Digest

WINTER SPORTS

Geiger wins 1,000th World Cup event

Germany's Karl Geiger won the 1,000th ski jumping World Cup of all time in Lahti, Finland, on Sunday.

Geiger posted two jumps of 122.5 and 130.0 meters in the final, scoring 266.4 points to claim his fourth World Cup title this season. Austria's Stefan Kraft was second (260.5), with compatriot Michael Hayboeck third (259.1).

"My jumps were really, really good and it's incredible that I could win the 1,000th World Cup competition. But winning is always special and you're always happy about it, no matter if it's the 1,000th or the 1,001st competition," said Geiger.

With four World Cup events left, Kraft now leads the overall standings on 1,613 points and can only be caught by second-place Geiger (1,495).

The Germans also dominated Saturday's team competition, with Slovenia second and Austria third.

Chinese pair set new skeleton standard

Lin Huiyang and Yan Wengang recorded China's best ever skeleton result at a world championships with a sixth-place finish in the new mixed-team event in Altenberg, Germany, on Sunday.

Mixed skeleton features teams comprised of one male and one female rider, with both their runs added together to calculate their ranking.

Jacqueline Lolling and Alexander Gassner won gold for the host in the event's debut at the championships, with Canadian duo Jane Channell and Dave Greszczyszyn surprise silver medalists.

Starting fifth, Channell and Greszczyszyn did not have to vacate the leaders' box until Lolling and Gassner appeared as the third-last team to compete.

White skips skateboard for Beijing 2022 bid

If the world sees Shaun White at an Olympics again, it will be at Beijing 2022, not later this year.

The American three-time snowboarding champion told Associated Press that he is taking skateboarding off his plate and won't try to qualify for that sport's Olympic debut later this year in Tokyo.

"The decision became less about going for skate and more about, am I willing to walk away from snow?" White said this weekend at the US Open in Vail, Canada. "It just was going in that direction, and I didn't feel comfortable with it and I can't wholeheartedly choose this path with what I've got going on snow."

White had been dangling the possibility of joining the rare group of athletes to compete at both winter and summer Games.

He headed to Brazil last summer to compete at the skateboarding world championships, where he finished 13th. He realized trying to qualify for Tokyo would compromise his chances of returning to the Winter Games in Beijing for a shot at a fourth gold medal.

"It doesn't mean I'm committed to going to China, but it doesn't feel too far-fetched for me," said the 33-year-old. "I still feel great... I'm dipping back into snow, and doing what feels right."

TABLE TENNIS

Injured Liu withdraws from Qatar Open

Reigning world champion Liu Shiwen confirmed on Sunday that she will skip this week's ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open due to injury.

The 29-year-old former world No 1, a record five-time World Cup winner, had registered to participate in the women's singles and mixed doubles at the Qatar Open, which begins today, before sustaining an old injury on her right elbow.

According to the Chinese team, Liu felt pain in her elbow during the tour's previous stop in Magdeburg, Germany, and received treatment after arriving in Qatari capital Doha early last month.

Amid concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, the Chinese team has canceled all competitions, training and activities in China, but a selection of leading Chinese paddlers have stayed in Doha for the last month.

SOCCER

Beckham's Miami beaten in MLS debut

David Beckham's Inter Miami made a disappointing start to its debut Major League Soccer season on Sunday, losing 1-0 to Los Angeles FC.

A superb chip from Mexico international Carlos Vela sealed victory for Los Angeles at the Banc of California Stadium in a game dominated by the home side.

Inter Miami joined the league this season after a tortuous journey marked by setbacks since former England, Manchester United and Real Madrid star Beckham exercised his option to become an owner of his own team in 2014.

Co-owner Beckham, who played for the Los Angeles Galaxy in the closing seasons of his professional career, watched from the stands on Sunday as Miami slipped to defeat.

Inter co-owners Jorge and Jose Mas and Marcelo Claure were also on hand, as were several hundred pink-and-black-clad Miami fans.

TENNIS

Brazil teen emulates Nadal at Chile tourney

Brazilian teenager Thiago Seyboth Wild became the youngest champion on Latin America's claycourt 'Golden Swing' since Rafael Nadal in 2005 with victory in Santiago on Sunday.

The 19-year-old defeated second-seed Casper Ruud of Norway 7-5,4-6, 6-3 in the final to also become Brazil's youngest ever champion at an ATP event.

Nadal was 18 when he triumphed at Acapulco in 2005 when the Mexican event was still played on clay.

The victory sees Seyboth Wild rise from 182 in the world to 113.

World No 38 Ruud had arrived in Chile two weeks after winning the Buenos Aires tournament, becoming Norway's first ever ATP champion.

"He proved that he deserved his wild card and took very good care of his opportunity," Ruud told atptour.com.

"Even though I'm not that experienced myself, I can see that he'll be around for many more years. Hopefully we can play many more finals together in the future."