Related items

• Early Maykel Reyes goal hands Cuba 1-0 win over Barbados in Nations League

  An early Maykel Reyes goal was enough for Cuba to get past Barbados 1-0 in a Concacaf Nations League B Group A contest on Thursday night at the Wildey Turf Stadium in Barbados.

  Reyes, 30, was able to put one past Barbados goalkeeper Liam Brathwaite after latching on to a pass from midfielder Willian Pozo which deflected off forward Luis Paradela.

  The job was made even tougher for the visitors when, in the 33rd minute, Barbados midfielder Omani Leacock picked the pocket of Cuba defender Yosel Piedra and was off and running the other way.

  According to the Concacaf match report, the centre back was forced to bring him down from behind, earning his second yellow card in three minutes meaning Cuba would defend its lead with 10 men for an hour.

  The Tridents looked for an equalizing goal that would have earned them their first point of the Nations League, but weren’t able to beat Cuba goalkeeper Sandy Sanchez. 

  They got an opportunity in the 84th minute when a chipped ball over the top from the edge of the penalty area nearly got to Barbados forward Ryan Trottman but Sanchez was quick off his line to scoop up the ball and secure the clean sheet.

  Cuba stays atop the group and will look to earn promotion to League A when it hosts Guadeloupe on Sunday, while Barbados closes out the tournament with a trip to face Antigua and Barbuda at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

• World Athletics votes to restrict transgender athletes from competing against females; tighter restrictions for DSD athletes

  The World Athletics Council agreed to update the eligibility regulations for transgender and DSD athletes to compete in the female category.

  For DSD athletes, the new regulations will require any relevant athletes to reduce their testosterone levels below a limit of 2.5 nmol/L for a minimum of 24 months to compete internationally in the female category in any event, not just the events that were restricted (400m to one mile) under the previous regulations.

  The principle of restricted events has been removed from the regulations.

  Interim provisions will be introduced for those relevant athletes who are already competing in what were the unrestricted events (distances below 400m and above one mile, plus field events). These provisions include a requirement to suppress their testosterone levels below 2.5nmol/L for a minimum of six months, before they are eligible to compete again.

  The six months period is consistent with the previous regulations, which required six months of testosterone suppression (below 5nmol/L) for DSD athletes to compete in the restricted events. The interim provisions do not apply to the previously restricted events (400m to one mile) where two years of testosterone suppression will be required before the relevant athlete is eligible to compete.

  These regulations will come into effect on 31 March 2023.

  In regard to transgender athletes, the Council has agreed to exclude male-to-female transgender athletes who have been through male puberty from female World Rankings competition from 31 March 2023.

  World Athletics conducted a consultation period with various stakeholders in the first two months of this year, including Member Federations, the Global Athletics Coaches Academy and Athletes’ Commission, the IOC as well as representative transgender and human rights groups.

  It became apparent that there was little support within the sport for the option that was first presented to stakeholders, which required transgender athletes to maintain their testosterone levels below 2.5nmol/L for 24 months to be eligible to compete internationally in the female category.

  In terms of DSD regulations, World Athletics has more than ten years of research and evidence of the physical advantages that these athletes bring to the female category.

  However, there are currently no transgender athletes competing internationally in athletics and consequently no athletics-specific evidence of the impact these athletes would have on the fairness of female competition in athletics.

  In these circumstances, the Council decided to prioritise fairness and the integrity of the female competition before inclusion.

  However the Council agreed to set up a Working Group for 12 months to further consider the issue of transgender inclusion.

  This Working Group will include an independent chair, up to three Council Members, two athletes from the Athletes’ Commission, a transgender athlete, three representatives of the Member Federations and representatives of the World Athletics Health and Science Department.

  Its remit will be to consult specifically with transgender athletes to seek their views on competing in athletics; to review and/or commission additional research where there is currently limited research and to put forward recommendations to Council.

  World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said: “Decisions are always difficult when they involve conflicting needs and rights between different groups, but we continue to take the view that we must maintain fairness for female athletes above all other considerations. We will be guided in this by the science around physical performance and male advantage which will inevitably develop over the coming years. As more evidence becomes available, we will review our position, but we believe the integrity of the female category in athletics is paramount."

• Excellent performances at NCAA Division 1 Indoors see Alfred, Nugent and Distin named to Bowerman watch list

  Julien Alfred, Ackera Nugent and Lamara Distin are among ten women named to the watch list for the 2023 Bowerman Award after standout performances at the 2023 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico from March 10-11.

  The Bowerman is an award given to the year’s best student-athlete in American collegiate track & field.

  There was also a pre-NCAA Indoor Championships list revealed earlier in March that included Alfred and Distin.

  St. Lucian Texas senior Alfred capped off a spectacular indoor season with a personal best and collegiate record 6.94 to defend her NCAA Indoor title. Her time made her the fastest Caribbean woman ever in the event and put her joint-second all-time behind Irina Privalova’s 6.92.

  The 21-year-old also won gold in the 200m in 22.01, another collegiate record and the second fastest time ever behind Jamaican Merlene Ottey’s 21.87 done 30 years ago in Lille.

  Arkansas sophomore Nugent, who was absent from the list released before the championships, earned her way on to the new one when she won gold in the 60m hurdles in 7.73.

  On day one of the meet, Nugent, 20, set a new collegiate and Jamaican national record when she ran 7.72 in the prelims. That time puts her fourth on the all-time list for the event.

  23-year-old Texas A&M senior Distin completed another unbeaten indoor season with a 1.91m clearance to win the high jump. In February, Distin cleared 1.97m to equal her own Jamaican record.

  The other seven athletes on the watch list are Florida’s Jasmine Moore and Talitha Diggs, Kentucky’s Masai Russell, NC State’s Kaetlyn Tuohy, Oregon’s Jorinde Van Klinken, Stanford’s Roisin Willis and Arkansas’s Britton Wilson.