Sports
Season steps up a gear as athletes head to Gaborone

As the outdoor season ramps up, some of the sport’s leading stars will be looking to make a statement when they compete at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix, this year’s second World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, in Gaborone on Saturday (29).
Local talent Letsile Tebogo takes on the 100m and 200m against global medallists such as Andre De Grasse, Marvin Bracy and Kenny Bednarek, while Sha’Carri Richardson tests herself over 200m.Ese Brume and Lorraine Ugen renew their rivalry in the long jump, and Kirani James opens his season in the 400m.
Gaborone hosts the first World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in southern Africa and Botswana’s world U20 100m record-holder Tebogo will hope for a strong performance on home soil.
First up is the 100m, where the 19-year-old – who clocked 9.91 to retain his world U20 title in Cali last year – will race against USA’s world silver medallist Bracy and Kenya’s African record-holder Ferdinand Omanyala, plus USA’s Olympic and world 200m medallist Bednarek.
Tebogo opened his 200m season with a 20.00 run in Florida earlier this month and could get closer to the 19.96 PB he ran when he was narrowly pipped to the world U20 200m title in Cali. Among some strong opposition is Canada’s Olympic champion De Grasse, racing his first 200m of the year, plus the world fourth- and fifth-place finishers: Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh and Dominican Republic’s Alexander Ogando.
The women’s 100m features USA’s 4x100m champion Twanisha Terry, who ran her PB of 10.82 last year and opened this season with a wind-assisted 10.83 in Florida, as she goes against Olympic relay medallists Teahna Daniels and Javianne Oliver, plus South African record-holder Carina Horn.
USA’s Richardson races her first 200m of the season after storming to a wind-assisted 10.57 100m earlier this month. She lines up alongside The Gambia’s African 100m champion Gina Bass and USA’s Dezerea Bryant, Kiara Parker and Kayla White.
Kenya’s world 800m bronze medallist Mary Moraa, who also claimed Commonwealth and Diamond League crowns in 2022, drops down to race the 400m against Jamaica’s Olympic and world finalist Candice McLeod, Belgium’s Cynthia Bolingo and USA’s Kyra Jefferson, plus Botswana’s Naledi Lopang and Thompang Basele. In the men’s 400m, Grenada’s 2012 Olympic champion James races for the first time this year and takes on Botswana’s Olympic finalist Isaac Makwala and South Africa’s world U20 champion Lythe Pillay.
USA’s world 400m hurdles bronze medallist Trevor Bassitt, who has run a 45.25 PB for the 400m flat this month, contests his speciality against Ireland’s Thomas Barr and African champion Sokwakhana Zazini of South Africa.
Nigeria’s Brume and Great Britain’s Ugen claimed long jump silver and bronze, respectively, at last year’s World Indoor Championships in Belgrade. They clashed again in the world final in Oregon – where Brume secured silver – and in the Commonwealth Games final in Birmingham – won by Brume – and now they meet again.
In the men’s event, USA’s 2016 world indoor champion Marquis Dendy takes on his compatriot Jarrion Lawson, the 2017 world silver medallist, plus Commonwealth Games champion LaQuan Nairn of the Bahamas, South Africa’s Ruswahl Samaai and Cheswill Johnson, and Botswana’s Thapelo Monaiwa, who has jumped a PB of 8.12m this season.
The men’s shot put pits Italy’s Zane Weir and Leonardo Fabbri against South Africa’s Kyle Blignaut, while the women’s contest features USA’s NCAA champion Adelaide Aquilla, Felisha Johnson and Rachel Fatherly.
Global medallists will clash in the men’s 800m as Kenya’s Olympic silver medallist Ferguson Rotich races his compatriot Abel Kipsang, who claimed world indoor 1500m bronze last year, plus USA’s 2016 Olympic bronze medallist Clayton Murphy. Ethiopia’s Olympic finalist Habitam Alemu opens her season in an 800m race that features South Africa’s African bronze medallist Prudence Sekgodiso.
(World Athletics)
Latest News
Starc, Lyon keep Sri Lanka on a tight leash

Sri Lanka endured another shoddy batting show at the start of the second Test in Galle as the hosts ended the opening day at 229/9. Despite half-centuries from Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Mendis, Australia kept the home side on a tight leash to take early control in the second fixture.
Dhananjaya de Silva put his under-fire batting unit in on a dry surface after winning the toss. A week after Australia posted a first-innings total of 654/6 at the same venue, Sri Lanka made a fairly solid start through the senior pair of Dimuth Karunaratne – playing in his 100th and final Test for Sri Lanka, and Chandimal. Nathan Lyon was employed early on a surface that took sharp turn from the first hour itself, and saw the back of returning opener Pathum Nissanka. The second-wicket pair of Karunaratne and Chandimal, however, saw through the rest of the morning session with solidity and some intent to push the team ahead.
What transpired after this break though, would’ve further peeved head coach Sanath Jayasuriya, who chided his batters for their shot selection in the aftermath of the first Test defeat. Karunaratne, who’d moved along to 30s, fell in the third over after the break – cleaned up by Lyon from round the stumps. Angelo Mathews was scratchy and circumspect for 25 deliveries, before biting the bullet on the 26th when Lyon tossed one up for him to reach out and defend, only to nick behind to Alex Carey.
Right after the drinks break, Australia struck through the golden arm of Travis Head. The offie got Kamindu Mendis to nick to Steve Smith in first slip while attempting a cut shot. Dhananjaya de Silva’s arrival coincided with the return of Mitchell Starc, and the pacer dismissed the Sri Lankan captain right away. Starc bowled full and wide and Dhananjaya chased after it, nicking to Beau Webster at gully.
Chandimal, who scored his 32nd Test fifty in this session, batted out the rest of the session with Kusal Mendis. But once again it didn’t result in a bigger, more significant alliance as Sri Lanka lost a wicket early into a session. This time, Chandimal fell to an exceptional piece of glovework by Carey. Matthew Kuhnemann got Chandimal to press forward and miss, and Carey whipped the bails off with no part of the batter’s foot behind the line. He walked off for 74.
Kusal Mendis tried to throw Lyon off his lengths by repeatedly slog sweeping him. He and Ramesh Mendis pushed back for the majority of the final session, showing gumption for a big partnership. They added 65 runs for the seventh wicket to take Sri Lanka past the 200-mark but Starc returned, with new ball in hand, to ensure Australia finished the day in the driver’s seat.
Starc bowled a quick one – 144kmph – across the right-hander, who was indecisive in playing or leaving the delivery and ended up edging to Carey. Prabath Jayasuriya then edged one to Smith at second slip for a first-ball duck. Kuhnemann then reduced Sri Lanka to 224/9 by cleaning up Nishan Peiris. Steve Smith threw in a lot of catchers around the bat for the final pair who still had to negotiate 3.5 overs to get to stumps. Lahiru Kumara played 11 of those balls – dead-batting most, to survive the day in the company of Mendis, who went to stumps unbeaten on 59.
Brief Scores:
Sri Lanka 224/9 (Dinesh Chandimal 74, Kusal Mendis 59; Mitchell Starc 3-37, Nathan Lyon 3-78, Matthew Kuhnemann 2-53) vs Australia.
Latest News
Trump signs order banning transgender women from female sports

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that prevents transgender women from competing in female categories of sports.
The order provides guidance, regulations and legal interpretations, and it will enlist the Department of Education to investigate high schools thought to be non-compliant.
Republicans say it restores fairness to sports but LGBT advocacy and human rights organisations have described the move as discriminatory.
The order, which goes into effect immediately, largely covers high school, universities and grassroots sports.
A number of sporting governing bodies, including swimming, athletics and golf, have banned transgender women from competing in the female category at elite level if they have gone through male puberty.
According to White House officials who briefed reporters on Wednesday morning, this latest order empowers the Department of Education to investigate how schools implement Title IX, a US law that bans sex discrimination in federally funded education programmes.
An administration official said that the executive order will reverse the position of the Biden administration which in April last year said that LGBT students would be protected by federal law, although it did not give specific guidance on transgender athletes.
“If you let men take over women’s sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated for violations of Title IX and risk your federal funding,” Trump explained.
Additionally, the White House plans to bring in sporting bodies – such as the National Collegiate Athletics Association, or NCAA – to come to the White House to meet female athletes and their parents to discuss concerns.
The official who discussed the order, said the US would do all it could to prevent transgender athletes from competing against females in International Olympic Committee competitions that take place on US soil.
President Trump specified that the order would include the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
He has said he will deny visas for transgender Olympic athletes trying to visit the US to compete at the LA Games.
Ahead of signing the executive order, Trump declared that “the war on women’s sports is over”, saying that during the LA Games, “my administration will not stand by and watch men beat and batter female athletes.”
He said he would direct the secretary of homeland security “to deny any and all visa applications made by men attempting to fraudulently enter the United States while identifying themselves as women athletes…”
IOC has been approached for comment.
White House officials described the policies as being broadly popular with Americans, and critical to ensuring “fairness” for women in sports, as well as safety.
In a statement, Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson said that the order “exposes young people to harassment and discrimination, emboldening people to question the gender of kids who don’t fit a narrow view of how they’re supposed to dress or look”.
“For so many students, sports are about finding somewhere to belong,” Ms Robinson added. “Not partisan policies that make life harder for them.”
Less than 1% of the population over the age of 13 in the US are transgender, according to a study by the UCLA Williams Institute, and the number playing sports is smaller.
On Trump’s first day in office on 20 January, he signed a separate order calling for the federal government to officially define sex as either being male or female.
[BBC]
Sports
Aimee Maguire suspended from bowling in international cricket

Ireland’s Aimee Maguire has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect after an Independent Assessment confirmed that the left-arm spinner uses an illegal bowling action.
The 18-year-old was reported by match officials for a suspect bowling action during the first ODI of the ICC Women’s Championship series against India in Rajkot on 10 January.
She subsequently underwent a bowling assessment at the ICC Accredited testing centre in Loughborough, United Kingdom, on 21 January, where it was revealed that the amount of elbow extension in her bowling action exceeds the 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the ICC Illegal Bowling Regulations.
As a result, in accordance with clause 6.1 of the regulations, Aimee is immediately suspended from bowling in international cricket. Her suspension will remain in effect until she undergoes a re-assessment of her bowling action which confirms that she can bowl with a legal action.
[ICC]
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