Moon Of Liberty Olympics – Team GB Watch

Olympics

There have been three more medals for Britain, including two more in the swimming pool. 20 year old Siobhan-Marie O’Connor took silver behind Hungarian star Katrinka Hosszu in the 200m Individual medley. O’Conner was fastest qualifier but when it matter Hosszu had a little bit too much but it is still a superb result for O’Conner. The British relay team launched a comeback with an excellent anchor leg from James Guy to take silver behind a strong USA Team including Michael Phelps, who also won his individual gold last night taking his Olympic Gold Medal hall to 21. Stephen Milne, Dan Wallace and Duncan Scott made up the rest of the British Team.

The other British medal came in the Cycling time trial where Tour De France winner Chris Froome matched his Bronze from four years ago, A superb Showing from Swiss rider Fabian Cantellara who rode aggressively from the start in tough conditions won by 48 seconds from Tom Dumoulin of Holland who took the silver.

Elsewhere Serena Williams has crashed out of the Women’s Tennis which opens the draw up, including for Britain’s Johana Konta who is in the Quarter Final, as is Andy Murray who so far has avoided the string of upsets. The Women’s British Gymnastic Team took fifth place as everyone was a shadow in the wake of the superb American Team including the brilliant Simone Biles. In the Women’s syncronised diving Tonya Crouch and 16 year old Lois Toulson were handed a chance of a medal but the fluffed their final dive after an excellent performance in the first four rounds and ended up finishing fifth.

Reports (BBC Sport)

O’Conner & the Relay Team  Froome

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MOON OF LIBERTY TEAM GB OLYMPIC SCOREBOARD

SWIMMING

200m Individual Medley

GOLD – Katrinka Hosszu (Hungary) 

SILVER – Siobhan-Marie O’Conner (GB)

BRONZE – Madeline Dirado (USA)

200m x 4 Freestyle Relay

GOLD – USA

SILVER – Great Britain

BRONZE – Japan

CYCLING

Men’s Individual Time Trial

GOLD – Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland)

SILVER –Tom Dumoulin (Holland)

BRONZE – Chris Froome (GB)

TEAM GB MEDALS

1 GOLD – (Adam Peaty – Swimming)

3 SILVERS – (Jazz Carlin – Swimming) (Siobhan-Marie O’Conner – Swimming) (Stephen Milne, Duncan Scott, Dan Wallace & James Guy – Swimming Relay)

3 BRONZE – (Ed Ling – Shooting) (Tom Daley & Dan Goodfellow – Diving) (Chris Froome – Cycling)

TOTAL – 7

Moon Of Liberty Cycling & Formula 1 – Tour De France & Hungarian Grand Prix

Cycling

Tour De France

Chris Froome has become the first British cyclist to win the Tour De France twice in a row and on three occasions as he crossed the line to complete victory on the Champs Elysee in Paris over four minutes ahead of Romain Bardet in second. Andre Greipel saw off in form Peter Sagan to win the final stage in the traditional sprint finish. Sagan had already secured the sprinters green jersey. Rafel Majka was the winner of the King Of The Mountains.

Full Report (BBC Sport)

Formula 1

Hungarian Grand Prix

At the half way point of the season Lewis Hamilton has overtaken Nico Rosberg in the World Title race by winning the Hungarian Grand Prix at Hungaroring. Hamilton got a great start to overtake Rosberg at the first corner and then led the race from start to finish. He moved away from Rosberg at key moments when vital decisions about who would pit stop first were being taken. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo made an early pit stop to try and threaten the two Mercedes but it did not work and he had to settle for third. Hamilton now leads the title race by six points.

Full Report (BBC Sport).

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MOON OF LIBERTY SCOREBOARD

CYCLING

Tour De France

Overall Top 3

1st WINNER – Chris Froome (GB)

2nd – Romain Bardet (France) +4 mins 05 seconds

3rd -Nairo Quintana (Colombia) + 4 mins 21 seconds

Sprinters Green Jersey Winner – Peter Sagan (Slovakia)

King Of The Mountains winner – Rafel Majka (Poland)

FORMULA 1

Hungarian Grand Prix – At Hungaroring, Mogyorod, Hungary

Podium

1st WINNER – Lewis Hamilton (GB) (Mercedes)

2nd – Nico Rosberg (Germany) (Mercedes)

3rd – Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) (Red Bull)

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Sunday Sportsround

Boxing

Undisputed light-heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev made light work of Algerian born Nadjib Mohammedi who many observers before the fight felt was completely over-matched. They were proved right as the Algerian barely landed a punch in three totally one sided rounds. With combinations getting through at will, Kovalev scored a knock down in the second round before a right-left combination finished the contest in the third. It was an ugly contest that could have ruined Kovalev’s reputation if it had gone on too long. Thankfully least Kovalev finished it early to continue his domination of the division. There is talk of a possible fight with Super Middleweight Andre Ward, although politics could make that fight difficult to make.

FORMULA 1

Sebastian Vettle scored an upset victory to tie Ayrton Senna on 41 Grand Prix wins in Hungary. Championship leader Lewis Hamilton had an awful day after looking dominant most of the week in practice and qualifying. He stalled at the start losing several places and also earned a time penalty. It could have been worse as team mate and title challenger Nico Rosberg was in second place until he punctured his left front wing after a collision with Daniel Ricardo meant he had to come into the pits ruining his chances with only four laps to go, Hamilton recovered into 6th to score some points and maintain his title lead. Vettle kept his concentration win a fitting victory for Ferrari on the weekend the drivers were paying tribute to Jules Bianchi who was part of the Ferrari young drivers programmed. Ricardo recovered from his collision with Rosberg to finish third behind Russian team mate Daniil Kvyat who earned his first podium finish in second.

ATHLETICS

The Anniversary Games at the Olympics Stadium in London saw a welcome return to form for 100m champion Usain Bolt. Bolt was the international highlight of the event winning the 100m in a time of 9.87 seconds. He will need to find more to beat American Justin Gatlin at the World Championships but the run, his first in a while after a run of injuries was a welcome return to form. Mo Farrah set a best time in the world in 2015 to win a 3000m race further suggesting he is in fine form going into Beijing to defend his 5000 and 10000 meters titles. Olympic Heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill competed in three events, She impressed winning the 110m hurdles and produced seasons best in the 200m despite coming 8th in a world class field of 200m specialists. She was also near her personal best in the long jump, won by Shara Proctor who herself got a personal best and is in good position to attempt to win a medal herself. Ennis-Hill has still not decided if she is going to the World Championships, she is still very much coming back after having her first child.

Elsewhere UK sprinter Dina Asher-Smith went under 11 seconds for the first time further announcing herself as a contender for a medal at the World Championships. Long Jump Champion Greg Rutherford suffered a rare defeat, the event was won by Marquis Dendy of the USA and In a much anticipated contest Nijel Amos of Botswana defeated Olympic Champion David Rudisha of Kenya.

TENNIS

Australian Sam Stosur added to her victory at the Strasbourg Open by adding the Nuremberg Open by defeating Italian Karin Knapp. Knapp took the first set but the tide turned when the Australian took the 2nd set on a tie-break. The Italian, who had earlier in the day had to finish her semi-final again Sarah Errani, began to tire with Stosur breaking twice in the final set to take the title 6-2.

SAILING

British sailing legend Sir Ben Ainslie led the new British team to victory in the first America’s Cup World Series event in Portsmouth. 50,000 people including the Duke and Dutchess of Cambridge attended on Saturday where The UK team won the first race and where second behind New Zealand in the second. The third race due on Sunday had to be cancelled due to high winds. This left the UK team ahead to take the first meet of the series, and proves the UK team can compete with the very best going forward.

CYCLING

Chris Froome was confirmed as Tour De France winner in the final stage on the Champs Elysee. The Final stage was won by Andre Greipel of Germany, winning his fourth stage, it was not however enough to defeat Peter Sagan of Slovakia for the sprinters Green Jersey. Froome, who survived an attack from Nario Quintana in the Alps the previous day, has a margin of 72 seconds in hand and he and his Team SKY crossed the line together in Paris. Froome also doubles up as the winner of the King Of The Mountain’s since the legendary Eddie Merckx in 1970.

DARTS

Dutchman Michael Van Gerwin was in great form in Blackpool to defeat James Wade 18-12 in the Final of the World Matchplay in Blackpool. Mighty Mike had beaten Peter Wright with Wade defeating Phil Taylor in the semi-finals. The early stage were closely fought with both men missing doubles. The key stage came as Wade lead 6-5, Wade missed six darts allowing Van Gerwin to level. The Dutchman then took advantage of more missed doubles from Wade to take the lead with a 144 finish. Hitting another three 180’s he then stretched the lead to 9-6 and never looked back. Wade was well off his best and never recovered, looking as if his win over Taylor had taken too much out of him, only just averaging over 90. Van Gerwin hit 88 to take a 17-11 lead. Wade held his throw once more but Van Gerwin finished it off to take the second most important trophy in the calender, and setting a marker that he wants his world title back.

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MOON OF LIBERTY SCOREBOARD

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CYCLING

On Le Champs Elysee, Paris

Tour De France – Final Stage

Final Stage result

1st Andre Griepel (Germany)

2nd Bryan Coquard (France)

3rd Alexander Kristoff (Norway)

Final Race Result

1st Chris Froome (GB)

2nd Nairo Quintana (Colombia) +1 min 12 secs

3rd Alejandro Valverde (Spain) +5 mins 25 secs

Sprinter Green Jersey Winner

Peter Sagan (Slovakia)

King Of The Mountains Winner

Chris Froome (GB)

Tour De France overall winner

Chris Froome (GB)

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BOXING (Champion red, Challenger blue, New Champion yellow)

At Mandalay Bay Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada

IBF,WBO & WBA light-heavyweight Title

Sergey Kovalev (Russia) beat Nadjib Mohammedi (Algeria) by KO in Round 3

Still IBF,WBO & WBA light-heavyweight Champion … Sergey Kovalev

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FORMULA 1

At Hungaroring, Mogyorod, Hungary

Hungarian Grand Prix

Result (Top 5)

1st Sebastian Vettle – Germany (Ferrari)

2nd Daniil Kvyav – Russia (Red Bull)

3rd Daniel Ricardo – Australia (Red Bull)

4th Max Verstappen – Holland (Toro Rosso)

5th Fernando Alsonso – Spain (McLaren)

Championship (Top 3)

1st Lewis Hamilton – GB (Mercedes) 202 Points

2nd Nico Rosberg – Germany (Mercedes) 181 Points

3rd Sebastian Vettle – Germany (Ferrari) 161 Points

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TENNIS

At The Nuremberger Gastain, Nuremberg 

WTA Nuremberg Open Final

Sam Stosur (Australia) beat Karin Knapp (Italy) 2-1 (3-6, 7-6, 6-2)

Sam Stosur Wins the WTA Nuremberg Open

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DARTS

At The Winter Gardens, Blackpool

PDC World Matchplay Semi-Finals (Best of 33 legs)

James Wade (England) 17 Phil Taylor (England) 14

Michael Van Gerwin (Holland) 17 Peter Wright (Scotland) 12

PDC World Matchplay Final (Best of 35 legs)

Michael Van Gerwin (Holland) 18 James Wade (England) 12

Michael Van Gerwin wins the PDC World Matchplay Championship

Sunday Sportsround – Cycling, Cricket, Tennis, Snooker & Boxing

Cycling – Froome in control of the tour

German sprinters dominated the 15th stage of the Tour De France today. The stage was won by Andre Griepel who won his third stage of the tour in the French town of Valance.Compatriot John Degenklob came second. Chris Froom who took a big lead in the mountain stages of the Pyrenees earlier in the week has maintained a 3 minute lead over his nearest contenders and is now red hot favourite to win his second tour in three years, which would be a third British victory in four years if he is successful.

Froome’s control has not been without controversy however. Some of the French media have cast aspersions of doping against Team Sky, which includes Froome, Sir Dave Brailsford the team boss has even complained of equipment being stolen by those desperate to try and find something on the team. It should be said there is not a shred of serious evidence to back up the accusations and jealousy may be part of this as Brailsford as head of Team Sky and Previously the British Olympic Team has led many to unprecedented success. This blog believes in innocent until proven guilty, and does not believe the allegations.

Tennis – Britain makes first Semi since 1981

Great Britain defeated 2014 finalists France in their Davis Cup Quarter Final at Queen’s Club in London. The first singles went to plan as Gilles Simon defeated James Ward and Andy Murray beat Joe-Wilfred Tsonga in straight sets on the opening Friday. Captain Leon Smith decided to play Andy Murray alongside his brother Jamie in the doubles on the Saturday and this was where the crowd really got involved in the battle. Nicholas Mahut and Joe-Wilfred Tsonga won the first set but the Murray’s battled back to take the second and then win an epic third set tie-break to take control. They went on to win the third to take a 2-1 lead into the Sunday.

A very tired Andy Murray struggled early on against Gilles Simon with Simon winning the first set and going up a break in the second. However Murray fought back to win the second on the tie-break and going on to defeat his French opponent in four sets including a 6-0 victory in the fourth As Simon wilted towards the end. Britain will play Australia after they came back from 2-0 down in Darwin against Kazakhstan, Veteran Leyton Hewitt won the final rubber to secure a 3-2 win. elsewhere Belgium will face Argentina, Belgium beat Canada and Argentina got the better of Serbia who were without World Number 1 Novak Djokovic.

Cricket – Australia hit back thrashing England at Lords

Australia won a crucial toss on a very good batting wicket at Lords and made England pay by racking up a huge score. Steven Smith scored 215 and opener Rogers got 173. Broad was the only bowler who put up any fight taking four wickets as Austtralia declared on a score of 588. The England response under big scoreboard pressure began badly losing four wickets quickly before Captain Alaistair Cook and Ben Stokes recovered the position. Cook fell just short of a century with 96 and that failure for anyone to get a big score left England well over 200 behind from the first innings.

Australia decided not to enforce the follow on and smith got another half century as did David Warner who top scored with 83. Scoring at speed Australia added another 254 before declaring leaving England with an unlikely target of over 500. However the English batting line up collapsed, summed up by a ridiculous run out of Stokes. Broad top scored with a mere 25 as Johnson took three wickets and Australia bowled England out for 103 to level the Ashes series at 1-1 and take all the momentum into the third game in Birmingham in two weeks time.

Snooker – John Higgins wins the Australian Open

John Higgins has won his 27th ranking title in Bendigo, Australia beating Martin Gould in a final frame decider. The match was close throughout with the game locked at 4-4 at the mid interval and then 7-7 after Gould had come back from 7-4 down. Higgins took a scrappy frame to take an 8-7 lead but Gould hit back to level again and take the final into a final frame. Higgins took his first chance in that final frame with a break of 89 to take the title. With Higgins 13th on the ranking list, the win should help him retain a top 16 place with his first win since the Welsh Open in February.

Boxing – Two new champions crowned

In a big night of Boxing all around the world Puerto Rican Mcjoe Arroyo became the new IBF Super Flyweight champion in Texas defeating Arthur Villanueva of Mexico after the fight went to the scorecards after the referee called a halt to proceedings after a cut to the Mexican. Arroyo was comfortably ahead on all three cards. On the same card Northern Ireland’s Carl Frampton recovered from two knock downs early to defeat Alenjandro Gonzalez Jr by a comfortable unanimous decision to defend his Super Bantamweight title.

Two Manchester fighters had differing fortunes as they got home town World Title fight opportunities at the MEN Arena in Manchester. Scott Quigg defended his version of the Super Bantamweight title knocking out Kiko Martinez of Spain in two rounds and a unification fight with Carl Frampton remains a possibility. Meanwhile Anthony Crolla took on Colombian Lightweight champion Darleys Perez. Many thought the challenger had done enough to win the fight, especially given Perez had two points deducted for low blows.However the judges delivered a verdict of a split decision draw meaning Perez retains his title. A rematch is certainly a possibility.

A grudge match was settled in Halle, Germany where veteran German based Armenian Arthur Abraham knocked out Richard Steiglitz in six rounds to defend his Super Middleweight title. There has been a long war of words going into the fight but Abraham gave a vintage performance kncoking his Russian opponent down in the fourth before finishing the job in the sixth. Finally In Macao, China Argentinian Cesar Cuenta was crowned the new IBF Light-Welterweight title. The belt was vacant and hometown favourite the unbeaten Ik Yang was out of his depth at world level. Cuenta knocked Ik Yang down in the first round and dominated the fight, winning an easy unanimous decision to take the title.

MOON OF LIBERTY SCOREBOARD

CYCLING

Tour De France (Reigning Champion Vincenzo Niebly)

Stage 15 – Mende to Valance

Stage result

1st Andre Greipel (Germany)

2nd John Degenklob (Germany)

3rd Alexander Kristoff (Norway)

Overall Positions

1st Chris Froome (GB)

2nd Nairo Quintana (Colombia) +3 Mins 10 Secs

3rd Teejay Van Garderen (USA) +3 Mins 32 Secs

TENNIS

At Queen’s Tennis Club, West Kensington, London

Davis Cup Quarter Final (Current David Cup Holders Switzerland)

Great Britain V France

Game 1 – G Simon Beat J Ward 3-0 (6-4, 6-4, 6-1)

Game 2 – A Murray Beat J-W Tsonga 3-0 (7-5, 7-6, 6-2)

Game 3 (Doubles) – A Murray & J Murray Beat N Mahut & J-W Tsonga 3-1 (4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-1)

Game 4 – A Murray Beat G Simon 3-1 (4-6, 7-6, 6-3, 6-0)

Game 5 – Not Played by agreement

FINAL SCORE – Great Britain 3 France 1

CRICKET

At Lords Cricket Ground, ST John’s Wood, London

2nd Ashes Test (Current Ashes Holders Australia)

England V Australia

Australia 1st Inns – 588-8 Declared (Smith 215, Rogers 173, Broad 4-83)

England 1st Inns – 312 ALL OUT (Cook 96, Stokes 87 Johnson 3-53)

Australia 2nd Inns – 254-2 Declared (Warner 83, Smith 58)

England 2nd Inns – 103 ALL OUT (Broad 25, Johnson 3-27)

Australia win by 405 runs

MOON OF LIBERTY STAR MAN – Steven Smith (Australia)

Series Level at 1-1

BOXING

At The Manchester Evening News Arena, Manchester

WBA Super Bantamweight Title (Champion Scott Quigg)

Scott Quigg (England) Beat Kiko Martinez (Spain) by KO in Round 2

STILL WBA Super bantamweight Champion … Scot Quigg

WBA Lightweight Title (Champion Darleys Perez)

Darleys Perez (Colombia) drew with Anthony Crolla (England) after split decision (114-113, 111-116, 113-113)

STILL WBA Lightweight Champion … Darleys Perez

At The Don Haskins Convention Center, El Paso, Texas

IBF Super Bantamweight Title (Champion Carl Frampton)

Carl Frampton (N Ireland) Beat Alejandro Gonzalez Jr (Mexico) by Unanimous decision (116-108, 116-108, 115-109)

STILL IBF Super Bantamweight Champion … Carl Frampton

IBF Super Flyweight Title (Vacant)

McJoe Arroyo (Puerto Rico) Beat Arthur Villanueva (Philippines) by Unanimous decision (On Scorecards after fight stopped due to a cut after 10 rounds) (97-92, 98-91, 98-91)

NEW IBF Super Flyweight Champion … McJoe Arroyo

At The Gerry Webber Stadium, Halle, Germany

WBO Super Middleweight Title (Champion Arthur Abraham)

Arthur Abraham (Armenia) Beat Robert Stieglitz (Russia) by KO in Round 6

STILL WBO Super Middleweight champion … Arthur Abraham

At The Venetian Casino, Macao, China

IBF Light Welterweight Title (Vacant)

Cesar Cuenca (Argentina) Beat Ik Yang (China) By Unanimous Decision (117-108, 115-110, 116-109)

NEW IBF Light Welterweight Champion … Cesar Cuenca

SNOOKER

At the Bendigo Stadium, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia

Austrlian Open Snooker Final (Best of 17) (Reigning Champion Judd Trump)

John Higgins (Scotland) 9 Martin Gould (England) 8

John Higgins Wins the Australian Open Snooker Title

Saturday Sportsround

TENNIS

Serena Williams continued her domination of the women’s game by taking her 21st Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. Her opponent Muguruza, appearing in her first final, got a dream start with a break of serve in the first game. However at the latter end of the set the pressure told with a couple of key points where the underdog had chances to be aggressive but did not take them. Serena pounced to score two breaks of serve to take the first set 6-4. Serena then took control racing into a 5-1 lead. With nothing to lose the Spaniard played some inspired tennis to take the next three games, however Serena recovered to break Muguruza’s serve and with it the match and championship in straight sets to hold all four titles. Few would bet against her winning the calender Grand Slam at the US Open later in the year at Serena’s favourite tournament.

CRICKET

England finished off Australia with a day to spare in the first Ashes Test in Cardiff. David Warner with 52 got the Australians off to a good start, however the middle order collapsed and despite a spirited 77 from Mitchell Johnson, it was too late. Even Joe Root, without doubt man of the match with the bat, took a couple of wickets with his occasional off spin. England are off to the perfect start heading into the 2nd match at Lords.

CYCLING

The French had a home stage win to cheer in the 8th stage of the tour. Alexis Vuillermoz pipped ireland’s Daniel Martin to take the stage as the Tour finished today in Brittany. There was no change in the main standings however, one of Chri Froome’s likely rivals Vicenzo Nibaly lost 10 seconds today as Froome retained the yellow jersey, remaining 11 seconds ahead of Slovakia’s Peter Sagan. Froome appears to be looking well on course to regain the tour crown he won back in 2013.

MOON OF LIBERTY SCOREBOARD

TENNIS

Wimbledon Ladies Singles Final at the All England Tennis & Croquet Club, Wimbledon

Serena Williams (USA) Beat Gabrille Muguruza (Spain) 2-0 (6-4 6-4)

Serena Williams wins the Ladies Wimbledon Championship

CRICKET

1st Ashes Test at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

England V Australia

England 1st Inns – 430 ALL OUT (Root 134, Mooen 77, Ballance 61, Stokes 52, Starc 5-114)

Australia 1st Inns – 308 ALL OUT (Rogers 95, Anderson 3-43)

England 2nd Inns – 289 ALL OUT (Root 60, Bell 60, Lyon 4-75)

Australia 2nd Inns – 242 ALL OUT (Johnson 77, Warner 52, Broad 3-39)

England win by 169 runs

Moon Of Liberty Star Man – Joe Root (England)

CYCLING

Tour De France Stage 8 – Rennes to Mur de Bretagne

Stage result

1st Alexis Vuillermoz (France)

2nd Daniel Martin (Ireland)

3rd Alejandro Valverd (Spain)

Overall

1st Chris Froome (GB)

2nd Peter Sagan (Slovakia) +11 seconds

3rd Tejay Van Garderen (USA) +13 second