Sports News Roundup: Athletics-China’s Wang grabs world long jump gold with final leap; Golf-McIlroy, Hovland surge clear at British Open and more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Athletics-China’s Wang grabs world long jump gold with final leap

Wang Jianan of China produced a last-round leap of 8.36 metres to snatch World Championships long jump gold on Saturday after Tentoglou Miltiadis of Greece looked to be cruising to victory. Wang had managed a best of only 8.03m in his first five attempts and was out of the medals but soared clear.

Athletics-Seven COVID cases reported on Japanese worlds delegation

Seven COVID-19 cases were reported in the Japanese delegation’s marathon team at the World Championships on Saturday. The cases included two athletes, four endurance team support staff and the head coach, according to a joint statement from World Athletics, the local organising committee and the Japanese Association for Athletics Federations.

Golf-McIlroy, Hovland surge clear at British Open

Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland were locked together four shots clear at the top of the British Open leaderboard after taming St Andrews with matching third rounds of 66 on Saturday. Norwegian Hovland made a fast start with four birdies in a row from the third before Northern Ireland’s McIlroy chipped in from a greenside bunker to eagle the 10th hole and edged ahead with a birdie on 14.

Tennis-Murray sees signs of progress after grasscourt season ends with Bublik loss

Andy Murray saw signs of progress during an up-and-down grasscourt season which came to an end with a 7-5 6-4 quarter-final defeat to Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik at Newport, Rhode Island on Friday. The 35-year-old three-times Grand Slam winner had reached the semi-finals of the challenger event on grass in Surbiton before defeating Bublik, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios en route to finishing runner-up at the ATP 250 event in Stuttgart.

Athletics-Kerley leads American clean sweep in 100m, shot put joy for Ealey

Fred Kerley led an American clean sweep in the men’s 100 metres final at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday and Chase Ealey helped give home fans a night to remember with the first U.S. victory in the women’s shot put. Kerley, the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, timed his dip perfectly to clock 9.86 seconds and pip compatriots Marvin Bracy and Trayvon Bromell in front of an underwhelming home crowd at Hayward Field.

Athletics-Ealey wins US women’s shot put world title

One throw was all it took for Chase Ealey to make history on Saturday as she won the United States’ first women’s shot put title at the World Championships, denying China’s Gong Lijiao a third successive gold medal. The 27-year-old let out a roar as she threw 20.49 metres with her opening attempt, a mark that proved untouchable through six rounds, though Chinese Olympic champion Gong came close with her fifth try, which fell just 10cm short.

Golf-Sensational eagle and crowd lift McIlroy to top of Open leaderboard

Rory McIlroy moved to the top of the British Open third round leaderboard alongside Viktor Hovland on Saturday, carried there by a roaring crowd and a spectacular eagle from one of the Old Course’s infamous pot bunkers. The betting favourite coming into the 150th Open, McIlroy was also the clear crowd choice as he was cheered around the ancient layout from the first hole to the last.

Cycling-Tour de lose as French riders look for elusive stage win

With only seven stages left in this year’s race, French riders face the embarrassing prospect of ending the Tour de France without a stage victory for only the third time since the event was created in 1903. While Romain Bardet, fourth overall, is fighting for a podium finish in Paris and David Gaudu can still hope to end up in the top five overall, none of the 27 French riders left in the race, with the exception of Thibaut Pinot, appear in a position to raise their arms in celebration.

Judge blocks Biden admin directives on transgender athletes, bathrooms

A federal judge in Tennessee has temporarily blocked Biden administration directives allowing transgender workers and students to use bathrooms and locker rooms and join sports teams that correspond with their gender identity. Judge Charles Atchley Jr. of the Eastern District of Tennessee ruled on Friday that the administration’s directives would make it impossible for some states to enforce their own laws on transgender athletes’ participation in girls’ sports and access to bathrooms.

Motor racing-Cassidy takes his first Formula E win despite crashing

New Zealander Nick Cassidy took his first win in the electric Formula E championship despite crashing and wrecking his car in a rain-soaked and red-flagged race in New York on Saturday. The Envision driver started on pole position and finished ahead of Brazilian Lucas di Grassi, for the Venturi team, and Dutch racer and team mate Robin Frijns.

(With inputs from agencies.)