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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, July 28, 2017
Morris strikes late as USA claim Gold Cup
Russia making progress but still needs to admit doping past - WADA president LONDON, England (Reuters) - Russia has made progress in its fight against drug cheats, but still needs to admit it had a problem before it can be declared completely compliant, the president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Craig Reedie told Reuters yesterday. It is one month since WADA lifted its suspension of RUSADA, Russia’s anti-doping agency, which was banned from testing in November 2015 after an independent investigation accused it of systematically violating anti-doping regulations.
fore Russian teams could once again compete in athletics or the Paralympics. Both the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) still regard Russia as non-compliant. “One of the conditions for renewed compliance is actually an admission that there was a problem and hopefully some declaration of contrition,” Reedie said. “And that’s a condition that’s applied by the IAAF and it’s a condition applied by the International Paralympic
The USA team celebrate winning the final football game of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup against Jamaica.
THE United States of America (USA) moved within one of Mexico’s CONCACAF Gold Cup record after a 2-1 victory over Jamaica in Wednesday night’s final. Jordan Morris scored an 88th-minute winner as the United States claimed a dramatic 2-1 victory over Jamaica for their sixth CONCACAF Gold Cup title. Wednesday’s showpiece appeared set for extra time after Je-Vaughn Watson cancelled out Jozy Altidore’s stunning firsthalf opener, but Morris struck late to move USA within one of Mexico’s Gold Cup record. Altidore curled a freekick past substitute goalkeeper Dwayne Miller on the stroke of half-time before Watson equalised for the 2015 runners-up – seeking their first Gold Cup crown.
However, USA huffed and puffed and eventually found the winner thanks to Morris, who rifled a shot into the back of the net – securing a third Gold Cup title for head coach Bruce Arena. USA – semi-finalists two years ago – named an unchanged line-up for the decider after seeing off Costa Rica 2-0 in the final four as Michael Bradley, Altidore and Tim Howard headlined the starting XI. The Jamaicans made one change after upstaging defending champions Mexico in a 2015 final rematch, with Oniel Fisher coming in for Shaun Francis. It was a relatively subdued and cagey start to the match but it sprung into life in the 19th minute. Andre Blake – the hero from the semi-final – was called into action follow-
ing a thunderous longrange effort from Altidore and the Jamaica goalkeeper showed tremendous reflexes to scramble away the rebound. But it came at a cost. Blake hurt his hand in the process and the Philadelphia Union star made his way from the field in tears. The scores were set to be deadlocked at half-time until a moment of magic from Altidore. Known for his power, Altidore showed his finesse as he curled a free-kick past substitute keeper Miller. Jamaica struggled to provide a threat up front or register a shot on target, but that changed five minutes into the second half. Watson fired a fierce shot into the net following Kemar Lawrence’s corner, leaving the hosts stunned. USA pushed forward
and looked the most likely to score as Omar Gonzalez and Morris came close. But Jamaica provided a reminder of their threat on the counter as Alvas Powell almost poked the ball home but Graham Zusi made a last-ditch block with 16 minutes remaining. Substitute and record-seeking Clint Dempsey – a goal away from becoming USA’s outright all-time leading scorer – then struck the post with a header a minute later. USA had a chance to win it five minutes from the end but no one could get the decisive touch on the ball following a scuffed freekick from Dempsey. Morris, though, pounced two minutes from the end to give USA their first Gold Cup success since 2013. (w.w.w GOAL)
GFSCA to participate in Toronto Cup 2 THE Guyana Floodlights Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) will participate in the ‘Toronto Cup 2’ next weekend in Canada. The three-day tournament is billed for August 4, 5 and 6. Floodlights are the only team in softball history to have won three major International softball titles in nine
Floodlights skipper Ricky Deonarine
months. They won the Guyana Softball Cup 6 last November, before winning the Orlando Premier League in March this year in Florida, and the NYSCL Legends Cup earlier this month in New York. Floodlights were runners-up in 2015 at ‘Toronto Cup 1’. Floodlights team
re a d s : R i c k y D e o n arain (captain), Ramo Malone (vice-captain), Uniss Yusuf, Lloyd Ruplall, Ravi Lutchman, Jagdish Persaud, Tulshi Lutchman, Neraj Narad, Pooran Singh, Huks Lutchman, Ago Gopaul, Kenrick Persaud, Jailall Deodass, Pithamber Maharaj and Ramesh Sunich.
WADA president Craig Reedie
That was before the release of a more thorough and damning WADA commission report last year by Richard McLaren. This alleged a state-sponsored doping programme in Russia, which the Kremlin has denied. RUSADA is still deemed non-compliant by WADA but is now able to resume testing, under the supervision of internationally-appointed experts and the UK anti-doping agency (UKAD), after meeting conditions set down by the global anti-doping body. Reedie said that there were now crucial resources in place to root out drug cheats. “There’s progress from our point of view. So there’ll be a much, much bigger and stronger testing exercise in Russia now that there are more people to do it. One of the problems we had was there simply wasn’t enough capacity in Russia to do all the checks that we wanted. There aren’t enough independent testers in Russia,” said Reedie. The 76-year-old, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee, said that there was still a crucial element that is needed to be fulfilled be-
Committee, as well as by WADA. “So the Russian authorities are aware of that and we encourage them to do something about that and I hope they do it as soon as possible because that’s another box ticked and we can move on.” R u s s i a n p re s i d e n t Vladimir Putin denied in December last year the existence of a state-sponsored doping programme, or that the government had ever supported the doping of its athletes. He did, however, say that Russia, like every other country, has experienced problems with doping. “If that’s an admission, then it’s an admission,” Reedie said. “Other people wouldn’t regard it as a sufficiently full admission. I don’t think there’s much doubt in our minds that they know what they have to do and we await their response with interest.” A total of 19 Russian athletes have been approved by the IAAF to compete under a neutral flag at next month’s world athletics championships in London, after demonstrating they have been operating within an effective testing system.