Felix, Taylor add 2 golds for U.S. at worlds
Allyson Felix and Christian Taylor were out of their comfort zones at the world championships at Beijing.
Felix, because her best event is not the 400 meters. And Taylor, because he is still getting used to leaping off his right foot in the triple jump.
What they showed Thursday is that they’re so good, they win anyway. And the timing couldn’t have been better.
Noticeably absent from the medals party early on at the worlds, the U.S. made a big push thanks to Felix and Taylor capturing gold, while Justin Gatlin finished runner-up to Usain Bolt in the 200.
With that, the U.S. has 12 medals, including three golds. That’s more medals than Kenya overall, but still three less golds than the African nation.
At this point at the 2013 worlds, the Americans had 14 medals and four golds.
Most of his life, Taylor has started his leaps off his left foot in the triple jump. Because of injuries, he switched things around and now begins his jumps off his right foot. He’s gone over 59 feet, 0 3/4 inches) starting with both feet, which is quite a feat in itself. His winning jump was 59-9, 3 1/4 inches shy of a world record.
Felix got off to a great start in the 400, pulling away in the middle of the one-lap race and then easily beating Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas in 49.26 seconds.
One single clap, that’s basically all Felix did to celebrate.
Had the schedule not been so tight, Felix would have tried for the 200-400 double. But with only 65 minutes between the 200 semifinals and the 400 final on Thursday, it wasn’t doable.
No. 1 Spieth has worst round in three months
GOLF: The start of the FedEx Cup playoffs at Edison, New Jersey brought out the worst score from Jordan Spieth in three months.
In his first tournament as No. 1 in the world, Spieth had a pair of three-putt bogeys, hit a tee shot in the water, shot 40 on his back nine and wound up with a 4-over 74 in the opening round of The Barclays.
Bubba Watson and Tony Finau powered their way around Plainfield Country Club in Edison, New Jersey and were tied for the lead with Spencer Levin and Camilo Villegas at 5-under 65.
• Lang takes lead at Yokohama Tire Classic: Brittany Lang birdied five of the first seven holes in windy conditions and shot a 7-under 65 to take the first-round lead in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic at Prattville, Alabama.
Lang, who leads a group of three by two strokes, birdied Nos. 1, 3-5 and 7 in her morning round on the Senator Course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s Capitol Hill complex.
Bulls’ Derrick Rose accused of sex assault
NBA: Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose has been accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed Wednesday by a former girlfriend in Los Angeles – a charge Rose quickly denied through a spokeswoman.
The woman, identified in the court filing as “Jane Doe,” alleges that she was “gang raped” by Rose and two of his friends in August 2013. The woman claims the men placed a drug in her drink during a night out, then sexually assaulted her later after they broke into her apartment.
A spokeswoman for Rose acknowledged Thursday that the Bulls guard had a lengthy sexual relationship with the accuser, but she said in a statement that the woman’s allegations in the lawsuit were “completely false and without any factual basis.”
Texas beats California in 8 innings at LLWS
LITTLE LEAGUE: Pearland, Texas, hit a pair of homers in the bottom of the eighth inning for a 9-7 victory over Bonita, California, and a berth in the U.S. championship game at the Little League World Series.
Pearland will play undefeated Lewisberry, Pennsylvania – the closest thing to a home team – for the U.S. championship today. The winner will face the International bracket champion on Sunday for the World Series title.
• Mexico advances to International final: Left-hander Daniel Zaragoza gave up only three hits and doubled home a pair of runs, leading Mexicali Baja California, Mexico, to an 11-0 victory over Barquisimeto, Venezuela, and a berth in the International championship game at South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Mexicali will play Tokyo for the title Saturday.
Hurricanes reach deal with Lindholm
NHL: The Carolina Hurricanes have agreed to terms for a two-year contract extension with forward Elias Lindholm.
The deal will pay the 20-year-old former first-round draft pick $2.5 million in the 2016-17 season and $2.9 million in 2017-18.
Williams could face Sharapova in semis
TENNIS: Serena Williams could face Maria Sharapova for her second straight major semifinal as she seeks to complete the Grand Slam at the U.S. Open.
Thursday’s draw filled the top-ranked Williams’ quarter of the bracket with nine Americans.
In the third round, Williams could face 29th-seeded Sloane Stephens, who beat her in the 2013 Australian Open.
On the men’s side, second-seeded Roger Federer and No. 3 Andy Murray could meet in one semifinal, with No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 4 Kei Nishikori, last year’s runner-up, in the other.
Barcelona’s Messi wins UEFA award
MISCELLANY: Lionel Messi added another individual trophy to his collection, being voted UEFA’s Best Player in Europe for last season.
• Esteban Chaves wins 6th Vuelta stage: Esteban Chaves of Colombia timed his final charge perfectly to win the Spanish Vuelta’s sixth stage in Sierra de Cazorla, Spain, notching up his second stage win to take the overall race lead.