Ikee earns second relay spot at Olympics

TOKYO • Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee powered to a second Tokyo Olympics berth by winning the women's 100m freestyle at the national championships yesterday, less than eight months after she returned to competition following her recovery from leukaemia.

Ikee, 20, finished in 53.98 seconds, missing the 53.31sec she needed to qualify for the individual 100m free but punching her ticket for the 4x100m relay at the Games.

On Sunday, she had won the 100m butterfly final, which secured her a spot in the 4x100 medley relay.

REUTERS

Automated offside tech for World Cup

DOHA • Fifa will be ready to implement an automated system for offside calls at next year's World Cup in Qatar, its head of football development, former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, said.

The International Football Association Board, the game's rule maker, said last month it was continuing to review the offside law and planned to test technology that would allow for "semi-automatic" decisions to limit the need for long waits for video assistant referee (VAR) reviews.

Wenger said he supported the "automated" offside technology, which directly informs a referee's assistant if an incident is offside.

REUTERS

French Open start delayed till May 30

PARIS • The French Open has been delayed by a week in the hope that heightened Covid-19 restrictions in France will have eased by the tournament's start on May 30 to allow the maximum number of tennis fans to attend the event.

France entered a third nationwide lockdown last Saturday to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, with President Emmanuel Macron saying he was hoping to "re-open" the country around mid-May.

Last year, only 1,000 spectators were allowed at Roland Garros every day.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS