29 Jul 2019

Today's sports news: What you need to know

11:10 am on 29 July 2019

Latest - New Zealand swimmer Lewis Clareburt has won a bronze medal in the Men's 400m Medley at the World Championships in South Korea.

Lewis Clareburt

Lewis Clareburt Photo: Photosport

Clareburt qualified fifth fastest for the final.

In the final he smashed the New Zealand record with a time of 4 minutes 12.07 seconds.

Clareburt finished behind Daiya Seto of Japan and American Jay Litherland.

He is the first New Zealander to win a medal at the event since Lauren Boyle claimed two silver medals in 2015.

Tall Ferns beaten in decider

The Tall Ferns have finished second at the William Jones Cup in Taiwan after being heavily beaten by Japan going down 95-63.

Tall Ferns Micaela Cocks.

Tall Ferns Micaela Cocks. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Both teams held a 4-0 record heading into the final day of the tournament but it was Japan that took the honours after a high class display.

"Japan were fantastic, their shooting was high quality and they punished any defensive error that we made," reflected Tall Ferns Head Coach Guy Molloy.

"To compound our problems we shot the ball poorly but due credit to Japan they tore us apart," he added

Penina Davidson top scored for the Kiwis with 14 points (6/11FG) and also had a game high 9 rebounds. Micaela Cocks scored 13 points, leading the New Zealand scoring in the tournament with 86 points, and Tessa Boagni finished with 10 points.

Stella Beck had a fine all-court game finishing with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

McLaughin fined after win

Supercars Championship leader Scott McLaughlin wins the Ipswich SuperSprint 2019.

Photo: PHOTOSPORT

New Zealand driver Scott McLaughlin has been fined $13,000 following his victory celebrations after yesterday's Supercars race at Ipswich.

McLaughlin has been hit with a $10,000 fine for taking a "non-permitted item" onto the podium, as well as $3,000 for breaching end of race procedures with his burnout.

The non-permitted item was a poster celebrating Ford's victory in the 2019 Manufacturers' Championship, which McLaughlin secured with his win.

McLaughlin was handed the poster by his team just prior to the podium, breaching the long-standing ban on such promotional material.

It was also a costly day for the Red Bull Holden Racing Team and Tickford, which were found to have breached refuelling regulations.

South Korean wins golf major

South Korean golfer Ko Jin-young won the Evian Championship by two strokes in France, cementing her reputation as a player for big occasions with her second major victory of the year.

Ko seized control with a 15-foot birdie at the penultimate hole, where she perfectly read a sharply-breaking putt at the Evian Resort in Evian-les-Bains.

She parred the last, before letting out a big smile, raising her arms in celebration and hurling her ball into the gallery.

Ko finished at 15-under 269, less than four months after claiming her maiden major title at the ANA Inspiration in the California desert.

New Zealand's Lydia Ko missed the cut.

-Reuters

Bale move to China off

Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale Photo: Photosport

Gareth Bale's proposed move to Chinese football club Jiangsu Suning has fallen through with the Wales international is set to remain at Real Madrid.

Bale had been expected to sign a three-year deal worth a reported $2 million a week but PA understands that the move is off.

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has made it clear he was not Bale's biggest fan and the player's injury record - he has made just 79 Spanish La Liga starts in the last four seasons - did not help his cause.

Last week Zidane said Bale was "very close to leaving" and his exit would be "best for everyone" after omitting him from their pre-season friendly against Bayern Munich.

Bale moved from Tottenham to Real Madrid in 2013 in a then world-record $160 million deal and has helped the club win the Champions League four times during his spell at the Bernabeu.

-AAP

NZ rowers medal at World Champs

Two silver medals for New Zealand crews at the World under-23 Rowing Championships in the United States.

Men's doubles scullers Oliver Maclean and Jack Lopas lead going into the last quarter of their race but were pipped by Italy.

The men's four of Benjamin Taylor, Samuel Jones, Thomas MacIntosh and Thomas Russel finished behind Great Britain.

Italy and Great Britain finished top of the medal table with six golds each, while New Zealand were 10th on the table with today's two silver medals.

Australian women cricketers win again

Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry put on an unbeaten 87-run stand as Australia cruised to a seven-wicket victory over England in the second women's Ashes Twenty20 international.

Australia were in a little trouble at 35 for 3 when Perry came to the crease, but the all-rounder hit a chance-less 47 off 39 balls at Hove.

Lanning backed up her record-breaking knock in Chelmsford with a relatively steady 43 off 37 as the pair reached 122 for 3 with 2.1 overs to spare.

During the innings Perry became the first player to reach 1000 runs and 100 wickets in Twenty20 internationals.

Australia have now won 12 points out of a possible 14 in the series, with a draw at Taunton the only half-blemish, ahead of the final match of the tour in Bristol on Wednesday.

-AAP

Big Papi out of hospital

Retired Boston Red Sox baseball player David Ortiz has been released from the hospital after he was shot in the Dominican Republic last month, a representative for the Red Sox said.

Ortiz, known as "Big Papi," was recovering in Massachusetts General Hospital from wounds he suffered when he was shot at an open-air nightclub in the capital of his native country on 9 June.

Dominican authorities have concluded that Ortiz was not the target of the attack and the shooter meant to kill somebody else - a friend of Ortiz, identified as Sixto David Fernandez.

Television host Jhoel Lopez was also wounded in the shooting.

Several arrests have been made in the case.

-Reuters

Reds sign youngster

Liverpool have completed the signing of teenage winger Harvey Elliott from Fulham.

Elliott, who left Craven Cottage after his youth contract expired in June, became the youngest player to feature in the Premier League when he appeared for relegated Fulham against Wolverhampton Wanderers aged 16 years and 30 days in May.

The England under-17 midfielder was linked with Barcelona, Real Madrid and RB Leipzig by the British media.

Elliott will now be part of the Juergen Klopp's Liverpool squad for Sunday's friendly against Napoli in Edinburgh and the subsequent training camp in Evian.

-Reuters