Ilia Malinin completes redemption arc with third straight world figure skating championship

Ilia Malinin claimed a third straight world figure skating championship on Saturday afternoon, completing a swift redemption a month after his shock Olympic collapse with a commanding free skate.The 21-year-old American entered the final at Prague’s O2 Arena with a commanding lead after Thursday’s short program, where his personal-best 111.29 had put him more than nine points clear of the field. This time, there would be no unraveling.Skating last, Malinin produced a free program of 218

Lachie Kennedy upstages Gout Gout to win 200m at Peter Norman Memorial

Gout Gout has a problem and his name is Lachie Kennedy. In another enthralling evening in Australian athletics, the superstar teenager was once again upstaged by his fellow Queenslander, at the Maurie Plant Meet on Saturday.Under pouring rain at Lakeside Stadium in front of close to 9,000 fans, Kennedy held off the fast-finishing Gout in the Peter Norman Memorial 200m. The result was a replay of last year in a race that is now the clear highlight of the Australian athletics season.“Today he got the win, but next time I’ll be better for sure,” Gout said after crossing the line second, five hundredths of a second behind the winner

Illinois imposes alcohol limits near campus with Final Four berth at stake

Officials in Champaign have imposed temporary alcohol restrictions around the University of Illinois campus ahead of Saturday night’s Elite Eight game between Illinois Fighting Illini and Iowa Hawkeyes, citing public safety concerns tied to anticipated postgame celebrations.The emergency order, issued by mayor Deborah Frank Feinen, requires bars in a designated campus area to serve alcohol only in plastic, paper or aluminum containers during a set period before and after the game. Sales of packaged liquor and cocktails-to-go will be restricted after tipoff, while alcohol deliveries into and out of the area will be temporarily prohibited.The order also bars licensed establishments from selling more than one keg of beer to a single customer.City officials said the measures are intended to reduce the risk of injury or property damage in crowded areas

Featherstone’s long and quiet Sundays in a rugby league town that lost its soul

Club’s financial crisis meant exclusion from the RFL Championship this season, and it could be a long way back for one of the sport’s storied namesSunday afternoon in Featherstone. The first shoots of spring are creaking through the skyline and the Railway pub is bustling with rugby league supporters as the town’s pride and joy, Featherstone Rovers, prepare to face Swinton Lions.Or at least, that is what should have happened last weekend. Instead, streets of this West Yorkshire town built on coal mining were deserted. The Railway, just a few hundred yards from Rovers’ Post Office Road home, was largely empty and the gates of the stadium chained shut

‘I’m not a superhero. I’m just a boxer’: Moses Itauma on racism, identity and living on £7 a week | Donald McRae

Britain’s heavyweight prospect puts his unbeaten record on the line against Jermaine Franklin on SaturdayMoses Itauma might represent the glittering future of heavyweight boxing but right now he is locked in the present. In the back seat of a car, while being driven from one swanky hotel to another in Manchester, the 21-year-old turns to me and says: “Let’s get going.”I know how much Itauma dislikes interviews and so the only sensible option is to resist this blunt invitation to rush through our 45 minutes together. On Saturday night, in Manchester, Itauma fights Jermaine Franklin, the tough American who should provide his first notable test after he has won all 13 professional fights so far, with 11 ending in brutal stoppages. So he nods, just a little grudgingly, when I suggest we wait until we are sitting face to face

Kimi Antonelli pips Mercedes teammate George Russell to pole for F1’s Japanese GP – as it happened

Giles Richards reports on another Mercedes front-row lockout, this time in qualifying at the F1 Japanese Grand Prix.And that is all from me … Giles’s report will be along shortly, and do join Joey Lynch tomorrow for the race itself.Andrea Stella, the McLaren principal, is pleased to be mixing it with Ferrari this weekend. He says they are getting a bit more out of the chassis, but more the power unit. He says Piastri has been faster here and indeed all season, but just not able to show it, with his two did not starts