Virus alters competitive events around the world
The escalating virus outbreak brought more disruption to the sporting world on Saturday, with games canceled or played without spectators and news of possible quarantine for some athletes.
The International Ice Hockey Federation announced the cancellation of the women’s world hockey championships because of public health concerns over the spread of the new coronavirus. The tournament was set to open March 31, with venues in Halifax and Truro, Nova Scotia.
Saturday’s game between Strasbourg and Paris SaintGermain in the French soccer league was postponed the day before, while players from Liverpool and Bournemouth were the first in the English Premier League to go without pre-game handshakes.
The Barcelona marathon was postponed from March 15 to Oct. 25. Organizers offered the estimated 17,000 runners, about half of them from abroad, the choice of running the rescheduled race or reserving a place for March 2021.
British sporting events could soon be held without spectators, with a meeting between sports bodies, broadcasters and the government set to take place on Monday. A full slate of Serie A soccer games in Italy, which has Europe’s largest number of virus cases, will be played Sunday in empty stadiums.
Seven-time NASCAR Cup winner Jimmie Johnson said he’s going to do an IndyCar team test with McLaren Racing on April 6. Johnson said he wasn’t sure if the one-day team test in Birmingham, Ala., would lead to an IndyCar future, but he’s intrigued by the “totally different environment” of open-wheel racing.
Tesia Thompson had 25 points and a season-high 14 rebounds to help Southeast Missouri (25-7) beat top-seeded UT Martin 67-47 in the championship game of the Ohio Valley Tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA women’s tournament.
Reilly Opelka and Taylor Fritz had straight-set victories late Friday to give the United States a 2-0 lead after the opening day of a Davis Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan in Honolulu. Opelka beat Denis Istomin 6-2, 7-5, and Fritz beat Sanjar Fayziev 6-1, 6-2.
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