SWIMMING

Pat Gallant-Charette of Westbrook swam across the Santa Barbara Channel Saturday to become the oldest individual to complete the California Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming.

Pat Gallant-Charette

The 70-year-old made it across the 19.6-kilometer stretch between Anacapa Island and the California mainland in 9 hours, 22 minutes. She said she occasionally was visited by dolphins, one of which came within a foot of her.

The other two legs of the California Triple Crown are Lake Tahoe, which she conquered in 2018 at age 67, and the Catalina Channel, which she crossed in 2011 at 60.

HOCKEY

NHL: Philadelphia Flyers center Kevin Hayes will miss 4 to 6 weeks after he had abdominal surgery Tuesday.

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Flyers Coach Alain Vigneault said Hayes was skating with his teammates Monday at the team complex in Voorhees, New Jersey, when he “felt something in his groin.” Hayes had surgery and could miss roughly the first 10 games of the season.

The Flyers are set to open training camp this week, the preseason starts next week and Philadelphia plays the season opener Oct. 15 at home against Vancouver.

Hayes scored 12 goals and had 31 points in 55 games last season in his second year with the Flyers.

• The Columbus Blue Jackets signed goaltender Elvis Merzlikins to a five-year, $27 million contract extension, the team announced.

Merzlikins will be in the final year of a two-year contract this season with a cap hit of $4 million. The new contract locks him up through the 2026-27 season with an annual salary of about $6.7 million.

The long-term deal throws into question the future of Joonas Korpisalo, who has shared time in the net with Merzlikins the last two seasons. Promising netminder Matiss Kivlenieks, considered to be a potential No. 2 for the Blue Jackets this season, was killed in a fireworks accident on July 4.

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• The Minnesota Wild signed left wing Kirill Kaprizov to a five-year, $45 million contract, ending a stalemate between the team and the Calder Trophy winner just two days before the beginning of training camp.

The 24-year-old Kaprizov topped the Wild and all NHL rookies with 27 goals in 55 games last season. He was one of four first-year players to lead a team in scoring during the regular season and qualify for the playoffs, since the league tracked data from 1992. Auston Matthews, Filip Forsberg and Trent Hunter were the others.

SOCCER

U.S. WOMEN: Rose Lavelle thrilled her hometown fans with a goal and three assists in the first 15 minutes, Alex Morgan scored three goals and the United States women routed Paraguay 8-0 in an exhibition at Cincinnati.

The U.S. topped Paraguay by a combined score of 17-0 in the two-game series in Ohio, following Thursday’s 9-0 win in Cleveland.

Lavelle, a Cincinnati native, brought the crowd of 22,515 at TQL Stadium to its feet when she headed in a cross from Casey Krueger in the fourth minute.

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Lavelle followed with a pair of assists, first to Sophia Smith in the sixth minute. Two minutes later, Lavelle’s cross set up Morgan’s first goal.

Catarina Macario scored in the 15th minute, assisted by Lavelle, to make it 5-0.

FINE: Soccer’s international governing body FIFA has imposed a ban and a fine of $216,650 on the Hungarian Football Federation over the “racist behavior of numerous supporters” during a World Cup qualifying match against England on Sept. 2.

FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee has taken into account the “seriousness” of the incidents which included “racist words and actions, throwing of objects, lighting of fireworks, blocked stairways,” according to a statement Tuesday.

Hungary will play its next two home matches in FIFA competitions without spectators, the second match being suspended for a probationary period of two years. Monkey chants were aimed at England forward Raheem Sterling and unused substitute Jude Bellingham, who are Black, at Puskas Arena on Sept. 2.

FRENCH LEAGUE: Lionel Messi will miss Paris Saint-Germain’s next French league game at last-placed Metz after a knock to his left knee. A scan confirmed “the signs of bone contusion,” PSG said in a statement. Another assessment of Messi will be made in 48 hours.

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Messi was taken off in the 75th minute of his home debut on Sunday, when PSG beat Lyon 2-1 in the league. PSG Coach Mauricio Pochettino said he took the decision to replace Messi after noticing the six-time Ballon d’Or winner repeatedly touch his knee. Messi, who hit the crossbar with a curling free kick, looked angry at being taken off.

TENNIS

OSTRAVA OPEN: Unseeded Jil Teichmann upset sixth-seeded Angelique Kerber 6-2, 6-3 to advance to the second round at Ostrava, Czech Republic.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Kerber struggled with her serve, dropping it three times in each set in the first meeting between the two players on the circuit.

SKI JUMPING

RETIREMENT: Ski jumping record-holder Gregor Schlierenzauer retired only a few months before trying to compete at his fourth Olympics.

The 31-year-old Austrian, a two-time winner of both the overall World Cup title and the prestigious Four Hills tournament, said he made his decision after having time to reflect during his latest injury.

Schlierenzauer won a record 53 individual events on the World Cup circuit but none in nearly seven years. His career was slowed by a series of knee injuries.

He won Olympic bronze medals in both individual events at the 2010 Vancouver Games and gold in the team event. A team silver followed at the 2014 Sochi Games.


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