Category: Movie

Posted on

Simone Biles is only ‘athlete of the year’ in a deluded woke world – here are some proper alternatives

Fresh off the back of Simone Biles’ laughable Athlete of the Year award from Time Magazine, here are some alternatives elsewhere in sport far more deserving of the gong.

The famous publication quite rightly dubbed Biles the GOAT in her chosen profession, gymnastics.

But at Tokyo 2020, the American let the side down with minutes to spare before their team event eventually won by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).

Biles then pulled out of another four events, citing mental health concerns, before returning for the beam where she scooped bronze. 

Maybe she should receive an accolade elsewhere for raising awareness, but this isn’t the one – of which the American was far more deserving after Rio 2016 when she scooped four gold medals. 

It seems they are now handing out prizes for wokeness, and Biles’ win is basically an insult to sport.

To that end, here is a list of just a few candidates who are far more deserving.

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez

Fighting men since he was 15, the Mexican became boxing’s first undisputed super-middleweight champion by stopping the unbeaten Caleb Plant in Las Vegas last month. 

In 11 months, he fought four times and took each remaining piece of the 168lb crown from unbeaten brawlers in Plant, Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders.

Next year, he also plans to challenge 200lb WBC cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu to become a five-weight king, which is even more incredible considering he started his career as a 140-lb light welterweight. 

Rather than being ready to call it a day at 24, as Biles is tipped, Canelo is still looking for the biggest tests possible at 31.

Tom Brady

Arguably the toughest athlete that sport has ever seen mentally speaking, the New England Patriots legend now at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, unlike Biles, simply doesn’t know when to quit.

This is best communicated not only by the comeback victories that his teams seem to mount most weekends and on the biggest of stages, but also by the fact that he is still playing at 44.

At the beginning of the year, he settled the quarterback GOAT debate for once and for all by bagging a seventh Super Bowl ring with his new outfit, which also proved he is not a one-trick system pony under former coach Bill Belichick.

Novak Djokovic

Coming close to being the first tennis player since Rod Laver to do the full Grand Slam of all the top trophies in 2021, the Serbian was evidently exhausted in the US Open final when facing Daniil Medvedev.

Rather than throw in the towel in a huff akin to Biles, however, he soldiered on and lost with grace and dignity to the Russian despite missing out on the landmark achievement. 

Aside from equaling Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in all-time Grand Slam wins (20), the world number 1 continues to demonstrate that he is his own man.

Djokovic maintains his firm stance on freedom of choice over the Covid vaccine, even if ostracized by wider society and with his involvement in the upcoming Australian Open in doubt.

Emma Raducanu 

Sticking with the tennis world, the 18-year-old had to go through three rounds of qualifying jet-lagged after arriving in New York just to get the chance to feature at the US Open. 

Playing in just her second-ever Grand Slam tournament, she claimed top honors at Flushing Meadows without dropping a set amid what she has described as “obstacles”. 

Also strong-minded in the same vein as Djokovic, she has said that people having opinions and expectations of her “doesn’t matter”.

Marta Martyanova

In one of sport’s best examples of refusing to give in, the little-known Russian fencer Martyanova hurt her ankle early in the foil team final at Tokyo 2020 and had reason enough to back out. 

Marta Martyanova helped the ROC team claim fencing gold in Tokyo. © Reuters / Instagram @olympic_russia



Instead she soldiered on, and played her part in the Russian Olympic Committee winning a further 14 points to take home gold as they beat France 45-34.

Wheelchaired to the podium and then helped onto it by her teammates, Martyanova admitted that “emotionally it was very hard” and that “she didn’t know what to do”.

“I had to just stand up and do everything,” she added.

Take note.

Sifan Hassan

The Harper’s Bazaar Woman of the Year won Olympic gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters in the Japanese capital and bronze in the 1,500 meters, making her the first athlete in history to clinch a medal in all three events at the same games.

Before touching down in Asia, she also set a new world record in the 10,000 meters. What sets her apart, though, is that she literally fell in qualifying for the 1,500 meters final in Tokyo, but got up again to continue and go on to achieve her impressive feats across the tournament with six races in eight days in grueling summer heat.

Furthermore, the 1,500 and 10,000 finals were back-to-back on consecutive days.

“In my head there was no room for discussion. I knew I had to get up and keep walking. I didn’t know if I would make it, but I had to at least try. My goal was to get gold in three distances,” she said. 

“That’s why getting up was so important to me. If I had stayed down I would have given up and I don’t want to. I do not give up.”

By Tom Sanderson 

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

Posted on

Russian football fan dies in stadium

The Russian Premier League is investigating after a fan tragically died in the stands at the match between Krylia Sovetov and Rubin Kazan in the city of Samara on Saturday.

The supporter reportedly fell ill towards the end of the match and continued to receive treatment after the whistle but was unable to be revived.

“A 50-year-old spectator felt unwell at the end of the match,” read a statement from the RPL.

“Doctors arrived in time and carried out resuscitation for half an hour but could not save the victim’s life.”

The statement expressed condolences to the late fan’s loved ones and stated that preliminarily information was that the fan had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest.

Krylia Sovetov also issued a message of condolence, while the RPL said it would undertake an investigation with the club into the tragedy. 

Saturday’s match against Rubin was played in sub-zero temperatures at the Samara Arena and ended in a 2-0 victory for the hosts.

According to reports in the Russian media, doctors began their resuscitation efforts 10 minutes towards the end of the game and continued until around 30 minutes after the final whistle.

An ambulance was at the stadium but the fan was not moved from the stands for treatment, Sport24 reported.

Footage online showed part of the efforts from medical staff.

In a tragic coincidence, a steward died at the same stadium following a match between the same teams in 2019.

On that occasion, the worker was also said to have suffered a cardiac arrest.

Read more

A fan suffered an emergency during the Watford vs Chelsea match. © Reuters
Two Premier League matches hit by medical emergencies on same night

Saturday’s tragedy in Russia follows a spate of medical emergencies in the crowd in matches in the English Premier League.

The match between Newcastle and Tottenham was halted back in October after a supporter suffered a cardiac arrest.

Earlier in December, there were two incidents on the same night as fans required treatment at games featuring Watford and Chelsea and Southampton and Leicester.

On all three occasions the fans recovered.    

Posted on

Verstappen clinches pole for F1 title decider with Hamilton

Max Verstappen has taken pole position for the F1 title-deciding Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi as he seeks to wrestle the world championship from Lewis Hamilton.

Vying for a maiden world championship crown, Verstappen clocked a stunning lap time of 1:22.109 at the start of Q3 on Saturday with help from Red Bull teammate Serio Perez.

Sacrificing his own lap, the Mexican gave him a straight-line speed advantage.

“Oh yes!” roared the 24-year-old Verstappen on the team radio as pole was confirmed at the Yas Marina circuit.

“Didn’t expect that one but amazing job guys!”

Finishing in second 0.371 seconds behind Verstappen, defending champion Hamilton could do nothing but tip his hat.

“That was a fantastic lap from him,” accepted the Brit. “We just couldn’t compete with that time.”

Level on 369.5 points, the rival pair will start on the front row together on Sunday with seven-time ruler Hamilton of Mercedes trying to surpass Michael Schumacher in the all-time championship stakes.

A strategy twist to the final meeting of the 2021 F1 season however is that they will start on different tires, with Verstappen on soft and Hamilton on medium.

This came after the former was forced into switching to softs during the second session after locking his breaks and subsequently damaging one of his medium tires, which defines the starting tire for the main event.

“I felt good on both tires,” said Verstappen. “In the evening, it is a bit cooler so a bit easier for the soft tires.

“We will see tomorrow,” he stressed, paving the way for what is certain to be a thrilling finale if the twists and turns of the past few weeks are anything to go by.

Separated by just a single win, Verstappen (9) clinched two consecutive GPs in the US and Mexico before Hamilton (8) embarked on a trio of victories in Brazil, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.  

READ MORE: F1 ad ignites fury with ‘Merry Christmas’ message (VIDEO)

Posted on

Khabib reacts as Oliveira defeats Poirier to retain UFC lightweight crown in thriller

Charles Oliveira survived an onslaught before defending his UFC lightweight title with a third-round submission win over Dustin Poirier in their main event at UFC 269, earning praise from former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The early stages at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas were frantic as Poirier – who was contesting a second undisputed title fight at 155lbs – dropped his opponent inside the opening round while Oliveira hurt his rival with kicks and knees to the body. 

Round two saw Oliveira utilize his ground game more as he landed some heavy ground-and-pound shots to close out a dominant stanza.

Into the third round, the defending champion took Poirier’s back and worked in a standing rear-naked choke which forced the American to tap at the 1:02 mark.

“I’m a world champion. I’m the man,” said a defiant Oliveira after seeing off Poirier.

“They talk, I do it. They can hit me a lot but I’m going to walk forward.”

‘Do Bronx’ defended the title he first won with victory over Michael Chandler back in May, when he was forced to come through similar adversity on the way to a gritty victory.

Poirier, 32, was gracious in defeat but could not hide his upset at seeing a second chance at the undisputed lightweight title go begging.

“It sucks, man, you know?” Poirier said at his post-fight press conference.  

“I worked hard to get back here and fight for another world title. I got choked out again. I’m just heartbroken, really.”

Poirier had set up another shot at gold by putting together a three-fight win streak following his defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov in their 2019 title contest.

Two of those wins came against Irish nemesis Conor McGregor, and many will now tip Poirier to be his opponent when the Irishman makes an expected comeback from his broken leg next year.

For Oliveira, 32, perhaps the most obvious candidate for his next defense is Justin Gaethje, who was among those in attendance in Las Vegas.

Online, fellow fighters, pundits and fans were full of praise for the Brazilian’s heart as he extended his winning streak to 10 fights and joined a select band of fighters to earn 20 victories under the UFC banner. 

Among them was Khabib, who called Oliveira’s victory “deserved” – prompting the Brazilian to respond “thank you very much” in a message in Russian to the retired Dagestani star.

Elsewhere, rising lightweight contender Islam Makhachev – on a nine-fight winning streak – told Oliveira to hold the belt for him as the Russian first contemplates a meeting with BJJ specialist Beneil Dariush in February.    

Posted on

‘I told you motherf**kers!’ Pena submits Nunes for ‘biggest upset in UFC history’ (VIDEO)

Julianna Pena pulled off one of the biggest upsets MMA has ever seen as she submitted Amanda Nunes in the second round of their bantamweight title fight at UFC 269 in Las Vegas.

Heading into the co-main event at the T-Mobile Arena, two-weight champion Nunes was the overwhelming favorite to steam through yet another helpless victim and retain the 135lbs title she has held for more than five years.

But Pena flipped the narrative on its head, weathering pressure from Nunes in the first round – during which the Brazilian was even caught smiling – before finding success on the feet with some heavy shots in the second.

Pena herself was forced to eat some big punches from Nunes but pressed forward as the defending champion visibly wilted.

The Venezuelan Vixen sensed her chance, securing a takedown before locking in a rear-naked choke to become the first woman in more than seven years to hand Nunes a defeat inside the Octagon.

“I’m not surprised motherf*ckers!” Pena shouted in her post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.  

“I told you. Don’t ever doubt me again. Willpower, strength and determination. It will take you places. I definitely expected a win and the world is my oyster.”

The reaction at the T-Mobile Arena and online was one of astonishment, with many calling it one of the biggest – if not the biggest – shocks in UFC history.

Pena, 32, is a former champion on the Ultimate Fighter reality TV series but saw her career stall with injury problems.

She also took a break of almost two years to give birth to daughter Grace before returning in July of 2019 to pick up three wins in four outings to set up her long-awaited shot at Nunes. 

The jubilant Spokane-born fighter was joined by her daughter for the celebrations inside the cage. 

WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE 

READ MORE: Venezuelan Vixen: Meet the woman preparing for MMA’s most daunting challenge

Nunes, 33, was gracious in defeat as both she and Pena appeared to put aside the animosity that had characterized much of the build-up to their fight.

Nunes slipped to 21-5 overall in her career but still has the featherweight title to her name.

She may target a rematch with Pena – something UFC boss Dana White said was an option if Nunes wanted it – but the aura of invincibility that once followed the Lioness has now been stripped.

From a promotional perspective, the much-touted showdown between undefeated PFL champion Kayla Harrison – who was cageside in Las Vegas and is now a free agent – and Nunes may also seem less alluring than it once did.