Atletico Madrid have completed the signing of Alexander Sorloth from Villarreal in a deal reportedly worth €35million.
Sorloth joins Atleti on the back of scoring 26 goals in 41 games in all competitions in his only season at Villarreal.
A highlight of last term came in May, when he scored four goals in just 17 minutes in a 4-4 draw with Real Madrid.
Atleti were in the market for a striker after Alvaro Morata's move to Milan and following their release of Memphis Depay.
Sorloth, who has 53 caps for Norway, was second only to Artem Dovbyk when it came to LaLiga goals last season, netting 23 times in total.
The 28-year-old endured a difficult spell in England when he moved to Crystal Palace in January 2018, scoring just one goal in 20 appearances, but his career was revitalised by a loan to Trabzonspor, where he scored 24 league goals in 34 league games.
He subsequently moved to RB Leipzig before two spells on loan at Real Sociedad where he netted 24 times in 90 games before he signed for Villarreal in the summer of 2023.
Sorloth's aerial prowess could be of real use for Diego Simeone's side. Indeed, he scored more headed goals (seven) than any other player in LaLiga last season.
Dovbyk was another target for Atleti, but the Ukraine international has instead joined Roma.
Sorloth has penned a four-year deal with Atleti, who are also pushing to sign Julian Alvarez from Manchester City.
Julien Alfred made history, becoming the first athlete from St. Lucia to win an Olympic gold medal in the women's 100m at the Paris Olympic Games on Saturday.
In a stunning display of speed and determination, Alfred crossed the finish line first, and, much like she did when she copped the World Indoor title earlier this year, etched her name into the annals of Olympic history, bringing immense pride to her island nation.
On a cool, and wet evening at the Stade de France, Alfred, running from lane six, delivered a performance that will be remembered for generations. The 23-year-old’s explosive start and powerful finish left competitors in her wake, as she clocked a National Record of 10.72s in a negative 0.1 metres per second wind reading.
After crossing the line, Alfred raised her arms in triumph but later burst into tears, overwhelmed by the magnitude of her achievement. She is now the third Caribbean sprinter to win the title after Jamaicans Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah, but more importantly, Alfred also ensured that the women's 100m gold goes to a Caribbean representative for a fifth Olympic Games.
The American duo of Sha’Carri Richardson (10.87s) and Melissa Jefferson (10.92s) took silver and bronze. Jamaica’s Tia Clayton (11.04s) had a slight stumble early and was left back in seventh.
Jamaica’s quartet had to settle for fifth in the 4x400m Mixed Relay final as the Netherlands, anchored by 400m hurdles stalwart Femke Bol, upstaged United States at the Stade de France on Saturday.
With the Jamaican team of Raheem Hayles, Junelle Bromfield, Zandrion Barnes, and Stephanie Ann McPherson never really in it from the start, Bol, who got the baton in fourth position, bided her time before exploding in the stretch to sweep past American anchor Kaylyn Brown.
The Dutch team, which also included Eugene Omalla, Lieke Klaver, and Isaya Klein, won in an Area Record of 3:07.43, just outside the American’s World Record of 3:07.41. The Americans were second in 3:07.74, with Great Britain third in a National Record 3:08.01.
Jamaica initially crossed the line sixth in 3:11.67, but were later upgraded to fifth after the disqualification of the French team.
Despite producing only two legal throws, national record holder Rajindra Campbell made history in the Men’s shot put final at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, becoming the first Jamaican man to win an Olympic medal in a throwing event.
The 28-year-old began Saturday’s final at the Stade de France with a 20.00m in the first round before producing a brilliant 22.15m in the second round to move into second behind American World record holder and back-to-back Olympic champion Ryan Crouser who was leading with 22.69m.
In rainy conditions, Campbell was in the silver medal position before the sixth round when American Joe Kovacs produced 22.15m to move into second by virtue of his second-best throw, 21.71m, being better than Campbell’s.
The Jamaican had a throw in the sixth round that would’ve seen him reclaim silver had it not been a fourth foul in a row.
In the end, Campbell settled for bronze behind the two Americans. Crouser’s final winning distance was a season’s best 22.90m.
Tyreek Hill has proven to be one of the NFL's top wide receivers, and the Miami Dolphins have rewarded him with a new contract.
The Dolphins signed Hill to a three-year, $90million contract restructure on Saturday, according multiple sources.
As part of the deal, Hill will receive $65million in guaranteed money, bringing his four-year fully guaranteed money to $106.5million - the most for a wide receiving in NFL history.
The contract restructure does not include any additional years, so he will remain under contract through the 2026 season.
In 16 games last season, Hill led the NFL with 1,799 receiving yards on 119 receptions and also had 13 touchdown catches to earn All-Pro honours for the fifth time.
Since his 2016 rookie season, he ranks first among all players with 10,139 receiving yards, third in touchdown grabs with 76 and fourth in receptions with 717. He has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of his eight seasons in the NFL.
Hill becomes the latest Miami star to get a new deal this off-season, joining fellow receiver Jaylen Waddle and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Spain came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Colombia before winning 4-2 on penalties in Saturday's Olympic quarter-final.
La Roja went into the clash in Lyon having enjoyed a perfect record at the Paris Games, but were on the brink of a shock exit when Leicy Santos put Colombia 2-0 up.
Santos' goal came after Mayra Ramirez had opened the scoring for Colombia at the Groupama Stadium.
Yet Spain fought back late on, with Jenni Hermoso scoring in the 79th minute before captain Irene Paredes netted deep into injury time.
Extra time came and went, and Cata Coll proved Spain's hero with a save from Catalina Usme, while Colombia substitute Liana Salazar also missed the target.
That paved the way for Aitana Bonmati, the Ballon d'Or winner, to dispatch the winning spot-kick and tee up a meeting with France or Brazil in the last four.
Data Debrief: Spain's quality inspires fightback
Despite creating fewer expected goals (xG) than their opponents, with 1.05 to Spain’s 2.52, Colombia showed real effectiveness in taking the chances that were presented to them.
They scored close-range goals from just four shots inside the area and seven in total, while they only had eight touches in the opposition box for the entirety of the 120+ minutes.
But Spain overwhelmed Colombia as the match wore on, as evidenced by a huge gulf when it came to final third entries, with 155 for La Roja to 26 for their opponents, while they also enjoyed 46 more touches in the opposition box than their opponents.
Paredes was ultimately Spain's hero in regulation time. She has been involved in three goals in her last five games for her country (two goals and one assist), the same as in her previous 30 games in all competitions (two goals and one assist).
With decorated Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce disappointedly pulling out of the women’s 100m semi-finals at the last minute, her compatriot Tia Clayton and St Lucia’s Julien Alfred are left to represent the Caribbean in the finals, as both easily progressed at the Stade de France on Saturday.
In what is her final Olympic Games, Fraser-Pryce, who boasts a rich legacy as one of, if not the greatest female sprinter of all time, was expected to end this chapter of her career on a high. However, after arriving in the call room, the 37-year-old, who has had her struggles with injuries this season, was later seen heading back to the warm-up area, and news of her withdrawal sent ripples through the track and field community.
While Fraser-Pryce’s competitors' respect and admiration for her is evident, they had to focus on their own task at hand in the hunt for Olympic glory.
In her absence, St Lucia’s stalwart Alfred finished tops in semi-final two, as she got away well from lane six and was not for catching. She won in 10.84s, ahead of American World Champion Sha’Carri Richardson (10.89s), who closed late.
Jamaica’s rising sensation Tia Clayton, now viewed by many as a proverbial ‘dark horse’ in the event, won semi-final three in 10.89s, pulling Great Britain’s Daryll Neita (10.97s) with her. American Twanisha Terry (11.07s) was third and progressed as one of the fastest non-automatic qualifiers. Trinidad and Tobago's Leah Bertrand (11.37s) was ninth.
Earlier, American Melissa Jefferson topped semi-final one in 10.99s, with Ivory Coast’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith (11.01s) closing fast to take the second automatic qualifying spot. Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji (11.05s) got the other non-automatic qualifying spot.
Jamaica’s Shashalee Forbes (11.20s) was sixth.
The final is scheduled for 2:20pm Jamaica time.
Qinwen Zheng claimed a historic victory over Donna Vekic at the Paris Olympics as she won gold in the women's singles.
China's Zheng, who ousted world number one and three-time reigning French Open champion Iga Swiatek at Roland-Garros en route to the final, prevailed 6-2 6-3 in Saturday's final.
It makes the 21-year-old the first Asian-born player to win gold in the women's or men's singles at the Games since tennis was first introduced to the Olympics in 1896.
Zheng started the encounter fiercely, earning an early break in the second game and raced into a 3-0 lead on Court PhilippeChatrier.
The world number seven would stay in cruise control for the remainder of the opener, seeing out her service games before ending the set with another break.
Zheng threatened to take the match away from Vekic in double quick time as she again found a swift break of serve in the second set.
Croatia's Vekic responded well, though, hitting back by reeling off back-to-back games.
However, a break at the fourth time of asking to make it 5-3 proved decisive for Zheng, who duly served out to clinch gold.
Data Debrief:
Zheng's triumph saw her become the second player to win the women's singles at the Olympics on clay after Jennifer Capriati (1992), since the sport's reintroduction to the Games in 1988.
She has now won 28 matches out of 36 (77.77) on the surface since the start of 23. Among players with 10+ matches played on clay in that time, only three have a better win percentage - Swiatek (91.7%), Elena Rybakina (85.2%) and Aryna Sabalenka (80.6%).
Zheng is the first Chinese player in the Open Era to claim a medal in the women's or men's singles at the Olympics, while she also joined an elite list of women to have reached the finals of the Olympics and the Australian Open in the same season.
Steffi Graf (1988), Justine Henin (2004), Maria Sharapova (2012) and Angelique Kerber (2016) are the other players to have achieved that feat.
Three-time Olympic Gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and reigning World champion Sha’Carri Richardson were temporarily denied entry to the warm-up track at the Stade de France in Paris as they arrived to prepare for the semifinals and final of the Women’s 100m at the Paris Olympics on Saturday afternoon.
Video circulating on social media showed both Fraser-Pryce and Richardson waiting outside the gate to enter the facility as security officials denied them entry.
Both athletes reportedly arrived to the venue in private vehicles rather than the team shuttle provided by the organizers and were told they would have to get into the venue another way.
A second video showed Fraser-Pryce trying to make sense of the situation.
“She said they changed the rule yesterday. How can you change the rule and then not say? So, they’re asking all the athletes who, for whatever reason, don’t stay in the village, they can’t come through the gate?” Fraser-Pryce said.
“We came through this gate yesterday and went through security and were okay. The man said we have to go all the way up where everybody else is entering to come back down here. That’s crazy,” she added.
Fraser-Pryce and Richardson are expected to battle for gold in the 100m.
The semifinals are set to start at 12:50pm Jamaica Time (1:50pm EST) with the final scheduled for 2:20pm (3:20pm EST).
American star Simone Biles collected her third gold medal of the Paris Olympics as she triumphed in the vault final on Saturday.
Biles took her overall Olympics tally to seven gold medals as she recorded an average score of 15.300.
The 27-year-old, who withdrew from several events, including the vault, at Tokyo 2020, is now the third most decorated female gymnast in the history of the Olympics, with 10 medals to her name.
She will take part in the floor and beam finals on Monday, meaning she could overtake Vera Caslavska's tally of 11, won between 1960 and 1968.
Larisa Latynina, with 18 golds, is the most successful female gymnast in Olympic history.
Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, who won gold in Tokyo three years ago, claimed silver, while Biles' team-mate Jade Carey took bronze.
The teams that will battle for the 2024 CAZOVA Zonal Under-19 Men’s and Women’s Championships were decided in the semifinals of the tournament at the GC Foster College in Spanish Town on Friday.
Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados will do battle for the men’s crown after convincing semifinal straight set victories over the US Virgin Islands and Jamaica, respectively.
Despite finishing in three sets, the match between T&T and USVI was about as competitive as you can get.
Trinidad & Tobago won the first set 25-23 before taking the next two 25-21 and 25-22, respectively.
The match between Jamaica and Barbados was competitive for two of the three sets. Barbados won the first 25-20 before winning the second 25-21. The third set was the least competitive, with the Bajans winning 25-13.
On the women’s side, hosts Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago made it to the final after five set wins over USVI and Barbados, respectively.
Jamaica won the first set 25-20 before USVI levelled proceedings with a 25-19 second set win.
Jamaica were back to their dominant best with a 25-15 third set victory before, once again, USVI showed grit and determination to tie things up a 2-2 with a 25-23 win in the fourth set.
The fifth set was also close, with the hosts eventually winning 15-10.
Trinidad & Tobago showed grit and determination of their own in different circumstances. They played an excellent first two sets, winning them 25-21 and 25-16 to go 2-0 up. Barbados battled back, however, with a 25-23 win in the third set and 25-22 win in the fourth to set up a deciding fifth.
In the end, only two points separated them with T&T winning the final set 15-13 to secure a spot in the final.
The finals are scheduled for Monday, August 5.
Reigning Olympic champion Xander Schauffele was the joint leader heading into the final round of the Paris Games, with Jon Rahm level with him in top spot.
The pair are tied at 14 under after three rounds of action at Le Golf National, with Rahm producing a five-under 66 to jump up the leaderboard from fourth.
Schauffele enjoyed another mostly error-free round, carding a three-under 68 with the hopes of retaining the crown he claimed in Tokyo three years ago.
Britain's Tommy Fleetwood remains just a shot behind after another fine round.
He sent a putt on 18 narrowly short for what would have been a three-way tie for the lead.
Hideki Matsuyama, who was tied for the lead going into the third round, dropped to joint-fourth after two bogeys in his first four holes, missing the opportunity on 18 to go within two shots of the lead.
Meanwhile, world number one Scottie Scheffler shot himself into contention for a medal after carding a four-under 67, leaving him level with Rory McIlroy and Joo-Hyung Kim in T6.
Denmark's Nicolai Hojgaard produced the best round of the day, shooting a course record-tying 62 to move him 26 places up the leaderboard.
Trinity Rodman's moment of magic in extra time was enough for the United States to see off Japan and progress to the Olympic semi-finals.
The two sides laboured in the first half, with Emma Hayes' team enjoying plenty of possession but struggling to create any meaningful chances at the Parc des Princes.
The USA improved after the break and their first decent opportunity arrived in the 63rd minute when Mallory Swanson exchanged a one-two before curling an effort just wide.
Rodman's influence grew as the game wore on, but it was Sophia Smith who had the best chance prior to the USA's winner, only for the 23-year-old to take too many touches when through on goal, allowing Ayaka Yamashita to close down the angle.
But as penalties approached, Rodman stepped up in the second minute of stoppage time at the end of the first half of the additional 30 minutes, collecting Crystal Dunn’s pass before cutting inside and curling in an unstoppable shot.
Japan substitute Riko Ueki almost equalised from close range, but the USA were able to clear their lines and hold firm to tee up a semi-final against either Canada or Germany.
Data debrief: USA fail to convert possession into opportunities
Despite neither side creating much in the way of chances with the USA mustering an expected goals (xG) of 0.68 to Japan's 0.53, the Americans dominated the ball for large swathes of the match.
They had 71.3% possession, had more than double the passes and final third entries of Japan with 1,026 to 403 and 89 to 44 respectively.
But it ultimately took a moment of brilliance from Rodman to settle the contest. At 22 years and 75 days old, she is the youngest player to score an extra-time goal for the USWNT since Heather O'Reilly at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Philippe Clement was pleased with the improved second-half performance of his Rangers side but suggested the bar was low during the 0-0 draw with Hearts.
Rangers started the encounter poorly, but Clement took encouragement from the improved display in the second 45 minutes, with Cyriel Dessers going closest as his header crashed against both crossbar and post.
Hearts had the better of the Scottish Premiership opener, having 18 shots to Rangers' nine, and 0.78 of the hosts' 1.28 expected goals (xG) was mustered in the first half.
Clement said: "We showed the right images in half-time, we talked, we discussed, to do the right things – and then you see that we play better football and we create more and we have much more control of the game.
"We need to continue that way – like we played in the second half."
Despite the uplift in performance, Clement underlined how poorly he felt his players performed in the first half, most notably when they were without the ball.
He said: "In the first half, I could have changed, maybe eight. They need to understand that it's not only with the ball – you need first to win the duels and we lacked that in the first half.”
"In the second half we were much braver with the ball, with the right positioning also."
Clement's observations were backed up by the match statistics, with Rangers winning just 38.5% of their duels in the first half.
Rangers' manager was pleased enough with the performances of his debutants Connor Barron and Vaclav Cerny but hinted at more reinforcements before the end of the summer transfer window.
He added: "Connor played a good game, but not at the level that he played in the pre-season, but also it's his first competitive game. He will be a big asset for the future.
"You saw Vaclav's qualities to be calm on the ball and to make the right decisions. He's an experienced player with a lot of quality.
"We need to get a few more of those types in to help our young players to grow."
It is a quick turnaround for Rangers before their next match, as they face Dynamo Kyiv in a crucial first-leg Champions League play-off on Tuesday.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
