Frenchman Anthony Jeanjean erased his Olympic BMX freestyle disappointment by winning his first world title on Saturday in Saudi Arabia.
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While the Blues rugby team again experienced grimace soup against the more clinical and realistic Boks at the Stade de France, Ligue 1 is still led by PSG, followed by Lens and OM. On the Riyadh side, world No. 6 Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka in the WTA Masters final and Anthony Jeanjean, the bronze medalist at the Paris Games, took revenge by taking the BMX freestyle world title. In F1, this weekend’s great performance can be attributed to Lando Norris (McLaren) increasing his lead over his pursuers in the drivers’ standings.
Rugby: South Africa are stronger at the Stade de France
Part time and raid. However, the French XV appeared to have gone into their match perfectly, with two goals scored by the current French try record holder, Damian Penaud, controlling the undisciplined Boks in the first half, such as this exception just before the break from Lood De Jager, South Africa’s second row, for a dangerous tackle on Thomas Ramos. Leading 14-13 at halftime, the Blues, at 15 to 14, had enough of their game without a shot. But that doesn’t depend on the clinical precision and relentless clarity of the world champion.
With only one penalty scored by France’s number 15 in the second half, the French team were unable to convert the chances they created, unlike the South African team, who waited until an hour to hit the blue goal line, and dashed any hopes of a sell-out at the Stade de France. When the final whistle blew, the Springboks were victorious 32-17 over the stunned Blues.
Ligue 1: PSG face OL in extra time, OM and Lens continue
PSG are hot, but keep moving forward. Long held by Olympique Lyonnais, on Sunday evening, the Parisian team was saved by Joao Neves’ goal at the end of extra time (90+5), at the end of a lively match, which could have gone in favor of both sides (3-2). Twice ahead thanks to goals from Warren Zaire-Emery and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Luis Enrique’s men were brought back by an established and offensive Lyonnais, only to collapse in the final minutes. The result allows the capital club to regain control of the championship, temporarily handed over to Olympique de Marseille, winners of Brest on Saturday evening (3-0).
A good operation this weekend was carried out by Strasbourg, winner of Lille on Sunday (2-0), who overtook his opponent to move from 7th place to the foot of the podium. Falling from Monaco to Louis II (4-1), Lens consolidated 3rd place, tied on points with OM (25). At the bottom of the standings, Metz, who were at the bottom of the standings at the start of the season, scored their third win in a row by beating Nice (2-1).
Tennis: Elena Rybakina beats Aryna Sabalenka in the WTA Masters final
Sixth in the world, Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan relied on her strong serve (13 aces and more than 72% of her points behind her shots) to extinguish (6-3, 7-6 (7-0) in 1 hour 47) No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the WTA Masters final, Saturday in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). Far from a favorite on paper, and a month ago she was unsure about competing at this Masters, the tall (1.84 m) world No.
The Belarusian, too imprecise, was unable to do anything against Rybakina’s attacking power, concentration and application, who even had the luxury to end the match with a decisive play: 7 points to no avail. A scenario that Aryna Sabalenka has never experienced before.
Formula 1: Lando Norris has fun in Brazil
That’s what we call a perfect weekend. Lando Norris (McLaren) won the Brazilian Grand Prix without hesitation, the 21st of 24 rounds of the season, and widened the gap at the top of the Formula 1 world championship, moving closer to a first world title. The British driver, who started from pole position, beat Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) and Dutch driver Max Verstappen (Red Bull), who made a remarkable comeback after starting from the pits in 19th position. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) from Australia had to settle for fifth position.
In the drivers’ standings, Lando Norris recorded a very good performance at the weekend, having scored the maximum possible points (33), thus increasing his lead, now to 24 points, over his Australian teammate. Just behind, and although a comeback is unlikely, Max Verstappen has also dropped some points – 49 points behind the leader – and must now rely on a series of dramatic events, over the final three GPs of the season, to dream of a fifth consecutive world crown.
BMX Freestyle: Anthony Jeanjean is crowned world champion
He left the Games in Paris somewhat frustrated, with a bronze medal around his neck, more than a year ago at the skatepark on the Place de la Concorde. Anthony Jeanjean won the BMX freestyle park world title for the first time in his career in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) on Saturday. The 27-year-old Frenchman, like when he fell at the Olympics, failed to score his first goal runbefore letting go and achieving the second best mark (94.44).
He won ahead of America’s Marcus Christopher (94.02) and Australia’s Logan Martin (91.68), the gold medalists at the Tokyo Olympics. Argentina’s José Gil Torres, the reigning Olympic champion, finished seventh.
