Oldest Olympian dies at 104
Simone Schaller, an American hurdler who competed at the 1932 and 1936 Summer Games and was believed to be the oldest living Olympian, has died. She was 104.
Grandson Jeffrey Hardy said Saturday that Ms. Schaller died of natural causes Thursday in the Arcadia (Los Angeles County) home she and her husband built in the 1930s.
Ms. Schaller tied Babe Didrikson Zaharias for the world record in the first round of the 80-meter hurdles at the 1932 Los Angeles Games. Ms. Schaller was fourth in the final behind Didrikson, who set another record. According to Olympic historian David Wallechinsky, Ms. Schaller took up hurdling three months earlier.
At the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Ms. Schaller made it to the semifinals.
Wagner golden at Skate America
Ashley Wagner won the Progressive Skate America women’s title in Hoffman Estates, Ill., edging California training partner Mariah Bell.
Wagner, the world figure skating silver medalist, overcame a few mistakes in her free skate for her second Skate America title in five seasons.
“Today was a little sticky, but at the end of the day I got the job done,” Wagner said.
Wagner finished with 196.44 points. Bell, who was sixth after the short program, turned in an event-best free skate with her East of Eden program that helped her net a total score of 191.59. Japan’s Mai Mihara, second after the short program, hung on for third with 189.28 points.
Japan’s Shoma Uno topped the men’s short program, followed by Americans Adam Rippon and Jason Brown.
Uno landed two quad jumps and secured the lead after the short program, with Rippon and Brown close behind. Sunday’s free skate will determine the winner. Soccer: Arsenal climbed to the top of the English Premier League on its manager’s 67th birthday, but Arsene Wenger was in no mood to celebrate.
A 0-0 home draw against struggling Middlesbrough ended Arsenal’s six-game winning run in the league, just when Wenger’s team was being talked up in the title race.
“At least you can have a drink on your birthday,” a glum Wenger said. “When you win, you deserve it. When you don’t, you need it.”
Based on goal differential, Arsenal is ahead of Liverpool, which beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1 at Anfield for a sixth win in nine league matches. Manchester City needs only a point against Southampton on Sunday to reclaim the lead. Football: Placekicker Robbie Gould, cut by the Chicago Bears in September, signed with the New York Giants to replace Josh Brown, who was placed on the NFL’s exempt list Friday after his admission of abusing his wife surfaced.
The New York Jets placed linebacker Erin Henderson on the reserve/non-football injury/ illness list and tight end Braedon Bowman (torn ACL) on injured reserve, and promoted linebackers Victor Ochi and Julian Stanford from the practice squad. Motor sports: Martin Truex Jr. overcame an issue in inspection to win the pole for the playoff elimination race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
Truex turned a lap of 193.423 mph to earn the top starting spot for Sunday. Winner of two races in the first round of the Chase, Truex is winless in round two but above the cutoff point. Four drivers will be cut from the field Sunday.
Defending Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton earned the pole position for the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, where he’s hoping a lateseason charge will help catch Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in the title chase.
Hamilton’s final lap of 1 minute, 34.999 seconds pushed Rosberg into the No. 2 spot. Hamilton trails Rosberg by 33 points in the season championship with four races left. Golf: Jessica Korda shot a 6under-par 66 to make up seven strokes on Minjee Lee for a share of the lead, and Ariya Jutanugarn had a 65 to cut her deficit from eight shots to two and get in the final group at the Blue Bay LPGA in Hainan, China.
Lee had a 73 to match Korda at 11-under 205. The 20-year-old Australian began the day six strokes ahead after shooting 65-67 the first two rounds.
India’s Anirban Lahiri shot a 7-under 65 to take a four-stroke lead at the CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Denmark’s Anders Hansen shot a 9-under 62 for a share of the Portugal Masters lead with Finland’s Mikko Korhonen (64) at 18-under 195. Ireland’s Padraig Harrington was a stroke back after a 67. Skiing: Lara Gut got the defense of her overall World Cup title off to a shining start, dominating the season-opening giant slalom in Soelden, Austria, on a sunsoaked Rettenbach glacier. The first women’s champion from Switzerland in more than two decades led Mikaela Shiffrin by 1.44 seconds for her 19th career victory.