Monday, 3rd October
World Rally's youngest star
Now known by the World Rally Championship as King Kalle, the Finnish rally star Kalle Rovanperä secured a stunning victory in New Zealand to become the youngest driver in the history of the sport to lift the crown. The previous record was held by Scotland's Colin McRae, who won in 1995 aged 27 years and 89 days. Rovanperä also secured the 2022 title in round 11, with two rounds still to complete the season. In other motorsport news, Britain's Jamie Chadwick crashed on Sunday in the Singapore W Series. Having dominated every race of the season so far, Chadwick was on course to become the 2022 champion over the weekend.
Morocco were crowned the champions of the 2022 IBSA Blind Football African Championships earlier in the week. The hosts never lost a match on route to the gold medal beating Mali 2-0 in the final. Australia become the top ranked nation of the recent Lifesaving World Championships held in Riccione, Italy. They were followed by New Zealand and Germany. Slovenia's Janja Garnbret and Luka Potocar are the the top ranked Lead Climbers in the International Sport Climbing Federation World Cup Tour.
USA dazzled at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup in Paris claiming a total of 10 gold medals. Chess fans had a number of big results last week. At the FIDE World Cadet Championships, Llari Marc (FRA), Lacan Rus David (FRA), and Uskov Artem (FID) won the Open U8, U10, and U12 titles respectively. Charvi A (IND), Venskaya Nika (FID), and Shubhi Gupta (IND) won Girls U8, U10, and U12. Egypt dominated the African Championships with Amin Bassem and Wafa Shahenda claiming gold. Playing under the FIDE flag, Kateryna Lagno won the FIDE 2022 Women's Grand Prix.
The ICF Canoe Marathon World Championship completed yesterday in Portugal. Sweden's Melina Andersson became one of the standout medal winners. South Africa's Andrew Birkett and Hungary's Lludmyla Babak claimed the marathon titles. Portugal dominated the final day with four gold medals.
Over 16,000 fans witnessed the United States win the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Sydney for the fourth time in a row. They defeated China 83-61 at the Sydney Superdome. In a very similar sport, the Netherlands are the new International Korfball Federation U21 European Champions beating their rivals Belgium 18-17 in a close final.
Kenya's Amos Kipruto and Ethiopia's Yalemzerf Yehualaw completed breakaway victories at Sunday's London Marathon. Switzerland's Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner set new course records in the wheelchair categories. Germany's Martin Borgmeier is the new 2022 Professional Long Drive Association World Champion with a winning drive of 426 yards.
Mixed Martial Arts fans witnessed Brazil's Patricio Freire defend his Bellator MMA featherweight title against Hungary's Adam Borics on Saturday. Switzerland are the hosts of the Orienteering World Cup Final claiming both the men's and women's relay titles. Davos Klosters is the location with the Long distance to be completed today.
One of the big events on the Global Kitesports Association world tour is Dakhla, located in Western Sahara and currently under Morocco's administration. France's Capucine Delannoy and Australia's James Carew walked away with the coveted kite-surf titles. The International Kiteboarding Association held their Formula Kite European Championships over the weekend. Singapore's Maximilian Maeder and France's Lauriane Nolot were crowned champions.
Osijek in Croatia still has a week of the ISSF World Championship Shotgun to host. Some of the senior results that have come in are that Italy have won the Trap Mixed Team Gold, while Great Britain and Italy took the Trap Team Men's and Women's Gold. USA's Derrick Scott Mein and France's Carole Cormenier are the Trap Individual Men's and Women's champions.
In cycling news, the Enduro World Series completed the final stage of the world tour on Sunday with the Bluegrass Trophy of Nations. New Zealand claimed gold, followed by France, and USA taking bronze. Barcelona was the setting for the 2022 UCI MTB Eliminator World Championships. Italy's Gaia Tormena and France's Titouan Perrin-Garnier are the new world champions. Finally, Lukáš Záhorský is crowned the Motosurf World Cup champion, with all top three positions dominated by the Czech Republic.
Until next time, have a great week in sport.