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Portland, Oregon,  (Reuters) – Fast-starting Barbara Pierre is ready for a run at the Rio Olympics.

The American sprinter rocketed her way to victory in the women’s 60 metres at the world indoor championships on Saturday, surprising Dutch world 200m champion Dafne Schippers and adding her name to potential candidates for the U.S. Olympic team.

The Haitian-born sprinter never let up after bursting out of the blocks, winning in 7.02 seconds, two-hundredths of a second faster than Schippers, the world 100m silver medallist.

“It was amazing,” the 29-year-old Pierre said. “The crowd just gave me that extra bit. I said, ‘I’m at home I need to win this, nobody else.”

Ranked third behind Tori Bowie and English Gardner among American 100m sprinters last year, she had run a lifetime best 7.00 seconds for 60m at the U.S. championships a week ago to equal Schippers’ 2016 world-leading mark from February.

But even after backing up that quick time with rounds of 7.07 and 7.06 seconds at the world championships, she needed a quick start to defeat the favoured Schippers.

“I didn’t see anybody,” said Pierre of her rapid release in the final. “That’s why I didn’t know if I won or not. I was zoned out. I couldn’t see anything.”

She probably would not have won without the quick start, she said.

“It is such a short race so you kind of have to get out,” Pierre said. “And that is like my strongest point.”

Schippers was clearly beaten at the start and could not overcome Pierre.

“It was not a good race,” the Dutch runner said. “My start was not so good but my speed was very good. So I am just going to go for the outdoor season and go for the 100 and 200m.”

She no doubt will be a top challenger to Jamaican Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the 100m and likely the co-favourite with American Allyson Felix in the 200m at Rio.

Pierre has never been to the Games as an American, representing Haiti in the 2008 Beijing Olympics before becoming a U.S. citizen.

“I am so ready for Rio,” the new world champion added.

 (Editing by John O’Brien)

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The 97th-ranked Rybarikova, who eliminated 31st seed Daria Gavrilova in her previous match, got by the powerful Bencic 6-4 3-6 6-3 while Czech Karolina Pliskova dumped former Serbian world number one Ivanovic 6-2 6-0 in a fleeting 49 minutes.

After an uneven start at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, 18th seed Pliskova’s game clicked into gear in spectacular fashion, reeling off 10 consecutive games to close out her one-sided victory.

Ivanovic entered the tournament fresh off a run to the quarter-finals and semi-finals in Dubai and St. Petersburg, respectively, while Pliskova had suffered a couple of early exits in the Middle East.

Pliskova, perhaps, perked up in seeing Ivanovic across the net. She had won all three of her previous encounters with Ivanovic, including earlier this year in Sydney.

“We’ve played a few times already and I’ve always won. But I think I played really good tennis today and I’m happy that I made (the next round) so fast,” said Pliskova, who powered in 18 winners.

Next up for Pliskova will be Britain’s Johanna Konta, who advanced 6-4 6-1 over Czech Denisa Allertova, who had conquered second-seeded Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber in the previous round.

Rybarikova advanced to another challenging test against U.S. Open runner-up Roberta Vinci.

The ninth-seeded Italian hurried past Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-1 6-3 to book her spot in the fourth round.

(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Frank Pingue)

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BERLIN (Reuters) – Thomas Mueller and Thiago Alcantara struck twice as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich thumped Werder Bremen 5-0 on Saturday to open an eight-point gap at the top with their first win in three games.

The Bavarians, who claimed one point from their previous two matches, terrorised visiting Werder with Kingsley Coman setting up three goals in an eye-catching dress rehearsal for the Champions League last-16 second leg against Juventus next week.

“It may look easy … but it was not,” said Bayern coach Pep Guardiola. “It was important to win after losing to Mainz 05 (last week).

“As for Kingsley, he is a young player but today he showed his quality. We will need such a player on Wednesday.”

Guardiola can also count on Mario Goetze again after the attacking midfielder made his comeback from a four-month injury layoff.

Thiago, plagued by injuries for the past two seasons, fired the hosts into a ninth-minute lead with his first goal in 748 days following fine work down the right from 19-year-old winger Coman.

Werder were unable to threaten without injured top striker Claudio Pizarro and Frenchman Coman set up the second goal for Mueller who volleyed in from five metres in the 31st minute.

The Germany forward, enjoying his most prolific season in attack, then grabbed his 19th league goal of the campaign when he stabbed the ball home after keeper Felix Wiedwald had spectacularly parried a 20-metre volley from Franck Ribery in the 65th minute.

LEADING SCORER

Substitute Robert Lewandowski, who had come on in the 74th minute, netted his 24th league goal of the season four minutes from time to remain the leading Bundesliga scorer.

Thiago then finished off yet another Coman cut-back in the dying seconds.

Bayern have 66 points from 26 matches with Borussia Dortmund on 58 ahead of their home game with Mainz 05 on Sunday.

Borussia Moenchengladbach moved back into the top four after a stunning goal from Raffael helped them beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0.

The Brazilian curled a shot in from 30 metres after keeper Lukas Hradecky tried to clear the ball but sent it straight into the path of the striker in the 53rd minute.

Lars Stindl had put the hosts ahead and youngster Mahmoud Dahoud added a third goal in the 79th minute as Gladbach climbed above Schalke 04 into fourth place on 42 points, three behind Hertha Berlin who are third.

Eintracht, beaten in coach Niko Kovac’s first game, remained in the relegation playoff spot on 24 points, the same as second from bottom Hoffenheim who recorded a surprise 1-0 win over Champions League quarter-finalists VfL Wolfsburg.

Last season’s Bundesliga runners-up Wolfsburg lost further ground in their quest for a top-four finish as they stayed seventh.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; editing by Martyn Herman)

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The player-turned-commentator weighed in on the recent news that Sharapova tested positive for a newly banned drug meldonium that went into effect on January 1.

“Would be hard to believe that no one in her camp, the 25 or 30 people that work for her, or Maria herself had no idea that this happened,” McEnroe told the Tennis Channel Saturday during the BNP Paribas Open.

McEnroe noted that at the 1990 Australian Open he was ejected from a match after he did not realize a rule change that reduced a player’s default from four steps to just three.

“Nobody told me, so it is possible that Maria did not know that, though it’s extremely doubtful,” he said.

Sharapova, 28, is facing a suspension of up to four years by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and has already lost numerous sponsorships in the aftermath.

McEnroe joked that Sharapova should only be banned for two years because she says she did it unknowingly.

“Lift the ban, there’s no suspension if when she comes back she promises not to grunt,” McEnroe added in jest. “If you don’t grunt Maria, no suspension. If you continue to grunt, two years.”

(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

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Woods, sidelined from competition since August due to back surgeries, revealed that he has been hard at work on his chipping and putting at his outdoor facility and taking full swings on his golf simulator.

Last month, the 14-times major champion posted a video of himself swinging a golf club in an effort to shoot down recent reports that suggested he had endured setbacks during his rehabilitation process.

“Health wise, I continue to improve,” Woods’ wrote on the site. “I’m excited to get back out there with the guys.”    Though out of action, Woods took a swing at the grand opening of a short course just north of Houston last week and attended a dinner for U.S. Ryder Cup team hopefuls at the home of Jack Nicklaus last month.

He will serve as a Ryder Cup assistant captain this year.

“It was good to hear from the younger guys who are on the cusp of making the team for the first time,” Woods wrote.

“I think the dinner was a great idea and brought a lot of guys closer.”

(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

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LONDON (Reuters) – Ten-man Manchester United suffered a blow to their Premier League top-four hopes with a 1-0 defeat at West Bromwich Albion as 10-man Liverpool kept up the pressure with a last-gasp 2-1 win at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

United lost Spain international Juan Mata to two yellow cards inside two minutes midway through the first half and went behind to a sharp goal from Venezuelan striker Salomon Rondon on 67 minutes.

Louis van Gaal’s side were unable to fight back and slumped to their first league defeat at The Hawthorns since 1984 to end their recent run of four straight wins in all competitions.

“When you have to play 75 minutes with 10 players, I don’t think we were so uncomfortable,” United manager Van Gaal told BBC Sport.

“The loss is a big blow because it was not necessary. When you see the first half it was not necessary, I think.”

United remain sixth, three points adrift of Manchester City in fourth place, with Liverpool breathing down their neck in seventh after fighting back from 1-0 down with 10 men to consign Palace to a 12th league game without a win.

The home side went ahead through Joe Ledley’s low drive just after the break and Liverpool found themselves further on the back foot when they lost James Milner to a second yellow card on 62 minutes.

Yet Juergen Klopp’s men kept pressing and their perseverance paid off when Palace goalkeeper Alex McCarthy lost his footing and scuffed a clearance straight to Roberto Firmino, who fired it past him for the equaliser on 72 minutes.

Deep into stoppage time late substitute Christian Benteke surged into the left side of the Palace penalty area and went down after a slight contact with defender Damien Delaney, who was sliding on his knees.

“ROBBED”

Referee Andre Marriner awarded the spot kick after consulting his linesman and Belgium’s Benteke opted for a stuttering run-up before burying the penalty with virtually the last kick of the match.

“I feel sorry for Palace but I have just seen the replay in the dressing room and it was a clear penalty,” Klopp told BBC Sport.

“If there was no contact, Benteke would have been in a great position to shoot. He made the move and forced the situation.

“This is the third league win in a row. I can’t believe how it feels — really good, a big moment for us.”

Former Aston Villa striker Benteke was adamant he had been floored, saying: “I believe he touched me, otherwise I don’t go down.”

But Palace manager Alan Pardew threw his jacket into the dugout in disgust at the penalty decision and said afterwards his side were “robbed”.

“You’ve got to be 100 percent sure,” he told Sky Sports. “In super slow motion the knee touches the foot and he goes over like he’s been shot.

“The linesman assumes that little touch is a penalty. If you think that touch affects the fall and the way he lands, then you really need to be consulted.”

Palace, who are without a league win in 2016, are 15th in the table, nine points above the relegation zone.

Pardew told BBC Sport: “I feel like we’ve been robbed a little bit but again maybe we shot ourselves in the foot a bit.”

(Editing by Toby Davis)

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All that has paid off, however, as the former NAAFS strawweight champion is finally living her dream by fighting in major Asian organisation ONE Championship on 20 Feb in Jakarta’s Istora Senayan against rising Singaporean superstar Angela Lee. And it all seemingly happened by chance.

A former collegiate soccer player, Heintzman soon found herself craving new challenges after graduation. To fill that competitive void, she decided to try mixed martial arts at a local gym. She was hooked in no time.

“The owner of the gym was a great guy, who’s really supportive of women doing martial arts. He said I had potential and just really mentored me and convinced me to compete,” Heintman said. “After I started, I kept winning and just kind of fell into it almost by accident, but I like to think of it as fate.” Heintzman ended her amateur career undefeated at 6-0 before turning professional.

To pursue her passion in MMA, however, required her to give something else up. Heintzman was originally aiming to become a professor, as she loved teaching. In fact, that was how she got her nickname when she started competing in the amateur circuit. But her newfound love for MMA soon took over. “I’ve had to shelve one of my dreams a little bit to pursue a new dream. Luckily, I’ve had a lot of support in that.”

That support comes in the form of her fiancé, Kyle Rozewski, whom she moved to Shanghai, China, with. After establishing a business partnership, they began training and coaching at a gym there. However, that led to one of the most difficult times of their lives, as they discovered their partner had lied to them about money and was effectively stealing from them. Leaving the gym in a huff, they suddenly ended up with nowhere to live in a foreign land.

“Those are the moments in life where you have to ask yourself what you really want,” said Heintzman. “A lot of people said, ‘why don’t you just get on a plane and come back to America?’ But my fiancé Kyle and I decided that we weren’t going to let one person ruin our dream for us.” They vowed to figure it out, and they did.

“If that had happened to me alone, I wouldn’t have gotten through it. But my partner in crime was with me the whole time.” After finding temporary accommodation in the form a friend’s guest room, the couple started selling prepaid packages for their personal training services, and it paid off. So well, in fact, they soon made enough to rent another apartment in Shanghai, and Rozewski even found a new job coaching in another gym.

Overcoming all that was a huge confidence boost for her, and she treats it as a great life lesson. “I’ve now been in positions in fights, in training, and in life that are horrible scenarios that I never thought I’d encounter.”

“If you don’t quit going through those things, nothing is going to make you quit in the cage,” she adds. “The fights and the shows are the fun part, and where you get to reap the rewards of things you endured and everything else.”

Her tribulations also reaffirmed her love for the sport. “What I love about MMA is that it truly allows me to be myself. I’ve done other jobs and realised that even if I’m paid more for something, if I didn’t like it, it was horrible. If you love what you’re doing, you can do it forever.”

Source News Feed and Photo: Global MMA News via Reuters

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