by tyler | Mar 30, 2023 | CNN, sport
Olympic champion Adam Peaty has withdrawn from next month’s British Swimming Championships, citing struggles with his mental health.
“As some people may know, I’ve struggled with my mental health over the last few years and I think it’s important to be honest about it,” the 28-year-old said in an Instagram post on Wednesday. “I’m tired, I’m not myself and I’m not enjoying the sport as I have done for the last decade.”
“Some might recognise it as burnout; I just know that over the last few years I haven’t had the answers that I’m looking for. With help, now I know how I can address the imbalance in my life.”
The Brit added that he is continuing to train “with the sole purpose of delivering the best performance possible in Paris at the 2024 Olympic Games.”
Peaty has dominated men’s breaststroke for almost a decade, first breaking the 50 meters world record in 2014, and the 100 meters world record a year later. By 2021, he briefly held the 20 fastest 100m breaststroke swims in history.
Such dominance yielded three Olympic gold medals – one at the 2016 Rio Games and two at the 2020 Tokyo Games where he became the first ever British swimmer to defend an Olympic title – as well as victories in every 50m and 100m breaststroke event possible at senior international level.
But last May, he suffered a broken foot while training. At the Commonwealth Games two months later, he was defeated in a major individual 100m race for the first time since 2014.
“‘Everyone wants to sit in your seat until they have to sit in your seat… very few people understand what winning and success does to an individual’s mental health. They don’t understand the pressures these individual’s (sic) put on themselves, to win over and over again,’” Peaty added in his Instagram post.
British Swimming said in a statement that it fully supports Peaty and will assist him “in managing his competition schedule as appropriate.”
Peaty acknowledged the “incredible support” he has received from his “team and family at British Swimming along with (his) incredible sponsors, family and friends.”
“This sport has given me everything I am and I’m looking forward to finding the love I have for it again,” he added.
by tyler | Mar 29, 2023 | CNN, sport
Two men who allegedly cheated to win a competitive fishing competition have pleaded guilty to charges, including cheating, according to the Cuyahoga County Office of the Prosecutor.
Jacob Runyan and teammate Chase Cominsky rocked the competitive fishing world after it was discovered their fish were stuffed with lead weights and fish fillets at an Ohio fishing tournament in September 2022.
Both have now pleaded guilty for cheating and the unlawful ownership of wild animals during the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament.
“This plea is the first step in teaching these crooks two basic life lessons,” said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley in a statement Monday.
“Thou shall not steal, and crime does not pay.”
In open court on Monday, both men admitted their guilt, as part of their plea agreement, and also agreed to forfeit ownership of the boat and trailer used in the tournament.
They face six months to a year in prison and could have their fishing licenses suspended for up to three years, when they are sentenced.
The state is recommending a sentence of six-months-probation to the court. They will be sentenced on May 11.
CNN has reached out to both Runyan and Cominsky’s attorneys for comment but has not received a reply.
Last year, the two men were set to win a $28,760 prize until Jason Fischer, director of the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament, became suspicious.
They were disqualified from the tournament.
The walleye – a type of fish – in the bucket looked like they each weighed around four pounds, but the total weight indicated they would have to be at least seven pounds each, he told CNN last year.
The moment when Fischer discovered the alleged cheating was documented in several videos that went viral at the time.
They showed Fischer, surrounded by competitors, slicing open the fish with a knife and pulling out what he said was a lead ball.
Fischer later provided photos of metal objects and fish fillets the tournament host said he had pulled from the walleye, allegedly inserted by the two accused to increase the weight of their catch.
In a video that Fischer shared with CNN last year, Runyan could be seen standing by silently watching while spectators in the crowd screamed insults at him.
by tyler | Mar 29, 2023 | CNN, sport
The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to allow Russian and Belarussian athletes to participate in international competitions comes as a “slap in the face” to Ukrainian skeleton star Vladyslav Heraskevych.
On Tuesday, IOC president Thomas Bach outlined new guidelines that would allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals, paving the way for their return.
Athletes from the two nations were banned from most international competitions in February 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and following the IOC executive board’s recommendation.
Heraskevych, who shot to fame at the Beijing Winter Olympics last year when he held up a “No War in Ukraine” banner to protest the impending Russian invasion, said the decision is a shocking one for him and his compatriots.
The IOC’s executive board began a three-day meeting on Tuesday, and the 24-year-old Heraskevych told CNN Sport’s Amanda Davies: “Athletes’ voices should be heard, we’re open and we’re able to speak in public. We’re not hiding behind some private meetings or private calls or behind some commissions.”
According to the IOC’s latest recommendations, athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport must compete only as individual neutral athletes and meet all anti-doping requirements, while those who support the war or are contracted to military or national service cannot compete.
The IOC also said that a decision about the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games would be made at a later stage.
The Kremlin has described those guidelines as containing “elements of discrimination.”
“Such recommendations (by the IOC) were characterized as containing elements of discrimination, which is unacceptable,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call Wednesday.
“As for us, we will continue to defend the interests of our athletes in every possible way, and, of course, we will continue contacts with the IOC precisely to protect the interests of our athletes.”
Heraskevych spoke to CNN ahead of a press conference in which he and other athletes reacted to the IOC’s decisions.
He was joined by Ukrainian tennis star Marta Kostyuk, who has been outspoken in her opposition to Russian or Belarusian opponents, refusing to shake hands in some instances.
Heraskevych says that one danger he fears over the reintegration of athletes from Russia and Belarus is the use of images of nations competing together being used for propaganda.
According to Heraskevych, the Ukrainian National Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission only heard from the IOC last week, having heard nothing from them for almost a year. CNN has reached out to the IOC for comment.
CNN has reached out to the IOC for comment.
Earlier this week, more than 300 active and former fencers wrote to the IOC urging the organization to uphold sanctions against Russian and Belarusian athletes, saying that allowing them entry back into international competitions would be “a catastrophic error.”
Polish fencer Michal Siess said that allowing “neutrals” to compete is not good enough for many in the athletic community.
“I mean, what does it mean being neutral? I can only speak for fencing but I didn’t hear any single voice from fencers from Russia saying they are against the war or something like this,” Siess told CNN Sport’s Don Riddell.
“A lot of them are in the Russian military. So it sounds good being neutral but we are a little bit disappointed because we think that there must be consequences because what kind of message do we send from the sports world to the world generally? Like: ‘Hey, you started the war but you’ll still be welcomed with open arms.’ So this is something that we don’t agree on.”
One suggestion has been that Ukrainian athletes could boycott international competition in reaction to the announcement.
However, Heraskevych doesn’t like that decision as it hamstrings his country while Russians are left free to compete.
“Of course, in some sports and with some athletes and me also, I can’t imagine being on the stage with Russian athletes who are supporters of this war,” he said. “For me, this is not okay and I don’t want to do it.
“But overall, if just Ukraine does a boycott, it makes no sense because then Ukraine loses its sport, like the whole sports area, and then we will just change places with the Russians now. We will be the ones excluded. Also, Ukrainians suffer from the war and also we will suffer from the boycott. So only Ukrainian athletes will suffer.
“And of course we will give freedom for Russian athletes to push their narratives on the international sports arena with their fellow colleagues. We will just sanction ourselves as I see it. So I would say its right to give this decision to the athletes, not to the federations, not to some structures, just to the athletes. Athletes should decide their own road.”
Last month, the US and more than 30 other “like-minded” countries backed a proposed ban of Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in international sports, according to a joint statement.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s sports minister said in January the country would not rule out boycotting the Olympics if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to compete at Paris 2024.
Last week, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe announced Russian and Belarusian athletes will still be excluded from World Athletics Series Events “for the foreseeable future,” reaffirming the organization’s March 2022 decision.
It comes as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has cataloged thousands of cases of civilian casualties in the Ukraine conflict in the six months to the end of January, along with cases of torture, rape and arbitrary detention.
In its latest report, issued Friday, the OHCHR said that “the human rights situation across the country remains dire amid the ongoing armed attack by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.”
It had “verified numerous allegations of arbitrary deprivation of life, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance, torture and ill-treatment, and conflict-related sexual violence.”
by tyler | Mar 28, 2023 | CNN, sport
The South Carolina Gamecocks have continued their incredible unbeaten run with an 86-75 win against the Maryland Terrapins – setting up a blockbuster Final Four clash against Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes.
The defending champions were not at their best throughout the opening stages of their Elite Eight matchup against the Terrapins and were surprisingly trailing after the first quarter.
As ever, Aliyah Boston led from the front and, along with Zia Cooke, helped South Carolina gain control of proceedings in the second quarter.
The reigning Naismith women’s player of the year and Naismith women’s defensive player of the year has had another standout season and put on another impressive display when it mattered most.
Boston tallied 22 points and 10 rebounds – her 82nd college double-double – in the victory to lead the Gamecocks to their third straight Final Four appearance.
With the win, South Carolina improved to 36-0 this season and extended its win streak to 42 in a row, dating back to last year’s national championship season.
When asked if this South Carolina squad was the best team she’s ever coached, Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley said, “I mean, this team has been to three consecutive Final Fours. I think they separate themselves from any other team that we’ve been a part of.”
Staley will know her team needs to be at its absolute best in the Final Four to prevent Clark from stealing the show for the Hawkeyes.
Clark became the first player in NCAA Tournament history – men’s or women’s – to record a 40-point triple-double to lead Iowa to its first Final Four appearance since 1993.
Elsewhere, the Virginia Tech Hokies reached their first Final Four in program history, with an 84-74 victory over the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes.
Led by Elizabeth Kitley’s double-double and Georgia Amoore’s 24 points, the Hokies came back from a first-quarter deficit to seal victory in the Elite Eight.
“It is so huge. I can’t even speak right now, I can’t believe it,” Amoore told the ESPN broadcast on what it meant to advance to the first Final Four in program history.
“Ohio State is such an incredible team and that game was just phenomenal and I’m just so happy for us and the program.”
The Hokies will face the No. 3-seeded LSU Tigers in the Final Four as they look to continue their March Madness run.
by tyler | Mar 28, 2023 | CNN, sport
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has defended plans to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in international competitions.
“First of all, what is maybe most important, what has changed, is that participation of athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports in competitions and in international competitions, works,” Bach said Tuesday, at the start of the IOC Executive Board’s three-day meeting to discuss solidarity with Ukraine, the sanctions against Russia and Belarus, and the status of athletes from these countries.
“We see this almost every day in a number of sports. We see it most prominently in tennis, but we see it also in cycling.
“We see it in some table tennis competitions, we see it in ice hockey, we see it in handball, we see it in football and in other leagues – in the United States, but also in Europe, and we also see it in other continents.”
He added: “It’s even that the governments on whose territory the competitions are taking place, they’re issuing visas [to Russians and Belarusian athletes] with very few exceptions. In other countries, they’re even issuing working permits where it’s necessary for these players and athletes.”
Bach’s comments come after more than 300 active and former fencers wrote to the IOC urging the organization to uphold sanctions against Russian and Belarusian athletes, saying that allowing them entry back into international competitions would be “a catastrophic error.”
“Russia’s aggression violates not only the norms of international law but also the fundamental values of Olympism, including peace, harmonious development of humankind and respect for human dignity and human rights,” the letter reads.
“As long as Russia’s war of aggression, aided by Belarus, wages on, both states’ athletes and officials must remain excluded from world sport. Given the recent escalation of attacks against Ukrainian civilians, there should be no reason at this time to allow Russia and Belarus to be reintegrated into world sport.
“Integration would lay a precedent in which a nation can violate the values and rules of sport and international peace without fear of consequences,” the letter adds.
The letter – addressed to IOC president Bach, who is a former Olympic fencer, and Emmanuel Katsiadakis, the interim president of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) – was sent on the day the IOC Executive Board is set to begin its three-day meeting to discuss solidarity with Ukraine, the sanctions against Russia and Belarus and the status of athletes from these countries.
CNN has reached out to the IOC and FIE for comment.
In January, the IOC outlined a multi-step plan for Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate at the upcoming 2024 Summer Games in Paris and the 2026 Winter Games in Milan, which was met with criticism from the United States, Canada and several European countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany and Poland.
In a February statement, the IOC reiterated its condemnation of the war in Ukraine, one year on from the start of the invasion.
But the fencers accuse the IOC and FIE of allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes back into competitions, despite the IOC’s February 2022 sanctions as a result of the Ukraine invasion.
“With complete disregard for athletes’ voices, you have permitted both Russia and Belarus back into FIE competitions, as well as a suspected tournament hosted on Russian soil,” the letter said.
“This is an apparent breach of the IOC’s position that ‘no international sport events are to be organized or supported by an IF or NOC in Russia or Belarus’ and once again exposes Russian interests outweighing the voice and rights of athletes, especially those from Ukraine,” the fencers say.
It is unclear which tournament is being referred to in the letter. CNN has sought clarification from the IOC and FIE.
Last month, the US and more than 30 other “like-minded” countries backed a proposed ban of Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in international sports, according to a joint statement.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s sports minister said in January the country would not rule out boycotting the Olympics if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to compete at Paris 2024.
Last week, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe announced Russian and Belarusian athletes will still be excluded from World Athletics Series Events “for the foreseeable future,” reaffirming the organization’s March 2022 decision.
by tyler | Mar 27, 2023 | CNN, sport
Former NFL Most Valuable Player and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson wrote on social media Monday that he has requested a trade from the team.
“As of March 2nd, I requested a trade from the Ravens organization for which the Ravens has not been interested in meeting my value, any and everyone that’s has met me or been around me know I love the game of football and my dream is to help a team win the super bowl,” the 26-year-old wrote.
On March 7, Baltimore applied the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson after failing to come to terms on a long-term contract over the last two years.
The tag means that Jackson is free to negotiate with other franchises, but should he sign an offer sheet with another team, the Ravens will have five days to either match the deal or receive two first-round picks in return. The non-exclusive tag comes with a salary-cap cost of $32.4 million for the 2023 season.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said Monday he wasn’t aware of Jackson’s message.
“I haven’t seen the tweet. It’s an ongoing process,” Harbaugh told reporters at the NFL owners’ meeting in Phoenix.
“I’m following it very closely just like everybody else is here and looking forward to a resolution. I’m excited, thinking about Lamar all the time, thinking about him as our quarterback. We’re building our offense around that idea and I’m just looking forward to getting back to football and I’m confident that’s going to happen.”
When asked when was the last time he has spoken with the quarterback, Harbaugh said: “It’s been a while. It’s going to have to be. It’s a unique situation, but when we get back together and I’m really hopeful that happens, that’s what I want to see. It’s going to be great.”
Jackson, who doesn’t have an agent, represents himself.
Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said on March 7 that he hopes the two sides can agree to a long-term deal.
“We will continue to negotiate in good faith with Lamar, and we are hopeful that we can strike a long-term deal that is fair to both Lamar and the Ravens,” DeCosta said in a statement. “Our ultimate goal is to build a championship team with Lamar Jackson leading the way for many years to come.”
