8th - 9th April
Speed Stacking in Singapore
Sport stacking also goes by the names of cup stacking or speed stacking. It involves arranging specially designed plastic cups, normally 9-12, in a sequence that is pre-determined. The objective is to do this in the shortest possible time. The cups are designed in such a way that it aids the speed of the stacking, which is normally in a pyramid formation. Over the weekend, Singapore had the honour of witnessing competitors with some of the most amazing reflex skills compete at the World Sport Stacking Championships. Very popular in East Asia, their athletes have also claimed victory in most of the disciplines. Full results can be found here:
Plovdiv in Bulgaria hosted the next generation of future stars of fencing at the FIE Juniors and Cadets World Championship. Up to sixteen disciplines were contested by athletes from all around the world. The full results can be viewed here:
Part of the World Sailing World Cup Series, Spain's Mallorca was the venue for the 52 Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofía. On their boat Tmej, Japan's Keiju Okada and Miho Yoshioka claimed the victory over a fleet of 72 other competitors. New Zealand's men and women can seal the World Rugby Sevens Series victory at the next meeting in Toulouse on the 12th May. The men won in Singapore over the weekend, the fourth title of the season, extending their lead over Argentina to 24 points. New Zealand's women are 16 points clear of Australia and their dominance over the season has been marked with five from six titles.
Itzulia Basque Country in Spain was the major UCI WorldTour cycle race from Monday to Saturday. Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard was the overall winner. On Saturday, France hosted the Paris-Roubaix Femmes, a UCI Women's WorldTour race, with home hero Aude Biannic taking the top podium position. The men raced the same route on Sunday in another UCI WorldTour event, with victory going to Dutch star Mattheu van der Poel. The first UCI Trials World Cup of the season took place in Vic, a location in Catalonia, Spain. Alba Riera Roura highlighted Spain's dominance by winning the Women Elite Open, while Alejandro Montalvo Milla took victory in the Men Elite 20". Britain's Jack Carthy won the Men Elite 26".
South Africa's Henri Schoeman and Australia's Sophie Linn are the new champions of the 2023 Arena Games Triathlon Series Finals that completed in London on Saturday. Ukraine have beaten Lithuania 2-1 in the final of the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship Division III, Group A. The competition was hosted by Brașov in Romania. The Netherlands have claimed the IKF U19 World Korfball Championship 2023 hosted in Ghent, Belgium. The hosts were beaten 21-5. In equestrian news, Sweden's Henrik von Eckermann and King Edward have won the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Finals in Omaha on Saturday, adding a third title over the last 18 months.
Orléans in France hosted the Orléans Masters Badminton 2023, the next stop of the Badminton World Tour. Malaysia's Tang Jie Chen and Ee Wei Toh won the Mixed Doubles. Japan's Rena Miyaura and Ayako Sakuramoto were victorious in the Women's Doubles, while the Men's Doubles were claimed by China's Bo Yang Chen and Yi Liu. Spain's Carolina Marin and India's Priyanshu Rajawat are the Singles champions.
St. George in Utah hosted the next round of the Professional Pickleball Association Tour. Catherine Parenteau and Tyson McGuffin won the singles titles. McGuffin and Brendon Long became the Men's Doubles champions, while Etta Wright and Meghan Dizon won the Women's Doubles. The Mixed Doubles champions are Anna Bright and James Ignatowich.
The Streets of Long Beach in California hosted the opening round of Formula Drift 2023. USA's Matt Field began the year in style with a win in the Pro category. The Glendale State Farm Stadium in Arizona hosted Round 12 of the AMA Supercross Championship. USA's Eli Tomac won the 450SX, with the 250SX win going to Australia's Jett Lawrence. Christopher Bell claimed a late victory in Bristol, Tennessee, at the next round of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series. After eleven races, we have now seen nine different winners. Only Joey Logano and William Byron have two victories each.
Ottawa in Canada was the centre of attention for curling fans as the best men in the world contested the BKT Tires & OK Tire World Men’s Curling Championship that concluded on Sunday. Scotland are the world champions after a comprehensive defeat of the hosts by 9-3. Switzerland completed the podium beating Italy 11-3. Jon Rahm has won the green jacket at the The Masters Tournament, the first golf major of the year, held at the famous Augusta National Golf Club in the state of Georgia.
Until next time, have a great week in sport.