Brit triumphs at Innsbruck-Stubai and leads her squad to under-20 women’s gold medals too

After taking silver behind fellow Brit Jess Bailey at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships last year in Chiang Mai, Rebecca Flaherty graduated to the top of the podium in Innsbruck on Saturday (June 10).

Flaherty took the junior title in the “mountain classic” up-and-downhill race on the final day of the championships and the 17-year-old led Britain to team gold too as Amelie Lane finished fourth, Lauren Russell fifth and Eve Whitaker eighth.

Flaherty build a big lead in the early and uphill parts of the race but she faced a nerve-wracking period descending back to the finish in Innsbruck as Ines Herault of Spain and Lucia Arnoldo of Italy began to close on her.

Aware of her chasers and glancing behind in the final kilometre, Flaherty saw her lead cut to just five seconds at one point but she found enough energy to maintain her advantage and had enough composure to grab a Union flag to celebrate in the final metres, clocking 33:20 as Herault finished seven seconds behind and Arnoldo a further 15 seconds back.

Flaherty, who goes to the same Bradford Grammar School that Alistair and Jonny Brownlee, Richard Nerurkar and Emile Cairess went to, said: “This is unreal. I can’t believe it. It’s a beautiful course here. I always try to push uphill to build a lead but I was trying to take in the views at the same time!

“Then coming into the trail through the town with all the energy was incredible. Mountain running is not a huge sport but there were hundreds of people clapping and cheering. I’ve never experienced anything like it.”

If Britain dominated the under-20 women’s race, the men’s equivalent saw Uganda in control as they took the first two places.

James Kirwa took gold from team-mate Hosea Chemutai as Matthieu Bührer from Switzerland earned the bronze.

Bührer built an eight-second lead at one point on the downhill to the finish, too, but was overhauled by the Ugandan duo in the latter stages as Kirwa clocked 27:37 from Chemutai’s 27:43 and Bührer’s 27:52.

Bührer led Switzerland to team gold, however, as France won silver and Spain took bronze.

First Brit home was William Longden in 23rd in 30:46, Ewan Busfield was 28th and Alexander Poulston 31st and Thomas Perry 43rd.

MIAMI -- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra remained both confident about his team's chances and defiant that his group would respond following a 108-95 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday night. Despite the fact that his team is now down 3-1 and facing a must-win Game 5 on Monday night in Denver, Spoelstra remained steadfast in the belief that his team was "built for this" and would respond the same way it has so many times throughout the postseason in the wake of adverse circumstances.

"I told the guys, feel whatever you want to feel tonight," Spoelstra said. "It's fine. You probably shouldn't sleep tonight any amount of time. I don't think anybody will. We have an incredibly competitive group. We've done everything the hard way, and that's the way it's going to have to be done right now, again. All we are going to focus on is getting this thing back to the 305. Get this thing back to Miami. And things can shift very quickly."

The Heat became just the second No. 8 seed in NBA history to advance to the Finals after defeating the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, but now they face a similar fate as the New York Knicks, who were the first No. 8 seed to make the Finals but ultimately lost to the San Antonio Spurs in five games in 1999. Spoelstra remains firm in his conviction because he has watched his tough-minded group find ways to win no matter what adversity it has faced.

"It's going to be a gnarly game in Denver that is built for the competitors that we have in our locker room," Spoelstra said. "By the time we are getting on that plane, all we're thinking about is get this thing back to Miami.

"We get an opportunity to play a super competitive game in a great environment. That's going to be an awesome environment. Our guys are built for that. They love that ... we understand what the narrative will be, but that's the way it is with our team."

Heat star Jimmy Butler echoed that confidence while reiterating his own belief that the group will find a way to extend the series. When asked what message he wanted to impart to his teammates in the next few days prior to Game 5, Butler made it simple.

"No doubt," Butler said. "We don't have any of that. We don't have no quit. We're going to continually fight starting [Saturday] to get better and then we're going to go on to Monday and do what we said we were going to do this entire time and win. We have to. We have no other choice. Otherwise, we did all of this for no reason, so the guys know, we know, we got something to do."

One reason the Heat remain so optimistic is their recent history in the conference finals versus the Celtics, where they narrowly avoided becoming the first team in NBA history to blow a 3-0 series lead by bouncing back to dominate Game 7 in Boston and advance to the Finals.

"You take it one game at a time," Heat center Bam Adebayo said. "We've seen a team come back from 3-0 firsthand. So we just have to believe, and one game at a time."

In order to do that the Heat must find a way to generate more offense against a Nuggets team that has stifled the group throughout the series. Butler made it clear he would keep passing to his shooters, even though guards Gabe Vincent and Max Strus are a combined 4-for-27 over the past two games of this series. Like his coach, Butler held on to the hope that the Heat would find a way to turn things around quickly.

"I think we really do believe in one another and ourselves as individuals," Butler said. "We've done some hard things all year long in this playoff run as well, and now it's like the hardest of the hard. But like we always say, you know, the things that you want is on the other side of hard is, I don't know what.

"So that's where we're at. That's our reality, so we've got to go out and win three straight."

MIAMI -- When Nikola Jokic was forced out of the game with his fifth foul with over nine minutes remaining in Game 4, the Denver Nuggets were staring at the most pivotal stretch they would ever play without their two-time MVP.

Head coach Michael Malone described the typical non-Jokic minutes for the Nuggets as "a crapshoot," putting his hands over his face and pretending to peek through his fingers to describe how precarious those moments have been this season.

But on Friday, the Nuggets turned what could have been the longest five-plus minutes of their season into one that put the franchise a victory away from its first NBA championship.

With Jokic watching for a five-minute, 15-second stretch, Jamal Murray orchestrated the Nuggets' offense. He stymied any double teams that came his way, setting up teammates for key baskets as the Nuggets fended off every Miami Heat challenge to win 108-95, taking a commanding 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

Murray has drawn so much attention for his scoring in the postseason. But on Friday, he scored just 15 points on 5-for-17 shooting but had 12 assists with no turnovers.

"This is four rounds now -- Minnesota, Phoenix, [the Lakers] and now Miami -- where our bench overall has done a really nice job. You know all season long, it was like oh, the non-Nikola minutes, kind of a crapshoot. You're watching the game like this sometimes," Malone said, shielding his eyes with his hands.

He added: "Our offense may not be as beautiful as it is with Nikola, but the five guys that are out there are defending, and that's the key to that group playing well."

Much of Game 4 was played at Miami's preferred pace. It was a low-scoring game, and then Jokic was forced to sit with 9:24 remaining. It was all Miami could have asked for in the fourth.

The Heat open the fourth with an 8-0 run to get within 86-81 with 8:42 to go. But with Jokic, who had 23 points and 12 rebounds in 37 minutes, watching, Murray buried a 3.

Then he hit Aaron Gordon, who had his best game of the Finals with 27 points, seven rebounds and six assists, for a layup inside. When Miami got within six, Murray found Jeff Green in the corner for a 3. Later, Murray assisted Bruce Brown -- who took advantage of Miami trying to slow down Murray with double teams and scored 11 points in the fourth quarter -- for a driving layup.

By the time Malone put Jokic back in with 4:09 remaining, the Nuggets had a 96-87 lead. They went on to outscore Miami 12-4 to push their advantage to 17 with 1:21 remaining.

"It's still one win," Jokic said, trying to keep his team focused. "We need to win one more. I like that we didn't relax. We didn't get comfortable. We were still desperate. We still want it. That's what makes me happy, that guys didn't relax."

In the regular season, the Nuggets were outscored by 367 points when Jokic was on the bench, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information.

But Murray, who has had 10 or more assists in each of his four Finals games, refused to let Denver wilt when Miami was at its most aggressive.

"He's going to find a way to impact the game," Malone said. "And the most impressive thing for me was he had 15 points tonight, and he was 5-of-17 from the field. But 12 assists and zero turnovers, and just kind of, all right, they're putting two on me, let me make the right play. He did not get bored with making the right play. He did not say, 'I'm going to save us and try to carry the team.'

"He just read the defense, made the right play, and trusted. That's a big part of our culture is trusting one another. I thought Jamal's trusting his teammates tonight was just at such a high level."

Jokic, who tweaked his ankle early in the game but kept playing, has repeatedly said the Nuggets are following Murray's lead this postseason.

"I think that's where you see the growth, and maturity in his game," Jokic said of Murray's playmaking. "I think he was amazing today. Of course, some nights you miss, some nights you make. But he's our leader, and we are following him."

Now, the Nuggets head back to Denver, where they look to make up for their first home postseason loss in Game 2 to the Heat with a championship-clinching win in Game 5.

"We're just focused, dialed in, and ready to do this thing," Murray said.

He added: "We're just ready to win a championship. We have the tools to do it. It's been on our minds for a while. We're just locked in. I don't think you've got to overthink it. We're just dialed in, ready to win."

MIAMI -- Calvin Booth would love to tell you that he and the Denver Nuggets' front office foresaw a night such as Friday when they traded for Aaron Gordon in March 2021. That they'd run all the models and scoured hundreds of hours of tape on the burly forward and saw something in him that portended he'd be as perfect of a fit alongside Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray as he has been.

But in all honesty, the Nuggets general manager says, they were just looking to replace the production they'd lost when forward Jerami Grant left in free agency in 2020.

"We didn't realize how talented he was," Booth told ESPN after Gordon scored a game-high 27 points in the Nuggets 108-95 win over the Miami Heat to take a 3-1 series lead Friday night in the NBA Finals. "We didn't realize what a consummate teammate he was and how willing he was to sacrifice."

Gordon had a different reputation in his first six-plus seasons with the Orlando Magic than what he's built for himself as the ultimate star-in-his-role player for the Nuggets.

He was the No. 4 pick in the 2014 draft, which comes with expectations of scoring and star power that never really fit well on Gordon. He tried to live up to them anyway.

"Knowing AG now, I understand it: He knows what a fourth pick is supposed to do," Booth said. "But also there was no clear hierarchy. So he's looking around like, 'Is it me? Is it supposed to be me?' He tries to fill that role but then gets critiqued for playing a certain kind of way."

Once Gordon came to Denver, all of that changed.

The Nuggets' hierarchy had been set for several years. The team was built around Jokic and Murray. Michael Porter Jr. was next in line as a scorer. What the team really needed was defensive toughness and whatever Gordon could give them offensively.

The Nuggets may not have fully realized it when they traded for him after he requested the Magic for a deal. But this was exactly how Gordon had always thought of himself.

"I felt like I was going to be a defender for this team, a defenseman for this team," Gordon said. "I knew they could score. MPJ, one of the best shooters on Earth. You've got a two-time MVP in Joker that can do everything on offense. You've got Jamal Murray that can go for 50 on any given night. I knew I was coming in to play defense and make their job easy.

"I like to play defense. That's my niche. That's how I came into the league, defensive-minded.

"As far as the offensive side, it was just get in where I fit in, find cuts, find openings, find transition buckets, try and get easy ones, and then just -- really just get in where I fit in."

Gordon has been a defensive stalwart for the Nuggets throughout the playoffs, regularly defending the opponent's best offensive player, no matter their size or position. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, opponents have shot just 39.8% from the field and 27.1% from 3 with Gordon as their primary defender in 19 playoff games.

In the first round, he held Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns to 36% shooting from the field and 11% from 3, according to ESPN Stats & Information. In the second round, when he matched up with Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker, he held him to 43% shooting and forward Kevin Durant to 39%. Against the Los Angeles Lakers, he matched up with LeBron James.

In Friday's win, which moved Denver to within one victory of its first NBA title, Gordon held the Heat to just 30% shooting and contested 70% of the shots taken against him.

"I mean, that's why we got him. He's a dog. He's strong. He's physical. He's tough," Murray said. "He brings everybody together off the court, and he's a selfless player. He's been solid this whole playoffs, this whole season, the whole time he's been here."

While the Nuggets have grown accustomed to Gordon taking on the most daunting defensive challenges, it's still a pleasant surprise considering what they expected when they traded for him, and the offensive fit he's settled into playing alongside Jokic, Murray and Porter Jr.

"You know, he's playing a different role," Jokic said. "He's sacrificed himself and that's why he's a great teammate."

Gordon is exceedingly popular in the Nuggets' locker room for both his personality and his play.

He's known to wear his teammates' promotional T-shirts to workouts and events. Not just Jokic's MVP shirts, but former Nuggets' guard Bones Hyland's shirts, too.

"He really could win that teammate of the year award," Nuggets assistant Charles Klask told ESPN.

So when he had a game like he did on Friday, everyone lined up to celebrate him.

"He won us the game today," Jokic said. "He was our best player on the floor, and guarding the best player every night, that's a tough job, and maybe he's not going to get a lot of credit, but we know what he's doing for our team, and we're really thankful for him."

DENVER -- Yu Darvish pitched into the sixth inning to earn his 100th career win and was backed by five home runs as the San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies 9-6 Friday night.

Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Gary Sanchez, Trent Grisham and Brandon Dixon all went deep to help the Padres win consecutive games for the first time since May 25-26.

"It definitely feels good," Grisham said. "Everybody in here has been waiting -- not if, but when, when it's going to come around. It's nice to stack two days like that on top of each other."

Darvish (5-4) earned the benchmark victory after allowing four earned runs and five hits while striking out six and walking four in 5⅓ innings.

"It means a lot," Darvish said. "It just tells you that I've been able to play this long and go into battle with my teammates."

Jake Cronenworth had his second-consecutive three-hit game for San Diego after batting just .198 in his first 60 games of the season. After missing the past four games while tending to soreness in his left wrist, Xander Bogaerts had two runs and two hits, including his first double since May 14.

Machado's two-run homer, which spearheaded a three-run first inning for the Padres, was his first since May 9 and a 425-foot solo shot from Tatis was his team-leading 12th of the season. Sanchez's two-run homer in the second inning was his fifth since joining San Diego on May 30 while Dixon's was just his second of the season.

"A lot of times, you get a little confidence again and you do some things you've done in the past," Padres manager Bob Melvin said of Sanchez. "He's still a young man for what he does. Each and every game he has like this, you'll see some of the potential he's always had."

Josh Hader picked up his 14th save of the season after forcing Elias Díaz to ground into a force out with runners on first and third.

The loss was Colorado's fifth in a row -- its second-longest drought of the season -- and its ninth in 11 games. The Rockies have now lost 14 of their past 15 games against NL West teams, including each eight straight.

Starter Austin Gomber (4-5) took the loss for the Rockies, giving up seven earned runs and 11 hits -- including three homers -- over four innings. He struggled with his fastball, as each of the three home runs he surrendered came on four-seam pitches. Over his past five starts, he has given up 23 earned runs in 20⅔ innings.

"Two pitches to Fernando, first-pitch single by (Juan) Soto, first-pitch homer by Machado. Four pitches to three hitters, that's pretty quick," Gomber said. "But that can work in your favor, too -- I've had nights where you have five-pitch innings, right? You've just got to make better pitches. If guys are going to swing, that's great, but you've got to execute when they have that approach."

Mike Moustakas had two hits for Colorado, including a 441-foot, two-run home run in the eighth inning.

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. -- Sabrina Ionescu scored a career-high 37 points, including 20 points in the second quarter, and the New York Liberty defeated the Atlanta Dream 106-83 on Friday night.

Ionescu made a franchise-record and career-high eight 3-pointers, the last putting the Liberty at the 100-point mark for the first time this season. She made 10 of 18 shots from the field, including 8 of 13 3-pointers and added 9-of-10 from the free throw line.

Ionescu said she didn't know at the time that she was on the precipice of franchise history.

"I didn't know what the franchise record for 3s was. But they were going under (the screen) -- as a shooter that's the most disrespectful thing you can do, so I shot it when I was open," Ionescu said after the game. "My teammates got me the ball and great actions. I was just thankful we won at the end of the day. I was just making the reads and shooting if I'm open."

Breanna Stewart had 25 points and nine rebounds, Jonquel Jones had 11 points and Courtney Vandersloot added 11 assists for New York (5-2).

Allisha Gray scored 17 points, Rhyne Howard 15 and Cheyenne Parker 12 for Atlanta (2-4).

Atlanta trailed 61-39 at halftime but closed to within 67-60 late in the third quarter. A steal and fast break layup by Marine Johannes put the Liberty up by nine, and New York finished the quarter on a 10-0 run. The Liberty added six points to their lead in the fourth quarter.

Atlanta led 15-13 in the first quarter before Stewart went on a nine-point scoring spree that included two 3-pointers, one of which became a four-point play. The Liberty led 26-19 at the end of the period.

Haley Jones hit a 3-pointer, got a rebound at the other end and hit a short jumper to draw Atlanta into a 33-all tie midway through the second quarter. But the Dream never took the lead and New York responded with a 14-1 run in which Ionescu scored 10 points. Her 20 points in the quarter were two shy of the WNBA record. She had 23 points in the first half and New York led 61-39 at the break.

The game was part of the Commissioner's Cup, in which New York is 4-2 and Atlanta's record is 1-2.

The Liberty bounced back after an 86-82 loss to Chicago last time out and their scheduled game against Minnesota on Tuesday was postponed because of poor air quality in New York.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

MIAMI -- Aaron Gordon scored 27 points, Nikola Jokic added 23 and the Denver Nuggets moved one win away from their first NBA championship by beating the Miami Heat 108-95 on Friday night to take a 3-1 lead in the title series.

Bruce Brown scored 21 off the bench for the Nuggets, who took both games in Miami to grab complete command. They'll have three chances to win one game for a title, two of those in Denver, the first of them in what's sure to be a raucous atmosphere for Game 5 on Monday night.

Jamal Murray had 15 points and 12 assists -- his fourth consecutive double-digit assist game -- for Denver.

"Today was a team effort. I can't even name one person. Everyone was locked," Murray told ESPN afterward.

"We got one more to go."

Jimmy Butler scored 25 points for Miami, which has now fallen into 3-1 holes in each of its past three Finals appearances -- this one joining 2014 and 2020. Bam Adebayo had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat, while Kyle Lowry had 13 points.

The Heat walked off the floor in silence, fully aware of how much trouble they're in now.

The Nuggets were overwhelming favorites to start the series, for obvious reasons. Denver was the Western Conference's No. 1 seed; Miami was the Eastern Conference's No. 8 seed. The Nuggets had won nine of the past 10 regular-season meetings between the teams, and their run of success over the Heat has continued through four games of the Finals.

Denver led by 13 going into the fourth, and Miami came out for the final quarter with appropriate desperation. The Heat scored the first eight points, Jokic committed his fifth foul and had to go to the bench with 9:24 left -- and it was down to 86-81 when Butler converted a three-point play with 8:42 remaining.

But the Nuggets --- who fell apart in the fourth quarter of Game 2 for their lone loss of the series -- didn't fold, even with their two-time MVP still out. Murray made a 3-pointer to stop Miami's 8-0 spurt, and Jeff Green made a huge corner 3 from near the Heat bench for a 94-85 edge with 6:21 left.

Jokic checked out with Denver up 10. He came back with the Nuggets up nine.

Miami didn't take advantage of that chance, and now finds itself on the wrong end of history. Teams that take a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals have won 35 out of 36 previous times, and the Heat will have to buck that trend to keep Denver from winning its title.

"Just stay levelheaded. Stay focused," Murray said when asked what the Nuggets need to do to close the series out. "And when we get that 'W' then we can relax and talk a little."

The Nuggets even survived a scare. Jokic tweaked his right ankle when he landed on the back of Max Strus' foot midway through the opening quarter. He remained in the game after it happened, briefly retreated to the Denver locker room before the start of the second quarter and played the rest of the way with no evident issues.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias will not come off the injured list for his scheduled start on Sunday after feeling discomfort in his strained left hamstring, manager Dave Roberts said Friday.

Urias suffered the setback during a bullpen session Thursday and will miss at least another week or two, Roberts said. Urias had been slated to start Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies after being out since May 18.

"He's going to keep throwing," Roberts said. "But I think when he tries to ramp up the intensity is when he sort of feels the tightness in the hamstring."

The 26-year-old is 5-4 this season with a 4.39 ERA in 55⅓ innings over 10 starts. His recovery likely will include a rehab stint in the minor leagues.

"He wasn't overly confident in where that hamstring was at, to take on a start," Roberts said. "So we all decided to put a pin in it, go back to tempering back a little bit and not put a date on when he's going to return."

Urias, expected to be the Dodgers' ace this season, led the National League in ERA (2.16) last season while been honored as All-MLB second team and finishing third in the NL Cy Young Award voting.

The Dodgers have faced a slew of injuries to the pitching staff and expect to use the bullpen to get through Sunday without Urias. Roberts said that with the team having four days off in June, the starting rotation could get by with four until Urias returns.

"Given the off days, I think we potentially could manage it," Roberts said. "I think where we stand, we'll be OK."