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Austria’s Kriechmayr wins first Kitzbuehel downhill

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Austria's Kriechmayr wins first Kitzbuehel downhill

World champion Vincent Kriechmayr kicked off a weekend of high-octane World Cup action in Kitzbuehel with a victory on home snow in the opening men s downhill on Friday.

Kriechmayr clocked 1min 56.16sec for the win on the mythical Streif piste down the Hahnenkamm mountain overlooking Kitzbuehel.

Renowned as the toughest course on the men s World Cup circuit, Kriechmayr pocketed prize money of 100,000 euros ($108,000), part of a 1m-euro pot on offer for three days of racing in the upmarket Austrian resort.

“It wasn t completely flawless,” said Kriechmayr, describing his run as “at the limit”.

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“I don t think I got it right at the top either. I don t know why, but I wasn t among the fastest there. But overall great, I fought everywhere,” said the 31-year-old who is also reigning world super-G champion.

Unknown Italian Florian Schieder, whose previous bests are two 13th places in downhills in Val Gardena and Bormio this season, shocked the field by coming in second.

The 27-year-old policeman, in his fifth season, finished 0.23sec off the Austrian s pace despite starting with his lowly start bib of 43 as the track turned for the better as the day progressed.

“When I saw second place at the finish it was almost a shock,” said Schieder. “It went perfectly. The light was better for me, of course, but you have to be able to take advantage of that in the first place.”

Switzerland s Niels Hintermann rounded out the podium, at 0.31sec, just ahead of late-charging American Jared Goldberg (+0.35).

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Odermatt, Kilde mistakes

Hintermann s teammate Marco Odermatt, runaway leader in the World Cup overall standings and seeking a breakthrough maiden downhill victory, paid the price for a big mistake up high on the course.

The 25-year-old was forced into a drastic one-ski save to avoid hitting the netting of a course that has a stomach-churning vertiginous start that propels racers to 100km/h in five seconds.

Odermatt eventually came down a distant 3.20sec off Kriechmayr s pace, while the Swiss racer s closest rival, Norway s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, also didn t have it his own way.

The Norwegian looked like he d bagged at least a podium spot but went wide in the final turn and was forced into an equally dramatic save, eventually finishing 16th, 0.97sec down.

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Olympic champion Beat Feuz, seeking a fourth Kitzbuehel downhill victory before he hangs up his skis at the end of the season, finished 28th (+1.42).

The top speed of the day was notched up by American Travis Ganong, who clocked an eye-watering 143km/h (89mph) in finishing joint seventh alongside Slovenian Miha Hrobat, just behind Italian three-time Kitzbuehel winner Dominik Paris and Norwegian Adrin Smiseth Sejersted in joint fifth.

While Kitzbuehel has been witness to many gruesome crashes over the years, the downhill was seemingly en route to escaping any such drama in front of a large crowd after two years of Covid-19 restrictions that saw fan numbers heavily reduced.

But disaster struck late on when Norway s Henrik Roea, starting 48th of 58 racers, caught an edge just metres before the finish line.

The Norwegian was propelled forwards as his legs split, landing heavily in a freak accident that cast a sombre mood over proceedings. Medics were quickly on the scene and Roea was transported immediately by helicopter to hospital.

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Racers will contest a second downhill on Saturday, with a slalom programmed for Sunday. 

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World champion Brecel excited by new ‘golden ball’ format

World champion Brecel excited by new ‘golden ball’ format

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World champion Brecel excited by new 'golden ball' format

World champion Luca Brecel is excited to be among those looking to complete the first ever 167 break after the new golden ball was introduced at Saudi Arabia’s first professional snooker event this week.

The opening season of the Riyadh World Masters of Snooker offers players the chance to win a prize of $500,000 if they can complete a maximum 147 and then pot the golden ball.

The golden ball, worth 20 points, sits on the top cushion during the frame for as long as a player can still complete a maximum and is removed when the chance is gone.

The event, which runs until Wednesday, features players such as Ronnie O’Sullivan, Shaun Murphy, Mark Williams and Ding Junhui.

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“Yeah, it’s exciting the golden ball. Obviously it’s a big prize and well, it’s going to be very difficult. It’s a nice challenge and I’d love to have a go at it. Even if I don’t make it I would just like to have a try,” Brecel told Reuters on Tuesday.

“The 147 in itself is really difficult but now you need to be perfect on the black as well to go to the golden ball which is even more difficult.” Former world champion Judd Trump is also enjoying the challenge.

“It’s something cool. I think it’s always good to kind of push new ideas and I think the challenge of making a different break, a 167 here, would be very special,” Trump said.

“I think the 167 is just that little bit harder now and with that comes a bigger prize. So, I think that 167 is very special for the first time.”

Following the announcement last month of the creation of a Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters which will become the ‘fourth major’, Brecel said it was good to see the sport expanding into new countries.

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“(It’s) very good for us and for snooker. It’s nice to be able to come to these countries and hopefully maybe Qatar and Dubai will follow and in the future maybe go up to the U.S. as well and make snooker really, really big in all the countries in the world,” he said.

With a 10-year deal agreed, the tournament’s first edition will take place in Riyadh from Aug. 31 to Sept. 7. It will be a ranking event open to all tour players, plus six local wild cards. 

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Scaled-back opening ceremony for Paris Olympics to offer 326,000 tickets

Scaled-back opening ceremony for Paris Olympics to offer 326,000 tickets

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Scaled-back opening ceremony for Paris Olympics to offer 326,000 tickets

A total of 326,000 tickets are set to be sold or given away for the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on the River Seine, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Tuesday, giving the exact number for the first time. Security fears have seen the size of the waterborne parade dramatically reduced.

“We will have 104,000 spectators on the lower bank who have paid for a ticket,” Darmanin told a hearing in the Sénat. “Then you have 222,000 people on the higher banks (with free tickets).”

Darmanin estimated that another 200,000 people would watch the event along the river from buildings that overlook the Seine, with an additional 50,000 in fan-zones in the capital.

Resistance from French security services and worries about potential terror attacks saw the number of spectators downgraded from as many as two million people.

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However the event is still set to break records in terms of its size, with all previous opening ceremonies taking place in an athletics’ stadium.

The open-air ceremony on boats is in keeping with promises to make the Paris Olympics “iconic”, with the local organising committee keen to break from past traditions in the way it stages the world’s biggest sporting event.

A total of 180 boats are set to sail around six kilometres down the Seine, of which 94 will contain athletes, the top security official for the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, told the same hearing.

Darmanin added: “No country has informed us that they do not want to take part … They have confidence in our organisation.”

Special security

The executive in charge of planning and risk management at the Paris organising committee told AFP last week that special security measures would be considered for high-risk delegations such as those from the US or Israel.

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“Every delegation has its own unique circumstances, and we’ll look at solutions that are adapted to the risk,” Lambis Konstantinidis said.

The Olympics have been targeted with attacks in the past, notably Munich in 1972 and Atlanta in 1996.

France was placed on its highest alert for terror attacks in October after a suspected Islamist burst into a school in northern France and stabbed a teacher to death.

The country has been consistently targeted by Islamic extremists over the last decade, particularly from the Islamic State group, while Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza is seen as exacerbating domestic tensions.

Around a million people are set to be screened in advance by French security forces for possible security risks, including the athletes, journalists, private security guards and people who live close to key infrastructure. 

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Sinisterra signs long-term deal with Bournemouth

Sinisterra signs long-term deal with Bournemouth

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Sinisterra signs long-term deal with Bournemouth

Luis Sinisterra has made his move to AFC Bournemouth from Leeds United permanent, signing a long-term deal with the Premier League team on Friday.

Bournemouth reportedly agreed to a £20 million fee with Championship (second-tier) side Leeds.

The 24-year-old Colombian had been impressive since joining Bournemouth in September on a loan spell from Leeds United, with three goals and three assists in his 17 appearances.

“I’m really happy to make this move. I’m excited to play for Bournemouth for the long term,” Sinisterra said. “I feel really comfortable here and the fans are really nice. When I meet them in the streets, they show the love.”

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Andoni Iraola’s team are 12th in the table on 27 points, but are winless in their last four games. They play Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday. 

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