Sports News Roundup: ATP cancels 2022 events in China due to COVID restrictions; COVID puts a stop to Froome's encouraging Tour de France and more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Athletics-U.S. world relay hopes take a hit as Kerley out with injury

The United States' relay hopes took a hit on Wednesday as 100 metres champion Fred Kerley will not run in the 4x100 metres relay due to injury. The Tokyo silver medallist led a U.S. sweep of the 100 metres podium on Saturday but finished sixth in the 200 metres semi-final on Tuesday after grimacing with pain down the final straight.

Athletics-China's Feng Bin stuns women's discus for gold

China's Feng Bin put up the performance of her life to stun the women's discus final at the World Championships on Wednesday, as Olympic champion American Valerie Allman settled for bronze. Feng won off of her 69.12-metres opener, a personal best and her strongest performance of the season by a wide margin, as Croatia's twice Olympic champion Sandra Perkovic secured the silver in a 68.45-metres second attempt.

Cycling-Awe-inspiring Vingegaard edges closer to Tour glory

Jonas Vingegaard put the hammer down on the Tour de France on Thursday, extending his lead massively with an awe-inspiring victory in the final mountain stage as defending champion Tadej Pogacar's all-in strategy backfired. Vingegaard went solo some four kilometres from the finish at Hautacam after massive work from his Jumbo-Visma team mates, Pogacar slowly disappearing from his rear-view mirror and crossing the line in second, one minute and four seconds behind.

Tennis-ATP cancels 2022 events in China due to COVID restrictions

The Shanghai Masters and three other men's tournaments in China will not be held this year due to COVID-19 restrictions in the country, the ATP Tour said on Thursday. China hosted the Winter Olympics under strict health protocols in February but almost every other international sporting event in the country this year has been cancelled or postponed.

Tennis-Venus Williams set for singles comeback in Washington

Former world number one Venus Williams will make her singles comeback after nearly a year at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. that begins next week, organisers said on Thursday. The seven-time Grand Slam champion accepted a wildcard for the July 30-Aug. 7 WTA 250 event a day after announcing she will also compete at next month's WTA 1000 event in Toronto, where she will be joined by her sister Serena.

Cycling-COVID puts a stop to Froome's encouraging Tour de France

Four-time champion Chris Froome's encouraging Tour de France came to a frustrating halt on Thursday when the Briton pulled out of the race after contracting COVID-19. The Israel Premier Tech rider took third place on stage 12 atop L'Alpe d'Huez, which was his best performance since a career-threatening crash three years ago.

Soccer-Stanway stunner sends England past Spain into Euro semis

England's Georgia Stanway scored with a wonderful extra-time strike to earn them a 2-1 win over Spain on Wednesday in an excellent Euro 2022 quarter-final that sent the Lionesses into the last four. Hosts England were facing an exit from the tournament with six minutes of normal time remaining, but went on to earn a semi-final clash with Belgium or Sweden to the delight of the home crowd.

Motor racing-Vettel says 'clear intention' to continue with Aston Martin

Four times Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel said on Thursday he was talking to Aston Martin about staying with them next season and laughed off speculation he might move to McLaren. The 35-year-old German, who won his titles with Red Bull from 2010-13, is out of contract at the end of 2022 with his future -- and whether he will even stay in the sport -- much discussed.

Cycling-Pogacar takes Tour stage 17 as Vingegaard stays in control

Tadej Pogacar claimed victory in the 17th stage of the Tour de France but it was Jonas Vingegaard who came a step closer to the title as he finished on the defending champion's wheel to retain the overall leader's yellow jersey on Wednesday.

Pogacar's late acceleration at the top of the final climb, a 8-km effort at 7.8%, earned him his third win in this year's Tour and gave him a 10-second time bonus.

Athletics-Jeruto claims steeplechase gold, Feng Bin wins women's discus

Norah Jeruto set a World Championships record en route to winning the women's 3,000 metres steeplechase gold while China's Feng Bin outdid Olympic champion Valerie Allman in the discus final in Eugene, Oregon on Wednesday. Jeruto, who switched allegiance from Kenya to Kazakhstan earlier this year, clocked eight minutes, 53.02 seconds, the third-fastest time ever and more than five seconds better than previous winner Beatrice Chepkoech's mark in Doha in 2019.