VALENTE CLAIMS GOLD AT WORLDS
Jennifer Valente already had become the most decorated American track cyclist in history at this year’s world championships, winning a gold medal in the scratch race and a bronze medal in the elimination race to give her 19 medals for her career.
Valente capped her week in Glasgow, Scotland, on Wednesday by making that total a nice, round — and golden — number.
The Olympic champion in the multi-event omnium, Valente built a substantial lead over the first three of four races, leaving her only to keep track of her closest pursuers in the concluding points race. When Amalie Dideriksen and Lotte Kopecky gained a lap on the field, Valente was right there with them, and she was still with them by the time the 80lap race had concluded.
That allowed the 28-yearold San Diego native to finish with 145 points, thanks in large part to her victory in the tempo race and secondplace finishes in the scratch and elimination races. Dideriksen had 136 to take silver for Denmark, while Kopecky earned bronze for Belgium by holding off 2021 world champion Katie Archibald of Britain.
“To back up last year is really special in a different kind of way,” Valente said. “I was just elated last year, and so excited and had reached a career goal of mine, and I think this race was really for me and I was focused on myself and my own racing.”
Now, Valente will head to the Paris Olympics next summer as the favorite to defend her gold medal from Tokyo.
Sports and courts
Former Las Vegas Raiders player Henry Ruggs was sentenced to at least three years in a Nevada prison for killing a woman in a fiery crash while driving his sports car drunk at speeds up to 156 mph on a city street nearly two years ago.
“I sincerely apologize,” the former first-round NFL draft pick said as he stood for sentencing in Las Vegas after pleading guilty in May to felony DUI causing death and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, a charge carrying a six-month jail sentence that will be folded in with his three-to-10-year prison term.
Ruggs, now 24, was cut by the Raiders while he was still hospitalized following the predawn crash on Nov. 2, 2021. The collision killed Tina Tintor and her dog, Max, and injured Ruggs’ passenger, Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington, his fiancee and mother of their daughter.
Nearly 100 Croatian soccer fans appeared in an Athens court Wednesday to face criminal charges that include murder and membership of a criminal organization over their alleged involvement in deadly fan violence.
The handcuffed youths — many with their shirts pulled over their heads to hide their identity — appeared before an investigative magistrate a day after a 29-year-old Greek fan was stabbed to death outside AEK Athens’ stadium, prompting the cancellation of a Champions League qualifier against Dinamo Zagreb.
Tennis
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek overcame a first set-scare to beat Karolina Pliskova 7-6 (6), 6-2 in the second round of the National Bank Open in Montreal.
Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz won his first match since his Wimbledon victory, beating Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the National Bank Open in Toronto. Secondseeded Daniil Medvedev returned to competition, beating Matteo Arnaldi 6-2, 7-5.
Chris Evert will receive the Serving Up Dreams Award on the first day of this year’s U.S. Open for her efforts to help the U.S. Tennis Association’s charitable arm.
The U.S. Open is adding video review for double bounces, a first for Grand Slam tennis.
Ninth-seeded Julieta Pareja of Carlsbad dispatched fourth-seeded Nicole Weng of South Pasadena 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the Girls’ 16s quarterfinals of the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s and 18s National Championships at Barnes Tennis Center.
Soccer
MLS fans will have to wait a little longer for Lionel Messi’s first regular-season match with Inter Miami CF.
Miami’s Aug. 20 match against Charlotte FC would have been Messi’s first in MLS play, but it was postponed to an unspecified date after both clubs advanced to the Leagues Cup quarterfinals.
Blake Bodily scored the equalizer in the 86th minute and Evan Conway scored the winner in the 90th as the San Diego Loyal rallied to beat visiting Loudoun United 2-1.
Da’vian Kimbrough ,a 13-year-old forward, signed a contract with the Sacramento Republic of the second-tier USL Championship, which says he is the youngest athlete in American professional team sports.
Also
The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club has moved up first post on Friday to 3:30 p.m. from the normal 4 p.m. Also, Del Mar announced a mandatory Pick Six payout for Sunday’s final six races on the card.
Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star guard Anthony Edwards was fined $50,000 by the NBA for a postgame outburst following the team’s ouster from the playoffs in Denver.
UConn basketball star Paige Bueckers announced on Instagram that she’s been cleared to play a year after having ACL surgery on her left knee.