Gymnastics: Italy, Canada, France and Brazil have become the final four teams to book their places in the women’s artistic gymnastics team event at this year’s London Olympic Games. The quartet were the leading countries out of the eight nations competing in the qualification tournament at the Olympic test event. Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and South Korea finished down the standings and that means they will be denied a full women’s team of five gymnasts each at London 2012.
Rally of Dakar: France’s Cyril Despres claimed his fourth stage win on the Dakar Rally yesterday between Arica, Chile, to extend his overall lead on Spain’s defending motorbike champion Marc Coma. Despres – whose relations with KTM team-mate Coma deteriorated after stewards halved the Frenchman’s deficit on Monday’s stage – added more than two minutes to his advantage on the Spaniard to 2min 22sec in the overall standings.
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Athletics: Triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt (picture) will compete over 100 metres in the Bislett Games on June 7. The meeting in Oslo is one of 14 Diamond League meetings in 2012. “I am looking forward to coming back to Oslo and the Bislett Games this summer and trying the 100 metres,” Jamaican sprint star Bolt said. “I was really happy with my performance last year when I ran 19.87 seconds in the 200 metres in front of a sold-out stadium with its enthusiastic crowd.”
Tennis: Australian teenager Bernard Tomic beat France’s Gael Monfils 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2) yesterday to book a place in the final of the Kooyong Classic, a warm-up event for the Australian Open which starts on Monday. The 19-year-old, who is tipped to fill the shoes of ageing compatriot Lleyton Hewitt, will tomorrow face either American Mardy Fish or Austrian Jurgen Melzer who play today.
Formula One: Polish Formula One driver Robert Kubica, recovering from serious injuries suffered in a rally in February, has had a setback after falling on ice and fracturing an ankle, a medical source said. Kubica, 26, fell over when he was out walking near his home in Pietrasanta, in the northern Italian region of Tuscany, the Ansa news agency reported. Sources at the local Versilia hospital, where Kubica was initially treated, said he had suffered a “microfracture” of the right ankle.