As David Popovici has accelerated past his older rivals in the pool this summer, it seemed inevitable that the skinny 17-year-old would threaten world records, the only surprise when he broke the 100m freestyle mark in Rome on Saturday was that he got so quick so fast
On Friday, the Romanian had become only the fourth man in history to swim under 47sec as he set a European record to win his semi-final at the European Championships in Rome.
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That was more than half a second faster than his gold-medal time at the World Championships in June.
On Saturday, he was even quicker, swimming 46.86sec to slice 0.05sec off the record set by Brazilian Cesar Cielo in the 2009 World Championships, also in Rome, in the era of buoyant body suits.
“Yesterday I said that the European record was just one step in the right direction – and I was right. There was no rush and I had to be extremely patient about the world record, ”he said after his victory about him.
In the World Championships in Budapest, Popovici outpaced Caeleb Dressel, who had swum the fastest 100m in a textile suit, in the heats.
The Olympic champion withdrew from the competition before the semis.
Romania’s David Popovici set a new world record in the men’s 100m freestyle. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)Source: AFP
“It’s nice being able to say that I am the fastest to ever do it and it’s a good thing to know I clashed with all of the titans of this race.”
His coach, Adrian Radulescu said that he was too surprised by the speed of Popovici’s progress.
“It’s amazing that it is happening so early,” said Radulescu, just 32.
Asked on Thursday what makes him successful, Popovici acknowledged that success comes at a price.
“When Erling Haaland, a football player, was asked the same question, he replied ‘hard work’ So, it’s just really a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifice and it all comes down to the question of how badly do you want Item; and I really do want it, badly!”
“What are you willing to do that others aren’t? This includes living a completely different lifestyle.”
This summer, Popovici has dominated the World Championships and the European Junior Championships in his home town, Bucharest.
After Rome he plans to head to the world junior championships in Lima
“Really, all I want to get out of this meet and out of world juniors in Peru is simply having fun. The medals, the records, everything, the good times are simply a bonus. If we manage to have fun, that’s very satisfying,” he said.
Not everyone might share his idea of fun.
“Everything in sports is fun. Getting extremely tired and then wanting to vomit,” he said.
“Having all sorts of lactate problems… that’s fine. It’s not fun at the time but after half an hour you don’t want to kill yourself anymore and you feel as if its all worth it.”
Popovici was nine when he joined the swimming club where Radulescu coaches.
Popovici is just 17 years of age. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)Source: AFP
“He wasn’t the easiest to train, he was mostly looking for fun, to skip his turn… But there was something special about him, he was very competitive.”
“He must have been ten years old, we were organizing a competition for swimmers of the same age,” recalled the coach.
“A 25-meter swim and the last one was eliminated… Each time, David finished second last. Ahead of him, they wanted to prove that they were good, they got tired. In the final race, the other survivor was so tired, David won.”
Popovici is unusually thin for a top swimmer.
“David has a keen sense of water,” said Radulescu.
“It’s not about how much force you can generate, but how you can put it into the speed you develop. So, yes, he is very thin, but he has enough strength to swim at higher speeds.”
But, added, the coach, Popovici’s physique will change.
“He’ll be 18 in September, his body will grow, evolve to a man’s size. It’s a challenge… to get the right balance between strength and efficiency.”
Popovici already has a nickname: ‘The Magician’.
“I was passionate about magic when I was younger, the card tricks and illusions and stuff but not anymore. It was a little hobby before swimming,” I explained.
“But yes, some people have called me The Magician because of what I do in the pool but again, I don’t think it represents me. I like to think of myself as a simple guy who just swims fast.”
The F1’s silly season has well and truly arrived, with the retirement of Sebastian Vettel last week sparking mid-season musical chairs as Fernando Alonso signed with Aston Martin.
Now widespread reports suggest McLaren will snap up rising Australian star Oscar Piastri, leaving fellow countryman Daniel Ricciardo without a seat for next year.
It leaves Alpine on the lookout for a driver to replace Alonso and Ricciardo shaped as the most logical option, having previously worked together when the team was called Renault.
Lamonato: Likely to see Piastri in F1 | 06:01
But there could be a twist which opens up another alternative for Alphine, should they opt to go in a different direction.
A report back in June from RacingNews365claimed that AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly has a clause in his contract that would allow him to join a rival team in 2023 — with one condition.
That is that the team is placed higher than AlphaTauri on the standings and Alpine, currently sitting in fourth in the constructors’ championship, would fit that bill.
Now that report has been shared around again given it takes on even more relevance with Alonso’s shock exit.
Gasly’s path back to Red Bull is seemingly blocked after Sergio Perez re-signed until at least the end of 2024 and the Frenchman had been linked to McLaren earlier in the year.
But with Piastri seemingly on his way to McLaren, there would be an opportunity at Alpine should that be of interest to both parties.
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AlphaTauri’s French driver Pierre Gasly could hold the key. (Photo by Jure Makovec / AFP)Source: AFP
Speaking back in June, Gasly said he was in “ongoing conversations” with Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko about his future.
“Well, at the moment, it is not a question of looking outside [Red Bull] or looking anywhere,” Gasly told media, per RacingNews365.com.
“I think my contract situation is pretty clear with Red Bull.
“It’s just ongoing conversation with Helmut and the management to know what’s best for all of us. But, as I said, it’s been very logical that they signed Sergio.
“He’s been competitive since the start of the year, so yeah, no surprise on that side. Obviously, it impacts what’s going to happen for my career in the coming years and, based on that, we just need to have normal conversation on what’s best going forward.”
DALLAS (AP) — Hungary’s autocratic Prime Minister Viktor Orban urged cheering American conservatives on Thursday to “take back the institutions,” stick to hardline stances on gay rights and immigration and fight for the next US presidential election as a pivotal moment for their beliefs.
The exuberant cheers and standing ovations at the Conservative Political Action Conference for the far-right prime minister, who has been criticized for undermining his own country’s democratic institutions, demonstrated the growing embrace between Orban and Republicans in the US
I have mocked the media in this country and in Europe. And in a speech he titled “How We Fight,” Orban told the crowd gathered in a Dallas convention ballroom to focus now on the 2024 election, saying they had “two years to get ready,” though he endorsed no candidate or party.
“Victory will never be found by taking the path of least resistance,” he said during one of the keynote slots of the three-day CPAC event. “We must take back the institutions in Washington and Brussels. We must find friends and allies in one another.”
Referring to liberals, he said: “They hate me and slander me and my country, as they hate you and slander you for the America you stand for.”
His entrance drew a bigger welcome than the governor of Texas, Republican Greg Abbott, received moments earlier on the same stage. From there, the cheers continued as Orban weaved through attacks on LGBTQ rights, boasted about reducing abortions in Hungary and celebrated hardline immigration measures back home.
Other speakers will include former President Donald Trump — who met with Orban earlier this week and will address the gathering on Saturday — Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Republican candidates fresh off GOP primary election victories Tuesday.
Orban’s visit to the US came amid backlash back home and in Europe over anti-migrant remarks in which he railed against Europe becoming a “mixed race” society. One of his closest associates compared his comments to Nazi rhetoric and resigned in protest. Orban told the crowd in Texas the media would portray him as a racist strongman and dismissed those who would call his government racist as “idiots.”
His invitation to CPAC reflects conservatives’ growing embrace of the Hungarian leader whose country has a single-party government. Orban is also considered the closest ally in the European Union to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that President Joe Biden had no plans to speak with Orban while he’s in the US Asked if the administration had any concerns about CPAC inviting such a leader to speak at the high-profile conference, Kirby demurred .
“He’s coming at a private invitation,” Kirby said. “Mr. Orban and the CPAC, they can talk about his visit from him.”
Trump praised Orban, who has been prime minister for 12 years, after their meeting this week in Florida.
“Few people know as much about what is going on in the world today,” the former president said in a statement after the meeting.
To some attending the three-day conference, Orban is a model leader who makes an impression beyond Hungary because of his policies and personality.
They praised him for his border security measures and for providing financial subsidies to Hungarian women, which Orban has called an effort to counter Hungary’s population decline. Lilla Vessey, who moved to Dallas from Hungary with her husband, Ede, in the 1980s, said what she hears back in Hungary is that Orban is not anti-democratic.
“I don’t know how it happened that the conservatives kind of discovered him,” said Ede Vessey, 73. “He supports the traditional values. He supports the family.”
Scott Huber, who met Orban along with other CPAC attendees at a private event hours before the speech, said the prime minister expressed hope the US would “moderate a little bit from the far-left influences” in November’s midterm elections. The 67-year-old Pennsylvanian said he would not disagree with descriptions of Orban as autocratic and that he has upset democratic norms, but said he thought it would change in time.
As to why Orban is winning over so many conservatives, Huber noted Orban’s attacks on George Sorosthe American-Hungarian billionaire and philanthropist who is a staunch critic of Hungary’s government and a supporter of liberal causes.
“That’s why I was so interested in seeing him,” Huber said.
Through his communications office, Orban declined an interview request by The Associated Press prior to his speech in Dallas.
The AP and other international news organizations also were prohibited from covering a CPAC conference held in Budapest in May, the group’s first conference in Europe. During that gathering, Orban called Hungary “the bastion of conservative Christian values in Europe” and urged conservatives in the US to defeat “the dominance of progressive liberals in public life.”
He has styled himself as a champion of what he calls “illiberal democracy.”
Orban served as prime minister of Hungary between 1998 and 2002, but it’s his record since taking office again in 2010 that has drawn controversy and raised concerns about Hungary sliding into authoritarian rule. He has depicted himself as a defender of European Christendom against Muslim migrants, progressives and the “LGBTQ lobby.”
Last year, his right-wing Fidesz party banned the depiction of homosexuality or sex reassignment in media targeting people under 18. Information on homosexuality also was forbidden in school sex education programs, or in films and advertisements accessible to minors.
Some of the biggest applauses during Orban’s speech came when he described Hungary’s family framework.
“To sum up, the mother is a woman, the father is a man, and leave our children alone, full stop,” he said.
Orban has consolidated power over the country’s judiciary and media, and his party has drawn legislative districts in a way that makes it very difficult for opposition parties to win seats — somewhat similar to partisan gerrymandering efforts for state legislative and congressional seats in the US That process currently favors Republicans because they control more of the state legislatures that create those boundaries.
Orban’s moves have led international political observers to label him as the face of a new wave of authoritarianism. The European Union has launched numerous legal proceedings against Hungary for breaking EU rules and is withholding billions in recovery funds and credit over violations of rule-of-law standards and insufficient anti-corruption safeguards.
___
Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.
Cody Simpson’s impressive swim in the semi-finals of the men’s 100m butterfly may not have been what Emma McKeon needed before she was about to go out and make history.
The singer turned swimmer moved through to the end of the 100m butterfly, continuing his remarkable return to swimming — as well as giving McKeon a scare in the process.
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The 25-year-old will join countryman Matt Temple in the decider after qualifying fifth-fastest for the race, scheduled for Wednesday morning (AEST).
Simpson was sluggish out of the blocks in his semi-final but found his groove to be second at the turn. It looked like he was in danger of being hunted down at death but he held on to finish third with a time of 52.16 seconds.
Heading into these Commonwealth Games it was Simpson’s ambition to make an individual final, and he has done just that – but will be hoping to go even further.
“Pretty wild, pretty special. That was my goal to make sure I got into the final – just relieved that I am,” he told Channel 7 on the pooldeck.
McKeon appeared to be just as relieved.
Asked how Simpson was handling things after she won a historic 12th gold medal in the 50m butterfly, McKeon revealed her heart was racing when watching Simpson race, half an hour before she walked out onto the pooldeck for her event.
“I was very excited for him,” she told Channel 7.
“I get that when watching him and other people that are close to me, more than I do for my own races. I am excited to watch him tomorrow night.”
Simpson revealed earlier it has been hard for him watching McKeon as well this week — even though she has delivered a golden avalanche in the Birmingham pool, breaking the record for the most gold medals ever won at the Commonwealth Games.
Simpson had missed the previous two previous night sessions when McKeon won gold medals because he had been back at his room preparing for his next event.
However, he was there with the rest of the Aussie team cheering her on as she collected her gold medal on Tuesday morning.
“I was watching her back at the Village, 50m free, it was hard because I was trying not to get excited because I had to keep something in the tank for my morning,” he said.
“It is hard, you want to stay focused but you want to be absolutely supportive of her too.
“I feel like every time I look over, she is racing. Ella she has a harder job than I do but she is handling it awesome. ”
Simpson won a gold medal earlier in the Games after an impressive performance in the heats of the 4x100m freestyle relay, which Australia went on to win in a Commonwealth Games record in the final.
Although he wasn’t part of the team in the final, Simpson still takes home a gold medal because he participated in the heats.
In the 100m butterfly heats on Monday night (AEST), Simpson made the surprising comment that he had been able to take it easy in the heats on the way through to the semi-finals.
“I was quite calm,” he told Channel 7.
“Knew I had to get through the next round, tick the box off, try to swim it as comfortably as I could without spending too much for tonight. Quite happy with it.”
Kyle Chalmers was scheduled to swim in the 100m butterfly, but revealed on Monday night he was pulling out to focus on his 100m freestyle final – which he won on Tuesday morning.
Chalmers’ decision to add butterfly to his program at this year’s national championships caused a stir, as it forced Simpson out of the Australian team for the world championships in Budapest.
There were suggestions at the time Chalmers’ butterfly move was sparked by Simpson’s relationship with Emma McKeon, but the Rio Olympic gold medalist fiercely denied that.
Fernando Alonso will join Aston Martin from 2023, clearing the way for Oscar Piastri to make his full-time debut next season.
Alonso made the shock announcement on Monday, confirming the switch on a multiyear deal starting in 2023.
The two-time champion said he was convinced the team, currently ninth in the standings with 20 points, less than half his own current tally, was capable of success during his contract term.
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“This Aston Martin team is clearly applying the energy and commitment to win, and it is therefore one of the most exciting teams in Formula 1 today,” he said. “I have known Lawrence [Stroll] and Lance [Stroll] for many years and it is very obvious that they have the ambition and passion to succeed in Formula 1.
“I have watched as the team has systematically attracted great people with winning pedigrees, and I have become aware of the huge commitment to new facilities and resources at Silverstone.
“No-one in Formula 1 today is demonstrating a greater vision and absolute commitment to winning, and that makes it a really exciting opportunity for me.”
Alonso had signaled he wanted to stay with Alpine for at least two more seasons, but the French team was reportedly prepared to offer him only one more year before shifting his to sportscars to avoid losing Aussie junior Piastri to a rival constructor.
The Spaniard, who said he returned to the sport last year to fight for a third championship, said he wasn’t prepared to give up on his long-held goal.
“I still have the hunger and ambition to fight to be at the front, and I want to be part of an organization that is committed to learn, develop and succeed,” he said. “I intend to win again in this sport and therefore I have to take the opportunities that feel right to me.”
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His defection paves the way for Aussie young gun Oscar Piastri to be promoted to his seat alongside Esteban Ocon next year.
Piastri will be the second full-time Australian driver on the grid alongside Daniel Ricciardo.
The team has been agonizing over Alonso’s future knowing that the Mark Webber-led Piastri was determined to see the reining F2 champion in a competitive seat as early as possible.
As recently as last week the team was talking publicly about loaning Piastri, most likely to backmarking the Williams team. Webber was meanwhile rumored to be attempting to engineer a switch to Ricciardo’s McLaren seat despite the senior Aussie being under contract.
Alpine is yet to comment on Alonso’s announcement.
Leclerc burnt by ANOTHER Ferrari blunder | 01:14
Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll said Alonso’s signature was a vote of confidence in his team’s plans to move forward on the grid.
“I have known and admired Fernando for many years and it has always been clear that he is a committed winner like me,” he said. “I have set out to bring together the best people and develop the right resources and organization to succeed in this highly competitive sport, and those plans are now taking shape at Silverstone.
“It seemed natural therefore to invite Fernando to be part of the development of a winning team, and we very quickly established in our recent conversations that we have the same ambitions and values, and it was logical and easy to confirm our desire to work together. .”
Alonso is replacing four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, who announced his end-of-year retirement from the sport last week.
Wins don’t come much more emphatic than from 10th on the grid at the Hungaroring.
Max Verstappen’s against-the-odds victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix was only the fourth time someone’s won in Budapest starting further back than the front two rows. Not only was it a clear underline on Red Bull Racing’s superiority in the 2022 championship race, it was also a neat encapsulation of the entire season to date as the sport heads into the mid-season break.
It featured a wildly slow then unexpectedly and inexplicably fast Mercedes that threatened to win the race but ultimately couldn’t manage it.
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It featured Ferrari somehow fumbling what should’ve been an unimpeachable pace advantage early in the weekend to finish off the podium and denying it lacks operational sharpness.
And as its centrepiece it featured Red Bull Racing executing most effectively, Verstappen seizing his opportunities and both ending Sunday with enhanced points leads.
You almost don’t need to have seen any other race this year to understand where the championship stands and predict where it’ll head when racing resumes at the end of August after the mid-season break.
REMINDER: FERRARI TARGETED TO ONE-TWO
There’s no team that needs the mid-season break more urgently than Ferrari, which contributed yet another way to ship more points to Red Bull Racing and Verstappen in an already bleak title campaign.
All this despite having explicitly targeted a one-two finish just days earlier.
It won’t shock you to know that the team’s embarrassing loss came mainly from the pit wall.
Slow pit stops meant it took longer for Leclerc to pass pole-getter Russell than it should have, and it cost Sainz the opportunity to pass the Briton at all.
It then made the fatal error of swapping Leclerc onto the unfancied hard tire for his final stint in a hasty attempt to cover the undercutting Verstappen — despite the fact every other car that had used the tire was struggling badly for grip.
Not only did it cost him the lead, but he was forced into making a third stop that left him an almost unbelievable sixth at the flag.
Ferrari protested after the race that the problem wasn’t its strategy but the car, which in the cooler Sunday conditions wasn’t exhibiting the dominant edge it enjoyed during Friday practice.
Leclerc burnt by ANOTHER Ferrari blunder | 01:14
“Certainly we didn’t have the performance we were expecting,” team boss Mattia Binotto told Sky Sports. “Whatever the tyres, somehow the performance of our cars was not as expected.
“Today the car was not behaving well, I think that’s the point.”
Binotto isn’t wrong to make that argument, but he is exaggerating. Ferrari was slower than it was on Friday, but it was still the fastest car on track.
We can make a like-for-like comparison between Leclerc and Verstappen on the medium tire in the middle of the race, Even accounting for the Dutchman’s older rubber, the Monegasque was still quicker, or at least quick enough to take him on directly.
But the team let itself be spooked by Verstappen’s second undercut attempt with 32 laps to go. Rather than race to its own pace, run deep and switch to softs — which it did with Sainz — it brought Leclerc in immediately for the hard tire and suffered the consequences.
“I felt very strong on the medium. Everything was under control,” Leclerc told Sky Sports. “I don’t know why we needed to go on the hard.
“I said on the radio I was very comfortable on the medium and I wanted to go as long as possible on those tires because the feeling was good. I don’t know why we made a different decision.”
So really there are two key mistakes here. One is coolness under pressure in reading the race, and the other is misunderstanding the hard tyre, which the team thought would warm up after 10 laps but which in reality was never going to be effective. It’s not the first time it’s committed either foul this season.
Leclerc left Budapest with a whopping 80-point deficit to Verstappen and Ferrari is now 97 points adrift of Red Bull Racing. More worrying still, the team’s just 30 points ahead of Mercedes.
And with performance like that, would you be willing to back Ferrari to hold second?
Max & Lewis chuckle at Ferrari’s tactics | 00:33
MAX VERSTAPPEN PUTS ONE HAND ON THE TROPHY
If Charles Leclerc’s solo crash at the French Grand Prix effectively decided the destination of the title, Verstappen’s slick victory in Budapest gave him a chance to put one hand on the trophy.
An 80-point advantage is more than three clear race victories. He can now afford to finish second to Leclerc at every race, including the sprint in Brazil, and ship the point for fastest lap and he still won’t lose the title lead before the end of the season.
Before the mid-season break he’s been able to put the fate of the drivers championship completely in his own hands. No mean feat.
After last season’s down-to-the-wire blockbuster finale, you’ll be concerned to know we can start counting down the points needed to win the championship.
With nine rounds remaining, Verstappen can win the championship with just five more victories even if Leclerc finishes second to him in all of them. That puts him on track to claim the crown at the Japanese Grand Prix.
And perhaps Verstappen winning the next five races is unlikely — he’s yet to win more than three in a row this season — but with Mercedes potentially in the mix, he may have a team to pick points off Ferrari and Leclerc, in which case just finishing with one or two cars between him and the Monegasque regardless of their finishing position would probably be enough to get the job done.
The weekend wasn’t perfect of course. A power unit problem was part of the reason he qualified poorly, and a clutch issue spun him around in the race, temporarily costing him the lead. He’ll also need to serve a penalty for a new power unit at some point in the second half of the year, having installed his third and final motor this weekend.
But the gap is easily wide enough to absorb that pressure, and with Leclerc needing at least one more round of power unit penalties, it’s extremely difficult to imagine a scenario in which Verstappen doesn’t win the title with at least two rounds to spare
Max spins but still wins in Hungary | 01:11
MERCEDES UNEXPECTEDLY FAST BUT UNSURE ABOUT PERMANENCE
Mercedes arrived in Budapest in the brace position, appeared to be justified by its lackluster Friday performance, but by the end of the weekend it had collected its first pole of the year with George Russell and a second straight double podium.
Lewis Hamilton had even been on a late an unlikely charge for victory that team boss Toto Wolff said could’ve ended in success had he qualified higher up the grid rather than suffer a DRS failure in Q3.
What’s more, the Hungaroring layout should have been a struggle circuit for the car, which tends to prefer faster tracks — Hamilton almost won at Silverstone, both drivers showed good pace in Austria before crashing out of qualifying, and the team got both cars onto the podium in France.
Wolff, however, said it was less a case of not understanding the reasons for its speed in Budapest but rather figuring out if those reasons applied universally or only to the specific characteristics of the Hungaroring.
“It’s not that we have no clue why the car has been fast,” Wolff said, per The Race.
“We had directions during the season where we believed it would unlock the potential of the car, and it didn’t.
“So here we have another direction, and that was very quick on the stopwatch.
“But I don’t want to have another false dawn and we come to the realization tomorrow and Spa that it didn’t reap the benefits that we were hoping to have.
“In that respect, let’s just wait and see where this is going.”
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In that respect Mercedes must be frustrated to have to wait three weeks to try to validate its progress, though the triple-header comprising three distinct track types will be the ultimate test of its solution.
The team is long out of championship contention, but the W13’s fortunes are still relevant to the title outcome.
Potentially now quick enough to contend for regular merited podiums and perhaps victories at some tracks, how well Mercedes does on any given weekend will decide three things: how soon Verstappen wins the title — or, if you’re extremely optimistic, whether he wins the title; where Ferrari will finish in the constructors standings; and whether Leclerc will finish second in the drivers standings.
George Russell is now just 20 points behind Leclerc in the battle for a second, with Hamilton 12 points further back, and the team is now only 30 points short of Ferrari in the teams title battle.
It’s too late for the major prizes, but the minor placings are still very much up for grabs.
McLAREN STILL IN TOUCH FOR FOURTH DESPITE RICCIARDO PENALTY
The battle for best of the midfield is similarly still very much alive, with McLaren maintaining its four-point deficit to Alpine in fourth on the constructors title table.
Ricciardo pulls off epic double pass | 00:46
This was an improved weekend for Woking, one week after it introduced its major upgrade package at the French Grand Prix. Not only did Lando Norris again outqualify both French cars, but this week he retained his place ahead of them despite a slow first pit stop, ensuring maximum midfield points with seventh place.
He had Alpine’s unlikely one-stop strategy to thank in part. Alpine did n’t have a second set of medium tires for either driver, having burnt through them during practice, and so he had little choice but to go long, meaning he neither could challenge the leading Briton.
Daniel Ricciardo was the only weak point for McLaren. The Australian had been marginally off Norris’s pace through the race but quick enough to be running behind him before the first stops, even makingthat excellent double pass around the two battling Alpine drivers to hold the place.
But his struggles really started during his final stint on the hard tire and intensified once he was lapped, costing him precious tire temperature each time he was waved a blue flag.
The lack of grip on the white-walled tire was also behind him running wide and into Lance Stroll at turn 2, earning him a five-second penalty, when he was trying to let the Canadian by.
It left him out of the points, allowing a superb drive by Sebastian Vettel to be rewarded by one point, the German having recovered from 18th by avoiding that troublesome hard tire.
Shayna Jack almost apologized for saying she was about to get emotional after her bronze medal swim. The 23-year-old comeback star has nothing to apologize for.
After a string of cruel injuries and a two-year doping ban, Jack on Monday morning enjoyed the single sweetest moment of her swimming career and was overcome with emotion.
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Jack missed out on gold in the women’s 50m freestyle final to Aussie superstar Emma McKeon, who won a mind-boggling 11th career gold medal.
It was an astonishing medal sweep for Australia with Meg Harris taking the silver, just 0.04 seconds ahead of Jack.
Jack has previously won world championship gold medals and a Commonwealth Games gold medal in relay events — but this was her first ever major individual swimming medal. You could tell as she fronted the press after the swim that it meant everything,
Jack had qualified fastest for the final and had some regret about missing out on the gold — but falling short against one of the greatest athletes of all time is nothing to be disappointed by.
She started her brief press conference by saying: “I’m just going to get emotional.
“Like it might not have been the result I wanted tonight, but I have to be really proud of how far I’ve come.
“It’s not been an easy journey. It’s been two major hiccups. Just to be standing here today and to be able to get on the podium with these two girls is actually such an honor. I probably can’t put into words how amazing it feels to be here.”
Jack said winning a gold medal in an individual event is the next thing for her to chase with plenty of fire in her belly.
“I have always loved being part of the relays but to progress and to be on the podium as an individual swimmer is second to none,” she said.
“I’m so proud of myself and these girls tonight. We gave it our all.
“I don’t think I’ve given myself that time to recognize how far I’ve come.”
It was an emotional night for the Aussie team with McKeon also briefly breaking down in tears after her historic achievement.
Jack’s emotion shows how far she has come.
She last month became a world champion after anchoring the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team to gold in Budapest.
Jack was returning after the shock moment on the eve of the 2019 World Championships where it was revealed she had tested positive to anabolic agent Ligandrol.
Jack continually maintained her innocence and had her suspension cut in half by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in November 2020.
World champion Max Verstappen fully exploited another Ferrari flop to pull 80 points clear of Charles Leclerc in this year’s title race with an emphatic Red Bull triumph in Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Just a week after his crushing win at the French Grand Prix, where Leclerc crashed out of the lead, the 24-year-old Dutchman scored his first win at the Hungaroring, his eighth this year and the 28th of his career.
Starting from 10th on the grid, after engine problems in qualifying on Saturday required a new power unit, he sliced through the field to finish 7.8 seconds ahead of Mercedes’ seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, who had started from his maiden pole position.
That was despite a 360 degree spin on lap 40 from which he managed to recover from.
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‘LET’S F***ING GO!’ Ricciardo nails insane double overtake before penalty drama strikes
“When we woke up this morning who would have thought we would win this race?” said the Dutchman.
With Russell on pole and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Leclerc second and third on the grid, pre-race forecasts made the Italian team favorites to control and win with some ease as the Red Bulls were 10th and 11th.
But a combination of poor tire management, slow pit-stops and questionable strategy saw them finish fifth and sixth, behind Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull, who started 11th, after looking likely winners.
“I was hoping I could get close to a podium, but it was very tricky out there,” said Verstappen.
Max Verstappen is running away with the championship.Source: AFP
“But we had a really good strategy, we were really reactive, always pitting at the right time.” Hamilton, who started seventh was seeking to increase his record haul of eight Hungarian wins, registered his fifth consecutive podium and a successive second position.
“I was definitely struggling at the beginning, but bit by bit I got more comfortable with the balance,” he said.
“I had a really good start so I want to acknowledge my team. We’ve had a tough year and for both cars to be on the podium is an amazing way to go into the summer break.
“The other guys have an edge, but we are clearly closing the gap. Hopefully, we can bring some more into the second half of the season and start fighting with them.”
It was an up-and-down race for Daniel Ricciardo who executed a stunning double overtake on both Alpines and yelled “let’s f***ing go”, but had his race ruined after an incident with Lance Stroll.
Ricciardo made contact with the Aston Martin and was handed a five-second penalty for causing the collision. He also struggled with the harder tire and continued to slip down the field, eventually finishing in a lowly 15th position.
His teammate Lando Norris finished seventh.
– ‘I was confused’ –
Russell, who led for 30 laps, said he had a strong first stint, but that he struggled on the medium compound tires and lost temperature in the closing laps.
“But it’s been an amazing job by the team to have pole position and a double podium – we are definitely making progress. I am really proud of the work everyone has done.”
Both Sainz and Leclerc were disappointed by their results.
“I felt very strong and very comfortable on the mediums,” said Leclerc who led the race and looked likely to win before a pit-stop to switch unexpectedly to hard tyres.
“I wanted to stay out and I don’t know why I was called in. I was confused by that.
“I lost the race on the hard tires and I don’t know why. We need to speak about this inside the team.”
He added: “Honestly, the pace on my side, I was pretty happy, the only thing is that everybody will remember the last part of the race where it was a disaster for me, especially the hard – that’s why I lost the race basically .”
Sainz said he felt he was slower than expected.
“It is what it is,” he said. “We struggled as a team and in the lower temperatures the track changed and the car and the tires did not perform.
“We need to analyze this to see what we did wrong and, after the summer break, come back with a better package. We have to speak about it inside the team to get to do this better.” Ferrari team chief Mattia Binotto defended the team’s decisions.
“We didn’t have the performance we expected and the car was not performing well in the cooler conditions,” he said. “It’s the first time this season.
“We did not have the edge today. We believed we could do it, but it did not work out as we were expecting. Sometimes, we can make mistakes, but I fully support the team.”
HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX RESULTS
1. Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull) 1hr 39min 35.912sec
2. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) at 7.834sec
3. George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) 12,337
4. Carlos Sainz (ESP/Ferrari) 14,579
5. Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull) 15,688
6. Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) 16,047
7. Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:18.300
8. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Alpine-Renault) 1 lap
9. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine-Renault) 1 lap
10. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1 lap
11. Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1 lap
12. Pierre Gasly (FRA/AlphaTauri-Red Bull) 1 lap
13. Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Alfa Romeo) 1 lap
14. Mick Schumacher (GER/Haas-Ferrari) 1 lap
15. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/McLaren-Mercedes) 1 lap
16. Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas-Ferrari) 1 lap
17. Alexander Albon (THA/Williams-Mercedes) 1 lap
18. Nicholas Latifi (CAN/Williams-Mercedes) 1 lap
19. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/AlphaTauri-Red Bull) 2 laps
20. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Alfa Romeo) 5 laps
Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:21.386 on 57th lap (average speed: 260.580 km/h)
