Ugandan Kickboxing Champion Patricia Apolot
Sonny Side of Sports contributor Mugume Davis Rwakaringi recently visited unbeaten Ugandan kickboxing champion Patricia Apolot at her gym in the capital, Kampala. Mugume describes the 27-year-old Apolot as dark, beautiful and athletic. Nicknamed “Black Pearl,” Apolot (16-0, 7 KO’s) captured the World Kickboxing Federation lightweight title in 2015. Her coach, Richardson “Amigo” Kigozi, says […]
Olympic Champ Kipchoge Reflects On Berlin Marathon Win
Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge was in a philosophical mood after winning his second BMW Berlin Marathon in three years. “Planning to run a marathon is like life,” said the 32-year-old Kenyan athlete. “Anything can happen. You run fast today and tomorrow you run slow.” Kipchoge ran a time of 2:03:32 in Berlin on September 24th, […]
Ivorian Sprinter Marie-Josée Ta Lou: So Close To Being World Champion
Ivory Coast won two silver medals at the recent World Championships in Athletics in London, where sprinter Marie-Josée Ta Lou made her country proud in the women’s 100-meters and 200-meters finals. In both races, though, there was also heartbreak for the 28-year-old Ta Lou, who came very close to being crowned world champion. In the 100-meters, […]
Crawford Versus Indongo is Crossroads World Title Fight
The VOA’s longtime boxing analyst Nnamdi “Hollywood” Moweta has made the short flight from his home base of Los Angeles to Las Vegas more than a few times over the years for world championship fights. Nnamdi says he’s looking forward to traveling to a new destination next month, though. He’ll be making his first trip […]
The Fighting Russell Brothers Make Dad Proud
World Boxing Council featherweight champion Gary Russell, Jr., successfully defended his title May 20th on a memorable fight night for his family at the new MGM National Harbor just south of Washington, D.C. The 28-year-old Russell, Jr. (28-1, 17 KO’s), scored a seventh round TKO victory against Colombian boxer Oscar Escandon (25-3, 17 KO’s). Gary […]
College Basketball’s Final Four Features International Big Men
The 2017 NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball championship tournament, one of the most popular annual sporting events in the United States, has reached the Final Four stage with some talented international big men in the spotlight at University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona. Gonzaga will go against South Carolina in the first semifinal April 1, […]
Major League Soccer Kicks Off 22nd Season With New Clubs in Atlanta and Minnesota
Major League Soccer recently kicked off its 22nd season with new clubs based in Atlanta, Georgia, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. The addition of expansion franchises Atlanta United FC and Minnesota United gives MLS a total of 22 teams, evenly divided with 11 in the Eastern Conference and 11 in the Western Conference. Both Atlanta and Minnesota […]
Mahrez one of the Marquee Players at the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon
Riyad Mahrez enters his second Africa Cup of Nations tournament after a nice run of recognition and success. The 25-year-old Algerian was named the Confederation of African Football’s Player of the Year for 2016 on January 5th in Abuja, Nigeria. Last month, Mahrez was also selected as the BBC African Footballer of the Year, and […]
Olympic Boxing Champion Claressa Shields Turns Professional
Three months after making Olympic boxing history in Brazil, Claressa Shields is getting ready to make her professional debut in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 21-year-old Shields will fight former USA Boxing teammate Franchon Crews November 19th on the undercard of the Andre Ward – Sergey Kovalev world light heavyweight title main event at the new […]
Cameroonian Center Joel Embiid Emboldens Philadelphia
“I want to play more,” says Joel Embiid, “but it’s on them.” “Them,” in this case, is the coaching staff of the Philadelphia 76ers, which is taking a cautionary approach with their young and talented Cameroonian center, who missed the past two NBA seasons because of a broken right foot. Embiid is currently averaging 22 […]
