Digest

ATHLETICS

Twerking high jumper Zhang calls it a day

China's world silver medalist high jumper Zhang Guowei, renowned for his flamboyant twerking celebrations, has stunned fans by announcing his retirement aged 28.

The colorful Zhang won silver at the 2015 Beijing world championships and also competed at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics.

"I'm sorry, I really can't jump anymore, I've decided to retire," Zhang told his 3.4 million followers on Weibo on Sunday.

Zhang's form and fitness tailed off after his 2015 triumph and his season's best performance of 2.28 meters, set in Italy's Siena in February, was some way short of the Tokyo Olympics qualifying standard of 2.33m.

The 2020 Tokyo Games were last week switched to the summer of 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Zhang had many fans in China because of his quirky character, celebrating successful jumps in an exuberant fashion, twerking and striking poses, before sprinting towards spectators.

SOCCER

China's 'big family' ends training stint

Naturalized striker Ai Kesen said China's men's team has been like "a big family" amid weeks of disrupted training during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

After returning from a training stint in Dubai on March 23, Team China observed a mandatory two-week quarantine in Sanya, Hainan province, which ended on Monday.

"Today we ended a training camp for the national team. The past several months have been very hard for all of China," Brazil-born Ai Kesen, aka Elkeson, wrote on his Weibo account on Monday.

"We have been staying united like a big family, and finished the training well during this difficult period. Now we can go home safely after getting through a 14-day quarantine, and go on training at our clubs."

None of the 25-player squad tested positive for COVID-19 in Sanya. The Chinese Super League remains suspended indefinitely while it remains unclear when and where China's next World Cup qualifier will be staged.

La Liga legend Antic dies after long illness

Serbian coach Radomir Antic, the only person to manage Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona, died on Monday at the age of 71 following a long illness.

"The Atletico de Madrid family is mourning the passing of Radomir Antic, one of our legendary coaches. You will forever live in our hearts. Rest in peace," the club tweeted.

Spanish sports daily Marca said Antic had been suffering from a serious illness for a long time.

Antic, who first moved to Spain as a player with Real Zaragoza in 1978, managed Atletico across three different spells between 1995 and 2000 and led the club to a league and cup double in his first season.

He also coached Barcelona during the second part of the 2002-03 campaign after replacing the fired Louis van Gaal.

His first stint at one of Spain's big clubs came during a 10-month spell with Real in 1991-92.

ATHLETICS

63-hour runner picks up toilet-paper prize

American Michael Wardian was the last runner standing in the 'Quarantine Backyard Ultra' on Tuesday as the endurance athlete took the title after completing 422 kilometers in 63 hours.

With sports events around the world canceled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event saw participants running 6.7 km every hour with the last person standing declared the winner.

Participants had the option of running indoors on a treadmill or on an outdoors course and were linked via the video-conferencing app Zoom throughout.

The race began on April 4 and came down to a battle between Virginia-based Wardian, who was running outdoors, and Czech Republic's Radek Brunner on his treadmill for the final 15 hours.

Wardian prevailed after Brunner failed to start the 63rd loop when the hourly buzzer sounded.

Wardian's reward was what the organizers described as the "world's most coveted prize"－a golden toilet-paper roll. "It was a real honor and privilege to be a part of something beyond my imagination," said Wardian.

BASEBALL

MLB considers playing all games in Arizona

Putting all 30 teams in the Phoenix area and playing in empty ballparks was among the ideas discussed on Monday by Major League Baseball and the players' association.

The sides held a conference call to talk about paths forward for a season delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, people familiar with the discussion told Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because no details were announced.

Ideas are still in the early stage, and the Arizona option would have many obstacles to overcome, the sources said.

Half of MLB clubs hold spring training in Arizona, the other half in Florida.

Arizona's advantage is 10 spring training ballparks plus the Arizona Diamondbacks' Chase Field all within about 50 miles. Florida's spring training ballparks are spread by as much as 220 miles.

OLYMPICS

Phelps in mental health plea amid Tokyo delay

Olympic great Michael Phelps has voiced his concerns over the negative impact on athletes' mental health of the Tokyo Games postponement prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.

"You go through something for four years and we kind of know exactly when it's going to come and our bodies are ready for it, then we have to wait," the retired swimmer, who won 28 Olympic medals, told NBC in an interview on Monday.

The 34-year-old American urged athletes to use the downtime as an opportunity to further hone their skills.

Phelps added that he had enormous empathy for athletes grappling with the delay, with the Olympics now scheduled to be held from July 23-Aug 8 2021, and said it was imperative they were "taking care of their mental health".

Xinhua - Agencies