Usain Bolt wins Ostrava 100m, unhappy with time, then long jumps

By Nick ZaccardiJun 28, 2017, 5:48 PM EDT

Usain Bolt won a 100m in 10.06 seconds, his slowest time in a 100m final this late into a season, and then cited a tight back in Ostrava on Wednesday.

Video of his race is here.

“I just need to go to my doctor and get everything checked out to make sure everything is smooth,” Bolt said, according to British media on site. “It’s just my back, as always. It is a bit tight. But I didn’t get injured, and that’s the key thing. It’s just about sorting it out, and I should be fine.”

Bolt, in his farewell season, has run 10.03 and 10.06 in two 100m races, his slowest final times in June or later of his career. He has one more meet scheduled — Monaco on July 21 — before the world championships in London in August.

Bolt moved into the lead — past a sprinter who has never broken 10 seconds — about 50 meters into Wednesday’s race in the Czech city. He slowed his final few strides once victory was assured, extending a four-year winning streak in individual races.

“I’m not happy with the time, but I’m just getting into my running,” said Bolt, who missed two or three weeks of training this spring following the death of friend and 2008 Olympic high jump silver medalist Germaine Mason. “I have some training to do.”

Bolt has until the world 100m final on Aug. 5 to round into form. He has done it before, but as mentioned never from this kind of time deficit at the start of a summer.

“His preparation is not normally where it used to be at this time, so he is certainly has ground to catch up,” Bolt’s coach, Glen Mills, said this week, according to the Jamaica Gleaner. “A number of factors have interfered with his preparation, but I thought he ran brilliantly at the Racers Grand Prix [the 10.03 on June 10]. His 10.03 in his first race in almost a year with the setbacks in place, if we can build on that over the next six to seven weeks, we should be able to be right where we can feel comfortable taking on the rest of the world.”

The fastest man in the world this year is American Christian Coleman, who ran 9.82 seconds at the NCAA Championships on June 7. Coleman clocked a best of 9.93 in three rounds at the USATF Outdoor Championships last week.

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Historic moment. @usainbolt trying long jump after his last appearance at @ZlataTretra in #Ostrava pic.twitter.com/IaDsZUc0JJ

— Michal Osoba (@MichalOsoba) June 28, 2017

Iga Swiatek sweeps into French Open final, where she faces a surprise

By OlympicTalkJun 9, 2023, 5:30 PM EDT

Iga Swiatek marched into the French Open final without dropping a set in six matches. All that stands between her and a third Roland Garros title is an unseeded foe.

Swiatek plays 43rd-ranked Czech Karolina Muchova in the women’s singles final, live Saturday at 9 a.m. ET on NBC, NBCSports.com/live, the NBC Sports app and Peacock.

Swiatek, the top-ranked Pole, swept 14th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil 6-2, 7-6 (7) in Thursday’s semifinal in her toughest test all tournament. Haddad Maia squandered three break points at 4-all in the second set.

Swiatek dropped just 23 games thus far, matching her total en route to her first French Open final in 2020 (which she won for her first WTA Tour title of any kind). After her semifinal, she signed a courtside camera with the hashtag #stepbystep.

“For sure I feel like I’m a better player,” than in 2020, she said. “Mentally, tactically, physically, just having the experience, everything. So, yeah, my whole life basically.”

Swiatek can become the third woman since 2000 to win three French Opens after Serena Williams and Justine Henin and, at 22, the youngest woman to win four total majors since Williams in 2002.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

Muchova upset No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus to reach her first major final.

Muchova, a 26-year-old into the second week of the French Open for the first time, became the first player to take a set off the powerful Belarusian all tournament, then rallied from down 5-2 in the third set to prevail 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 7-5.

Sabalenka, who overcame previous erratic serving to win the Australian Open in January, had back-to-back double faults in her last service game.

“Lost my rhythm,” she said. “I wasn’t there.”

Muchova broke up what many expected would be a Sabalenka-Swiatek final, which would have been the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 match at the French Open since Williams beat Maria Sharapova in the 2013 final.

Muchova is unseeded, but was considered dangerous going into the tournament.

In 2021, she beat then-No. 1 Ash Barty to make the Australian Open semifinals, then reached a career-high ranking of 19. She dropped out of the top 200 last year while struggling through injuries.

“Some doctors told me maybe you’ll not do sport anymore,” Muchova said. “It’s up and downs in life all the time. Now I’m enjoying that I’m on the upper part now.”

Muchova has won all five of her matches against players ranked in the top three. She also beat Swiatek in their lone head-to-head, but that was back in 2019 when both players were unaccomplished young pros. They have since practiced together many times.

“I really like her game, honestly,” Swiatek said. “I really respect her, and she’s I feel like a player who can do anything. She has great touch. She can also speed up the game. She plays with that kind of freedom in her movements. And she has a great technique. So I watched her matches, and I feel like I know her game pretty well.”

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2023 French Open men’s singles draw

By OlympicTalkJun 9, 2023, 5:30 PM EDT

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The French Open men’s singles draw is missing injured 14-time champion Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2004, leaving the Coupe des Mousquetaires ripe for the taking.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Novak Djokovic is not only bidding for a third crown at Roland Garros, but also to lift a 23rd Grand Slam singles trophy to break his tie with Nadal for the most in men’s history. He can also become the first man to win all four majors at least three times and, at 36, the oldest French Open men’s or women’s singles champion.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Women’s Draw

Djokovic took out No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals, advancing to a final against 2022 French Open runner-up Casper Ruud of Norway.

Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No. 2 seed, was upset in the first round by 172nd-ranked Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild. It marked the first time a men’s top-two seed lost in the first round of any major since 2003 Wimbledon (Ivo Karlovic d. Lleyton Hewitt).

All of the American men lost before the fourth round. The last U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals was Andre Agassi in 2003.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

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