ATHLETICS
Schippers wins 100m; Lavillenie loses pole vault
The European Championships taking place in the Netherlands has Turkey at the top of the standings as of Friday, thanks largely to two more golds from foreign-born athletes.
Among the stars in the event, Daffne Schippers, the home favourite, won the women’s 100m in 10.90 seconds, 0.30 seconds ahead of Ivet Lalova-Collio who finished second. French pole-vaulter, however, failed to clear his opening height of 5.75m on all three attempts, thus handing Poland’s Robert Sobera with gold for his jump of 5.60m.
Merritt marches on; Rollins stuns in hurdles
LaShawn Merritt clocked 19.74 seconds, the fastest 200m of this year, to make his way to the finals at the US trials.
The standout event, however, was the women’s 100m hurdles, where Brianna Rollins scored a stunning victory in 12.34 seconds. Keni Harrison, who had a fastest time of 12.24 seconds this year, finished sixth, failing to qualify for Rio.
BASKETBALL
Russia’s Mozgov joins LA Lakers
Russian center Timofey Mozgov signed a four-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, a move that will see him follow the legendary footsteps of iconic Lakers centers including Shaquille O’Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
FOOTBALL
France take on Portugal in Euro 2016 final
Cristiano Ronaldo is ever so close to his dream of winning a major title with Portugal, but will have to go past hosts France in the final at Stade de France if that dream has to come true.
While Ronaldo showed glimpses of his capability in the semi-final win over Wales in an otherwise lacklustre tournament, his number-sake (7) in France, Antoine Griezmann, has been the tournament’s top goal scorer with six goals.
While history and home advantage favour Les Bleus, Portugal and Ronaldo would be eager to capture their first major title.
GOLF
Johnson to skip Olympics
World no. 2 and US Open champion Dustin Johnson withdrew from the Rio Games on Friday, citing concerns over the Zika virus. Johnson conceded that it was a very difficult decision, but one that had to be taken for the safety of his family and himself.
TENNIS
Murray vs Raonic in men’s Wimbledon final
Andy Murray, who has faced either Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer in all 10 previous Grand Slam finals that he has been a part of, finds himself in the unusual position of being the favourite going into Sunday’s Wimbledon final.
For his opponent this time around is first-time finalist Milos Raonic, looking to become the first Canadian man to win at the majors.
Is time running out for Roger Federer?
Age seems to be finally catching up with Swiss legend Roger Federer, as the 34-year-old slipped to a semi-final defeat against Milos Raonic.
What angered Federer most was the number of chances that he let slip in the match. Federer, however, has vowed to be back at the tournament, to try and capture his eighth Wimbledon title.
