عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Sports

17-Year-Old Guiu Scores Seconds into Debut to Give Barcelona Spanish League Victory 

Barcelona's Spanish forward #38 Marc Guiu celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Athletic Club Bilbao at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona on October 22, 2023. (AFP)
Barcelona's Spanish forward #38 Marc Guiu celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Athletic Club Bilbao at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona on October 22, 2023. (AFP)
TT
TT

17-Year-Old Guiu Scores Seconds into Debut to Give Barcelona Spanish League Victory 

Barcelona's Spanish forward #38 Marc Guiu celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Athletic Club Bilbao at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona on October 22, 2023. (AFP)
Barcelona's Spanish forward #38 Marc Guiu celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Athletic Club Bilbao at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona on October 22, 2023. (AFP)

Another teenager has made history for Barcelona in the Spanish league.

Seventeen-year-old Marc Guiu scored about 30 seconds into his first-team debut to give the Catalan club a 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, becoming the second-youngest player this century to score in his league debut.

“They told me to go out there and give everything I have, that I would have my chances,” Guiu said. “I dreamed about this so many times. I won’t sleep tonight.”

Malaga’s Fabrice Olinga was 16 years, 98 days old when he scored against Celta Vigo in his debut in 2012. Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal became the youngest scorer in the Spanish league in a 2-2 draw against Granada before the international break at 16 years, 87 days.

Guiu, who is 17 years, 291 days, came off the bench and after two touches was celebrating the game-winning goal in the 80th minute that moved Barcelona to third place in the standings.

Guiu sprinted toward the area after a pass by João Félix and found the net with a low shot that beat Bilbao goalkeeper Unai Simón for his first goal. The victory gave Barcelona 24 points after 10 matches, one point behind league leaders Real Madrid and Girona.

Barcelona, the only unbeaten team left in the league, got the win despite playing without several regular starters, including Robert Lewandowski, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, Raphinha, Jules Koundé and Sergi Roberto.

Barcelona has not lost in its last eight league matches against Bilbao, with seven wins and a draw. It has won four straight games against the Basque Country team without conceding any goals since coach Xavi took over.

Barcelona entered a demanding week that includes a Champions League game against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday and a “clasico” against Madrid on Saturday.

“We have many injured players and today we finished with a titanic effort,” Xavi said. “We are one point behind Madrid and it will be crucial to win the clasico.”

Bilbao dropped to sixth place with the loss, its second in three matches.

Girona at the top

Girona continued its impressive run by coming from behind to beat last-place Almeria 5-2 and join Real Madrid at the top.

The Catalan club scored three goals in a six-minute span toward the end of the first half to erase a two-goal deficit and went on to pick up its eighth win in 10 matches. It has 25 points after 10 rounds, the same as Madrid which was held to a 1-1 draw at Sevilla on Saturday.

Artem Dovbyk scored a pair of goals for host Girona, whose only loss was to Madrid two rounds ago.

Almeria, the only team yet to win in the league this season, surprised with early goals by Léo Baptistão in the second and 24th minutes at Montilivi Stadium.

Iván Martín pulled Girona closer in the 37th and Dovbyk moved the hosts ahead with goals in the 39th and 43rd minutes. Sávio and Cristhian Stuani scored late to seal the victory for Girona, which is partly controlled by Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi ownership.

Villarreal held again

Villarreal’s winless streak in the league reached five games after a 1-1 home draw against Alaves.

Samuel Omorodion put the visitors ahead in the 48th and Gerard Moreno equalized by converting a 65th-minute penalty kick.

Both teams are near the relegation zone. Alaves hasn’t won in six straight matches.

Rayo Vallecano ended a streak of four consecutives draws with a 1-0 win at Las Palmas, with Bebé converting a penalty kick in second-half stoppage time.

The victory moved Rayo to seventh place, while Las Palmas — coming off two consecutive victories — stayed 12th. Las Palmas forward Munir El Haddadi missed a first-half penalty kick.

Spanish media said one person was arrested following a fight between fans from both teams on Saturday night.

Most Viewed

 
 
Sports

Katie Ledecky Swims into History with 800 Freestyle Victory at the Paris Olympics

US' Katie Ledecky competes in the final of the women's 800m freestyle swimming event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, on August 3, 2024. (AFP)
US' Katie Ledecky competes in the final of the women's 800m freestyle swimming event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, on August 3, 2024. (AFP)
TT
TT

Katie Ledecky Swims into History with 800 Freestyle Victory at the Paris Olympics

US' Katie Ledecky competes in the final of the women's 800m freestyle swimming event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, on August 3, 2024. (AFP)
US' Katie Ledecky competes in the final of the women's 800m freestyle swimming event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, on August 3, 2024. (AFP)

Every year on Aug. 3, Katie Ledecky is reminded of her first Olympic gold medal.

She was just 15 years old, a reserved high schooler who had surprisingly made the US swim team for the London Games. Then she went out and shocked the world, beating everyone in the 800-meter freestyle.

Twelve years to the day, Ledecky did it again.

Not a stunner, but one for the ages.

Gold medal No. 9.

Ledecky capped another stellar Olympics by becoming only the second swimmer to win an event at four straight Summer Games, holding off Ariarne Titmus, the "Terminator," to win the 800 free Saturday night.

It was Ledecky's second gold medal in Paris and the ninth of her remarkable career, which marked another milestone.

She became only the sixth Olympian to reach that figure, joining swimmer Mark Spitz, track star Carl Lewis, Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina and Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi in a tie for second place.

The only athlete to win more golds: swimmer Michael Phelps with 23.

Ledecky was very aware of the significance of the date.

“Every Aug. 3, the video (of her first Olympic gold) gets posted somewhere and you kind of reminisce,” she said. “So, when I saw it was Aug. 3, I was like, ‘Oh boy, I’ve got to get the job done.'”

That she did, going faster than her winning time in Tokyo to finish in 8 minutes, 11.04 seconds. Titmus was right on her shoulder nearly the entire race, but Ledecky pulled away in the final 100.

Titmus, who beat Ledecky in the 400 freestyle, settled for silver at 8:12.29. The bronze went to another American, Paige Madden at 8:13.00.

Phelps had been the only swimmer to win the same event at four straight Olympics, taking gold in the 200 individual medley at Athens, Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro.

Now he’s got company.

Titmus added some perspective to Ledecky's consistency over the last dozen years, noting where she was when the American won that first gold in London.

“I was in grade six in primary school,” Titmus said. “That’s how remarkable she is.”

Their friendly rivalry has driven both to greater heights. They each won two golds and four medals at these games, which pushed Ledecky to 14 overall and left the 23-year-old Aussie with four golds and eight medals in her career.

"To think that ... I challenged her into her fourth consecutive in the 800 is pretty cool,” Titmus said. “I feel very honored and privileged to be her rival, and I hope I’ve made her a better athlete. She has certainly made me become the athlete I am. I felt so privileged to race alongside her.”

Ledecky has dominated the distance freestyle events over the last dozen years — and isn’t done yet. She's made it clear she plans to keep swimming at least through the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

“It’s not easy,” Ledecky said. “I’ll take it year by year, and we’ll see if I can keep giving everything I’ve got for as long as I have left in me.”

Another gold for Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh

Summer McIntosh stamped herself as one of the swimming stars of the Paris Olympics with her third individual gold medal, winning the 200 individual medley.

The 17-year-old Canadian chased down American Alex Walsh and held off another US swimmer, Kate Douglass, to finish in an Olympic record of 2:06.56.

Douglass grabbed the silver in the star-studded final at 2:06.92, but the Americans lost the bronze when Walsh, the silver medalist in this event at Tokyo who recorded a time of 2:07.06, was disqualified because she did not finish the backstroke segment on her back.

Kaylee McKeown, who touched fourth, was bumped up to the bronze at 2:08.08.

It was a bitter blow for Walsh, whose younger sister, Gretchen, has won a gold medal and two silvers in Paris.

McIntosh set several world records ahead of the Paris Olympics, and she backed up the enormous expectations by claiming a starring role at La Defense Arena along with Léon Marchand and Ledecky.

McIntosh also won gold medals in the 200 butterfly and 400 IM, plus a silver in the 400 freestyle. She fell just 0.88 seconds — the margin of her loss to Titmus — shy of matching Marchand’s four individual golds.

“It’s pretty surreal,” said McIntosh, who became the first Canadian athlete to win three golds in a single Olympics. “I’m just so proud of myself and how I’ve been able to recover and manage events."

US sets world record in mixed relay

The United States made up for a disappointing showing in Tokyo by setting a world record in the 4x100 mixed medley relay.

Ryan Murphy, Nic Fink, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske held off China for a winning time of 3:37.43, breaking the mark of 3:37.58 set by Britain when it won gold in the wild and woolly event's Olympic debut three years ago.

With each team picking two men and two women, the US and China both went with their male swimmers in the first two legs.

Murphy put the US in front on the backstroke, China's Qin Haiyang slipped past Nic Fink on the breaststroke, but Walsh stormed back in front for the Americans on the butterfly before Huske held off Yang Junxuan to secure the gold.

For Huske, it was her second gold to go with two silvers in Paris.

The Chinese team, which also included Xu Jiayu and Zhang Yufei, took silver in 3:37.55. The bronze went to Australia in 3:38.76.

Marchand swam the breaststroke leg for France but couldn't add to his already impressive haul. The French finished fourth, more than two seconds behind the Aussies.

When the British won gold in 2021, the Americans finished fifth. Britain was seventh this time.

The US bumped its total to six golds, one behind leading Australia with four events remaining Sunday. The Americans are assured of winning the overall medal count with 25.

Hungarian claims butterfly gold

Kristóf Milák of Hungary won the men’s 100 butterfly, chasing down three swimmers on the return lap.

Milák was only fourth at the turn, but he rallied to touch in 49.90. Canada grabbed the silver and bronze, with Josh Liendo finishing in 49.99 and Ilya Kharun next at 50.45.

Milák had failed to defend his Olympic title in the 200 butterfly, settling for a silver behind Marchand.

Milák claimed silver in the 100 fly three years ago, but he didn’t have to worry about the guy who beat him in that race. American Caeleb Dressel stunningly failed to qualify for the final.

Kharun added another bronze to the one he garnered in the 200 butterfly.