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International Sports, Sports

Crooke Named MEAC Track Athlete Of The Week

http://www.morganstatebears.com/news/2017/4/5/womens-track-and-field-crooke-named-meac-track-athlete-of-the-week.aspx #

NORFOLK, Va. (Apr. 5, 2017)-Morgan State senior Shenel Crooke was selected as Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Track Athlete of the Week, as announced by the league office on Wednesday.

It is the third weekly honor this season for Crooke, who also earned the honor on Feb. 8, as well as co-track performer of the week accolades on Jan. 18 during the indoor season.

A native of Basseterre, St. Kitts, Crooke competed in five events last weekend at the Pepsi Florida Relays hosted by the University of Florida. She would place 17^th in the 100 meter dash in a time of 11.53 and came in 23^rd in the 200 meter dash with a time of 24.06. Her time in the 100m currently is the top time in the MEAC.

Crooke also joined her teammates in the 1600 meter sprint medley, the 4X100 meter relay and 4X200 meter relay teams.

The 1600 meter sprint medley team finished in a time of 3:57.97 to beat out State foe Maryland for fifth-place. As a member of the 4X200 team, the squad ran a time of 1:36.03 to place 13^th, while the 4X100 relay team ran a time of 46.46, which is the fastest in the MEAC.

Crooke and the Lady Bears return to action this Saturday, April 8 when they travel to Fairfax, Va. to compete in the George Mason Spring Invitational.

International Sports, Sports

Fifa loses nearly £300m in 2016 and scheduled to lose further £400m in 2017

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/39533466 #

Published 7 April, 2017

World football governing body Fifa lost nearly £300m in 2016 and is scheduled to lose close to £400m in 2017.

Legal costs related to the corruption scandal which engulfed the organisation and “ill-considered previous investments” contributed to the losses.

The latest financial results follow a loss of nearly £100m in 2015.

Fifa forecasts a financial recovery in 2018, when Russia hosts the World Cup, and expects to finish the four years since 2014 with an £80m profit.

The governing body, which is still under criminal investigations in Switzerland and the United States, paid out nearly £50m to lawyers last year.

Former president Sepp Blatter’s investments in a football museum and hotel in Zurich have proved unsuccessful so far, too, and are referred to as “ill-considered”.

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.

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.