Simone Biles claims record 13th world gold medal

DOHA: Superstar Simone Biles became the first ever gymnast to win 13 world championship gold medals with victory in the individual vault competition in Qatar on Friday.

The 21-year-old broke the alltime record set by Belarusian male gymnast Vitaly Scherbo in 1996. It was Biles’ third gold medal of the week so far in Doha and she is halfway to a possible sweep of six gold medals at these championships. This was also her 17th world championship medal overall, which means she is just three shy of the all-time record of 20, held by Russia’s Svetlana Khorkina. She received a mark of 15.366, well ahead of second-placed Shallon Olsen from Canada, who finished on 14.516.

KOREAS JOIN FORCES FOR OLYMPIC BID

SEOUL: North and South Korea have agreed to officially inform the International Olympic Committee of their intent to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics. Korean sports officials after meeting at a North Korean border town on Friday also agreed to send a combined team to next year’s world handball championships.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in during a summit in September agreed to pursue a joint bid for the 2032 Olympics and send combined teams to the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games as part of reconciliation efforts.

RAKHIMOV HINTS AT STEPPING ASIDE

MOSCOW: The leading candidate to run the amateur boxing association hinted Friday he will take a leave of absence if elected to calm tensions with the International Olympic Committee. “We are addressing any issues that the IOC would have as a result of the election for leadership positions, including for president, through new amendments to our statutes,” said Rakhimov.