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Playing against a light wind in the first half, the South Africans protected the ball very well and almost set up camp in the Irish half, with their strong set piece play forcing the visitors to work very hard on defence. A couple of unforced errors cost the hosts though, but they still managed to score three tries before the break.

Ireland, who beat the SA U18 ‘A’ side by 36-33 last Friday, restored some parity in the second half, but the South Africans showed too much composure and added four more tries to their tally for a second convincing win after they beat France by 43-21 in the opening round of the series.

Under pressure for most of the opening exchanges, Ireland conceded a string of penalties and the SA U18s finally breached the visitors’ defence in the 15th minute when Jayden Joubert (lock) drove over.

Nine minutes later, SA hooker Clinton Agu burst away from a strong maul and beat one defender for the second try, while Jayden Brits (scrumhalf) added his name to the score sheet with a try from a quick tap penalty shortly before the break. After missing the first two, Ruben Groenewald added the conversion to give the hosts a 17-0 lead at the break.

That changed to 24-0 straight after the restart when the South Africans pounced on an Irish mistake to send Lamla Mgedezi (wing) over in the left hand corner, with Groenewald adding the extras.

A penalty try for a collapsed scrum against Ireland followed a few minutes later, and at 31-0, the SA U18s were firmly in control, although the visitors started to play with more confidence.

They finally scored their first try after 47 minutes when Ireland captain and prop Harry Goslin burst over, but apart from that, the South Africans’ defence was generally strong and when Jadrian Afrikaner (replacement wing) exploited space on the left for their sixth try, the momentum swung back in the hosts’ favour.

Ethan Adams had the final say a few minutes before the final whistle when the strong midfielder bulldozed his way over the tryline from short range, with Liyema Nela converting to make it 45-5.

Scorers:

SA U18 45 (17) – Tries: Jayden Joubert, Clinton Agu, Jayden Brits, Lamla Mgedezi, Jadrian Afrikaner, Ethan Adams, Penalty try. Conversions: Ruben Groenewald (2), Liyema Nela (2).

Ireland 5 (0) – Try: Harry Goslin.

Crouin claims second World Games crown

In the men’s final, Victor Crouin defeated a spirited Balazs Farkas to retain the World Games title he first won in Birmingham three years ago.

The 26-year-old Frenchman beat the Hungarian 11-9, 11-9, 11-5 in an attritional encounter, with Crouin’s continued efforts to generate winners eventually wearing down the No.6 seed.

“It means the world I came here to defend the title, and I just did it, so I’m very proud of myself to win this title a second time,” Crouin told Olympics.com after.

“I think this was the best preparation for the Olympics, coming in three years, to experience a multi-sports event like this one was very important for me to try and get some feedback on how to handle the kind of pressure that comes with multi-sports events, logistics, being part of a bigger French team.”

He continued: “It wasn’t my best squash this week, but I found ways to win, which is very important and I think I want to keep that positive momentum going into the start of the season.”

Farkas had presented something of a banana-skin for Crouin, having beaten No.2 seed Dimitri Steinmann in the semi-finals and not dropped a single game across the tournament.

Crouin, meanwhile, had arrived at the title-decider off the back of an 83-minute-long epic against Colombia’s Miguel Rodríguez not 24 hours earlier.

But no signs of fatigue on the Frenchman were to be found, with Crouin noticeably getting better as the games unfolded.

Whereas the first two games had been dominated by long and intense rallies, the decider was much more decisive with the French ace punching ahead with a string of winners to take an 8-2 lead. And while Farkas tried, he could do little to stem the rising tide of his opponent.

Despite the loss, the Hungarian was pleased with the outcome.

“For me, I mean, this tournament was really important,” Farkas told Olympics.com after.

“I was training really hard, and the whole summer I did a really good preparation. Before the Games, I was a little bit nervous because I really wanted to reach a really good result. I didn’t know if it would be a medal or not. I just tried to focus on playing every game like it would be the last, so I was really happy to reach the quarters, then after, the semi-finals, and I tried everything in the final as well, so I’m really happy right now.

He continued: “I think he [Victor] played really well. He put me under so much pressure. We are really good friends out of the court, so we always try to play our best game.”

In the bronze medal matches, Spain’s Marta Dominguez saw off Ho Tze Lok of Hong Kong, China, 12-10, 11-5, 11-2, while Colombian veteran Rodríguez defeated Steinmann 5-11, 11-8,11-5, 11-6.

The ITA reports that a sample collected from Cameron Schiller, a softball athlete from the United States, during an in-competition testing mission at the WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup on 13 July 2025 has returned an AAF¹ for 19-norandrosterone.

19-norandrosterone is prohibited under the WADA Prohibited List as S1.1 Anabolic Androgenic Steroids. 19-norandrosterone is prohibited at all times (in- and out-of-competition) and is a non-specified substance. 19-norandrosterone may boost athletic ability by increasing muscle strength and mass and accelerating recovery.

The athlete has been informed of the case and has the right to request the analysis of the B-sample.

If the B-sample analysis is requested and confirms the result of the A-sample, the case will be considered as a confirmed anti-doping rule violation. If the B-sample analysis is not requested, the case will also go ahead as a confirmed anti-doping rule violation. The athlete will have the opportunity to present his explanations for the result.

Further, in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code and article 7.4.1 of the WBSC anti-doping rules, a mandatory provisional suspension has been imposed on the athlete. The athlete has the right to challenge the provisional suspension and ask for its lifting.

Pursuant to the WBSC’s delegation of its anti-doping program to the ITA, the prosecution of the case is being handled entirely by the ITA. Given that the case is underway, there will be no further comments made.

MELBOURNE, Aug 12 — Beating a 12-year-old rival was once child’s play for an elite swimmer but it has become an unlikely badge of honour when China’s Yu Zidi is in the race.

Only the very best in women’s swimming were able to beat Yu at the world championships where the prodigy became the youngest medallist in the global meet’s 52-year history.

Yet even as the swimming world marvelled at Yu’s talent, her age raised questions about the ethics of someone so young competing at the highest level.

In a sport where the mental and physical toll can prove overwhelming for adults, Yu’s success at the world championships was viewed dimly by some child protection advocates.

“Twelve-years-old is incredibly young in swimming,” author Linda Flanagan, a vocal opponent of children competing in elite sport, told Reuters.

“A 12-year-old does not train like an 18 or 20-year-old because their bodies aren’t equipped to handle the work involved.

“And also emotionally, it’s not in their best interest.

“It flies in the face of what psychologists say about what’s healthy for kids, which is not to put all your eggs in one basket, to spread your interests so you don’t become this narrow person.”

Adolescents are hardly rare in swimming, particularly in women’s competition where athletes tend to reach peak performance earlier than men.

Dane Inge Sorensen was 12 when she won the 200 metres breaststroke bronze at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. She remains the youngest Games medallist in individual events.

Sharron Davies swam for Britain at 11 and made her Olympic debut at the 1976 Montreal Games at 13.

Far from being concerned about Yu’s wellbeing, Davies said the Chinese wunderkind, who won a relay bronze and came fourth in three individual events on her world championships debut, would have found it a thrill.

“It is a total misconception that that young girl would have been extremely nervous. It would have been the opposite,” Davies told Reuters in an interview.

“(When) I made that Olympic Games, I was just on cloud nine.

“There was nothing for me to lose and everything to gain. And it would have been the same for her: she had nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

More intense

There was little sign of Yu being overawed as she recorded personal bests in the 200m and 400m individual medley (IM), and 200 butterfly.

Her time of 4:33.76 in the 400 IM final would have taken the Paris Olympic bronze medal away from 23-year-old American Emma Weyant.

Yu told Chinese media the Singapore meet was more intense than she had imagined but the atmosphere was great.

“This relay bronze motivates me to keep working hard,” Yu told Xinhua.

“Right after the race, I talked to my family. I want to bring back the medal…. to share the joy with them.”

Yu’s may be the last world swimming medal won by a 12-year-old pending a World Aquatics review.

Although the global swimming body has a minimum age of 14 for Olympics and world championships, its by-laws allow younger swimmers with qualifying times to compete.

Yu qualified at the national championships in May.

World Aquatics Executive Director Brent Nowicki said the governing body would have to take a look at the age rule.

“I didn’t think I’d have this conversation, but now I think we have to go back and say, ‘Is this appropriate?’” Nowicki told reporters in Singapore.

“Do we need to do other things? Put other guard-rails up? Do we allow it under certain conditions? I don’t know the answer.”

An International Olympic Committee consensus statement on elite youth athletes published last year noted adolescent athletes are more susceptible to “musculoskeletal injuries” while the intense physical and mental demands of sport can bring “psychosocial strain” and mental health challenges.

China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported that Yu nearly quit swimming last year when she was 11 because she felt pressure before the national championships.

“I was just overwhelmed with emotion and didn’t want to train anymore,” Yu said in comments published by the broadcaster in May.

But “patient encouragement” from her coach and family helped her persevere.

The Chinese Swimming Association and China’s General Administration of Sport did not respond to requests from Reuters to interview Yu or her coaches, or for comment on the national swim team’s safeguarding protocols for child athletes.

Australia head coach Rohan Taylor said he would be cautious about selecting a 12-year-old for open competition at a major global meet—but would not rule it out.

“I would go through a process to make sure everything was in place to support that athlete and that we felt we weren’t putting any expectation or pressure,” he told Reuters.

“There’s a lot of hurdles before we put (athletes) in that situation.”

Three years out from the Los Angeles Olympics, rivals and pundits see a big future for Yu.

But predictions of super-stardom may not bear out, according to Michael Bergeron, co-author of the IOC’s consensus statement on youth athletes and a sport science expert with the Women’s Tennis Association.

Citing IOC data, Bergeron said just over 30% of under-18 athletes who competed at Olympics returned as adults.

“Maybe she is going to be a superstar down the road but the ones that usually excel at a young age are rarely the ones to excel as an older adolescent, never mind as an adult,” he said. — Reuters