Cycling:Six-time Olympic champion Jason Kenny (picture) is contemplating retirement, his wife Laura Kenny said yesterday. The 29-year-old Bolton rider won three Olympic golds in Rio last August to draw level with fellow cyclist Sir Chris Hoy as Great Britain’s most successful Olympian with six golds and one silver. “He’s having six months to decide what he wants to do, whether to carry on or whether to retire,” Laura Kenny said. “I’m not sure he even knows to be totally honest. As athletes you become this self-absorbed kind of person and everything’s just about you, but there’s bigger things in life than that.”
Golf:Former world number one Luke Donald, looking to break through at the RBC Heritage after many close calls, shot a six-under-par 65 that left him two shots off the lead after the opening round in South Carolina yesterday. Englishman Donald, who was tied with Canada’s Graham DeLaet and American Sam Saunders in second place, made an eagle, five birdies and a bogey to hold the clubhouse lead until Bud Cauley birdied four of the final five holes to grab the outright lead.
Tennis:Kazakhstan teenager Arsan Arashov has been banned for two years after testing positive for the banned substance meldonium, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced. The 17-year-old, ranked 1,729th in the world, failed a test at an ITF event in Gandia, Spain in early July last year, with his suspension backdated to Sept. 30, 2016.
Doping:The Doping Analysis Laboratory in Doha has had its suspension lifted and been reinstated, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said. The Doha laboratory, which had its accreditation suspended last November as it did not comply with international standards, can resume all anti-doping activities, including the analysis of urine and blood samples. WADA said: “We are confident that the laboratory has corrected its deficiencies; and we continue to monitor the laboratory’s performance to ensure that it operates to the high standards required by WADA.”
Olympics:The 50km walk will remain in the Olympics and world championships after the IAAF voted unanimously to retain the longest event in the athletics programme. The IOC had put pressure on the IAAF to drop the event, starting with the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, partly because there is no women’s race over the distance. Women do race over the distance in the world race walking championships, but their longest event at the Olympics is 20km.