South African athlete Raynard Tissink swam, cycled and ran into second place at Sunday’s 2006 Spec-Savers Ironman South Africa competition, held in Nelson Mandela Bay. Belgium’s Gerardus Schellens took top honours in the triathlon that comprised a 3,8km swim across the bay, 180km of cycling and a 42,2km full marathon.
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/ 2 November 2005
After two years of preparation, the Johannesburg Gay Games bid committee will present its final bid to host the 2010 Gay Games on November 12 in Chicago, it said in a statement on Wednesday. Johannesburg is bidding against Paris, France, and Cologne, Germany.
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/ 9 September 2005
There will be no happier locker room at the United States Open this weekend than if Kim Clijsters wins her first grand slam title. ”To me she’s the favourite,” said Patrick McEnroe, the US Davis Cup captain, television pundit, and altogether less abrasive brother of John.
South Africa’s Annelize du Pisani has won a bronze medal in the singles event at the tenpin bowling Women’s World Championships held in Aalborg, Denmark. Players from 40 countries took part in the championships, which ended with a medal ceremony and banquet on Saturday.
Rafael Nadal’s mum, Ana Maria, had other things on her mind on the Sunday that her 19-year-old son was playing in the French Open final. ”I watch him on court and the way he behaves is the way he behaves in life — all heart, very responsible, hard-working and much more mature than most boys his age. But he is very untidy and disorganised.”
And so, on the ninth day, the semi-final that everybody wanted to see became a reality. Roger Federer, the world number one, beat Romania’s Victor Hanescu 6-2, 7-6, 6-3, and Rafael Nadal, the second most successful player on the men’s circuit this year, defeated fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 7-5, 6-2, 6-0.
Justine Henin-Hardenne, a shell of the player she has been for the past 12 months, relinquished her French Open crown in her match against Italy’s Tathiana Garbin on Wednesday and then turned her mind to Wimbledon, the one grand slam title she has yet to win.
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/ 30 January 2004
With his graceful stroke-play, Roger Federer is already a trendsetter for tennis’s new, anti-baseline-bashing generation. Of the four men’s semifinalists at this year’s Australian Open only Federer has never been the world number one — if he beats Juan Carlos Ferrero, he will become the 23rd man to reach this pinnacle since 1973.
Lance Armstrong has never been one to over-race himself. Last year he rode competitively for only 21 days before winning his fourth Tour de France.
And so farewell, Pete Sampras. Or at least farewell to that 95% of you that has decided to pack up tennis. And what a nasty, niggling 5% of uncertainty it is that will not allow you yet to retire for good, thereby denying a host of commentators the chance to place your career achievements in a historical context.