Rahm is moving from the PGA to the LIV Tour

Philipp Nawrath missed another sensation and lost the yellow jersey. Franziska Preuß, on the other hand, is not even allowed to defend her lead.

(dpa). The Spaniard Jon Rahm changed sides 24 days before the end of the negotiation deadline between the PGA and the LIV Tour and will be paid from Saudi Arabia in the future. The decision of the best golfer in recent years has potentially enormous implications for the future structures of the sport. The US Open and Masters winner made his decision public in an interview on Fox News and a post on Instagram.

Numerous media outlets had previously reported on the upcoming move and estimated the value of the three-year contract at between $300 and $600 million. According to the US news agency AP, the 29-year-old Rahm could earn more than the PGA Tour currently pays out in prize money across all of its events. In 2023 there was a total of around $460 million to be earned on the PGA Tour.

Rahm himself did not want to answer the question about his earnings in the interview on Fox News. “I was happy,” he said in a black varsity jacket with the LIV logo, referring to the PGA Tour. “But there are some things that LIV Golf can offer that are very tempting.” He emphasized that he still doesn’t play golf for the money, but that he has an obligation and responsibility as a father.

Before Rahm, among others, five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, US Open and Masters winner Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau (all USA), who won the US Open 2020, switched to LIV.

It is unclear what the change means for participation in the Ryder Cup. Rory McIlroy, who has been one of LIV’s harshest critics in the past, spoke out on Thursday in favor of allowing Rahm to take part. “This is not a question. “I want Jon on the next Ryder Cup team,” said the Northern Irishman.

Disappointment for Philipp Nawrath, emergency braking for Franziska Preuß: After the fantastic start to the season, the German biathlon team suffered its first setback in Hochfilzen. While Nawrath clearly missed another sensation in the sprint and had to give up his yellow jersey, Preuß became a tragic heroine without any effort on the cross-country ski trail.

»Far too much behind in the run. I can’t explain it exactly,” said Nawrath angrily on the ARD microphone after his 34th place. Three shooting errors, a total of almost two minutes behind the leader – after his sensational victory in Östersund, the air ran out early in Austria. But the anger over losing the lead in the overall World Cup only lasted for a short time. Instead, Nawrath practiced optimism: “The attack remains forward. Wipe your mouth, let’s move on.” The next chance to do this is in the pursuit on Saturday (12.15 p.m./ARD and Eurosport) – even if the mortgage is already big.

His teammates have better prospects. Benedikt Doll, who only played a supporting role at the German Biathlon Festival in Sweden, came seventh (1/+31.1 seconds). “In terms of running, it was much better than in Östersund,” said the former world champion. Johannes Kühn in ninth place (1/+40.1) and Justus Strelow in 15th place (0/+1:09.0 minutes) rounded off another good German team result.

At the top, the Norwegians celebrated a return to their dominance from the previous season. Tarjei Bö (0) came out ahead of his compatriot Sturla Holm Lägreid (0/+4.9). Third place went to the Swede Sebastian Samuelsson (1 error/+10.0 seconds), who took the lead in the overall World Cup from Nawrath.

Like his DSV teammate Preuß, he had dreamed of more days in yellow – but for the 29-year-old, Hochfilzen developed into a very personal nuisance. “Franziska is still struggling with the after-effects of a corona infection, which unfortunately occurred shortly after Östersund,” was the bitter diagnosis from team doctor Dr. Sebastian Torka. “It’s just bitter and painful not being able to be at the start,” she wrote on Instagram. Because Preuß had to give up her yellow jersey without a fight, France’s Lou Jeanmonnot (2/+1:12.05) achieved 15th place in the sprint for the top position.

As with the men, the victory went to Norway, Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold (0 errors) won ahead of Elvira Öberg from Sweden (1/+4.9 seconds), followed by the Frenchwoman Justine Braisaz-Bouchet (1/+19.7). The best German was Vanessa Voigt in 14th place (1/+1:11.8), who only has an outside chance in the pursuit on Saturday (2:45 p.m./ARD and Eurosport). The failure is a bitter blow for Preuß, as she had started the winter furiously after a long period of suffering. Now the next compulsory break follows – combined with the hope that she can start her next comeback next weekend in Lenzerheide.

(dpa). Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to take part in the Paris Olympics as neutral athletes. The head of the International Olympic Committee granted individual athletes from both countries permission to compete in the 2024 Summer Games on Friday under certain conditions, provided they meet the qualification conditions. In doing so, the IOC followed a call from the international summer sports associations and the National Olympic Committees to finally make a decision on this question, which has been controversial since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.

As with the return to international competitions, the condition is that Russians and Belarusians are only allowed to take part in Paris under a neutral flag. Teams are not permitted. This means that the starters from Russia and Belarus are not allowed to play their national anthem at the Olympics in Paris, and national symbols and flags are also prohibited for them.

In addition, these athletes must not have any connection to the army and have not actively shown support for the war in Ukraine. In addition, the anti-doping guidelines must be met and a written commitment to the Olympic Charter must be made.

(dpa). The new figure skating stars Minerva Fabienne Hase/Nikita Volodin won the pair skating Grand Prix final out of nowhere in their first season together. “We can’t believe it,” said Volodin after Friday’s great success in Beijing. In the free skate, the duo from Berlin was able to defend their lead after the short program with a total of 206.43 points with a wafer-thin lead over the Italian European champions and World Cup third-place finishers Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii (205.88). The Canadians Deanna Stellato-Dudek/Maxime Deschamps came third (204.30).

Before the total points appeared in the results computer and their victory was made official, Hase/Volodin had to tremble. In her combative freestyle, a lot of things went well and as planned, only in the triple throw-Rittberger her turns were a bit too slow, so that Hase stumbled and was only able to avoid a fall with his hand.

“We did our best,” said the 24-year-old with a smile on her face. “We came to Beijing without any expectations.” After all, our partner of the same age, who came from St. Petersburg, arrived with a bad cold. Because of the illness, they were unable to practice the free program for a long time. »I’m happy that Nikita held out. “It’s all the nicer to have been rewarded with gold,” said Hase, “but it was hard to get through the freestyle.”

The two had shown what they could achieve together in the previous Grand Prix competitions with two victories in Finland and Japan – and had already amazed the international competition. When asked about the secret of this winter fairy tale on the ice, Hase replied: “Hard work and a good partner.” Next week, Hase and Volodin will start together at their first German championship in Berlin. It is still unclear whether they will meet the European Championship third-placed Annika Hocke/Robert Kunkel there. The Berliners had to cancel their start in Beijing due to Kunkel’s back problems.