Sports

AMMAN — Jordan’s incredible run at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games continued on Monday with a third gold medal, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

With two Powerlifting golds and a Table Tennis bronze already in the bag, Jamil Al Shebli made it a hat-trick of Powerlifting golds by winning the 107kg category.

The 42-year-old lifted 241kg to take top spot from Iran’s Mansour Pourmirzaei.  He follows the heroics of teammates Abdel Kareem Khatab and Omar Karada who reached the top step of the podium earlier in the Games.

Khetam Abu Awad’s table tennis bronze takes Jordan’s medal haul to four, and places them 23rd in the standings.

AMMAN — Jordan won its second gold of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games on Sunday, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service. Powerlifter Abdel Kareem Khatab hoisted an incredible 231Kg to win the men’s 88kg contest, beating China’s J. Ye into second.

The 30-year-old’s gold medal follows a first gold of the Games for fellow powerlifter Omar Qarada in the 49kg category and a bronze medal won by Khetam Abu Awad in table tennis, her third Paralympic medal. The 46-year-old veteran, who won table tennis team medals at the 2004 and 2008 Games, settled for bronze after losing her Class 5 semifinal to China’s Jiamin Pan.

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Red Bull’s Max Verstappen emerged as the winner of the rain-ruined Belgian Grand Prix with only two laps completed behind a safety car at a drenched and dangerous Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

Pole-sitter Verstappen was awarded half points, which moved him to within three points of Lewis Hamilton in the drivers’ championship after the shortest race in Formula One history.

Williams’ George Russell took second with Hamilton’s Mercedes in third after the 12th round of the season — all 14 kilometres of it.

Organisers finally gave the go-ahead for a rolling start behind a safety car at 18h30 local time (1630), three and a half hours after the scheduled 15h00 start.

But after a couple of laps with the spray flying the race was stopped with conditions deemed too dicy at the track where Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert lost his life in 2019.

The signs were ominous from the start of the afternoon in the Ardennes Forest when Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez aquaplaned on his way to the original start at Les Combes.

In the end Saturday’s qualifying proved pivotal as Verstappen acknowledged.

“Now, in hindsight, it was important to get the pole position - but it was a shame not to do proper laps,” said the Belgian born Dutch driver.

“The visibility was very low. It’s a win but not really in the right way.”

He paid tribute to the 75,000 umbrella-clutching die-hard fans, some eating soggy chips and mayonnaise but the bulk of them braving the conditions in support of their local favourite.

“Credit to the fans to stay here all day. In the cold and rain. They are the bigger winners today,” said Verstappen.

Russell was celebrating his first F1 podium at his 50th race weekend.

“We don’t often get a reward for a good qualifying but today we absolutely did,” beamed the Briton.

‘Sorry for the fans’ 

“I feel so sorry for the fans today, obviously it’s no one’s fault but the fans have been great today,” said seven-time world champion Hamilton.

The first attempt at racing came half an hour after the official start time with the safety car gingerly leading the 19 remaining cars on a formation lap. But with drivers like McLaren’s Lando Norris complaining of lack of visibility the red flag was raised signalling a suspension of the start procedure.

“There’s no way. We can’t race,” Alpine’s Fernando Alonso said.

Persistent heavy rain forced a further indefinite delay.

Organisers were anxiously watching their weather monitors and the sky for a break in the weather, notoriously mercurial at the majestic circuit.

Approaching two hours after the scheduled start the rain had still not relented.

Despite huge advances in car safety, organisers will have been very mindful of ensuring conditions were safe enough to resume at one of F1’s most demanding port-of-calls.

During the delay drivers busied themselves filling in the wait in different ways — Russell taking to Twitter, Antonio Giovinazzi taking a nap on some Alfa Romeo crates, and Daniel Ricciardo leading a Mexican wave in the pitlane stand.

Track officials played petanque on a gravel run-off area.

And Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin’s four-time former world champion, showed a neat touch in a two-a-side game of football against a Haas selection led by Mick Schumacher in the pits.

Thirty years ago at the same circuit, Schumacher’s father Michael took the first steps on the road to becoming a F1 legend, picking up a spare drive for Jordan when the team’s French driver Bertrand Gachot was otherwise engaged serving a prison sentence for assault.

Meanwhile, Red Bull mechanics had been busy repairing Perez’s car and after detailed dialogue between Red Bull and the race stewards the team were told Perez could compete at the back of the grid.

With the Mexican’s car miraculously repaired, all he and the others needed was a race to drive it in.

A green water clearing truck with giant rollers emerged from the gloom, raising hopes of a gear being changed in anger.

Then the announcement to race came, prompting a flurry of activity with teams rushing to get ready for racing and a huge cheer from the patient fans.

But their joy was to be short lived with the cars returning to the pitlane for the night.

SILVERSTONE, United Kingdom — Fabio Quartararo closed in on his first MotoGP world championship by romping to his fifth victory of the season at the British Grand Prix to stretch his lead in the championship standings to 65 points.

The Frenchman on a Yamaha showed no ill effects from a fall in practice on Friday that left him struggling to walk.

Quartararo started in third and briefly slipped to fourth after a sluggish start, but then quickly moved through the field to hit the front by lap five.

He then eased away from the chasing pack to win by 2.6 seconds from Alex Rins of Suzuki with Aleix Espargaro securing Aprilia’s first MotoGP podium in third.

“During the race I was feeling really comfortable,” said Quartararo. 

“I overtake step by step and it was nice. Then my pace was really strong, I didn’t expect to pull away. I was enjoying it at a good pace but not going 100 per cent.”

The 22-year-old now enjoys a commanding lead as the chasing pack in the world championship struggled.

Ninth place was enough to edge Suzuki’s reigning world champion Joan Mir into second in the standings with Johann Zarco of Ducati Pramac moving into third by finishing 11th.

Francesco Bagnaia of the Ducati factory team dropped to fourth in the world championship after finishing 14th.

“It’s a long way to go,” insisted Quartararo. “I’m not thinking about it at all right now and that is how you increase your lead.

“Right now I’m over the moon and feel so good on the bike.”

There was a much tighter battle behind Quartararo for a place on the podium as Rins and Espargaro came under late pressure from Jack Miller of Ducati.

The Australian passed Espargaro on the final lap, but the Spaniard recovered to regain his position and was in tears on his bike at the end after ending Aprilia’s wait for a podium in the modern-era of MotoGP and his first since 2014.

“It’s like a dream,” said Espargaro. “Finally to be here is fantastic. We’ve been very competitive, very close to the podium all season and to finally be here is fantastic for everyone at Aprilia and myself.”

Earlier, Romano Fenati led a full Italian podium to win the Moto3 race and keep his world championship hopes alive.

Fenati is still third in the championship standings, but his first win of the season cut Spaniard Pedro Acosta’s lead to 69 points with his first race win of the season.

Niccolo Antonelli was second with Dennis Foggia in third.

Acosta was down in 11th with compatriot Sergio Garcia, who sits second in the world championship standings, finishing 16th.

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Red Bull’s Max Verstappen mastered the rain to claim Belgian Grand Prix pole on Saturday, snatching the fastest time in qualifying from surprise package George Russell of Williams.

Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes will start on the second row as he goes for his 100th Grand Prix win, Daniel Ricciardo’s McLaren completing the second row.

Qualifying was marred by a heavy crash in Q3 involving the McLaren of Lando Norris, whose hopes of a first ever pole bit the dust at Eau Rouge.

With the Briton thankfully escaping serious injury, nine cars took to the track when the shoot-out resumed after a 40-minute red flag intervention.

Fellow Briton Russell was poised to give Williams an astonishing first pole since 2001 with seconds of Q3 to go.

But the young driver’s brilliant time was narrowly shaded by Verstappen in the Dutch driver’s final flying lap.

Russell still had the satisfaction of placing in front of Hamilton, with Russell in contention alongside Valtteri Bottas for the second Mercedes drive in 2022.

“I’m absolutely buzzing,” said the Williams man.

“Tomorrow’s the most important one, but it’s been mega today. I’m delighted for everyone. If the weather is the same and it’s there for the taking, we’ll go for it.”

Hamilton said it had been “a very difficult day for everyone”

Treacherous

“I’m just trying to stay positive, focused and calm. Max did a great job and a great job also by George — that’s fantastic,” added the seven-time world champion who is eight points clear of Verstappen in the drivers standings.

“We’re first and that’s the most important thing,” said Verstappen.

“It’s an amazing track to drive and very difficult in the wet. I’m super happy to qualify like this after the [summer] break.”

Q3 got off to a dramatic start when Norris came badly unstuck in the treacherous wet conditions.

The Briton lost control of his McLaren, his car spinning multiple times from one side of the track to the other after the rear end hit the barriers at Eau Rouge.

The only one of his four tyres intact was the front left.

Sebastian Vettel, who had called for the Q3 session to be stopped a little while earlier, drove up in his Aston Martin to make sure the 21-year-old was okay. 

The German, a four-time former world champion, only drove on when he got a thumbs up.

Norris’ team came over the radio asking “Lando, are you okay, are you okay?” with the shaken, but seemingly unharmed, driver replying “Yes, Sorry boys we should have had a good one. I’ve let you down.”

The medics then helped him gingerly out of his cockpit.

The session was red-flagged as stewards hurried to clear the debris from the stricken McLaren off the track. Norris’ mechanics were set for a long night getting it roadworthy in time for Sunday’s race.

A McLaren statement on Twitter reported: “Lando is currently undergoing checks at the trackside medical centre.”

Norris, third in the drivers championship, had led qualifying through the first two sessions held as the rain beat down on the majestic but notoriously demanding Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the Ardennes Forest.

He was in a great position to claim his first ever pole and end up at the front of Sunday’s grid, instead he ended up in the medical centre.

After the lengthy stoppage the session got back underway with 8.59 minutes of Q1 left on the clock, and a trick up Russell’s sleeve.

AMMAN — Jordan has picked up its first Paralympic gold medal in 21 years after powerlifter Omar Qarada secured a brilliant win in his 49kg category at Tokyo 2020, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

“I speak a lot to Le. He is a friend. In Rio the same thing happened, we both lifted the same weight on our third lift, but in Rio it was Le stealing my gold medal. Today it was me who was able to steal the gold medal from him,” Qarada said to World Para Powerlifting.

“It is a dream come true, but it’s just a stepping stone for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, where I promise I will set a new world record,” he added.

The 40-year-old, who won silver at the 2016 Rio De Janeiro and the 2008 Sydney Games, finally got his gold with a tremendous lift of 174kg, more than three-and-a-half times his bodyweight.

Reigning gold medallist and world record holder, Van Con Le, of Vietnam, was second with Parvin Mammadov, of Azerbaijan, picking up the bronze in third.

Jordan last won a Paralympic gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics through table tennis star Maha Barghouti.

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Max Verstappen will seek to exert a degree of home advantage by beating Lewis Hamilton to revive his title bid as Formula One returns from a mid-season summer break at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The Belgium-born Dutchman saw a comfortable 33-point lead turned into an eight-point deficit at the British and Hungarian Grands Prix last month before the annual shutdown.

He knows he needs to bounce back strongly in the next two events in front of his fervent 'orange army' of fans.

After the controversies of Silverstone and Budapest, the 23-year-old Hasselt-born Red Bull driver also needs an uneventful contest to regain consistency following opening lap collisions in his last two outings.

"I am excited to go back to Spa," he said. "It's my favourite track and it's really cool to drive with so many high-speed corners and elevation changes.

"It's a good place to re-set our championship fight and I am well prepared and feeling good ahead of this race weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing all the fans and all the orange in the grandstands!"

Verstappen will need a change of luck, too, as he has not won at the sweeping and majestic circuit set in the Ardennes forests and has never finished higher than third.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton has triumphed four times including last year.

This weekend, Hamilton will again be seeking to claim a landmark 100th career victory and his fifth this year as Mercedes bid to resist Red Bull's challenge for their titles.

For both men, it will be another torrid test of temperament as well as power and speed as they go immediately from Belgium to Verstappen's other home event, the return of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, the following weekend and then, without a break, to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix.

Attendance at Spa-Francorchamps is set to be capped at 75,000 per day due to the COVID-19 pandemic with most fans expecting more of the spectacular and competitive racing that was seen in Britain in Hungary, leading to a war of words between the Mercedes and Red Bull teams.

"We are in a good position, leading both championships and our car is in a better place thanks to the recent upgrades," said Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff. 

"But we are expecting a very tough weekend."

Asked about the heated rivalry with Red Bull and team boss Christian Horner, Wolff said he and Mercedes had tried to keep things calm, but suggested it was not that way for Red Bull

"In the war of words, we have tried to maintain our cool, stay level-headed and not fuel controversy and polarisation among our fans.

"Our aim was always to de-escalate, but unfortunately the opposite happens on the other side."

He stressed that the animosity came from clashes between individuals and that the two teams retained respect for each other.

"There is always respect for these organisations and for the people in them," he said.

Both Mercedes and Red Bull could face strong competition this weekend from Ferrari and McLaren as the second half of the season begins in earnest.

McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo will start his 200th Grand Prix at the spectacular and high-speed circuit, where 30 years ago seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, later to become a Ferrari legend, made his F1 debut with Jordan.

TOKYO — British cyclist Sarah Storey added to her glorious golden history as wheelchair rugby powerhouses Australia suffered a shock defeat on day one of the delayed Tokyo 2020 Paralympics on Wednesday.

Paige Greco, an Australian cyclist, had the honour of winning the first gold of the Games, 354 days later than originally envisaged because of the COVID-19 pandemic and a day after a high-energy but poignant opening ceremony.

Despite a year-long postponement, and with coronavirus fears hanging over the event, world and Paralympic records tumbled in the swimming pool and on the cycling track on a pulsating first day of competition that saw 24 gold medals awarded.

Greco was in record-breaking form as she beat China’s Wang Xiaomei in the gold medal race in C1-C3 class 3,000 metre individual pursuit at the Izu Velodrome.

She smashed her own world record by nearly eight seconds in the heats and lowered it by another second and a half to 3min 50.815sec in the final.

“I still can’t believe it. I keep looking down and seeing [the gold medal]. It’s not really sunk in yet,” said Greco.

Storey moved a step closer to becoming Britain’s greatest Paralympian, shattering her own world record in the heats before powering to victory in the C5 3,000 metres individual pursuit final for her 15th Paralympic gold.

The 43-year-old took the title for a fourth consecutive Games when she caught compatriot Crystal Lane-Wright inside eight laps of the 12.

Storey is just one medal behind the British record held by Mike Kenny, who won 16 swimming golds from 1976 to 1988.

“I never expected to go as quickly this morning, but I’m so glad I did,” said Storey.

Brazilian Daniel Dias, who is competing at his last Paralympics, has the chance to become the most decorated male Paralympic swimmer of all time if he wins three more golds to eclipse Kenny.

But could only take bronze in his opening event, the S5 men’s 200m freestyle, which was won by Italy’s Francesco Bocciardo in a new Paralympic record time. 

Dias, who has now won 25 Paralympic medals, will have several more chances to add to his 14 golds starting on Thursday in the 100m freestyle.

Defending gold medallists Australia suffered a setback in their bid to become the first team to top the wheelchair rugby podium at three consecutive Games, edged out 54-53 by Denmark.

“I’m pretty devastated, to be honest — I had never lost a game at the Paralympics ever,” said Australia’s Chris Bond.

“I don’t know what to feel. All we can do is turn around and win the next two and make the semi-final.”

The Games had been declared open on Tuesday night by Japan’s Emperor Naruhito, with International Paralympic Committee chief Andrew Parsons paying tribute to the grit of the athletes who made it to Tokyo.

“Many doubted this day would happen, many thought it impossible, but thanks to the efforts of many, the most transformative sports event on Earth is about to begin,” he said.

The opening ceremony was themed around the story of a one-winged plane taking to the skies, and featured high-octane musical and acrobatic sequences in a departure from the more sombre Olympics opening ceremony.

Notably missing were Afghanistan’s team, who had been trapped in the country after the Taliban takeover.

The IPC confirmed on Wednesday that the team, comprising two athletes, had left Afghanistan, but declined to say where they had gone.

The opening ceremony took place before a largely empty stadium with almost all spectators barred from venues because of coronavirus rules.

Organisers on Wednesday reported 16 new COVID-19 cases linked to the Paralympics, including two athletes in the Paralympic Village, whose identities have not been disclosed.

The new cases bring the number of infections linked to the Paralympics to 176, most of them Japan-based staff or contractors.

Japan has recorded around 15,500 deaths from the virus with 40 per cent of the population fully vaccinated.

Olympic and Paralympic organisers have insisted there is no evidence of infection spreading from Games participants to the Japanese public.

Tokyo and 13 areas are is already under a virus state of emergency and Japan’s government on Wednesday decided to extend it to eight more regions.

The step comes with summer school holidays ending and top infection experts suggesting delaying the start of classes to reduce contagion risks.