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International Sports, Sports

Jemima Sumgong: 2016 Olympic marathon champion fails drugs test

Published 7 April, 2017

Reigning Olympic and London marathon champion Jemima Sumgong is the latest Kenyan athlete to fail a drugs test.

The 32-year-old tested positive for banned substance EPO in an out of competition test carried out by athletics’ governing body the IAAF.

Sumgong – the first Kenyan to win Olympic marathon gold – was due to defend her London title on 23 April.

Kenya was last year declared in breach of anti-doping rules, and athletes underwent special testing for Rio 2016.

The East African country was deemed “non-compliant” by the World Anti-Doping Agency, but was reinstated before last summer’s Games.

Between 2011 and 2016, more than 40 Kenyan track-and-field athletes failed doping tests.

Among those sanctioned was female marathon runner Rita Jeptoo, 36, who was banned for four years following a positive test for performance-enhancing drug EPO in 2014.

Sumgong is provisionally suspended, and she will face sanctions if her B-sample also tests positive.

Eunice Kirwa of Bahrain took silver behind Sumgong in Rio, with Ethiopia’s world champion Mare Dibaba claiming bronze and another Ethiopian, Tirfi Tsegaye, fourth.

“We can confirm that an anti-doping rule violation case concerning Jemima Sumgong (Kenya) has commenced this week,” the IAAF said in a statement.

“The athlete tested positive for EPO (Erythropoietin) following a no-notice test conducted in Kenya.

“This was part of an enhanced IAAF out-of-competition testing programme dedicated to elite marathon runners which is supported by the Abbott World Marathon Majors group.”

London Marathon organisers said they were “extremely disappointed” by Sumgong’s positive test, adding: “We are determined to make marathon running a safe haven from doping.”

In 2015, the Sunday Times claimed the London Marathon had been won seven times in 12 years by athletes who had recorded suspicious blood scores.

That followed details of 12,000 blood test results from 5,000 athletes published by the newspaper, in partnership with German broadcaster ARD.

Entertainment

Adele breaks Billboard 200 record as 21 album becomes longest-running on charts

Adele has sold more than 31 million copies of 21 around the worldKevin Winter/Getty Images

Six years after its release, Adele’s critically-acclaimed second studio album 21 continues to smash records. The Hello singer now claims the longest-running album on the Billboard 200 for a female artist.

Released in March 2011, 21 has spent a total of 319 weeks within the US chart and is currently sitting at number 103. Adele’s latest achievement means the British singer has overtaken a record set by Carole King, whose 1971 album Tapestry has spent 318 weeks within the Billboard 200 chart.

One of the bestselling albums of all time, 21 spent a total of 24 non-consecutive weeks at number one in the US and has sold more than 11.7 million copies in the US alone. King’s Tapestry, which features the songs It’s Too Late and So Far Away, initially spent 302 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 before disappearing and returning again in 2010.

Tapestry has spent a total of 15 consecutive weeks at number one. Between 1991 and 2009, Billboard barred older albums from charting so it is possible Tapestry could have notched up more weeks in this period.

Of all artists, Pink Floyd hold the title for the longest-charting album with their 1973 record, The Dark Side Of The Moon, clocking up a staggering 927 weeks on the Billboard 200. This is followed by Johnny Mathis’ Johnny’s Greatest Hits with 490, the My Fair Lady original cast soundtrack with 480, Bob Marley & The Wailers’ Legend with 463, Journey’s Greatest Hits with 454 and Metallica’s eponymously-titled fifth studio album with 424.

Adele’s 21, released in January 2011 in the UK, has sold more than 31 million copies worldwide and features the hit singles Someone Like You, Rolling In The Deep, Set Fire To The Rain and Rumour Has It. The pop star’s third album 25 enjoyed similar success, selling more than 20 million units around the world and winning album of the year at the Grammys 2017.

Adele 21 album — Adele’s second album 21 is now the longest-charting album for a female artist in the USXL Recordings

International Sports, Sports

Real Madrid star Isco rules out shock Barcelona move despite reports of £17.1m signing bonus

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/real-madrid-star-isco-rules-out-shock-barcelona-move-despite-reports-17-1m-signing-bonus-1615977 #

Published 7 April, 2017

Isco’s current contract at Real Madrid will expire in the summer of 2018.Getty

Real Madrid star Isco has ruled out making a shock move to Barcelona amid reports claiming that he has received a lucrative offer to move to Los Blancos’ arch-enemies as a free agent once his contract expires in 2018.

The Spanish international long-term future at Zinedine Zidane’s side has been under scrutiny in recent months amid delays in the negotiations with Real Madrid to sign a new deal. The former Malaga midfielder has publicly admitted that he could consider making a move away due to frustration over a lack of playing time.

Isco, 24, added more fuel to the speculation on Thursday evening after posting a picture in his Instagram stories with a packet of Barcelona crisps.

Barcelona and Real Madrid fans quickly react on the social media as it was well known in Spain that Isco has a pet dog named after Lionel Messi – amid suggestions that before moving to Los Blancos in 2013 he was a supporter of the Catalan side.

However, Isco quickly removed the picture from his Instagram before posting a tweet in which he made it clear that he will not join Barcelona.

International Sports, Sports

Miguel Francis: Usain Bolt training partner switches allegiance to Great Britain

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/miguel-francis-usain-bolt-training-partner-switches-allegiance-great-britain-1615773 #

Published 7 April, 2017

Francis is free to compete for GB with immediate effect.Getty Images

Usain Bolt‘s training partner Miguel Francis is eligible to compete for Great Britain with “immediate effect” after transferring his allegiance from Antigua and Barbuda. The 22-year-old, whose 200m personal best of 19.88 seconds made him the seventh-fastest man over the distance in 2016, was eligible for the switch having been born in Montserrat – a British overseas territory – despite the International Associations of Athletics Federations [IAAF] planning to cease such moves.

President Sebastian Coe had announced that changes in nationality would be outlawed earlier in the year, claiming the rules which allowed such acts were “no longer fit for purpose” and “open to abuse”. But with Francis’ attempts to join GB having started before the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in August he has been handed special dispensation. The IAAF claimed in February that all applications for transfer had been put on hold.

Francis has represented Antigua and Berbuda at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2015 World Athletics Championships, but missed the Rio Games through injury. His sprinting exploits make him a valuable asset to Britain, while his background training with Bolt’s mentor Glen Mills means he joins the team with an already substantial reputation.

A statement from British athletics read: “British Athletics can confirm it has received confirmation from the IAAF that Miguel Francis is eligible to compete for the British Athletics team with immediate effect.

“The 22 year-old sprinter who was born in Montserrat is eligible for transfer of allegiance to GB with his birthplace a British overseas territory. Francis started the process to transfer allegiance from Antigua & Barbuda in August 2016, prior to the Olympic Games in Rio, and is now eligible to compete subject to meeting the required selection criteria for a Championships team.”

The timing of the transfer means Francis could represent Britain during the Diamond League season which begins in Doha in May. The European Athletics Team Championships follow at a venue still to be confirmed before the World Championships take place in London in August.

International Sports, Sports

Kim Collins in Grenada for April 1 Saturday’s first ever Grenada Invitati

Published 7 April 2017

Kim Collins in Grenada for April 1 Saturday’s first ever Grenada Invitational!