tenure as St Helens coach as Leeds won the second of three consecutive Super League Grand Finals on this day in 2008.
The Rhinos became only the second team – after Saints – to successfully defend their Super League title and they would go on to complete a hat-trick of successive crowns 12 months later at Old Trafford.
All three victories in Manchester came over St Helens, who boasted an astonishing 23-match unbeaten run heading into the final in front of a 68,810-strong crowd who braved the rainy conditions.
While Anderson – who went on to take charge at National Rugby League side Parramatta Eels – bowed out as a runner-up, his former New Zealand assistant coach Brian McClennan was able to celebrate a famous 24-16 victory in his first season at the helm.
Hero of the hour for the Rhinos was full-back Lee Smith, who was shunted from the wing in a late enforced change following the withdrawal of Brent Webb and responded with a man-of-the-match performance of which he could only have dreamed.
Rain began to fall an hour before kick-off and it was inevitable that whoever could hold their footing on the slippery surface would help decide the outcome of the tense duel.
And it was the sure-footed Danny McGuire who produced the decisive moment, jinking past wrong-footed defenders to weave his way over for the all-important try after 62 minutes.
McGuire had gained possession from a fumble by St Helens winger Ade Gardner, who was not the first to be deceived by the awkward conditions that turned rugby league’s showpiece occasion into something of a lottery.
But there was no denying the superiority of the Rhinos, who worked wonders to turn around the humiliation of a 38-10 defeat by Saints only a fortnight earlier as well as the loss of the inspirational Webb.
Rookie Royce Lewis hit two home runs in his return from injury, Pablo Lopez pitched effectively into the sixth inning and the Minnesota Twins beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 Tuesday in their wild card series opener.
The win snapped Minnesota’s 18-game postseason losing streak, the longest in MLB history, as the Twins won their first playoff game since 2004.
Lewis, who had been sidelined for the last two weeks with a strained left hamstring, went deep off Toronto starter Kevin Gausman in each of his first two career postseason at-bats and was responsible for all three of Minnesota’s runs.
Lopez scattered five hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings to earn the victory in his second career playoff start.
Three relievers worked 2 1/3 innings before Jhoan Duran got the final three outs to secure Minnesota’s first home postseason win since Game 1 of the 2002 ALCS at the Metrodome.
Kevin Kiermaier drove in Bo Bichette with a sixth-inning single for Toronto’s only run.
The Twins will look to win their first postseason series since 2002 on Wednesday when they send veteran Sonny Gray to the mound. Former Twin Jose Berrios is slated to start Game 2 for Toronto.
Diamondbacks chase Burnes, rally by Brewers
Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte and Gabriel Moreno each hit home runs off Corbin Burnes, and the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied to take Game 1 of their wild card series against the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-3.
Carlos Santana singled in Christian Yelich in the first inning, and Tyrone Taylor hit a two-run homer in the second to give Milwaukee a 3-0 lead.
The D-backs responded with home runs by Carroll and Marte in the third to tie the game, then took the lead on Moreno’s solo shot in the fourth. Christian Walker’s two-run double in the ninth provided insurance for Paul Sewald, who earned his first career postseason save.
Burnes needed 92 pitches to get through four innings, allowing four runs, five hits and two walks.
Arizona starter Brandon Pfaadt was chased in the third inning, but six pitchers from the Diamondbacks’ bullpen combined to close the game with 6 1/3 scoreless innings.
Wheeler stifles Marlins in Phillies’ win
Zack Wheeler turned in a stellar start and Jose Alvarado preserved the lead with a key strikeout to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-1 victory over the Miami Marlins in their wild-card opener.
Wheeler limited Miami to one run and five hits over 6 2/3 innings without a walk and eight strikeouts.
Alvarado fanned Yuli Gurriel with two runners on in the seventh to end Miami’s threat. He retired two batters in the eighth before Jeff Hoffman got the third out.
Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth to seal the win.
Alec Bohm’s RBI double in the third opened the scoring and Bryson Stott delivered an RBI single in the fourth for a 2-0 lead.
Cristian Pache’s single later in the inning extended the lead and Nick Castellanos doubled home Philadelphia’s fourth run in the eighth.
The Phillies will try to book a return trip to the NLDS with a win in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Rangers blank sloppy Rays behind Montgomery
Jordan Montgomery scattered six hits over seven innings and the Texas Rangers extended the Tampa Bay Rays’ playoff woes with a 4-0 win in Game 1.
Montgomery retired 14 of his last 16 batters and fanned pinch-hitter Junior Caminero to end his outing with five strikeouts and no walks.
The left-hander also made the defensive playoff game, diving to make a catch on Jose Siri’s bunt along the first-base line with runners at the corners in the second.
Tampa Bay lost its sixth straight postseason game dating to Game 2 of the 2021 AL Division Series against Boston.
Corey Seager and Josh Jung drove in runs and Texas benefited from four errors by the Rays, who are hitting .133 while scoring just one run in their last three playoff defeats.
Tyler Glasnow allowed four runs and six hits in five-plus innings with eight strikeouts and five walks.
Hooker Dan Sheehan admits it would be “stupid” of Ireland’s players to be unfamiliar with complex permutations which could extinguish their Rugby World Cup dream.
Andy Farrell’s men will top Pool B and qualify for the quarter-finals by avoiding defeat in Saturday evening’s crucial Paris clash with Scotland.
Ireland could even progress to the last eight with a loss but that would be dependent on the Scots’ margin of victory and bonus points gained.
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Sheehan is eager to avoid “over-hyping” a pivotal Stade de France showdown which will also determine the fate of reigning champions South Africa.
While the 25-year-old hopes to emphatically banish any prospect of elimination by helping his country register a 17th consecutive success, he insists Ireland’s squad are au fait with all possible scenarios.
“We’re all aware of the different little permutations, but our job is to go out and win a game,” said Sheehan.
“I’m sure there’ll be scenarios throughout that, if we find ourselves in a situation, we’ll know what to do, and it would be stupid of us not to know it going into a match.
“Of course everyone is fully aware of what we need to do at what time and depending on what the scoreline is.”
South Africa top arguably the competition’s toughest pool with 15 points from their four games, with Ireland and Scotland on 14 and 10 respectively ahead of what could be a tense encounter in the French capital.
Tournament regulations state teams level on the same number of points at the end of the group stage will be separated by their head-to-head result in the first instance.
However, in the event of a three-way tie, the nation with the best overall points difference will top the pool, with head-to-head then used to rank the other two.
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“Obviously there is a lot on the line, especially this week,” said Sheehan.
“But I think we probably stick to the same procedures in regards to preparation.
“I think you can be in danger of over-hyping a game or getting too feared up about an occasion, so realistically it’s pretty similar to a Test match, but obviously everyone knows that there is a lot on the line.”
The weight of expectation is firmly on in-form Ireland, with comments from Springboks director of rugby Rassie Erasmus and head coach Jacques Nienaber ramping up the pressure.
Sheehan is uninterested in the outside noise and pays no attention to press coverage.
“I don’t read or contribute to any sports media really,” he told reporters.
“I was just like that as a kid, I wasn’t really interested in… in your job, really.
“It’s just another Test week for me and I sort of focus very much on what’s going on in the camp and what people tell me within the camp.”
Leinster man Sheehan is pushing for a full World Cup debut this weekend.
He returned from a foot injury as a replacement in Ireland’s 13-8 win over South Africa on September 23 following a layoff which also allowed him to rehabilitate shoulder and hip niggles .
“I feel in a great place, probably the fittest and the best condition I have been in a long time,” said Sheehan.
“It was nice to have that rehab window, where you can focus on other things as well. The body is in great shape.”
Danny Care insists England will resume their World Cup quest armed with inspiration from Europe’s stirring Ryder Cup victory.
Care was among four England players to send a good luck message to Luke Donald’s team from a golf course in Le Touquet, where Steve Borthwick’s squad are based ahead of the final Pool D game against Samoa.
Europe emerged 16½-11½ winners against the United States on Sunday and for Care one aspect in particular stood out about their performance.
“Team spirit is the reason the best teams are successful,” the veteran Harlequins scrum-half said.
“I don’t know many environments where you wouldn’t have a good team spirit and the team ends up winning a tournament or a league or a trophy at the end of it.
“I was an outsider watching the Ryder Cup but they looked more aligned and close than the American team did.
“You could see it, you could feel it just watching on the screens. You could see how much it meant to them. That’s definitely something we’re trying to harness – how much it means to us.
“Europe hung in together, fought for everything. Those little half points that they saved. We can definitely take some inspiration from those lads.
“The golf they played was unbelievable. We haven’t shown much of that in Le Touquet, some of our lads!”
England have forged their own winning path so far in the World Cup, polishing off Argentina, Japan and Chile with plenty to spare.
Even with Samoa left to play they have qualified for the quarter-finals as group winners to continue an impressive revival since losing three of their four warm-up Tests in August.
“Sometimes you have to go through some bad stuff to get to the good stuff,” Care said.
“Maybe our bad stuff was those warm-up games, to get us to look at ourselves and go ‘Right, we need to pull together a little bit’. It’s going to take everyone to win this.”
England play Samoa in Lille on Saturday, with Borthwick naming his starting XV on Thursday evening.
Things may not have gone exactly how Barbados artistic gymnasts Olivia "Storm' Kelly and Anya Pilgrim would have hoped, but both still had some significant positives to boast from their FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.
An historic Olympic Games qualification was the main target for the American-based Kelly and Pilgrim, and though they came up short in that regards, both took heart from their respective performances on Monday.
Pilgrim, who was making her World Championships debut, welcomed the fact that she was able to overcome certain obstacles among the minor successes worth celebrating.
She tallied 46.500 All-Around, with scores of 13.100 on vault, 10.700 on uneven bars, 11.300 on the balance beam and 11.400 on her floor routine.
"I wholly enjoyed the experience. I hit all of my routines this time, even the skill that has been gave me some trouble at PanAms. So even though I did not have much preparation, I was able to do well, and I am happy with the outcome and the support I got from family and others on the island which makes me even prouder," Pilgrim told SportsMax.tv.
"I believe my score was an improvement from PanAms but of course the judging is much tighter at an event like World Championships. So, again, I am delighted that I was able to hit my beam routine which has been my troublesome event after my injury last year," the Jenny Rowland-coached gymnast added.
Given the fact that her inclusion in the Championships was somewhat last minute, the 18-year-old Pilgrim says her performance speaks volumes of her scope for improvement.
She pointed out that it will serve as a springboard for her to attain other goals and ambitions she has set for the season, particularly with her University of Florida team.
"I am just going to soak up the atmosphere here in Belgium while I reflect on the experience before returning to Florida to resume training for my NCAA season. This season, the goal, of course, would be to win a National Championship with my team, and achieve some personal bests of my own," she declared.
"And since I had to prepare my routines so early, I now have built up my endurance and stamina to complete routines on each event way before my season which will help me a lot. So now I can focus more on the details," Pilgrim shared.
For Kelly, it was her second appearance on the World Championships stage, and she beamed about the prospects, as she also expressed delight about improvements from last year's outing.
The 17-year-old, coached by Ashley Umberger, had scores of 13.200 on vault, 11.666 on uneven bars, 11.933 on the balance beam and 11.700 on her floor routine for an All-Around total of 48.499 for 75th overall. She rose three places higher than the 78th position she achieved last year.
"They took the top 14 girls, who are not on a team and the girl that placed 14th has a 49.965 and I finished with a 48.499 which means I basically just missed out. But even though I didn’t qualify here at Worlds, there are a few other opportunities I can use to qualify, but that depends on if Barbados will send me," Kelly explained.
"The experience was amazing overall. I’m not exactly sure what the plan is now, but if those opportunities are presented to me by Barbados, I will take them gladly. If not, I remain contented with how my elite season ended this year and I’m excited to start my new chapter in college next summer," she noted.
The Bermuda Olympic Association (BOA) announced Monday an 11-member squad representing five sports for the Pan American Games in Chile starting later this month.
Swimming has the biggest unit of four, siblings Emma Harvey and Jack Harvey, Madelyn Moore and Sam Williamson. This past summer’s Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games 1500-metre bronze medallist Dage Minors is the sole representative for the island in track and field.
The squad for the October 20 to November 6 event, is completed by cyclists Conor White and Kaden Hopkins, Campbell Patton and Adriana Penruddocke in sailing, and triathletes Erica Hawley and Tyler Smith.
Julia Hawley, Bermuda’s chef de mission for the Games is looking forward to the final push for the event.
“I’m thrilled to be leading our Bermuda Team,” she said.
“Our team is small, but our athletes have had to attain very difficult standards in order to qualify and compete at these Games. There are Olympic points, Olympic time standards and even Olympic spots at all the events our athletes have qualified for.
“They will do Bermuda proud on the world stage and I will do everything as Chef to ensure their journey to the Games, and at the Games, is as smooth as possible and they are able to focus only on their competitions,” Hawley added.
Ayr Gold Cup winner Significantly is likely to sidestep a rise in grade at Ascot this weekend and instead wait for the Coral Sprint Trophy at York on Saturday week.
Revitalised by the Julie Camacho team, Significantly was agonisingly beaten in the Portland Handicap over five and a half furlongs at Doncaster’s St Leger meeting, but gained compensation seven days later at Ayr.
He almost missed out again there with Joe Fanning looking for a run with a furlong to go, but when the gap came he quickened up smartly.
While connections were tempted by a crack at the John Guest Racing Bengough Stakes, the fact he would be getting only 3lb from the likes of 113-rated Commanche Falls and the 110-rated Garrus leaves Significantly, still only on a handicap mark of 98, with plenty to find.
“He’s fit and well but I would imagine that unless the race cuts up badly, we’d wait a week and go to York,” said Steve Brown, Camacho’s husband and assistant.
“It just makes more sense to run in a handicap off his current mark. There are some good solid performers in at Ascot. We were entitled to enter and have a look but realistically we might just wait a week – and it’s worth more money.
“The other thing we might have been tempted to go to Ascot had the ground been softer but at the minute it looks like being a decent week weather-wise whereas he thrives when the ground is softer.
“I know there were one or two unlucky horses at Ayr but I think if we’d have got a run earlier he would have been a bit more of a clear-cut winner than he was.
“He’s thriving at home, his confidence levels are high. Karl (Burke, former trainer) always said he had a high level of ability and was a decent horse when he was younger, they are clever people and ran him in some big races, they don’t do that unless they think they are worthy.
“Last season was a quiet one for him, as any horse can havem but I think he’s back to the level he showed for Karl.”
Jonathan Humphreys says that Wales “cannot afford to go off-script” when they tackle Rugby World Cup opponents Georgia in Nantes on Saturday.
Wales need a point from their Pool C finale to win the group, having already secured a quarter-final place through beating Australia by a record 40-6 scoreline nine days ago.
They lost 13-12 at home to Georgia when the countries last met almost a year ago, and Wales assistant coach Humphreys has emphasised a fierce sense of determination in the camp.
“There has been a bit of an edge about training, which is what we want,” forwards specialist Humphreys said.
“We are just keen to continue the progress that we’ve shown. That is a big driving force for us, and we have talked constantly about that.
“I expect them (Georgia) to play a bit, and they are strong up-front – we are under no illusion about that.
“They are a dangerous outfit, and we cannot afford to go off-script.”
Few could have imagined Wales reaching the last eight just 11 months after Georgia triumphed 13-12 in Cardiff, and Humphreys added: “We’ve had five months together. We are more like a club team than an international team.
“We came in earlier than most teams, we know what we wanted to improve and we haven’t deviated from that.
“Probably the messages that went out in May, they haven’t changed at all.
“Every day, it has been working on those fundamentals that we felt were important and would make a difference.”
Wales head coach Warren Gatland has made six changes for the Georgia clash, with Dewi Lake captaining a side that also sees starts for wing Rio Dyer, fly-half Gareth Anscombe, scrum-half Tomos Williams, lock Dafydd Jenkins and flanker Tommy Reffell.
Centre Nick Tompkins will continue his midfield partnership with George North, meanwhile, and look to maintain the form that has made him among Wales’ most impressive performers at the tournament.
“We want no dip in our performance,” Tompkins said.
“We want to get better, we don’t want to take our foot off the pedal – that’s the last thing we want. We want confidence and momentum and to keep on going.
“I want to just keep getting better and keep pushing myself. There are a lot of things I need to improve on.
“I am happy with some areas, but there are some things I really need to push myself on.
“You look at some of the other centres out there and how well they are doing, and you want to emulate that.
“Being together as a squad for five months means you can have those little conversations and make little tweaks.
“You are all looking for little things to tweak and improve. It has been really healthy, and it has been all of us pushing each other.”
Tompkins has also voiced his support for the World Cup bunker system, whereby incidents of foul play can be referred and a yellow card retained or upgraded to red.
“I like it,” Tompkins added.
“Decisions are tough at the moment anyway, referees are under a lot of a pressure to keep the game moving quickly and get the right decision.
“I think it is brilliant, I like that model. To cut down the pressure we put on referees, especially, is good.”
Mick Appleby’s Big Evs is revving up for his trip to Santa Anita to take on the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.
The Blue Point colt has been a star of the juvenile sprint division this season, landing both the Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot and the Molecomb at Goodwood.
He took a steep step up to Group One level against older horses in the Nunthorpe at York and that did not pay off when he finished 14th, but against horses of his own age he bounced straight back to win the Flying Childers at Doncaster in good style.
The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint was mentioned in the aftermath of the Nunthorpe disappointment and those plans were only further solidified when Big Evs returned to form on Town Moor.
The meeting is this year held at Santa Anita and after a brief break Big Evs is preparing to set sail for America, where he will spend a few days in quarantine before getting accustomed to the track ahead of the meeting.
“He’s in good form, we’ve just freshened him up a bit and he seems in good order,” said Appleby.
“Hopefully he stays that way until he goes, he flies out on October 26.
“He’s got to have 48 hours in quarantine then he’ll be able to go out on track two or three times before the race.”
Big Evs will go for a racecourse gallop on British soil to get to grips with racing around a bend, something he has yet to encounter, but stalls work with the American-style starting bell will take place once he lands in the States.
“We’re going to take him for a racecourse gallop so we can run him around a bend, obviously he’s never raced around a bend before but I don’t think it’ll be an issue,” Appleby said.
“He’s got to do a bit of stalls work with a bell but I think we’re going to do that when he’s out there so he can get used to the stalls there.
“He’s doing very well and hopefully it’s all systems go.”
Jannik Sinner took the advantage in his sparkling rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz after dumping the top seed out of the China Open in the semi-finals.
The pair had shared their opening six matches, including a US Open quarter-final that was arguably the best contest of last year.
The first set in Beijing featured a succession of brilliant, hard-hitting rallies, with 22-year-old Italian Sinner twice coming from a break down to take it on a tie-break.
And Alcaraz, 20, was unable to match his young rival in the second set, the errors beginning to flow in a 7-6 (4) 6-1 victory for Sinner, who struggled with sickness during his quarter-final on Monday.
“Every match against him is very tough,” said the Italian. “We always show great respect. When we play against each other we try to stay on our limits and today I played a little bit better in the important moments.
“Today it was my day and let’s see in the next meeting what’s coming. I always enjoy to play against him.”
In the final, Sinner will take on second seed Daniil Medvedev, who again showed his hard-court prowess in a 6-4 6-3 win against Alexander Zverev.
Britain’s Neal Skupski and Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof are through to the doubles final after a 7-6 (3) 6-2 win over Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev and will take on top seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek.
Meanwhile, Australian Marc Polmans was defaulted from his qualifying match at the Shanghai Masters for hitting the umpire in the face with a ball.
Angry at not converting a match point against Italian Stefano Napolitano, Polmans smashed a ball hard towards the stands but struck British official Ben Anderson in a virtual replay of an incident involving Canadian Denis Shapovalov during a Davis Cup clash with Great Britain in 2017.
The umpire on that occasion, Arnaud Gabas, was left with a fractured eye socket. Thankfully, Anderson appears to have escaped serious injury, with a tournament representative saying he was struck on the cheek and nose and had returned to his hotel to rest.
Ali Price feels his enhanced maturity has helped him respond positively to the frustration of losing his status as Scotland’s first-choice scrum-half in the lead-up to the World Cup.
The 30-year-old had made the number nine jersey his own for three years from the start of 2020 to the end of 2022, a period that incorporated a call-up to the British and Irish Lions squad in 2021.
However, Price was dropped at the start of this year’s Six Nations, with the burgeoning Ben White taking his place. He is now effectively vying with his on-form Glasgow colleague George Horne for a place on the bench.
Price admits such a scenario would have “eaten him up inside” a few years back and caused him to react in an unconstructive manner but he has been able to take a more philosophical view on it and is at peace with the situation.
Asked if he had been able to enjoy the World Cup, despite starting only one of the three matches – Saturday’s victory over Pool B minnows Romania – Price said: “Yeah, I really have actually.
“From four years ago, getting injured in the first game and going home, I’ve matured as a person in my outlook.
“This situation a few years ago would have eaten me up inside. I’d have probably been negative about decisions or selection issues.
“At times you have to accept that there are good players playing well in your position. It can happen and other guys take their opportunities and you have to bide your time.
“I think that’s the kind of realisation I’ve come to, the bigger picture. All I can do is focus on myself and get myself to where I want to be.
“I believe that when I’m at my best, I give the coach the hardest challenge of whether to select me or not and that’s all I can control.
“That’s my outlook and it has been for the last couple of years. It means I enjoy it more. I’m doing what I love, I’m with a group of boys I get on with really well.
“That’s the bonus at the end of the week, being selected, but at the same time if I’m not, I’m contributing to those guys going out there and doing the best for the team and that’ll get us the results we need to progress.
“I think I’ve matured in that way in terms of disappointment at not playing when I’d like to be.”
Despite losing his Scotland place, Price feels he is now back “in a good spot” in terms of his overall game and mindset.
“It’s been frustrating at times, don’t get me wrong,” he said. “Everyone wants to play but I feel that during the Six Nations there was maybe a bit of a turning point for me in terms of seeing progress in myself in training.
“I was fit, I was healthy and I was making the most of the opportunities I had on the field.
“The starts have maybe been less than I would have liked or what I had previously but I feel any time I’ve had on the pitch and in training, I’ve got myself slowly back to a place where I’m happy with how I’m performing.
“The game at the weekend was a lot of fun, I think how I facilitated the game and put others into space is one of my strengths. I really enjoyed the team performance we had. I was happy with how it went and I’m in a good spot.”
Price is desperate to get the chance to add to his 65 caps by having some involvement in Saturday’s showdown with Ireland in Paris.
The Scots must get a bonus-point win or deny the world’s top-ranked side a losing bonus in order to reach the quarter-finals.
“It’s huge,” said the scrum-half. “It would be one of the biggest games of my career if I was given the opportunity to play.
“I’ve not had as many minutes as I would have liked to have had this year but I think every chance I’ve had, I’ve shown what I can do.
“I’ve steadily got myself back to where I want to be as a player. It’s a big training week and what will be will be, but everyone is sticking their hand up.”
Shaquille’s participation on Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot may rest on how he comes through a racecourse gallop next week.
Julie Camacho’s Commonwealth and July Cup winner ran no sort of a race when last seen in the Sprint Cup at Haydock, a performance which still has connections scratching their heads.
Having missed the break badly in both his Group One wins, he broke on terms on Merseyside only to be beaten by halfway.
Nothing has subsequently come to light, but should he continue to please on the gallops, then October 21 is likely to have a ring around it on the calendar.
“He’s fine, we’re just taking it one step at a time,” said Steve Brown, Camacho’s husband and assistant.
“He worked on Saturday and we were pleased with him, he’ll work again this week and the following week we’ll go away and have a racecourse gallop somewhere.
“Nothing is decided yet, that will be just to take him to a different environment and see how he handles it and to get him back on a racecourse, get the blood flowing a little bit and then we’ll see from there.”
Reflecting on Haydock, Brown added: “It’s disappointing that we haven’t found an absolute reason that he was so below form at Haydock but as I always say, sometimes you just don’t have an answer. We might like to think we do, but sometimes we just don’t.
“I’ve slightly taken the view that it was just too bad to be true unfortunately. Whilst we were all devastated on the day, the only thing we can do is regroup and look forward.”
Shaquille is one of 23 remaining in contention for the British Champions Sprint, for which last year’s winner Kinross is ante-post favourite following his near-miss in France on Sunday.
In the Champion Stakes, the progressive Horizon Dore heads the market with Coral with Bay Bridge, King Of Steel and Mostahdaf among the 16 contenders.
Paddington and Tahiyra headline 18 in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes with Free Wind, Time Lock and Via Sistina among 26 possibles in the Fillies & Mares.
Trueshan, Kyprios, Courage Mon Ami and Coltrane are all still among 17 in the Long Distance Cup.
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