1st - 2nd April
Antalya's Future Stars
Turkey's port city of Antalya, an undisputed favourite to host major sports events, on this occasion was the focal point for the future generation of gymnasts participating at the 2nd FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships. Japan's young stars in particular produced standout performances and with twelve gold medal positions to compete for, here are the full results:
Team Les Suprêmes of Canada have retained their ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships hosted at Lake Placid, New York. Finland's Helsinki Rockettes and Team Unique completed the podium with silver and bronze. Ten medals were on offer at the 2023 International Weightlifting Federation World Youth Championships held in Durres, Albania. The biggest winners were Georgia, Kazakhstan, and the Philippines. Follow the link for full results.
The World DanceSport Federation presented three major competitions over the weekend, all in Berlin. Local stars Tomas Fainsil and Violetta Fainsil won the Adult Standard Open Series. Spain's Ruben Viciana Lopez and Eva Moya claimed the Senior II Ten Dance World Championship. The third competition was the Senior III Latin World Championship and again Spain were victorious through Manuel Ramirez and Julia Lopez.
In cycling news, Ion Izaguirre Insausti (ESP) won the Gran Premio Miguel Indurain, a UCI ProSeries road race on Saturday in Spain. On Sunday, Belgium hosted a UCI WorldTour and UCI Women's WorldTour race. The elite winners of the Ronde van Vlaanderen - Tour des Flandres were Tadej Pogačar (SLO) and Lotte Kopecky (BEL). Derby in Australia hosted the UCI World Cup - Enduro. Elite winners were Richard Rude Jr (USA) and Rebecca Baraona (GBR). It was Kenyan dominance at the Prague Half Marathon as Irine Jepchumba Kimais and Roncer Kipkorir Konga won in 1:06:00 and 59:43 respectively.
Max Verstappen (NED) won his first Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on Sunday. Verstappen now leads team mate Sergio Perez by fifteen points on the FIA Formula One driver standings. JD Beach took another victory on Saturday in the Progressive American Flat Track in Daytona Beach, Florida. In San Remo, Italy, Brad Freeman (GBR) claimed the first round of the 2023 FIM EnduroGP World Championship. Jane Daniels (GBR) won the women's round. Marvin Vanluchene (BEL) and Nicolas Musset (FRA) won Round 1 of the FIM Sidecar Cross World Championship in Spain. Marco Bezzechi (ITA) claimed a maiden victory in Argentina, the next round of the FIM MotoGP World Championship. Over to the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series where Kyle Larson was the winner on Sunday at the Richmond Raceway in Virginia. Alex Bowman is currently leading the driver standings.
Petra Kvitova (CZE) won the Miami Open, ending Elena Rybakina's (KAZ) 13-match winning streak. It was also Kvitova's ninth career World Tennis Association 1000-level title. In the men's final on Sunday, it was Daniil Medvedev winning his first Miami title. Taiwan has claimed the final of the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey Men's U18 World Championship Division II, Group B played in Sofia, Bulgaria. Åre in Sweden hosted two FIB Bandy World Championships. Sweden's women trounced Finland by 15-0, while Sweden beat Finland by 3-1 in the Men's Group A World Championship.
Claire Fahey (GBR) has defended her title of the Real Tennis British Ladies Open Singles Championship. Madrid hosted the next round of the Badminton World Federation World Tour. Denmark's Matthias Christiansen and Alexandra Bøje claimed victory in the Mixed Doubles. China's Sheng Shu Liu and Ning Tan won the Women's Doubles, while China also won the Men's Doubles title through Ji Ting He and Hao Dong Zhou. Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (IDN) and Kenta Nishomoto (JPN) are the singles winners.
Planica in Slovenia hosted the last major FIS World Cup event of the season. The HS240 Ski Flying champions are Stefan Kraft (AUT) and Timi Zajc (SLO), while the team champions are Austria. New Zealand's women and men claimed victory of the Hong Kong Sevens, the next round of the World Rugby Sevens Series. Both teams are in a strong position to be crowned season champions. Shaun Murphy (ENG) won his second snooker title within five weeks at the Duelbits Tour Championship played in Hull, England. The tournament forms part of the World Snooker Tour.
Until next time, have a great week in sport.