Ten things to know from last week. June 7-13, 2022 included: divided golf, Mexican drivers, Puerto Rican Jockeys, etc.
- Mexican drivers. Toyota dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans again. The 8 car beat the number 7. Sébastien Buemi (CHE) became a four-time winner, with now 3-times winner Brendon Hartley (NZL) and first-time winner Ryo Hirakawa (JPN) as teammates. GTE Pro was won by Porsche GT, with Gianmaria Bruni (ITA), Richard Lietz (AUT) -both four-times class winners- and Frédéric Makowiecki (FRA). GTE-Am was won by the TF Sport Aston Martin of Ben Keating (USA), Henrique Chaves (POR) and Marco Sørensen (DNK). LMP2 was won by António Félix da Costa (POR), Will Stevens (ENG), and Roberto González (MEX), who adds to another great day for Mexican motorsport, as Daniel Suárez became the first Mexican and fourth foreign driver to win a NACAR Cup race as he won in Sonoma, and Sergio Pérez (MEX) finished second in Formula 1’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, behind Red Bull teammate, Max Verstappen (NED). Meanwhile, Josef Newgarden (USA, Penske) took home a million US Dollars, as he became the first driver to win in a street course, road course, and oval in the season, with the win in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. In Hungary, Norbert Kiss (HUN) gave the locals a reason to celebrate, as he won the first race of the FIA European Truck Championship in Hungaroring and then overcame a multiple-truck crash that wrecked his truck in the second race to win the third and fourth races.
- Racing in the family. There we five fatalities in the Isle of Man TT this year, as the father and son team of Roger Stockton and Bradley Stockton (ENG) died this week, after a crash in the last lap of the Sidecar race, won by brothers Ben and Tom Birchall (AUS). Michael Dunlop (NIR) is now the third-winningest TT racer ever, as he won both Supersport races for a total of 21. The all-time leader is uncle Joey Dunlop (NIR), who also died racing. Peter Hickman (ENG) was the star, with four wins, including the stellar Senior TT race.
- New York’s Puerto Ricans. Pre-race favorite, Mo Donegal (USA), won the 154th Belmont Stakes, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr (PUR), the leading New York jockey that won this race for a second time. Kentucky Derby winner, Rich Strike (USA), finished sixth. Puerto Rican jockeys made the 1-2-3, as Ortiz Jr was followed by José Luis Ortiz and Manny Franco.
- Great fight. In a UFC Light Heavyweight Title fight,Jiri Prochazka (CZE) upset Champion Glover Teixeira (BRA) in the least likely way to beat the Brazilian (via submission) with seconds to go in the fight, after he was clearly behind in the scorecards and was being clearly dominated by Teixeira in the punches. In the Co-Main, Valentina Shevchenko (KGZ/PER) has to go to a close split decision to defeat Taila Santos (BRA) and retain her Flyweight Title. The challenger suffered a fracture in her orbital bone.
- The Monster, again. Naoya Inoue (JPN) proved once again that he is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, as he defeated Nonito Donaire (PHL) with a second round knockout to become the first Japanese fighter that holds three world title belts in a weight class, in this case with the WBA, IBF, WBC, and The Ring titles in Bantamweight. Inoue had won the first fight via decision, in 2019.
- Simply the best. Paola Longoria (MEX) finished the Ladies Racquetball Tour season in first place for the 13th year in a row, a record in the sport. She also won her 114th tournament -an LRPT record- by winning the Super MAX Slam in Kansas City, defeating Monserrat Mejía (MEX), who had pulled the upset against her last year. She made it to the Doubles Semis, where Samantha Salas (MEX) and her were defeated by Gabriela Rodríguez and María Renee Rodríguez (GTM), who eventually lost against Erika Manilla (USA) and Alexandra Herrera (MEX).
- Women’s Shogi. Satomi Kana (JPN) became the first female player ever to receive the title of 4th Dan after she successfully defended her My Navi Women’s Open title against Tomoka Nishiyama (JPN). This way, she remains the holder of four major titles and increased her record as the all-time winningest female Shogi player.
- Powerlifting. Bonica Brown (née Lough, USA) won her 13th World-level Championship in Powerlifting, by winning her 7th title in the World Classic Powerlifting Championships. She lifted a total of 668.5 kilograms, a World Record, and also added a World Record in Squat, with 273.5 kilos. She has dominated the +84 kilograms class since 2014.
- Stories in Golf. Linn Grant (SWE) triumphed at home to become the first female winner of the BP World Tour, taking the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed Tournament, Co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the Ladies European Tour. In this tournament, men and women compete together, although they start from different tees. Also, LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed league, held its first tournament. At the same time, PGA held its Canadian Open. Rory McIlroy (NIR) won the PGA tournament, while Carl Schwartzel (ZAF) and his team, Stinger GC, won the tournament in London, taking home 4 Million USD.
- Wildwater. Last week, Nejc Žnidarčič (SVN) won a seventh gold in the Wildwater Canoeing World Championships, making him the second winningest competitor in history of this Championship, and number one on kayak. This week, Canoe/Kayak Slalom held its first World Cup in the year. Olympic star, Jessica Fox (AUS), shone again, winning the C1 gold medal but local Tereza Fiserova (CZE) even more, as she won golds in K1 and Extreme Kayak. She had to wear a head bandage, after receiving a blow in the semis.