LOS ANGELES -- With his game uniform bunched up in a plastic bag in one hand and a satisfied smile across his face, Orlando Magic guard Markelle Fultz walked out of Staples Center victorious on Wednesday.

The Magic edged the Los Angeles Lakers 119-118, snapping L.A.'s nine-game winning streak and Fultz -- now a third-year vet but still only 21 years old -- looked every bit the special talent that made him the No. 1 pick in 2017.

Fultz, whom the Philadelphia 76ers gave up on last season after a perplexing nerve condition in his neck and shoulder destroyed his jump shot and dissolved his confidence, put up 21 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to log his second career triple-double.

"What I've been through, it just gives me more fire to keep going," Fultz told ESPN after the game. "I put in a lot of hard work to be where I'm at. I've been through a lot, but I never gave up.

"So, it just shows for people out there, whoever is doubting you, whoever is doing something [to you], put something on your mind and if you have something on your mind, go do it. Don't ever let somebody tell you that you can't and I'm never going to stop. I'm going to keep working until I can't play no more."

After the Lakers stormed back from a 21-point deficit to take a four-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, Fultz went to work. He had six points on 3-for-4 shooting and four assists in the final frame -- including four points in the final minute, scoring two difficult layups in traffic -- to close things out.

Fultz was Orlando's lone point guard to play with D.J. Augustin (left knee) and Michael Carter-Williams (shoulder) sidelined, and he handled the increased role as if it were his all along.

"It felt like another game. My mindset, I knew we had guys down and I knew that I had to step up," Fultz said. "I think I just showed everybody my talents and what I can do, and again it feels good because it's against a great team. But for me it's another game and I'm extremely happy, but I'm getting ready for the next one."

It was such an impressive performance from a player who was shipped to Orlando for the meager haul of the Oklahoma City Thunder's 2020 first-round pick, a 2019 second-round pick and swingman Jonathon Simmons (who is currently out of the league), that even the team he beat was left singing his praises.

"Confidence and opportunity," said LeBron James when asked to explain how Fultz has turned it around. "They're confident in him, he's confident in himself. He's given an opportunity to go out and play the game how he grew up playing. Everything else takes care of itself. I've been supportive of him ever since he was in high school, when he was a rookie in Philly. Been supportive of his situation and still [am] to this day. I'm happy as hell for him."

Lakers guard Quinn Cook, who also grew up in Prince George's County in Maryland and attended DeMatha Catholic High School a few years before Fultz, greeted the Magic guard with a hug and a few words of encouragement on the court after the game.

"That's my little brother," Cook said. "We're from the same place, same high school. I've known him basically his whole life. So just to see him persevere and doing what he's doing now, it just speaks on what kind of kid he is. Obviously nothing was handed to him his whole life, and especially since he's been in the league. It's been tough on him, but he stayed the course, he stayed resilient and he put on a show tonight and I'm so, so, so happy and proud of him."

Fultz's late flurry dampened what was Cook's best game as a Laker, as he scored 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting, filling in for injured Rajon Rondo off the bench. Like Fultz, Cook didn't have the smoothest start to his NBA career, spending time with the Cleveland Cavaliers' G League team and scratching and clawing for playing time in Dallas and New Orleans before latching on as a rotation player in Golden State.

"We stand up for each other," Fultz said of Cook. "I'm rooting for him. He's been doing great. He's earned everything he's got and I think he was another underdog, coming in and he's just proving to everybody what PG County has, what that area is made of."

Fultz, who helped mar the Lakers' unblemished mark against sub-.500 teams (Wednesday's loss to the now 20-21 Magic makes L.A. 22-1 against said opponents), not only did it on L.A.'s court, he did it in James' shoes. He wore a bright red version of James' signature Nike sneakers as he ran roughshod on the Lakers' defense in crunch time.

"I love his shoe," Fultz said. "I'm a powerful guard. People got to see it tonight a little bit. ... A lot of shoes I almost rip out of and I can only wear once and they're done. LeBrons have been a good shoes for me."

His sneakers got packed up by the Magic equipment managers at the end of the night, tucking them away for when Orlando plays the tail end of a back-to-back Thursday against the LA Clippers, no doubt.

But Fultz's No. 20 jersey -- soaked with sweat from his night's work, if not the blood and tears from all the nights that preceded it -- was coming with him.

"My jersey from the triple-double," Fultz told ESPN. "I need that, for sure. It's a milestone, something great and I'm going to hang it up. I'm pretty hard on myself, but every once in a while I got to enjoy the moments when I'm doing good and keep going."

Commonwealth 100m champion to miss Tokyo Olympics after being suspended for ‘whereabouts failures’

Sprinter Michelle-Lee Ahye, who won Commonwealth 100m gold for Trinidad and Tobago in 2018, is set to miss the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after receiving a two-year ban for ‘whereabouts failures’.

The 27-year-old, who claimed 4x100m bronze at the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing, has also had her results from April 19 to August 30 of last year disqualified, which means a loss of her Pan American Games 100m silver.

The full decision document from the disciplinary tribunal, which can be found here, states that Ahye was reported for having missed three drugs tests during a 12-month period – on June 23, 2018, February 23, 2019, and April 19, 2019.

The @WorldAthletics Disciplinary Tribunal has banned Trinidadian sprinter Michelle Lee Ahye for two-years for Whereabouts Failures with effect from 19 April 2019.
Read the full decision here ⬇ https://t.co/cBkQOqSHT4#AIUNews #CleanSport
1/3 pic.twitter.com/NjFBGyPcoG

— Athletics Integrity Unit (@aiu_athletics) January 14, 2020

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules require athletes to submit their whereabouts for one hour every day, plus overnight accommodation and training information, in case they are needed for out-of-competition testing.

An athlete is said to have violated anti-doping rules if they have any combination of three missed tests or filing failures within a 12-month period, starting on the day of the first relevant missed test or filing failure.

The decision document states that Ahye, who holds national records in the 100m and 200m with PBs of 10.82 and 22.25, does not contest the first two missed tests, with the tribunal adding: “…she has sought to explain and, in effect, to mitigate her fault in respect of those incidents by reference to the circumstances in which they occurred”.

However, according to the decision document, Ahye said she did not hear the doping control officer’s attempt to contact her on the third occasion, but the disciplinary tribunal rejected the sprinter’s explanations as to why.

“We have no view, one way or the other, as to whether she was or was not present in the property,” the decision document reads in part. “For the purposes of this decision, we are quite prepared to accept that she was. However it is abundantly clear to the Tribunal for the reasons we have explained that she made no adequate effort to place herself in a position in which she would have been able to hear the DCO (doping control officer) knocking on her door, ringing her door bell or calling her phone. In short, it demonstrates that she failed to take her obligations in relation to whereabouts sufficiently seriously.”

Ahye has the right to appeal the disciplinary tribunal’s decision.

Athletes will race for Olympic places in April, with four of the UK’s all-time top 10 female marathoners among the entries

British athletes are set for an epic clash at the Virgin Money London Marathon on April 26, with places for the Olympic Games up for grabs and a number of qualifying times having already been achieved.

The women’s race is set to be particularly competitive as four of the UK’s all-time top 10 female marathoners are among the entries and looking for selection to the GB team for Tokyo 2020.

Jess Piasecki, Charlotte Purdue, Steph Twell and Steph Davis all ran inside the qualifying time of 2:29:30 in 2019, with Piasecki having clocked 2:25:29 to win in Florence to go No.3 on the UK all-time rankings, Purdue running 2:25:38 in London to go to No.4 and win last year’s British title, Twell recording 2:26:40 in Frankfurt to go to No.6 and Davis running 2:27:42 in Valencia to go to No.9.

READ MORE: Jess Piasecki storms to 2:25:29 Florence Marathon win

The first two British athletes to finish will be automatically picked for the Olympics, as long as they also have the qualifying time, with the third place at the discretion of selectors.

Adding to the domestic battle is their fellow sub-2:30 runner Lily Partridge, Tish Jones, Tracy Barlow, Jenny Spink, Hayely Carruthers, Eleanor Davies and marathon debutante Alice Wright.

“My aim is to defend my British title and hopefully make the Olympic team for my first Olympic Games,” said Purdue. “It’s definitely not going to be easy with the strength in British women’s marathon running at the moment. But I think that is a good thing and I’m happy for it to be a hard race and a hard battle.”

Davis ran from the mass start in London last year and clocked 2:32:38 before improving again in Valencia. On the Olympics now being a realistic target, she said: “It has still not really sunk in because it has all come so quickly.

“I haven’t had an international vest yet, so potentially the first one I get could be going to the Olympics, which is quite crazy!”

Callum Hawkins has already been pre-selected for the Olympic marathon, leaving just two places available on the GB men’s team and runners will be targeting the 2:11:30 qualifying mark in London.

Dewi Griffiths has struggled with injury since running 2:09:49 in 2017 but he returns to action in the UK capital and will line up alongside the likes of Chris Thompson, Derek Hawkins, Charlie Hulson and Josh Griffiths.

Andy Vernon is set to give the marathon another crack after pulling out midway through his debut 26-miler in New York City last November, while Ben Connor makes his marathon debut.

This is the fourth of London Marathon’s ‘elite week’ announcements, with a final announcement due on Friday.

British female elite entries

Jess PIASECKI GBR 2:25:28
Charlotte PURDUE GBR 2:25:38
Stephanie TWELL GBR 2:26:40
Stephanie DAVIS GBR 2:27:40
Lily PARTRIDGE GBR 2:29:24
Tracy BARLOW GBR 2:30:42
Tish JONES GBR 2:31:00
Jenny SPINK GBR 2:31:14
Hayley CARRUTHERS GBR 2:32:42
Eleanor DAVIS GBR 2:33:24
Helen DAVIES GBR 2:34:06
Rebecca MURRAY GBR 2:39:37
Alice WRIGHT GBR DEBUT

British male elite entries

Dewi GRIFFITHS GBR 2:09:49
Chris THOMPSON GBR 2:11:19
Derek HAWKINS GBR 2:12:49
Charlie HULSON GBR 2:14:22
Joshua GRIFFITHS GBR 2:14:25
Nick EARL GBR 2:14:38
Robbie SIMPSON GBR 2:14:56
Nicholas TORRY GBR 2:15:04
Peter LE GRICE GBR 2:16:22
Adam HICKEY GBR 2:16:56
Aaron SCOTT GBR 2:16:57
Paul NAVESEY GBR 2:17:16
Ollie LOCKLEY GBR 2:25:28
Andy VERNON GBR NM
Ben CONNOR GBR DEBUT
Josh LUNN GBR DEBUT

Britain's Liam Broady has described an email sent to players defending the decision to allow play at the Australian Open despite the poor air quality as a "slap in the face".

He says it "boils his blood" that he was made to play his first-round qualifying match on Tuesday.

The 26-year-old was "gasping for air" as he lost to Belarusian Ilya Ivashka.

Play had earlier been suspended for an hour as Melbourne was blanketed in smoke from the bushfires.

The email was sent to male players by the ATP Tour and Tennis Australia, and has been seen by BBC Sport.

It concludes the "conditions are challenging, but the medical experts say they are acceptable for play".

In a post on social media earlier on Thursday, Broady outlined his concerns.

"The more I think about the conditions we played in a few days ago, the more it boils my blood. We can't let this slide.

"The email we received yesterday from the ATP and AO was a slap in the face. Conditions were 'playable'. Were they 'healthy'?

"Citizens of Melbourne were warned to keep their animals indoors the day I played qualifying, and yet we were expected to go outside for high-intensity physical competition?

"What do we have to do to create a players' union? Where is the protection for players, both male and female? On tour we let so many things go that aren't right but at some point we have to make a stand. ALL players need protection not just a select few."

Slovenia's Dalila Jakupovic was forced to retire from her qualifying match after a coughing fit and says other players she spoke to reported breathing difficulties and headaches.

The email to ATP members said "player welfare is utmost in our considerations", and details the hitherto undisclosed protocols that Tennis Australia has put into place.

A 'PM2.5' air quality reading is being taken every four minutes at Melbourne Park. Whenever the reading exceeds 200, Tennis Australia says play is suspended.

Readings elsewhere in the city on Tuesday suggested the air quality index was over 200, but the email says "no play has taken place at any time above the 200 threshold on the PM2.5 scale".

It also claims some sporting organisations have a threshold of 300 before they take any decision to suspend play.

There were no problems with air quality as qualifying continued on Thursday. Wednesday's heavy rain has brought in cooler conditions, with Melbourne's air officially rated as "good".

'A lot are saying they can't wait to get out of Australia right now'

American player Noah Rubin, who lost in the first round of qualifying on Wednesday, said a lot of players felt "disrespected" by the email, which he described as being sent "too late".

Former Wimbledon junior champion Rubin, 23, says he had "blood and black stuff" coming out of his nose after his match, also complaining of irritated eyes and shortness of breath.

"A lot of players have been feeling it in the throat and eyes," Rubin, who was not the source of the leaked email, told BBC Sport. "It can't be healthy breathing it in.

"The talk between players is about disappointment. A lot are saying they can't wait to get out of Australia right now and we love playing in Australia.

"It's left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths - almost literally.

"We feel awful about what is happening with the fires - it is terrible and obviously there are way worse things - but we're talking about how are we having a tournament going on, and how do we not know how to go about it? Why can't we play inside; why are there not emergency things taking place?"

Rubin added he had approached Tennis Australia and the ATP for clarity, accusing them of being defensive when he asked for more communication to be given to the players about why decisions had been made.

Jacques Vermeulen was not a household name when he was signed by Exeter last summer.

But it turns out that the Premiership leaders were not exactly on the South African's radar either before he decided to move across the world and join the Chiefs.

Since making his Premiership debut in October the 24-year-old has become a first-choice in the back row.

The former Sharks flanker has scored big tries in his last two outings for the Chiefs - what proved to be the winning score in the 14-7 victory over champions Saracens in December and the bonus-point try in the 31-31 draw with Glasgow that sealed Exeter's progression to the last eight of the Champions Cup.

"My first chat was with [director of rugby] Rob Baxter and I didn't know anything about the UK because I'd never been," Vermeulen told BBC Sport.

"I literally went on Google to just check a few places."

After that rather inauspicious start, Vermeulen's career has blossomed at Sandy Park, where he signed a three-year deal before the start of the season having had three years on the Sharks' squad for both Super Rugby and the Currie Cup.

"I just think the model we use at Exeter Chiefs fits my type of play and made it easy for me to fit in here," he said.

"It's lovely to be here and at loose forward in the team there are a lot of guys competing for the jersey so that's good to know. It doesn't make life easier, but it makes it easier to perform on the weekend because you know all the guys are chasing the positions."

'I had an expectation he'd be good'

While Vermeulen's rise has surprised many supporters, it has not astonished the man who hired him.

"I had an expectation he'd be good in the Premiership and then in the European competition," Baxter told BBC Sport. "Perhaps how quickly he's settled in is a different question.

"And the best thing is there's still a fair bit more there. He's still developing his learning of some of our systems and especially some of the calling around the line-out. He's thriving on it and he's going to get better and better."

Vermeulen and compatriot Jannes Kirsten, who also joined the club in 2019, share a house together in Exeter and are part of a burgeoning South African contingent in the Premiership.

He will face his friends and former Sharks teammates, brothers Robert, Jean-Luc and Dan du Preez when their Sale side visit Devon next week - having already played against the Premiership's Sharks twice in back-to-back Champions Cup fixtures last month.

That Sale squad also boasts the Springboks' World Cup-winning scrum-half Faf de Klerk and fellow countrymen Lood de Jager and Akker van der Merwe.

So could Vermeulen, who has represented South Africa Under-20s but still awaits a first senior cap, be the next Springbok to be plying his trade in the Premiership?

"I'll take that call-up any day if it comes," he said. "For any guy that gets a call-up for the Springboks it's a huge privilege.

"But I still need to work hard on my game and I know in the Premiership there's a lot of world-class players, so it's good to play against the best."

That is an opinion backed up by his boss at Sandy Park.

"South Africa have just won the World Cup, their skipper [Siya Kolisi] plays in the back row, the World Player of the Year [Pieter-Steph du Toit] is another of their back-rowers, so there's two slots taken up with pretty good players," says Baxter.

"It isn't necessarily that Jacques playing well here automatically puts him on that radar because if there's one area in South African rugby that is incredibly strong it's the back five of the scrum."

TULSA, Okla. – Rico Abreu continued his Wednesday night dominance at the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals with his fifth win in the last six years during Hard Rock Casino Qualifying Night.

Abreu started from the outside pole in the 30-lap main event and stalked early leader Brad Sweet for the first third of the race, before engaging in a slider war with the reigning World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion for three straight laps prior to halfway.

Finally, coming to the crossed flags, Abreu slid past Sweet working through traffic to assume a lead he would never relinquish again.

Despite three yellows in the final 10 laps – including a game-changing flip by Sweet with four to go – Abreu stayed true out front and pulled away to a 1.1 second victory at the checkered flag.

Considering he didn’t make the preliminary night A-main in 2017, Abreu has won every Wednesday feature he’s started in dating back to 2015.

“It’s pretty impressive to win five,” Abreu said. “I’ve always come here really prepared, and it all starts with your heat race and getting through your qualifier, and getting good track position for the feature.

“This is for my guys, Keith Kunz and Pete Willoughby,” Abreu said. “This is my eighth Chili Bowl with them, and this goes back to my dad pushing me to follow my dreams. I can’t thank him enough for that. We always come here to win and this is a great night for the whole team.”

While Abreu was controlling the final 16 laps out front, the battle for the second and final lock-in spot was nothing short of torrid for the entire second half of the feature.

With the battle nearly three-wide at times during the closing stages, Colby Copeland took advantage of Sweet’s wide arc on a lap-17 restart to wrest the runner-up spot away in his Matt Wood Racing No. 27w.

However, disaster nearly bit him moments before that move, when Copeland drove over a spinning Ronnie Gardner’s left-rear tire in turn two and somehow kept going despite nearly stalling the car.

From there, Copeland went to work, dispatched Sweet and then held off a bevy of challenges over the last 13 laps of the preliminary feature en route to locking in for his third career Saturday A-main start.

“You know, the pace slowed up, and Ronnie Gardner tried to slide a lap car … and I just monster trucked him to try to not stall it,” Copeland said. “After that we had a leak in the radiator or something, because the (water) temps went up, so we’re lucky to be here. I was overheating and the engine was stumbling on restarts; I wasn’t sure if it would hold on, but thankfully it did.”

Blake Hahn completed the podium, keeping his own car going after attempting to slide Sweet for third with four to go and making contact with Sweet’s No. 1r that sent Sweet flipping wildly in turn four.

The Grass Valley, Calif., native was uninjured, but his quest for a strong finish was over at that point.

Chase Johnson crossed fourth for the single-car Malloy Motorsports operation, while five-time Chili Bowl champion Sammy Swindell climbed from 13th to complete the top five.

Tyler Thomas, David Gravel, Tim McCreadie, Jake Swanson and Gio Scelzi filled out the top 10.

The most-nervous moment of the feature came with seven laps to run, when Jesse Colwell flipped in turn one and bounced off the top of Parker Price-Miller’s roll cage before coming to rest on his lid.

Colwell quickly walked away, while safety crews tended to a shaken Price-Miller. The Kokomo, Ind., native was checked and cleared, later confirming to SPEED SPORT that he was “OK but sore.”

To view complete results, advance to the next page.

How to Watch the Chili Bowl:

LIVE From the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Presented by MyRacePass – Story Index Page
News, analysis, interviews, behind-the-scenes and more – updated throughout each day.

LIVE PPV Streaming Broadcast – Racinboys.com
Monday – Saturday coverage

LIVE Television Broadcast – MAVTV.com
Saturday, Jan. 18th at 8:30pm EST

LIVE Timing and Scoring – MyRacePass
https://www.myracepass.com/app

SPEED SPORT’s Chili Bowl coverage is presented by MyRacePass, the official timing and scoring app of the 2020 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. Fans can download the MyRacePass app on their phones to follow all the action during the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. For more information on MyRacePass, visit www.myracepass.com and use the hashtag #GetTheApp on Twitter!

LIVE from the Chili Bowl – Presented by MyRacePass

Wednesday Blake Hahn Third Place Interview

Blake Hahn finished third in Wednesday night’s Chili Bowl qualifying feature. His podium finish will guarantee a great starting spot in Saturday night’s B-Main as he seeks that all so important transfer spot into the A.

Our Jacob Seelman chatted with him afterward about his strong run.

How to Watch the Chili Bowl:

LIVE From the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Presented by MyRacePass – Story Index Page
News, analysis, interviews, behind-the-scenes and more – updated throughout each day.

LIVE PPV Streaming Broadcast – Racinboys.com
Monday – Saturday coverage

LIVE Television Broadcast – MAVTV.com
Saturday, Jan. 18th at 8:30pm EST

LIVE Timing and Scoring – MyRacePass
https://www.myracepass.com/app

SPEED SPORT’s Chili Bowl coverage is presented by MyRacePass, the official timing and scoring app of the 2020 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. Fans can download the MyRacePass app on their phones to follow all the action during the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. For more information on MyRacePass, visit www.myracepass.com and use the hashtag #GetTheApp on Twitter!

LIVE from the Chili Bowl – Presented by MyRacePass

Wednesday Runner-Up Colby Copeland Interview

After a strong performance in Wednesday night’s Chili Bowl Nationals qualifying race, Colby Copeland is now locked into Saturday’s A-Main event by posting a second-place finish behind Rico Abreu.

When you finish strong, SPEED SPORT’s Jacob Seelman is there to talk to you!

How to Watch the Chili Bowl:

LIVE From the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Presented by MyRacePass – Story Index Page
News, analysis, interviews, behind-the-scenes and more – updated throughout each day.

LIVE PPV Streaming Broadcast – Racinboys.com
Monday – Saturday coverage

LIVE Television Broadcast – MAVTV.com
Saturday, Jan. 18th at 8:30pm EST

LIVE Timing and Scoring – MyRacePass
https://www.myracepass.com/app

SPEED SPORT’s Chili Bowl coverage is presented by MyRacePass, the official timing and scoring app of the 2020 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. Fans can download the MyRacePass app on their phones to follow all the action during the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. For more information on MyRacePass, visit www.myracepass.com and use the hashtag #GetTheApp on Twitter!