Winter Games: Four new events in curling, speed skating, downhill skiing and snowboarding have been added to the programme for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. The Games will feature curling mixed doubles, speed skating mass start, big air snowboarding and a team event in downhill skiing following a decision by the IOC executive board. Big air snowboarding will replace the snowboard parallel slalom. In big air snowboarding, competitors launch themselves off a ramp and perform jumps and spins in the air before attempting a secure landing.
Boxing: Carl Frampton intends to begin making a name for himself in the United States after announcing he will defend his IBF super-bantamweight title against Alejandro Gonzalez Jr in El Paso, Texas next month. The Northern Irishman will fight outside the United Kingdom for the first time when he makes the second defence of his title on July 18 against his Mexican opponent, who has won 25 bouts with one defeat and two draws. Frampton recently signed a deal with adviser Al Haymon – although the 28-year-old continues to be managed by former world champion and mentor Barry McGuigan.
Horse Racing: Racing fans wanting a historical keepsake or possibly a cash windfall from American Pharoah’s Triple Crown-clinching Belmont Stakes victory have not cashed $315,829 worth of $2 win tickets, track officials said. There were 94,128 $2 tickets purchased at Belmont Park. But after American Pharoah’s 5-1/2-length victory on Saturday that sealed the first Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978, officials said 90,237 of the $2 tickets – which returned $3.50 – were not cashed. Many undoubtedly sought a keepsake from the 12th Triple Crown winner, but others might be seeking to cash in on online auction sites, where the tickets showed up shortly after the race, most selling for $15 to $25.
Golf: England’s former world number one Luke Donald led a host of big-name players who fought their way through 36 holes of qualifying on Monday to secure spots at next week’s US Open. At 10 sectional sites throughout the country, little-known competitors and former champions alike were battling for the chance to qualify for the June 18-21 US Open at Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington. Donald, a five-times winner on the PGA Tour who tied for eighth in the 2013 US Open at Merion, fired scores of level-par 72 and 68 to advance with three other players from a field of 70 in the qualifier at The Bear’s Club in Jupiter, Florida.
Olympics: Japan’s sports minister promised yesterday that Tokyo’s new National Stadium, the centrepiece of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, will be completed on time and blamed a “lack of clear responsibility” for the structure’s raft of woes. The new National Stadium has been hit by numerous problems, including skyrocketing costs and demolition delays that led to media speculation it might not be finished in time, prompting International Olympics Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach to say on Monday he wanted Japan to settle plans for it soon.