Usain Bolt: People calling me ‘underdog’ for final race

By Nick ZaccardiAug 1, 2017, 2:18 PM EDT

Usain Bolt is paying attention to what the track and field world is saying before the expected last individual race of his career on Saturday.

He doesn’t agree with it.

“Again, I’m the underdog for some reason,” Bolt said at a press conference in London on Tuesday. “That’s what I keep reading. That’s what my team keeps telling me. So I’ve got to prove myself once more.”

Bolt competes in what is expected to be his final meet before retirement at the world championships at the 2012 Olympic Stadium.

The 100m final is Saturday (NBC and NBC Sports Gold, 3 p.m. ET).

The 4x100m final is Aug. 12 (NBC and NBC Sports Gold, 3 p.m. ET).

Bolt’s fastest time this season is 9.95 seconds, which ranks him seventh in the world in 2017.

It’s his lowest standing going into any Olympics or world championships. And in Bolt’s six previous Olympic and world 100m titles, the silver medalist ran 9.89 or faster.

Bolt is not worried. He’s encouraged by steady improvement this season. Bolt’s first two 100m races in June were 10.03 and 10.06, followed by the 9.95 in Monaco on July 21 in his last worlds tune-up.

“Shows that I’m going in the right direction,” Bolt said. “It’s all about who can keep their nerves and who’s ready to challenge. I’ve been here many times. I know I’m ready. It’s go time.”

WORLDS: TV Schedule | 5 Men’s Races to Watch | 5 Women’s Races

Like in 2015, when Bolt had an injury-shortened build-up to worlds. He didn’t break 10 seconds until one month before the championships (a pair of 9.87s in one day) and then won worlds in 9.79 seconds.

This year, Bolt can take confidence in that the rest of the world is slowing down, too.

Justin Gatlin, the 2015 World and 2016 Olympic silver medalist, has a best time of 9.95 seconds in 2017.

Another American, Christian Coleman, owns the fastest time in the world this season, a 9.82 from the NCAA Championships on June 7. But Coleman, who is untested on the global stage, followed that with a 10.04, 9.93, 10.02 and 9.98 in his last four races.

There’s also this stat: Bolt has the fastest time in the world run outside one’s home country this year.

Bolt was asked Tuesday if he’s still the fastest man in the world. Yes, he says, adding that his suggested headline for the Sunday newspapers is “Unbeatable.”

Bolt was asked if he will reconsider retirement if he loses on Saturday.

“It’s not going to happen,” Bolt said, “so we won’t have that problem.”

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MORE: Usain Bolt is down to his last, blazing curtain call

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French Open: Novak Djokovic rolls to start Grand Slam record quest

By OlympicTalkMay 29, 2023, 11:11 AM EDT

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Novak Djokovic began his quest for a record-breaking 23rd men’s Grand Slam singles title by beating 114th-ranked American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (1) in the French Open first round on Monday.

Djokovic, seeded third, next gets 83rd-ranked Hungarian Marton Fucsovics. Djokovic could meet top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals. They are the favorites in the absence of 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, whom Djokovic tied for the overall men’s Slam titles record with his 10th Australian Open crown in January.

Earlier Monday, Sloane Stephens looked sharp in her opening match with a 6-0, 6-4 win over two-time major finalist Karolina Pliskova.

While Stephens’ only Grand Slam title came at the 2017 U.S. Open, she’s also had sustained success at Roland Garros, finishing as a runner-up to Simona Halep in 2018 and reaching two quarterfinals on the red clay in Paris — including last year.

“This is my favorite court in the world, so I’m super happy to be back,” Stephens told the crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier. “To start a Slam on your favorite court, your favorite surface, is always incredible.”

She helped American women go 4-0 through the first few hours of play on Day 2 of the tournament after a 1-4 start on Sunday, when the only U.S. victory came in a match between two players from the country: Jessica Pegula beat Danielle Collins.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

Madison Keys, the runner-up to Stephens in New York six years ago and a semifinalist at Roland Garros in 2018, beat Kaia Kanepi 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 on Monday to improve her career record in the first round of majors to 35-5.

Keys next plays American qualifier Kayla Day, who eliminated French wild-card entry Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 6-1.

Also, Croatian-born American Bernarda Pera beat former No. 2-ranked Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (6), 6-2.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a finalist in Paris in 2021, breezed past Czech teenager Linda Fruhvirtova 6-2, 6-2; and 22nd-seeded Donna Vekic beat qualifier Dayana Yastremska 6-2, 7-5.

Stephens was down a break in the second set against Pliskova but then won three straight games to close it out.

Stephens had a 19-16 edge in winners and committed only 10 unforced errors to 31 by Pliskova, who lost in the finals of the U.S. Open in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2021.

“This court is a bit tricky. You have to play on it a lot to understand when the wind is blowing and where it’s coming,” Stephens said. “The more you play on it, the more you understand it. But it’s a very complicated court. But that’s what makes it so amazing.”

Stephens won a small clay-court tournament in Saint Malo, France, at the start of the month and also reached the semifinals of the Morocco Open last week after only playing a total of three matches at bigger clay events in Madrid and Rome.

“Last year, my clay season wasn’t great, but I played amazing at Roland Garros last year,” Stephens said, “and this year, I really wanted to get matches and play a lot and to see where that got me.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Canada wins men’s hockey world title; Latvia wins first medal

Associated PressMay 28, 2023, 8:00 PM EDT

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TAMPERE, Finland — Samuel Blais scored two goals to rally Canada to a 5-2 victory over Germany in the final of the world men’s hockey championship on Sunday.

It’s a record 28th world title for Canada, and its second in three years. Russia has 27 while Germany has never won the trophy.

Blais netted with a backhand 4:51 into the final period for a 3-2 lead for Canada, which was playing in its fourth straight final.

“It feels really good,” Blais said. “We’ve been in Europe for a month and we’ve all waited for that moment to play for the gold medal game. And we’re lucky enough to have won it.”

Lawson Crouse, Tyler Toffoli and Scott Laughton also scored for Canada, Peyton Krebs had two assists and goaltender Samuel Montembeault stopped 21 shots.

Toffoli stretched the lead to 4-2 from the left circle with 8:09 remaining and Laughton made it 5-2 with an empty net goal.

Adam Fantilli became only the second Canadian player after Jonathan Toews to win gold at the world juniors and world championship the same year.

Canada had to come back twice in the final.

John Peterka wristed a shot past Montembeault from the left circle 7:44 into the game. It was the sixth goal for the Buffalo Sabres forward at the tournament.

Blais was fed by Krebs to beat goaltender Mathias Niederberger and tie it 1-1 at 10:47.

Daniel Fischbuch put the Germans ahead again with a one-timer with 6:13 to go in the middle period.

Crouse equalized on a power play with 2:32 remaining in the frame.

It was the first medal for Germany since 1953 when it was second behind Sweden.

The two previously met just once in the final with Canada winning 6-1 in 1930.

LATVIA GETS BRONZE

Defenseman Kristian Rubins scored his second goal 1:22 into overtime to lead Latvia to a 4-3 victory over the United States and earn a bronze medal earlier Sunday.

It’s the first top-three finish for Latvia at the tournament. Its previous best was a seventh place it managed three times.

The U.S. lost in the bronze medal game for the second straight year. The U.S. team was cruising through the tournament with eight straight wins until it was defeated by Germany in the semifinal 4-3 in overtime.

Rubins rallied Latvia with his first with 5:39 to go in the final period to tie the game at 3 to force overtime.

Roberts Bukarts and Janis Jaks also scored for Latvia.

Rocco Grimaldi scored twice for the U.S. in the opening period to negate Latvia’s 1-0 and 2-1 leads.

Matt Coronato had put the U.S. 3-2 ahead 6:19 into the final period.

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