27 May 2019

Today's sports news: What you need to know

10:43 am on 27 May 2019
Lisa Carrington crosses the line first in the K1 200m at the world champs in the Czech Republic.

Lisa Carrington. Photo: Supplied

Latest - New Zealand paddler Lisa Carrington has won another two gold medals at the opening Canoe Sprint World Cup meeting in Poland.

Carrington added to yesterday's K1 200 title with victory in the K1 500 final and she then teamed up with Kayla Imrie, Aimee Fisher and Caitlin Ryan to win the K4 500 final.

Fellow New Zealanders Max Brown and Curtis Imrie finished eighth in the men's K2 1000 final.

Fisher and Ryan also finished fifth in the women's K2 200.

All Blacks Sevens fifth in London

New Zealand has finished fifth at the London round of the World Series.

The All Blacks Sevens were beaten 19-14 by France in their quarter-final before beating South Africa 21-17 and Ireland 35-14 in the play-off for fifth.

By making the quarter-finals the New Zealanders confirmed their place in next year's Tokyo Olympics.

Fiji beat Australia 43-7 in the final and they now top the standings with 164 points.

The USA have 162, New Zealand 143 and South Africa 131.

The final round is in Paris next weekend.

Federer through in Paris

Roger Federer has returned to Roland Garros as if he had never been away by sweeping into the second round of the French Open.

The 20-time grand slam champion is playing the year's second major tournament for the first time in four years and had no trouble finding his feet on the redeveloped Court Philippe Chatrier as he dispatched Italy's Lorenzo Sonego 6-2 6-4 6-4 in just an hour and 41 minutes on Sunday.

Roger Federer.

Roger Federer. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Federer next faces German lucky loser Oscar Otte, who won his first grand slam match against Malek Jaziri earlier.

Angelique Kerber's campaign to complete a career slam has been cut short in the first round, but that came as no surprise considering the former world no.1 was playing on her least favourite surface.

Add in a niggling ankle injury to her poor record on clay, there was little chance that the fifth-seeded German would win a tournament where she has never gone past the quarter-finals in 11 previous appearances.

She was beaten in straight sets by Russian Anastasia Potapova on Sunday.

-Reuters

No change in Giro

Italian Vincenzo Nibali took full advantage of his knowledge of the terrain to unsettle his main Giro d'Italia rival Primoz Roglic in the 15th stage.

On the roads of one of his favourite hunting grounds, the Tour of Lombardy, the double Giro champion attacked during a steep climb near the end to pull away from Slovenian Roglic, who lost 40 seconds after crashing in the descent towards the finish.

The 232-km stage from Ivrea was won by breakaway rider Dario Cataldo of Italy but the real action was just behind as Roglic, riding a team mate's bike following a mechanical problem, could not follow Nibali's attack in the ascent up to the Civiglio.

Ecuador's Richard Carapaz retained the overall lead and now appears as a strong contender for the title. He leads Roglic by 47 seconds and Nibali by 1:47.

Roglic, however, was the big loser on the day, going straight into a safety railguard in the descent from the Civiglio.

-Reuters

O'Brien out of World Cup

Ireland's Sean O'Brien will miss September's Rugby World Cup after he was ruled out for six months with a hip injury.

He is the second flanker Ireland have lost to injury for the tournament in Japan. O'Brien, who missed the weekend's PRO14 final win over Glasgow, is to undergo surgery and joins fellow backrow Dan Leavy on the sidelines after his Leinster teammate was ruled out with a serious knee injury last month.

The two-time British and Irish Lions player, who featured in Ireland's last two World Cup campaigns, struggled for form in this year's Six Nations but was likely to be one of the backrow options for the tournament in Leavy's absence.

The latest injury setback for O'Brien, 32, means he will also miss the start of next season with his new club, London Irish.

In better news for Ireland, who face hosts Japan and Scotland in Pool A, another of their Leinster flankers Josh van der Flier made an earlier than expected return from injury last week and is fully fit for the tournament.

-Reuters