Sports News Roundup: Swimming-German Wellbrock sets 1,500m freestyle short course world record; Olympics-NHL decides against competing in Beijing due to COVID-19 -ESPN and more

Wellbrock, who won gold in the 10km open water event at the Tokyo Olympics, clocked 14:06.88 on Tuesday to better Gregorio Paltrinieri's mark of 14:08.065. Olympics-NHL decides against competing in Beijing due to COVID-19 -ESPN The National Hockey League will not send its players to compete in the men's ice hockey tournament at the Beijing Winter Olympics due to COVID-19 concerns as the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads globally, ESPN reported on Tuesday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Swimming-German Wellbrock sets 1,500m freestyle short course world record

Germany's Florian Wellbrock set a short course world record in the men's 1,500m freestyle on the final day of the world championships in Abu Dhabi. Wellbrock, who won gold in the 10km open water event at the Tokyo Olympics, clocked 14:06.88 on Tuesday to better Gregorio Paltrinieri's mark of 14:08.065.

Olympics-NHL decides against competing in Beijing due to COVID-19 -ESPN

The National Hockey League will not send its players to compete in the men's ice hockey tournament at the Beijing Winter Olympics due to COVID-19 concerns as the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads globally, ESPN reported on Tuesday. The NHL agreed last September to pause its regular season so the world's top players could compete in Beijing with the caveat it could withdraw if COVID-19 disruptions forced games to be rescheduled during the Olympics window.

Tennis-Australian Open confident on Nadal, uncertain on Djokovic

Australian Open chief Craig Tiley is confident Rafa Nadal will be at Melbourne Park for next month's Grand Slam despite testing positive for COVID-19, but he is still uncertain whether Novak Djokovic will be playing. Nadal caught the novel coronavirus while playing in an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi last week and said he would make a decision on his future tournaments depending on his "evolution" over the weeks ahead.

Chinese designer enjoys Olympic boost for figure skating costumes

China's upcoming Winter Olympics is adding sparkle to a young costume designer's growing business, as more Chinese take to the ice and seek tailor-made outfits for figure skating. Zhang Yifan, a 25-year-old designer based in Beijing, has seen business boom since the city won its bid for the 2022 Olympics and began a campaign to lure 300 million Chinese to embrace snow and ice sports.

NBA-Commissioner says league has 'no plans' to halt season despite COVID-19 surge

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has no plans to pause its season despite a surge in COVID-19 cases, league commissioner Adam Silver said. Seven games have been postponed since last week, with a report on the league's website saying at least 84 players from 20 teams had entered health and safety protocols as of Tuesday.

Motor racing-NASCAR starts building temporary track in Los Angeles stadium

NASCAR on Tuesday started building a temporary asphalt track inside LA Memorial Coliseum, the first time it has constructed such a race course, ahead of an exhibition race on Feb. 6. The "Clash at the Coliseum" will see the sport's top drivers compete on a quarter-mile track inside the stadium in downtown Los Angeles.

NBA roundup: Heat tie team 3-point mark (22) in victory

Tyler Herro returned from a three-game injury absence and tied for game-high honors with 26 points, leading the Miami Heat to a 125-96 win over the visiting Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night. The Heat tied a franchise record with 22 3-pointers, shooting 44.9 percent from long distance and 49.5 percent overall.

Reports: Le’Veon Bell signing with Bucs; Leonard Fournette to IR

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are expected to sign veteran free agent running back Le'Veon Bell pending a physical, NFL Network reported Tuesday. The move comes amid an ESPN report that starting RB Leonard Fournette was likely headed to injured reserve for the rest of the regular season following a hamstring injury suffered in Sunday's loss to New Orleans.

Olympics-Australia sport gets A$257 million funding boost ahead of Paris 2024

Australia started ramping up its preparations for hosting the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics on Wednesday with the announcement of an additional A$257 million ($184 million) in funding for athletes ahead of the 2024 Paris Summer Games. In an unprecedented move, the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has committed to funding for an entire four-year Olympic cycle, allowing sports to plan ahead rather than wait for annual allocations.

Athletics-Open dialogue better than boycott, says Coe

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said he is "philosophically opposed" to boycotts and prefers dialogue as a means to work through issues after the Diamond League announced the addition of a second event in China next year. The Diamond League said on Tuesday Shenzhen would host the 2022 season's second meet in China on Aug. 6, after the July 30 event in Shanghai.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)