Ten things to know from last week: November 30-December 6, 2021. F1 to the wire, Francesco Friedrich wins again, so does Flora Duffy.
Five things to know from last week
  1. Championship to the wire. The Formula 1 World Driver’s and Constructor’s will be defined in the very last race. Lewis Hamilton (ENG, Mercedes) won for the third time in a row ahead of Max Verstappen (NED, Red Bull). The race had two red flags. Hamilton took advantage in one of them to have his tires changed, while Max has just pitted under the preceding yellow flag. Verstappen received two penalties, including one for causing a collision with Hamilton, as he pushed the brakes on a straight to let him through, after having taken advantage from leaving the track. They will reach the last rae equal on points. Who did become Champion this week was Travis Pastrana (USA), who won the Nitro Rallycross, tied in points with teammate and former F1 driver, Scott Speed (USA) but winning on count-back.
  2. Not news? Again Francesco Friedrich (DEU) won the 2-Man and 4-Man competitions of the Bobsleigh World Cup, this time in Altenberg (DEU), extending his records for most World Cup races won. This time USA won the Women’s 2-woman competition, ahead of Germany. In Skeleton, this time Germany came back to the winning ways, with Axel Jungk beating countryman Christopher Grotheer, and Tina Hermann won the women’s division.
  3. Lightweights. Boxing’s lightweight division is probably the most exciting at the moment. Gervonta Davis (USA) successfully defended his WBA title by beating Isaac Cruz (MEX), who went all the way to the decision and looked good. Meanwhile, Devin Haney (USA) defended the WBC version by beating Joseph Díaz Jr (USA/MEX).
  4. Skiing. A lot happened in the Skiing World Cups. Big Air’s World Cup in Colorado was spectacular. Eileen Gu (CHN, double cork 1440) and Matej Svancer (AUT, left nosebutter triple cork 1980 safety) landed never-been-done-in-competition tricks, to win. In the Aerials World Cup in Ruka (FIN), Xu Mengtao (CHN) won a record-extending 26th World Cu event, while Maxim Burov (RUS) won both days of competition, meaning he has won seven of his last eight individual competitions. In Alpine Skiing, Sofia Goggia (ITA) is on a great streak, as she won both Downhill races in Lake Louise (CAN) -now winning six Downhills in a row-, and also the Super-G. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR) won both the Downhill and Super-G in the Men’s division. Norway also son gold medals in the Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined World Cups but also saw a ten-year unbeaten streak in the Women’s Cross-Country Relay, as they were beaten by the Russian team.
  5. World Records. The ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Salt Lake City, Utah, saw two World Records broken. First, Nils van der Poel (SWE) did it in the 5000m competition, en route to the gold. The other one was the US Team Pursuit Team. Japan and the United States scored four gold medals each.
  6. Tragedy. Horse Medina Spirit’s (USA) died after a training session in Santa Anita Park last December 6. This year he won the Kentucky Derby, before being getting disqualified for testing positive for a banned substance. He then won the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes, and the finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, his last race.
  7. Swedish dominion. The Sweden Women’s Floorball Team won its 10th World Championship, -8th in a row-, which by far places it in first place. They have won a medal in all 13 editions of the Women’s tournament. This time it took an overtime to beat Finland 3-4 in the Final, held in their home turf, in Uppsala, Sweden.
  8. Duffy again. Flora Duffy (BMU) continues to cement her place as the most successful female triathlete of all-time, as she won a record-extending sixth XTERRA World Championship, which we can also add to the three ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships she won. This year’s competition was unpredictable, as the swimming portion was cancelled last minute due to unsafe conditions. She demolished the competition by beating Loanne Duvoisin (SUI) and the rest by over six minutes.
  9. Para Powerlifting figures. Amalia Pérez (MEX) won her eight global Championship. She won the 61 kg category at the World Championship in Tbilisi. She is now the most successful Para Powerlifter of all-time. Also impressive were Sherif Osman (EGY), who also won his eight global title and fifth World Championship, by taking the Men’s 59 kg category, and Abdelkareem Khattab (JOR), who won the Men’s 88kg category breaking the World Record by 10 kilograms, and 58 kilograms ahead of the second placed lifter! Lucy Ejike (NGR) also won gold. So did Mariana Shevchuk (UKR), closing out a perfect year. China dominated the medal tally.
  10. Stunning knockout. Sergio Pettis (USA) was losing his Bellator Bantamweight World Championship against current Rizin Bantamweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi (JPN) until he landed a spinning backfist that knocked the Japanese fighter out.