Canoeing, ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup

Richard Powell Takes Bronze in K1 Cross at ICF Slalom World Cup in Ivrea, Italy

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While the Americans didn’t have any real success in the traditional events at the ICF Slalom World Cup event in Ivrea, Italy Richard Powell did grab a bronze in a new event. Powell won the bronze in the K1 cross event, a competition where competitors race head to head instead of competing on time. Powell’s competition started off with a seventh place finish among the 15 who competed in the time trial to seed the field for the main event. Powell’s time of 40.40 was 3.77 behind the top time. Fellow American Tyler Westfall was right behind Powell in eighth in 40.88.

In the quarterfinals where the top two in each heat would advance Westfall caught the break of being in a heat with just three but finished third of those three and was eliminated. Powell also caught a break as only three started his heat and one of those three was disqualified. Powell still won his heat to advance to the semifinals. Powell came in second in his semifinal to become one of the four finalists and then came in third in the final to win the bronze medal.

Earlier in the day Powell finished 30th in the semifinals of the men’s K1 event. Powell had just two penalties but his total of 97.75 was over six behind the ten final qualifiers. Also competing in the semifinals was Zachary Lokken in the men’s C1. Lokken finished 29th after picking up a 50 point penalty and finishing with a 164.65 score.

The next ICF Slalom World Cup event will be in La Seu d’Urgell, Spain next weekend from the 10th through the 12th.

Previous ICF Slalom World Cup Coverage:
Ivrea Preview
Friday Update

Badminton

Favorites Dominate on Day Two at US Badminton National Championships

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The favorites dominated on day two of the US Badminton National Championships with some really dominant performances on Saturday. In women’s doubles Beiwen Zhang and Jing Yu Hong didn’t see any of the six games they played in go past 21-7 as they needed just 55 total minutes to win three matches 2-0 and get to 4-0 for the event. They face #2 seed Deepti Reddy and Yen-Fang Wang in their final match who are 3-1 so far. Zhang won twice in women’s singles (both with 21-5 and 21-6 games) and will face Ariel Lee in the final on Sunday.

The men’s doubles team of Phillip Chew and Sattawat Pongnairat won their opener easily 21-2, 21-6. The second matchup was a bit harder but they led 21-12, 5-1 before their opponents retired. The semifinal matchup was a real contest though and they dropped the first game 20-22 to Charles Gu and Sheng Lyu but came back to win the next two 21-17. 21-15. They will face Mu He and Ricky Xiu Liuzhou in the final on Sunday.

In mixed doubles Chew and Jamie Subandhi got 21-7, 21-5 and 21-14, 21-10 wins to advance to Sunday’s final. Their second win came over defending champion Yu Hong and her partner this year, Abhishek Ahlawat, who did win two matches to start the day. Chew/Subandhi will face Yoga Pratama and Zhang in the final. Zhang has three finals on Sunday.

Previous US Badminton National Championships Coverage:
Preview
Day 1 Update

Olympic Trials, Rio 2016 Olympic Trials, Shooting

Crazy Events Shakeup Field in Men’s Rifle at Air Shooting Olympic Trials

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The most dramatic event on Saturday at the Air Shooting Olympic Trials might be one where an Olympic spot is all but locked in. Lucas Kozeniesky has seemingly locked up one of the two spots available in the men’s rifle competition as he had the top qualifying score of 626.5 and finished second in the final to open up a 9.6 point lead over second place and a seemingly insurmountable 18 point lead over third place. I say seemingly because the events of Saturday’s competition show you almost anything is possible. Daniel Lowe had held the second qualifying spot after day one but was way off the pace in qualifying and missed out on the final by 2.2 points. Ivan Roe took advantage with a solid qualifying score and a fourth place finish (nothing spectacular) and went from 0.3 behind Lowe to a big 8.9 point lead. Matthew Rawlings moved into third but after finishing last in the final he is well behind Roe and would need a big final day to get into second. Dempster Christenson is in the same boat but won the final to at least keep himself afloat just a tenth of a point behind Rawlings. One this is certain, Rawlings, Christenson, and Lowe will all be hoping Roe has the same misfortune in his qualifying round that Lowe did on Saturday to open the door for others to move into contention.

Things also continue to remain tight in the men’s air pistol where Jason Turner posted a qualifying best 281 to bring himself level with Will Brown going into the final on day two. Brown won the final to stay in first overall with Turner finishing third and ending the day two points behind Brown, right where he started it. Miscues by James Hall (an eighth place finish in the final), Alexander Chichkov (a 571 in qualifying), and Nickolaus Mowrer (a 575 in qualifying and a sixth place finish in the final) mean third place Chichkov and Hall are now 10 points behind second. This one seems like it’ll come down to the final on Sunday to determine if Turner or Brown is going to Rio.

Lydia Paterson pulled away in the women’s air pistol as she was within a point of the top score in qualifying (a 381 by Alexis Lagan) and then won the final for the second straight day to extend her lead from 10 points to 20 over Lagan. Brenda Silva is now third but 23 points back. Paterson seems to have this one in the bag barring an absolute collapse on the final day of the trials.

Sagen Maddalena posted a phenomenal 418 in qualifying, 1.9 points better than anyone else in the field, but finished fourth in the final to miss an opportunity to put some real pressure on Sarah Scherer going into the final day of the women’s air rifle competition. Scherer was fairly average in qualifying, leaving the door open to competitors, but slammed it shut with a win in the final to grow her lead to four points going into the final day. With Rhiann Travis and Amy Sowash faltering (Travis with a 411.5 and Sowash with a 412.5 in qualifying as both missed the final) Elizabeth Gratz took advantage with a second place finish in the final to move into third, six points back.

Previous US Air Shooting Olympic Trials Coverage:
Preview
Friday Update

Canoeing, ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup

Maggie Hogan Finishes Fourth in K1 1000m at ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup in Montemor

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Maggie Hogan was just over a second short of grabbing a medal in the K1 1000m at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup in Montemor, Portugal on Saturday as she finished fourth in 4:11.8, 1.16 seconds shy of the third place finisher. Hogan was the only American to advance to a final A on the first day of the event. Also competing for a medal were Ian Ross and Gavin Ross in the final of the Men’s C2 200m (the only race in the class all weekend). They finished eighth of eight in 45.08 and 3.3 second behind the bronze.

In other events wrapping up on Saturday…
Men’s K1 1000m: Shawn Kaho’okele finished eighth in the final B in a time of 3:48.6, his best time of the weekend.
Women’s K1 200m: Emily Wright finished ninth in the final B in 44.868. The final was close with only 1.4 seconds separating first and last.
Men’s K2 1000m: Christopher Miller and Stanton Collins finished fifth in the final B with a time of 3:28.9, their best time of the weekend and better than several racers in the final A.

In other events starting on Saturday…
Men’s K1 200m: Kaho’okele was eliminated in his heat when he finished eighth in 42.43. He needed a top seven finish to advance to the semifinals and missed it by 1.34 seconds.Timothy Hornsby did advance to the semifinals with a fifth place finish in his heat in 39.5. Hornsby gave it a good run in the semifinals and came up one spot short of advancing to the final A when he finished fourth in 38.18. He was 0.8 seconds away from qualifying for the final A but will have to settle for participating in the final B on Sunday.
Men’s C1 200m: Ian Ross was eliminated in his heat after finishing eighth in 47.02. Ross needed a top seven finish to advance to the semifinals and missed it by 0.6 seconds. Benjamin Hefner did advance with a sixth place finish (out of six) in his heat in 50.15. Hefner was eliminated in the semifinals when he finished eighth and missed out on the “best time” spot in the final B by over two seconds after posting a time of 47.19.
Men’s K1 500m: Timothy Burdiak finished sixth in his heat in 1:57.30 to reach the semifinals but finished eighth in his semifinal despite improving to a 1:54 flat time. Burdiak was the fastest eighth place finisher by over two and a half seconds so he will take part in the final B on Sunday.
Men’s C1 500m: Gavin Ross and Ian Ross both advanced from their heats to the semifinal. Gavin was seventh in his heat in 2:18.452, 3.5 seconds clear in the final direct qualifying spot. Ian was sixth in his heat in 2:07.42 but only 0.8 seconds ahead of the ninth place finisher who was eliminated. Neither man advanced from the semifinal with Gavin finishing eighth and Ian ninth in 2:31.66 and 2:54.44 respectively. There was 21 seconds between Gavin and the next finisher ahead of him.
Women’s K1 500m: Ariel Farrar-Wellman finished sixth in her heat in 2:18.51 as she automatically qualified for the semifinals while Hogan did the same in her heat with a third place finish in 2:10.32. Farrar-Wellman was eighth in her semifinal in 2:11.30 but qualified for the final B as all semifinalist reached either final A or B. Hogan will also be in final B after finishing fifth in her heat in 2:05.26. Hogan was over six seconds behind the final qualifier for the final A. This is the event Hogan will be competing in during the Olympics.
Men’s C2 1000m: Ian Ross and Gavin Ross finished sixth in 5:10.59, over 30 seconds behind the fifth place duo, but had an automatic spot in the semifinals. They were much stronger as expected in the semifinals but their 4:00.74 time was only good enough for fifth and they missed out on the final spot by five seconds.
Men’s K4 1000m: Kaho’okele, Burdiak, Collins, and Miller finished their heat in 3:22.98, good enough for fifth place with an automatic semifinal spot. They were about 3.5 seconds behind the final direct qualifier to the final. In the semifinal they finished fifth as well in 3:18.74. This time they were over eight seconds short of qualifying for the final.

There are several finals on Sunday that will take place without having had any previous races this weekend. Miller and Collins as well as Aaron Mullican and Kaho’okele will compete in the men’s K2 500m while the K4 team of  Kaho’okele, Burdiak, Collins, and Miller compete in the men’s K4 200m. Mullican and Burdiak will take part in the men’s K1 5000m while Gavin Ross competes in the men’s C1 5000m. Finally Hogan competes in the women’s K1 5000m.

Previous ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup Coverage:
Montemor Preview
Friday Update

Diamond League, Track and Field

Kendra Harrison Will Defend 100m Hurdle Win at Diamond League in Birmingham

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As the Diamond League heads to Birmingham, England attention will turn to Kendra Harrison who competes in the 100m hurdles on Sunday. Harrison set a new Diamond League record last week in Eugene and leads a field that features two of the other Americans who finished as part of an all-USA top five that day. Brianna Rollins was the closest to Harrison and is back along with Nia Ali who finished fourth. Other previous winners competing in Birmingham will be Ameer Webb in the 200m, Tia Brooks in the shot put, and Erik Kynard in the high jump. All three won in Doha but have been beaten since then. In the shot put Brooks will also have to compete against Brittany Smith, third in Rabat.

Other previous top-three finishers who will be competing in Birmingham include Cassandra Tate, second in the 400m hurdles in Rabat, and Marquise Goodwin, already with a third and second place finish in his two long jump competitions so far this year.

Previous Diamond League Coverage:
Rome Recap

Cycling, Mountain Bike, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup

Aaron Gwin And Four Other Americans Qualify for Final of Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill Event in Fort William

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Aaron Gwin was third fastest in the qualifying round on Saturday at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup downhill event in Fort William, Scotland, leading a group of five Americans who will take part in Sunday’s final. Gwin was joined in the top 10 by Luca Shaw who finished sixth. The other three Americans to make the final were Mitch Ropelato (26th), Dakotah Norton (44th), and Shane Leslie (72nd).  Notably missing the final were Cole Picchiottino who finished 82nd and missed the final by less than a second and Eliot Jackson who has a top 15 finish this year and was less than a second and a half from qualifying as he finished 85th.

Previous Mountain Bike World Cup Downhill Coverage:
Fort William Preview

Fencing, Fencing World Cup

Lee Kiefer Snatches a Silver on Saturday in Shanghai

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For the second straight weekend an American woman won a silver in a fencing grand prix event. Last weekend it was Mariel Zagunis in sabre in Moscow, this weekend it was Lee Kiefer in foil in Shanghai. Kiefer started off in dominant fashion with 15-6, 15-7, and 15-5 before a close, if you can call it that, 15-11 win to reach the semifinals. Kiefer again breezed 15-5 in the semifinals but finally ran into trouble in the final where she was defeated 15-8 by Arianna Errigo of Italy. Also finding some success for the US was Nzingha Prescod. She won her first two matches 15-12 and 15-10 but lost 15-7 to France’s Ysaora Thibus in the round of 16. Getting upset in the first round was Nicole Ross 15-13 by Colombia’s Saskia Loretta Van Erven Garcia and also losing was Madison Zeiss 15-15 to Hungary’s Fanny Kreiss.

On the men’s side advancing from the preliminary competition was a 50-50 proposition for the Americans. Drew Johnston and Axel Kiefer both advanced from pool play but had diverging paths in their knockout match. Both were scored 15-10 but Johnston was on the wrong end to Austria’s Johannes Poscharn Ig and Kiefer was victorious over Japan’s Daiki Fujino. Kiefer joins the four other Americans, Alexander Massialas, Gerek Meinhardt, Race Imboden, and Miles Chamley-Watson, in the table of 64 for Sunday’s competition.

Previous Fencing World Cup Coverage:
Moscow Recap
Day 1 Update

Cycling, UCI Women's WorldTour

40 US Women to Compete in Philadelphia International Cycling Classic

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Another large field of Americans will compete in the second of the two Women’s WorldTour events held in the US this year, the Philadelphia International Cycling Classic on Sunday. Fresh off her wins in the Amgen Tour of California and the US National Championship Megan Guarnier is the headliner but she’s joined by plenty of other top competitors. Evelyn Stevens was third in California, Leah Thomas was fifth, Katie Hall was seventh, Coryn Rivera was ninth, and Lauren Stephens was tenth. The race is 73.8 miles long.

Previous UCI Women’s WorldTour Coverage:
Amgen Tour of California Recap

Cycling, UCI Men's World Tour

Six Americans to Compete in Criterium du Dauphine

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Six Americans are in the field for the Criterium du Dauphine as it gets underway in France on Sunday. The race will begin with a 2.4 mile prologue on Sunday before seven more stages over the next week. The last three stages will all involve mountains so there could be a lot of excitement in the final stages of the race. The Americans in the field are headlined by Alex Howes who was 21st in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race and Brent Bookwalter who was 35th in the Tour de Romandie.

Previous UCI World Tour Coverage:
Giro d’Italia Recap

ISSF World Cup, Shooting

Corey Cogdell Wins Silver at ISSF World Cup in San Marino

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2016 Olympian Corey Cogdell made a statement Friday in San Marino that she will be a contender for a women’s trap medal in Rio. Cogdell missed her first target in the semifinals but hit twelves of the next fourteen to get into a shoot-off where where qualified for the gold medal final. Cogdell would miss four times and finish with the silver but it was a big showing for the 29-year-old who is looking for her second Olympic medal in Rio. In qualifying Cogdell had a 22 in her third round that nearly cost her a semifinal berth but she finished in a tie for 6th with 70 and won a shoot-off to stay alive.

With no men’s trap competitors the next US action will be when Joshua Richmond and Walton Eller, both 2016 Olympic qualifiers, compete in the double trap on Monday. Both the qualifiers and final are on Monday. Both are contenders with Richmond having two top ten finishes but yet to reach a final in 2016 while Eller won bronze in Rio.

Previous ISSF World Cup San Marino Coverage:
Preview

Covering America's Athletes