Monthly Archives: June 2016

Boxing

Antonio Vargas, Gary Russell, and Jonathan Esquivel Advance at Olympic Boxing World Qualification Event

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All of the American boxers competing in Baku have remained on track to qualify for the Olympics as three more boxers won their opening matches on Friday. Antonio Vargas (52kg), Gary Russell (64kg), and Jonathan Esquivel (81kg) all took 3-0 decisions on Friday to advance to the next round. Vargas took his matchup with India’s Gaurav Bidhuri 29-27 according to all three judges while Russell won 30-27 according to all three judges when he beat Ukraine’s Viktor Petrov. Esquivel defeated Jordan’s Mohammad Alyazouri by three 30-27 scores as well. These three will fight again on Sunday.

Paul Kroll will fight again on Saturday in his second bout at 69kg while Cam F. Awesome (91kg) has his first bout. Marlo Moore (+91kg) will continue to wait for his first bout.

Preliminaries continue Saturday and run through Tuesday to narrow fields down to eight in each weight class for quarterfinals that will take place on Tuesday and Thursday of next week.

Previous 2016 AIBA World Olympic Qualifying Event Coverage:
Preview
Thursday Update

Cycling, UCI Men's World Tour

Tejay Van Garderen Wins Seventh Stage of Tour de Suisse

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For the first time this year an American has won a stage on the UCI World Tour. Tejay Van Garderen was 16 seconds clear of the field on the tough 139.4 mile mountain stage Friday to earn his first stage win, or even top three finish so far this season. Van Garderen’s win topped Joe Dombrowski’s third place finish in the 20th stage of the Giro d’Italia as the best finish by an American in 2016. The win was nice for Van Garderen but didn’t help him make up too much ground as new leader Warren Barguil of France was 16 seconds back in third. Andrew Talansky remained the top American overall by finishing 33 seconds back in fifth, his best stage finish of the season, and is still third overall but now just 24 seconds back.

Peter Stetina was 26th, 5:22 back, and moved up six spots to 24th, now trailing the leader by 18:42. Dombrowski finished 42nd, 11:50 back, and swapped spots 31 and 32 overall with Ian Boswell, who finished 54th. Dombrowski is now 25:53 back with Boswell 26:47 back.

The race continues with a 10 mile time trial on Saturday and then wraps up with a 73.1 mile mountain stage on Sunday.

Previous Tour de Suisse Coverage:
Preview
Stage One Recap
Stage Two Recap
Stage Three Recap
Stage Four Recap
Stage Five Recap
Stage Six Recap

Cycling, UCI Women's WorldTour

Katie Halls and Tayler Wiles Finishes Top-50 in Third Stage of The Aviva Women’s Tour

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For the first time the US didn’t have any riders that finished in the top 25 at the Aviva Women’s Tour but still had two finish in the top 50. Katie Hall and Tayler Wiles both finished 49 seconds behind the leaders with Hall in 43rd and Wiles in 45th. Hall actually stayed in 23rd and is now one minute back overall. Wiles is 48th overall and 5:57 back.

Finishing further back were Alison Tetrick in 79th and Lauren Rathbun in 85th. Tetrick is now 79th overall and Rathbun is 85th overall.

The fourth stage on Saturday will be 74.3 miles. The Aviva Women’s Tour runs through Sunday.

Previous Aviva Women’s Tour Coverage:
Preview
Wednesday Update
Thursday Update

Diamond League, Track and Field

Kendra Harrison and Christian Taylor Three-Peat at Diamond League in Stockholm

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Three tries and three wins, that’s the Diamond League results so far this year for Kendra Harrison and Christian Taylor as both kept up their winning ways without too much pressure from second place this weekend. Harrison led a 1-2-3 American top three in the 100m hurdles, the fourth straight time this year the US has swept the top three, as Nia Ali and Queen Harrison both had season best finishes. It’s starting to look like the three Olympic medalists might be decided in Eugene in the US Olympic trials. The US didn’t go 1-2-3 in the triple jump but Chris Carter and Chris Bernard did give the US three of the top four with their third and fourth place finishes.

Those were the only winners for the US but a few other athletes did have good finishes. Kerron Clement finished second in the 400m hurdles as Michael Tinsley pulled up before the final 100m and did not finish and Berhsawn Jackson was DQd. The US took second and third in the long jump as Brittney Reese and Tianna Bartoletta both had strong finishes. Dentarius Locke was the lone American in the 100m and finished fourth missing out on a top three spot on a photo finish. Other Americans finishes included: Charonda Williams (7th in the 200m) and Stephanie Garcia (10th in the 3000m steeplechase).

The next Diamond League event will be after the US Olympic Trials in Monaco on July 15th. The US Olympic Trials are July 1st-10th in Eugene, Oregon.

Previous Diamond League Coverage:
Stockholm Preview

Boxing

Paul Kroll Advances at Olympic Boxing World Qualification Event

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Paul Kroll started his quest to make the Olympics on the right foot Thursday defeating Greece’s Dimitrios Poulikos Tsagkrakos 3-0 with all three judges scoring in 30-27 to the American. Kroll’s 69kg division has the second largest field of the ten divisions competing with 47 entrants so Kroll still has a lot of competition for the five Olympic spots with 32 boxers still remaining. Kroll will fight next on Saturday.

Friday will be the first bouts for Antonio Vargas (52kg), Gary Russell (64kg), and Jonathan Esquivel (81kg). Cam F. Awesome (91kg) and Marlo Moore (+91kg) will continue to wait for their first bout.

Preliminaries continue Friday and run through Tuesday to narrow fields down to eight in each weight class for quarterfinals that will take place on Tuesday and Thursday of next week.

Previous 2016 AIBA World Olympic Qualifying Event Coverage:
Preview

Cycling, UCI Men's World Tour

Andrew Talansky in Third With Three Stages of Tour de Suisse Left

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Andrew Talansky became the lead American in the Tour de Suisse on Thursday as a sixth place finish allowed him to move into third place, just 19 seconds behind the new leader, Wilco Kelderman of the Netherlands. Talansky, along with Kelderman, was 4:31 behind the winner of the stage and finished sixth. Joe Dombrowski, who had not had a finisher higher than 39 until this stage, was 4:42 back in 11th and jumped up 18 spots to 32nd, 14:31 back.

Tejay Van Garderen slipped out of the top five and fell to 13th overall, 2:09 back, after a 28th place finish 6:22 back. Peter Stetina was the fourth American in the top 50, 10:18 back in 42nd, and improved his standing by five spots to 30th, 13:48 back overall. Stetina in 30th and Dombrowski in 32nd are separated by a 3rd American, Ian Boswell, who is 14:22 back after finishing 51st on Thursday.

The race continues with the longest stage, a 139.4 mile mountain stage, on Friday and continues through Sunday with only mountain stages and a 10 mile time trial on Saturday to come.

Previous Tour de Suisse Coverage:
Preview
Stage One Recap
Stage Two Recap
Stage Three Recap
Stage Four Recap
Stage Five Recap

Cycling, UCI Women's WorldTour

Katie Halls Finishes With Peloton in 25th in Second Stage of The Aviva Women’s Tour

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After a really large peloton on day one the second day’s peloton was slightly smaller. Just 27 riders deep the only American to finish in it was Katie Hall who finished 25th. The other Americans were further off the pace and finished outside the top 75. Alison Tetrick was 76th, Tayler Wiles was 81st, and Lauren Rathbun was 88th.

Hall is now 23rd overall, 17 seconds behind the leader, and the only American in contention. Tetrick is in 50th and 5:14 back. Wiles is in 74th with Rathbun the final rider still in the race in 88th.

The third stage on Friday will be the shortest of the event, 70 miles. The Aviva Women’s Tour runs through Sunday.

Previous Aviva Women’s Tour Coverage:
Preview
Wednesday Update

Boxing

Six US Boxers to Compete for Olympic Spots at World Qualification Event in Baku

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With the opportunities to qualify for the Olympics drawing to a close six US men’s boxers are still looking for their berth and are off to Baku, Azerbaijan in pursuit of that this weekend. Antonio Vargas (52kg), Gary Russell (64kg), Paul Kroll (69kg), Jonathan Esquivel (81kg), Cam F. Awesome (91kg), and Marlo Moore (+91kg) will look to join the four US men who have already qualified for Rio. Vargas, Russell, Kroll, and Esquivel are competing in weight classes where more fighters will be in the Olympics. Therefore they can reach the Olympics by finishing in the top five of this tournament. Things aren’t so easy for Awesome and Moore who compete in weight classes with smaller spots in the Olympics and thus they need to win in Baku.

Preliminaries start Thursday and run through Tuesday to narrow fields down to eight in each weight class for quarterfinals that will take place on Tuesday and Thursday of next week. Only Kroll will be competing for the US on the first day of competition.

Cycling, UCI Women's WorldTour

Alison Tetrick Eighth in First Stage of The Aviva Women’s Tour

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Alison Tetrick had her best stage finish of the year as she was eighth in first stage of The Aviva Women’s Tour. Yes, Tetrick was part of a large peloton, but it was a nice finish regardless. Also finishing in that peloton but further back were Katie Hall in 50th, Tayler Wiles in 61st, and Abigail Mickey in 64th.

The second stage on Thursday will be the longest of the event, 87 miles. The Aviva Women’s Tour runs through Sunday.

Previous Aviva Women’s Tour Coverage:
Preview

Cycling, UCI Men's World Tour

Tejay Van Garderen and Andrew Talansky Finish Top Seven in Stage Five at Tour de Suisse

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Tejay Van Garderen and Andrew Talansky continue to rise as they both stepped up in the most difficult stage of the Tour de Suisse so far. Van Garderen was fourth, nine seconds behind winner John Darwin Atapuma of Colombia while Talansky was seventh and 12 seconds back. The two Americans moved into the six overall with Van Garderen in fifth, 18 seconds back, and Talansky in sixth, 19 seconds back.

The good finishes didn’t stop there with Peter Stetina 2:17 back in 24th and Ian Boswell three minutes back in 27th. Those finishes really helped them in the overall with standings with each moving up at least 45 spots, Boswell to 33rd and 7:38 back and Stetina to 35th and 8:01 back. Joe Dombrowski was 58th and moved back to 50th overall but is now 14:20 behind the leader.

The race continues with a 101.2 mile mountain stage on Thursday and continues through Sunday with only mountain stages and a 10 mile time trial on Saturday to come. Van Garderen and Talansky look to be real contenders.

Previous Tour de Suisse Coverage:
Preview
Stage One Recap
Stage Two Recap
Stage Three Recap
Stage Four Recap