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Youth Olympics: The second Youth Olympics concluded in Nan-jing yesterday after a spectacular closing ceremony and a glowing endorsement from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Around 2,000 performers were involved in the ceremony, which was attended by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and the IOC president Thomas Bach (picture). The sporting competition, which began two weeks ago and involved almost 4,000 athletes aged between 14 and 18, had ended on Wednesday with the host-nation finishing as the most successful country with 38 golds, although the IOC did not keep official medals tables. Chinese swimmer Shen Duo was the most successful athlete of the Games, winning six golds.
Cricket: England captain Alastair Cook‘s misery over his side’s one-day humbling at the hands of India was compounded yesterday when he was fined 20 percent of his match fee for a slow over rate. India took a 1-0 lead in the series with an emphatic 133-run victory in Cardiff on Wednesday with England collapsing to 161 all out after Cook’s dismissal lbw for 19. The match was decided on the Duckworth-Lewis method because of rain disruption but England were found to be one over short of their target at the end of the match. The rest of the team were fined 10 percent of their match fees and Cook faces a one-match ban if England transgress in a similar manner again in the next 12 months.
Horse Racing: New Zealand jockey David Walker has been charged with betting on a rival horse and restraining his own mount to ensure he won the wager in a race at Palmerston North two weeks ago. The 38-year-old was riding “Watch Your Man” when it finished more than two-and-a-half lengths behind “St Ransom” at the race at the Awapuni course on Aug. 16. “It is the Race Integrity Unit (RIU)’s contention that Mr Walker placed bets on another horse “St Ransom” and deliberately rode his horse to ensure his bets were successful,” the RIU said. Local rules allow jockeys to bet on races they are involved in but only on the horse they are riding and Walker faces a lengthy ban, even perhaps for life, if found guilty.
Triathlon: An Australian triathlete was mistaken for an illegal immigrant by British residents and held up by border authorities when set to swim the English Channel, local media reported. John van Wisse was attempting to set a world record on an ultra-triathlon from London to Paris when he was swooped on by local police and the British Coastguard on Wednesday, the Dover Express reported. “It looks like a couple of people called thinking it was illegal immigrants coming ashore because some people were seen jumping off a boat,” a police spokesperson said. “The Border Force were down there and the Coastguard. But it was a Channel swimmer.”
Rugby Union: Wallabies centre Pat McCabe counts himself fortunate to be able to walk away from rugby intact after deciding to retire at the age of 26 in the wake of a third neck fracture in two years. McCabe confirmed his decision to call time on his rugby career yesterday after sustaining the injury in Australia’s 51-20 Rugby Championship defeat to New Zealand last weekend. “It’s shattering thinking I’ll never play for the Wallabies or the Brumbies again. But it wasn’t a particularly hard decision in the end. I realise how fortunate I am,” McCabe told the Sydney Morning Herald. “When I get out of the neck brace I will have no ongoing issues, I’ll live a normal life.”