Sarah Mitton will arrive at this summer’s Paris Olympic Games as a world champion.
The 27-year-old broke a Canadian record twice on her way to women’s shot put gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championships on Friday in Glasgow, Scotland.
Mitton, of Brooklyn, N.S., won the event with a new national indoor record throw of 20.22 metres.
“I still think it’s settling in, but I am so excited. I’ve been in second and third [place] a lot and I’m excited to come out on top and start my year off strong heading into Paris,” Mitton told CBC Sports reporter Devin Heroux.
WATCH | Mitton claims gold in Glasgow:
Nova Scotia’s Sarah Mitton claims women’s shot put gold at world indoor championships
10 hours ago
Duration 3:29
Sarah Mitton of Brooklyn, N.S., broke the Canadian women’s indoor shot put record twice, to win gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. Mitton had the gold medal wrapped up before her final attempt, having thrown a distance of 20.20 metres in her fourth attempt before pushing the record to 20.22m.
Germany’s Yemisi Ogunleye (20.19m) captured silver while American Chase Jackson (19.67m) took bronze.
Mitton set the new Canadian indoor record mark with her final attempt, having already wrapped up the gold medal with a mark of 20.20m in her fourth throw.
“The sixth round is just my specialty, that’s where all my big throws are. So I knew if anyone came back for me I was going to be able to respond,” she said.
WATCH | Mitton reacts to gold-medal win at World Athletics Indoor Championships:
Sarah Mitton reacts to gold-medal win at World Athletics Indoor Championships
3 hours ago
Duration 0:47
The Canadian shot putter also set a national record with a throw of 20.22 metres in Glasgow.
Mitton says she has been working at being consistent with her performances, and doing so on the biggest stages.
“To be the world champion, that sounds amazing,” Mitton told Reuters. “I was not able to say that before and now, I am probably never going to stop saying it. This is the moment that cannot be taken away from you.
“Everything is a progression and every year, I am becoming a little bit better. It’s also about learning how to win and how to handle yourself in different environments. Now I’m confident and comfortable, I think I’m able to show great performances.”
The world title is just the latest accomplishment for Mitton, who is the world silver medallist from the Budapest world championships last summer, Commonwealth Games champion and Pan American Games champion.
Now, her attention turns toward Paris 2024.
“Obviously, it is an Olympic year and everything is gearing up. This is really a big stepping stone on the way and I’m excited to see how we can translate this into Paris [Olympics],” Mitton said.
WATCH | Did Sarah Mitton almost leave shot put behind? A conversation with Ariel Helwani:
Did Sarah Mitton almost leave shot put behind? A conversation with Ariel Helwani
2 days ago
Duration 8:44
CBC Olympics host Ariel Helwani sits down with world championship silver medallist Sarah Mitton to talk about her Olympic experience, goals for Paris, and how close she came to leaving the sport of shot put.
Coleman upsets Lyles in anticipated 60m
In the most anticipated event of the meet, star sprinter Noah Lyles was upset by fellow American Christian Coleman in the men’s 60m. Lyles, who captured three gold medals at last summer’s outdoor world championships, was trying to become the first man this century to win world titles at 60, 100 and 200 metres in the same year.
Coleman, the world-record holder in the 60m and a former world champion in the 100m before he was suspended for the 2021 Olympics for missing too many drug tests, shot out of the blocks and held on to win in 6.41 seconds, the fastest time this year. Lyles got the silver in 6.44 and Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake took bronze in 6.46.
Top-ranked men’s shot putter Ryan Crouser of the United States added his first indoor worlds gold to his two Olympic and two outdoor world titles. In the women’s high jump, Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers upset outdoor world champ Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine to claim her first world title.
WATCH | Coleman defeats favoured Lyles to capture 60m gold:
American Christian Coleman captures 60-metre World Athletics Indoor Championship gold
39 minutes ago
Duration 3:28
Christian Coleman of the U.S. ran to a winning time of 6.41 Friday, claiming the victory at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results on Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
