Sports

Athletics-Jacobs says reconnecting with father pushed him to 100m gold

Published

3 years ago

August 2, 2021

Lamont Marcell Jacobs believes reconnecting with his estranged American father helped him make history by becoming the first Italian to claim Olympic men’s 100 metres gold on Sunday.

Jacobs secured a surprise victory with a European record time of 9.80 seconds, becoming the first winner of the post-Usain Bolt era and the first European Olympic men’s 100 meters champion since Britain’s Linford Christie in 1992.

It was a stunning run from the 26-year-old underdog, who was born in the United States to an American father and Italian mother.

“I was born in Texas, but I stayed there for six months before my parents separated and I came to Italy. Italy is my country,” Jacobs told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I did not hear from my father again until one year ago, when I decided to work with a mental coach. She told me that to run fast I would need to reconnect with the father I had never known.

“The reconciliation gave me something more, which has helped me in the last few days. But I have never met him in person, we write to each other and talk.”

The former long jumper had never run under 10 seconds until this year, but exploded out of the blocks to come out on top in an open field.

“I changed mentality and took advantage of my team, that was the turnaround in the last few months,” Jacobs said.

“I knew I could improve with my start. Then I asked my body for one last effort: ‘please, let’s do one last run and then we can rest’.

“I knew I was in great shape coming here. There was no favourite, so I thought when I looked at the others: why not try it, what more do they have than me?”

Jacobs’s run topped off an incredible night for Italian athletics, coming 13 minutes after Gianmarco Tamberi shared the gold medal in the high jump with Qatar’s world champion Mutaz Essa Barshim.

It completed a remarkable turnaround for Tamberi, who broke his ankle days before the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and the Italian was the first person to embrace Jacobs at the finish line.

“I know his story, I know what he had to go through to get here, I have also been through a lot, many blows, I took them from all sides,” Jacobs said.

“It takes a thousand defeats to win, you need to know how to lose with class in order to get up again.”

(Reporting by Alasdair Mackenzie, editing by Ed Osmond)

Sports

Edler to sign one-day contract to retire as a Vancouver Canuck

Published

11 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.

The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.

He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.

The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.

Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.

“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”

Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

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Sports

Sixth-ranked Canadian women to face World Cup champion Spain in October friendly

Published

17 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.

Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.

The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.

In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.

Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.

Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.

The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.

Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.

It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.

Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.

FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.

And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.

“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

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Sports

Maple Leafs announce Oreo as new helmet sponsor for upcoming NHL season

Published

21 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.

The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.

The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.

Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.

The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.

Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

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