Monthly Archives: May 2016

ITU World Triathlon Series, Triathlon

Gwen Jorgensen Wins Yokohama Triathlon, Start of a New Winning Streak?

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Gwen Jorgensen‘s time outside first place in the ITU World Triathlon Series races didn’t last long. After losing for the first time since April 2014 at the Gold Coast Triathlon earlier this year Jorgensen rebounded to win the Yokohama Triathlon on Saturday and potentially start a new streak. Jorgensen’s time of 1:56:02 was good enough to beat Australia’s Ashleigh Gentle by 1:18 for a resounding win. Jorgensen wasn’t the only American with a good finish as Katie Zaferes was sixth for the second time this year and Kirsten Kasper grabbed a ninth place finish, her third straight top ten finish. In her first race of the year Summer Cook was the fastest swimmer and finished 14th.

On the men’s side things didn’t go quite as well as Joe Malloy was the top American with an 11th place finish, although that was less than fifty seconds behind the winner. The other top American contender, Gregory Billington, did not finish. Eric Lagerstrom (35th), Jarrod Shoemaker (45th), and Ben Kanute (17th) all had season best finishes.

The next IRU World Triathlon Series event will be in Leeds, United Kingdom on June 12th.

Previous IRU World Triathlon Series Coverage:
Yokohama Preview

Cycling, UCI Men's World Tour

Nathan Brown 67th in Stage Eight of Giro d’Italia

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It was a better day for the Americans in terms of place as Nathan Brown in 67th and Joe Dombrowski in 68th both had top 75 finishes for the US. Unfortunately while their place was higher their time back from the leaders was much higher as they were both 10:05 behind the winner. Joey Rosskopf made it three Americans in the top 100 with an 82nd finish. Brown is now the top American in 59th, 23:51 back, with Dombrowski 63rd and Ian Boswell falling to 73rd.

Sunday will feature a 25-mile time trial before a rest day on Monday.

Previous UCI World Tour Coverage:
Giro d’Italia Preview
Day 1 Update
Day 2 Update
Day 3 Update
Day 4 Update
Day 5 Update
Day 6 Update
Day 7 Update

Arena Pro Swim Series, Swimming

Dana Vollmer, Cammile Adams, Leah Smith, Connor Dwyer Among American Winners on Day Three in Charlotte

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After losing just one event on Friday in Charlotte the US didn’t have quite as strong a win rate but still brought home plenty of golds in the Arena Pro Swim Series event. It started off in the women’s 200m butterfly. Cammile Adams won the event for the fourth time in four tries this year with Jen Marrkand in second. Hannah Saiz grabbed her second medal of the year, a bronze, to make it a 1-2-3 American finish. On the men’s side Colombia’s Jonathan Gomez won with Tyler Clary in second. Zach Harting gave the US two in the top three. In the women’s 50m freestyle Canada’s Chantal Van Landeghem held off Madison Kennedy by 0.1 seconds. Kennedy had won the last two events but now has won two golds and two silvers in the last four events. The US did win the men’s event as Anthony Ervin won for the first time this year. Canada’s Santo Condorelli was 0.17 seconds back with Josh Schneider just 0.01 seconds further back in bronze.

The women’s 100m backstroke was the first event where the US finished outside of the top two. Canada’s Kylie Massey and Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry held off Ali DeLoof. The US also failed to win on the men’s side where Serbia’s Arkady Vyatchanin took first but Ryan Lochte was second best and Bryce Bohman was third. In the 200m breaststroke Canada’s Kierra Smith ruined a 1-2-3 US finish as Anne Lazor and Lilly King finished first and third. The only American in the men’s 200m breaststroke top three was Cody Miller, and he won the event. Mexico’s Mauro Castillo Luna came in second.

In the women’s 50m butterfly Dana Vollmer grabbed the top spot by 0.1 seconds over Canada’s Penny Oleksiak. The order was reversed on the men’s side with Santo Condorelli in first and Matthew Josa and Tim Phillips in second and third just 0.02 seconds apart. In the longest race of the day, the women’s 400m freestyle, Leah Smith won for the first time this season after two silvers and Lindsay Vrooman and Gillian Ryan made it as 1-2-3 American finish. The same was true on the men’s side where Connor Dwyer grabbed his third win over the year with Zane Grothe and Connor Jaeger finishing behind him.

Sunday will feature five events. Here are some of the American favorites:
Women’s 800m Freestyle: Lindsay Vrooman – a silver in Orlando
Women’s 200m Individual Medley: Caitlin Levernz – gold in Minneapolis
Men’s 200m Individual Medley: Ryan Lochte – silver in Austin, Connor Dwyer – silver and bronze this season
Women’s 200m Backstroke: No previous US medalists from this season
Men’s 200m Backstroke: No previous US medalists from this season
Women’s 50m Breaststroke: Has not been held this season
Men’s 50m Breaststroke: Has not been held this season
Women’s 100m Freestyle: Dana Vollmer – bronze in Mesa
Men’s 100m Freestyle: Jimmy Feigen – bronze in Austin and Mesa
Men’s 1500m Freestyle: Connor Jaeger – a gold and two silvers this year

Previous Charlotte Arena Pro Swim Series Coverage:
Preview
Day 1 Update
Day 2 Update

Men's World League, Water Polo

USA Smokes Uncompetitive China 19-2

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The US men went to 5-0 in the qualifying tournament after an easy 19-2 win over China. The US led 5-0 after the first quarter and 9-1 at the half. Alex Obert scored four goals for the US with Bret Bonanni and Alex Roelse each adding three. McQuin Baron played in goal and made 19 saves.

The US will now face a rematch of their opening match against Australia to decide the gold medal for this tournament. Both teams, along with Brazil and Japan, are qualified for the World League. Australia has not lost since the opening match against the US.

Previous FINA Intercontinental Qualification Tournament Coverage:
Preview
Australia Recap
Japan Recap
Kazakhstan Recap
Brazil Recap

Judo, Judo Grand Slam and Grand Prix

Hannah Martin Reaches Round of 16 in Almaty

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Two Americans got wins on Saturday but it was Hannah Martin advancing to the round of 16 for the first time in a grand prix event this year that had the highest finish of the three Americans competing. Martin took care of Kazakhstan’s Azhar Salykova via ippon in her opener to reach the round of 16 for the first time in four 2016 grand prix events. A tough matchup with Canada’s Stefanie Tremblay for a quarterfinal spot ended up being decided by Martin having more shido penalties. three to one. Competing in the same women’s -63kg division as Martin, Leilani Akiyama lost to three yukos from Brazil’s Ketleyn Quadros.

Over on the men’s side Nicholas Delpopolo opened with the narrowest of wins over Portugal’s Nuno Saraiva. The only thing on the scorecard at the end of the match was a single shido penalty for Saraiva, sending the American through. His next match was decided by shidos as well but this time Delpopolo was on the wrong end 2-1 to Egypt’s Mohamed Mohyeldin.

The final day of competition on Sunday will feature four more Americans. Colton Brown is in the men’s -90kg division while two American men, Mark Fletcher and Ajax Tadehara, compete in the -100kg division. On the women’s side Nina Cutro-Kelly takes part in the +78kg division. Tadehara has a round of 16 appearance earlier this year and Cutro-Kelly was seventh in the first grand prix event of 2016.

Previous Judo Grand Prix Coverage:
Almaty Preview
Friday Update

Archery, Archery World Cup

US Wins Just One Gold in Four Oportunities Saturday at Archery World Cup in Medellin

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Unfortunately for the US on Saturday it seemed everything was coming up silver for the US in the compound finals. Despite having a competitor in four of the five gold medal finals only the men’s compound team was able to win their final. Headlining the tough day was Crystal Gauvin who went 0-3 in finals on Saturday and had to settle for just two silvers.

The first final was the compound women’s team of Crystal Gauvin, Emile Bee, and Dhalia Cook taking on #1 Colombia. The US scored 11 less than their semifinal round 233 from Friday and lost the final 229-222, though they grabbed their first women’s compound medal of the year. The next final was the bright spot on the day for the US, gold from the men’s team of Alex Wifler, Steve Anderson, and Braden Gellenthien. They defeated #6 Italy in the final by a score of 232-229. This was the second time in two tries this year the US team had reached the final but their first win.

The mixed teams competed next with Gauvin and Wifler unable to grab an extra medal as they lost to #7 France in the bronze medal match by a narrow 150-149 margin. Gauvin lost her third match of the day in the compound women’s gold final on a tiebreaker against #1 Sara Lopez after they tied at 146. Guavin had been knocked out in the quarterfinals in Shanghai so medaling here was a step forward. Finally in the men’s final the unexpected matchup of #18 Reo Wilde and #16 Sergio Pagni saw the Italian get the better of the matchup 146-143, by far Wilde’s worst shooting match of the competition. Still a good result for Wilde who had been knocked out in the round of 32 in Shanghai.

Sunday’s final day of competition will see medal opportunities for the women’s recurve team of Erin Mickelberry, Lauren Clamon, and Anna Miscione in the bronze medal match and Brady Ellison in the men’s individual gold medal final.

Previous Archery World Cup Coverage:
Medellin Preview
Wednesday Recap
Thursday Recap
Friday Recap

Badminton

US Women’s Badminton Team to Compete in 2016 Uber Cup

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The 2016 Uber Cup takes place in Kunshan, China starting on Sunday. No, the event is not named after the ride-share service, this Uber has been around since the 1950s and is a bi-annual women’s team competition. The US team is seeded 13th for the group stage placing them into a group with #3 Korea, #7 Chinese Taipei, and #16 Mauritius.

The US is taking a young team to the event, four of their five team members are teenagers. 21-year-old Iris Wang is the veteran of the group while 15-year-old Jennie Gai is the youngest member. Annie Xu and Kerry Xu are twin 16-year-olds while Crystal Pan is 17. Wang is the highest ranked player at #34 while Pan is #226. The other three are ranked outside the top 1200 and none are ranked in the top 800 of doubles play. This team has little chance of advancing to the knockout round this year but hopefully as they grow in experience they may bring the US closer to their one time strength in badminton (three Uber Cup titles between 1957 and 1963).

The US starts the competition with Korea on Sunday and then Chinese Taipei on Monday. Whether they still have a chance to advance when they face Mauritius on Wednesday remains to be seen but seems unlikely.

Diamond League, Track and Field

Four US Athletes Win at Diamond League in Shanghai

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The US couldn’t match their haul of seven wins from the first Diamond League event of 2016 but the four they grabbed in Shanghai is nothing to snicker at. In two events the US grabbed first and third, including the 100m.  Justin Gatlin and Michael Rodgers finished first and third with Gatlin winning by a full 0.13 seconds and finishing as the only runner to get under 10 seconds. It was the same spots they finished in for the season standings last year. The other first-third finish was in the shot put where defending champion Joe Kovacs was third with Kurt Roberts finishing in first this time. The US also got a win off the track in pole vault where Sam Kendricks had a personal best 5.88m to win the event. The final US win came in the 400m hurdles where Michael Tinsley took top honors with Kerron Clement in seventh.

Other top three finishers for the US were Natasha Hastings in the 400m (third place) and defending long jump champion, Tianna Bartoletta. Bartoletta was joined by Janay Deloach (sixth) and Hastings was joined by Ashley Spencer (fifth) to give the US two of the top six in each event. Kaylin Whitney was sixth in the 200m while Jenny Simpson finished the same in the 1500m. The men’s 100m hurdles had two Americans, David Oliver and Jason Richardson finishing back-to-back in fifth and sixth. Whitney Ashley finished sixth in the discus throw while Jeff Henderson was fourth in the long jump.

The only events featuring Americans where no American finished in the top six were the men’s high jump (Jesse Williams was seventh) and the men’s 800m (Erik Sowinski was eighth). The next Diamond League event is in Rabat, Morocco on Sunday the 22nd.

Previous Diamond League Coverage:
Shanghai Preview

ATP Tour, Tennis, WTA Tour

Serena Williams and Madison Keys Will Meet in Italian Open Final

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An American woman is going to win the Italian Open, the only question is which one. Madison Keys and #1 Serena Williams both swept their semifinal matches on Saturday to advance to the final. Keys went the distance in the first set against #3 Garbine Muguruza of Spain but won the tiebreaker and a tight second set to claim the match 7-6(5), 6-4. Williams has yet to drop a set in the tournament and swept Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 6-4, 6-1. No American woman had won a Premier 5 or higher tournament until this weekend.

In men’s doubles it’ll also be an all-American final, though a Canadian is also involved. #5 Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan needed the match tiebreaker to defeat Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France in the semifinals but got the job done with a 6(5)-7, 6-2, 10-7 victory. #8 Jack Sock and Vasek Pospisil of Canada needed two set tiebreakers to defeat #6 Rohan Bopanna of India and Florin Mergea of Romania 7-6(4), 7-6(2). This if the first time into the finals at a Masters 1000 level event for the Bryan brothers this year while Sock and Pospisil finished second in Indian Wells.

Previous Italian Open Coverage:
Preview
Sunday Update
Monday Update
Tuesday Update
Wednesday Update
Thursday Update
Friday Update

Fencing, Fencing World Cup

Mariel Zagunis Wins Bronze in Fencing World Cup Event on Saturday

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Mariel Zagunis won a bronze medal in Foshan, China on Saturday, the only American to reach the semifinals between the three Fencing World Cup events around the globe. Zagunis’ closest test in the first four rounds was a 15-13 win in the round of 16 over Jiyeon Seo of Korea. Zagunis lost in the semifinals 15-13 to eventual champ Olga Kharlan of Ukraine. Zagunis gave Kharlan the closest match she faced all day. Ibtihaj Muhammad, who like Zagunis had a bye to table of 64, advanced twice before losing 15-12 to Anna Marton of Hungary in the round of 16. Monica Aksamit, who went 6-0 in pool play Friday, advanced once before losing 15-13 to Ekaterina Dyachenko of Russia. Dyachenko took out Kamali Thompson in the first round 15-4. Also losing in the first round was Francesca Russo, 15-5 to quarterfinalist Cecilia Berder of France, and Sage Palmedo 15-9 to runner-up Jiyeon Kim of Korea. Zagunis, Muhammad, Aksamit, and Palmedo compete as a team on Saturday.

No medals were won by the 13 Americans competing in knockout competition at the other two Fencing World Cup events on Saturday, and in fact only one made the round of 16. The most successful of the US competitors was in St. Petersburg where Gerek Meinhardt got three wins to start the day before losing to Russian Dmitri Rigine in the quarterfinals 15-13. Rigine was the runner-up overall. Alexander Massialas won one match before losing 15-6 to Andrea Baldini of Italy. Baldini went on to advance to the semifinals. Race Imboden and Miles Chamley-Watson both lost their opening matches, Imboden in a tight one 15-14 to Xiaolong Wu of China and Chamley-Watson in a close one as well 15-14 to Alaaeldin Abourlkassim of Egypt. These four will compete as a team on Sunday.

Over in Madrid it was a quick day for most of the Americans. Just one of the six Americans who had to compete in preliminaries advanced to the table of 64, Will Spear. Evan Prochniak, Phillipe Guy, and Andrew Doddo all won their opening match before losing in the second while Colin Campbell and Kamar Skeete lost their opening matches. Spear ended up facing off against fellow American Eli Dershwitz in the round of 64 and lost 15-8. Dershwitz himself was gone one round later after losing 15-14 to Alin Badea of Romania. Jeff Spear had an easy opening win but lost in the round of 32 as well, 15-12 to Vincent Anstett of France. The final American, Daryl Homer, was upset badly in round one 15-3 by Sanguk Oh of Korea. Dershwitz, Homer, Jeff Spear, and Peter Souders (who was winless in pool play and eliminated) will compete as a team for the US on Sunday.

Previous Fencing World Cup Coverage:
Madrid, Foshan, and St. Petersburg Preview
Day 1 Update