Spanish figure skater Laura Barquero has become the fourth athlete to fail a doping test at the Beijing Olympics after testing positive for the banned steroid clostebol, the International Testing Agency said on Tuesday. Barquero and her partner Marco Zandron finished 11th in the pairs competition, which finished on Saturday. The ITA said her positive sample was given after the short program on Friday and the case will be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The Spanish Olympic Committee said in a statement that it had received notification of the anomalous finding of a “Spanish athlete” without naming the skater. “From the Spanish Olympic Committee we are waiting for the result of the counter-test, a result that every athlete has the right to request,” it added. As well as Barquero’s case, there were positive tests in Beijing for Iranian Alpine skier Hossein Saveh Shemshaki and two Ukrainians, cross-country skier Valentyna Kaminska and bobsledder Lidiia Hunko. Fifteen-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was the focus of attention during the Olympics because a sample she gave before the Games came back positive for a banned substance.
BASEBALL
Yankees to retire Paul O’Neill’s No. 21 on Aug. 21
Paul O’Neill’s No. 21 will be retired by the New York Yankees — on Aug. 21. The Yankees said they will hold Paul O’Neill Day ceremonies before that day’s game against Toronto — assuming the lockout ends and the 2022 season is played. O’Neill will become the 23rd player or manager whose number was retired by the Yankees. A four-time World Series champion for the Yankees nicknamed “The Warrior” by the late owner George Steinbrenner, O’Neill hit .303 with 185 homers and 858 RBIs for the Yankees from 1993-2001. He was a four-time All-Star with the Yankees and won the 1994 AL batting title during a strike-shortened season. A plaque for O’Neill in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park was dedicated on Aug. 9, 2014. He is among the broadcast analysts for the Yankees’ YES Network.
Josh Hamilton pleads to misdemeanor in daughter-assault case
One-time Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in a case arising from an altercation with his teenage daughter, officials said. Hamilton, 40, pleaded guilty in Fort Worth, Texas, to unlawful restraint under a plea deal that dismisses a 2020 felony indictment for injury to a child, the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office said in social media postings. State District Judge Mike Thomas sentenced Hamilton to one year of deferred probation, fined him $500 and ordered him to pay court costs, do community service and attend parenting and anger management classes. Thomas ordered him not to consume alcohol, be subject to random urine drug tests, and have no contact with the daughter he restrained. If he satisfies the probation’s requirements, the charge will be dismissed. Hamilton’s attorneys had said the Texas Rangers Hall of Famer was innocent of injury to a child.
MISC.
UK wants Gazprom-backed Champions League final out of Russia
UEFA faced calls from the British government to strip Russia of hosting the Champions League final over concerns it would legitimize what it called an “illegal invasion” of Ukraine, prompting European football’s governing body to say it would reconsider St. Petersburg staging the showpiece match. The biggest game in the European season is scheduled May 28 at the Gazprom Arena, which is named after the state-owned energy giant that has sponsored the men’s competition for a decade. Gazprom is also embedded in the decision-making at UEFA, with Alexander Dyukov, the chief executive of an oil subsidiary company, sitting on UEFA’s ruling executive committee. UEFA has acknowledged for the first time a risk to Russia staging the final following talks among the senior leadership about the crisis. “UEFA is constantly and closely monitoring the situation,” the Champions League organizer said in a statement, “and any decision would be made in due course if necessary.” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson highlighted concerns about Russia using sports to enhance its status while urging President Vladimir Putin not to carry out a full invasion of Ukraine after massing an estimated 150,000 troops on three sides of neighboring Ukraine.
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