Sports News Roundup: Verstappen 'on another planet' with victory in China; Pogacar solos to Liege triumph and more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Surfing-Dolphins accompany Bryan to win at Margaret River Pro, Robinson repeats

Hawaiian surfer Gabriela Bryan shared a wave with a pod of dolphins as she won her first world championship tour event over Californian rookie Sawyer Lindblad in pumping surf at the Western Australia Margaret River Pro on Sunday. Margaret River local Jack Robinson took out a spectacular men's final against Hawaii's two-time world champion John John Florence in a replay of their 2022 final of the same event.

Athletics-Jepchirchir crushes women's-only world record in winning London Marathon

Reigning Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir crushed the women's-only world record in winning the 44th London Marathon on Sunday, while Kenyan compatriot Alexander Mutiso Munyao pulled away from Ethiopian distance great Kenenisa Bekele to win the men's race. The 30-year-old Jepchirchir crossed the finish line in front of Buckingham Palace in two hours 16 minutes 16 seconds to break Mary Keitany's mark of 2:17:01 set in a women-only race at the 2017 London event.

Olympics-WADA says 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive before Tokyo Games but it accepted contamination finding

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed reports on Saturday that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned drug before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but it accepted the country's findings that this was due to substance contamination.

Multiple media reports said the swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ), which is found in heart medication, months before the COVID-delayed Games began in the Japanese capital in July 2021.

Motor racing-Verstappen 'on another planet' with victory in China

Triple world champion Max Verstappen won Formula One's first Chinese Grand Prix in five years on Sunday with McLaren's Lando Norris finishing a surprise second to deny dominant Red Bull the one-two. The crushing victory from pole position at a Shanghai circuit that last hosted a grand prix in 2019 was Verstappen's fourth in five races in 2024 and came after he also won the season's first Saturday sprint.

Cycling-Pogacar solos to Liege triumph

Tadej Pogacar destroyed the field with a stunning solo attack to win Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday, the Slovenian's sixth Monument victory of his career. Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) attacked with 34km remaining of the 254km trek as the field tackled the iconic Cote de la Redoute and he then surged clear.

Motor racing - Red Bull's Verstappen could consider joining rivals Mercedes, says Wolff

Red Bull's triple world champion Max Verstappen has more depths to him and so could consider a move to rivals Mercedes, even though he is currently in the quickest Formula One car, Toto Wolff, the German team's boss, said on Sunday. Speculation that the Dutch 26-year-old might leave the current champions arose earlier this year after allegations against team principal Christian Horner of misconduct towards a female employee, which he was later cleared of although they stoked rumours of divisions within the team.

Tennis-Rybakina strolls to Stuttgart title in straight-sets win over Kostyuk

Elena Rybakina had little trouble in seeing off Marta Kostyuk 6-2 6-2 to win the Stuttgart Open on Sunday, her third title this year. Rybakina adds the Stuttgart title to her wins in the Brisbane International and the Abu Dhabi Open this year. For Kostyuk, this was her second final defeat of 2024 after she lost the decider of the San Diego Open in March.

Boxing-Garcia stuns Haney with majority decision win

Ryan Garcia floored Devin Haney three times on the way to a majority decision victory in their 12-round super lightweight fight on Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. WBC super-lightweight world champion Haney suffered the first loss of his career as he was knocked down in the seventh, 10th and 11th rounds.

Tennis-Ruud defeats Tsitsipas to win Barcelona Open

Casper Ruud gained sweet revenge over Stefanos Tsitsipas as he beat the Greek fifth seed 7-5 6-3 to win the Barcelona Open on Sunday. Just seven days after Tsitsipas thumped Ruud in straight sets to win the Monte Carlo Masters, it was the Norwegian third seed who came out on top in the latest battle between the two 25-year-olds as he secured a 10th ATP title on clay.

USMNT defender Sergino Dest sustains 'serious' knee injury

Sergino Dest's availability for the U.S. Men's National Team's match at Copa America is in question after the defender injured his knee Saturday during practice with his PSV Eindhoven squad. The Netherlands-born Dest, a U.S. citizen, sustained a "serious knee injury," according to a statement Sunday from the club, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch soccer.

(With inputs from agencies.)