Ten things to know from last week. September 13-19, 2022 included: Federer retiring, Canelo settling the trilogy, Bou the greatest.
Ten things to know from last week
  1. Federer retires. Roger Federer (CHE), one of the greatest tennis players of all time, has announced that he will retire from high-level tennis this year. The Laver Cup this week will be his last ATP tournament, and then it is still uncertain if he will play. Federer won 20 singles Grand Slam titles -second of all time-, and an Olympic gold medal in Doubles. His mastery in play is so elegant it is a pleasure to see him play as if the court was his canvas. He has been part of some of the greatest matches of all time, including the 2008 Wimbledon Final, perhaps the greatest tennis match ever played.
  2. The Aces. The Las Vegas Aces won their first WNBA title by beating the Connecticut Sun 3 games to 1. Olympic Champions and members of the Champion team, A’ja Wilson (USA) and Chelsea Gray (USA), won the Season and Finals Most Valuable Player Awards, respectively.
  3. Trilogy settled. Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez (MEX, now 58-2-2), beat Gennady Golovkin (KAZ, now 42-2-1) to defend his unified Boxing Super Middleweight World titles and settled the trilogy against him. The fight had less action than the previous two, and Golovkin gained steam in the second part of the fight but it was not enough. The Mexican won via Unanimous Decision to celebrate Mexican Independence week. Golovkin had never fought in Super Middleweight before and remains the Middleweight World Champion. In the Co-Main, Jesse Rodriguez (USA) beat Israel González (MEX) also via Unanimous Decision.
  4. Upset to start Worlds. The 2022 UCI Road World Championships started with an upset, as Tobias Foss (NOR) came out of nowhere to beat favorites Stefan Küng (CHE, 2nd), Remco Evenepoel (BEL, 3rd), and Filippo Ganna (ITA, 7th) in the Men’s Individual Time Trial. On the women’s side, Ellen van Dijk (NED) won her 3rd Individual Time Trial gold medal. Meanwhile, the UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships took place in Denmark. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (FRA), who recently won the Cross-Country World Championships, also took this one, her eighth world title in several cycling disciplines. Sam Gaze (NZL) won the men’s race.
  5. US Wrestling. Russia’s absence allowed the United States to take the overall team title at the World Wrestling Championships, with 7 gold medals. One was won by Jordan Burroughs (men’s 79 kg Freestyle), who has now won six gold medals, more than any other US American. Taha Akgül (TUR) won his 3rd world title in the Men’s 125 kg category. David Taylor (USA) and Hassan Yazdani Charati (IRI) met in the Men’s 86 kg Freestyle Final again, with Taylor taking the win this time, just as in Tokyo 2020 and unlike the 2021 World Championships.
  6. For Gino. In Motos, the FIM Endurance World Championship concluded with an exciting 100th-anniversary Bol d’Or 24-Hour race, Viltaïs Racing Igol -a privateer Yamaha- won the race, with Florian Alt (DEU), Erwan Nigon (FRA), and Steven Odendaal (ZAF). The ERC Endurance-Ducati dropped from the lead within the last 90 minutes due to a mechanical problem but soon after, the new leader, Wójcik Racing Team, had to pit with mechanical problems as well, leaving the race up for grabs to the eventual winners. The F.C.C. TSR Honda France became the World Champion, with Mike Di Meglio (ITA) and Joshua Hook (AUS), as well as Alan Techer (FRA), who subbed in for Gino Rea (ENG), who is convalescing at home from an accident in the 8 Hours of Suzuka, but also counts as a Word Champion.
  7. Uphill. Christian Merli (ITA) completed a perfect season at the FIA European Hill-Climbing Championship -which dates back to the 1930s- with an eighth win from eight events in Category 2 for Sports-prototypes. This is his fourth title, which places him as joint second of all time. Vasilije Jakšić (MNE) won category 1. The Finale was the Buzetski dani in Croatia.
  8. Bou, the greatest. Toni Bou (ESP, Honda) continues to extend his legacy as the greatest motorcycling competitor of all time and one of the greatest sportspeople across sports in history, as he won the 2022 FIM Trial World Championship, his 32nd World Championship, including every single World Title (Indoor or Outdoor) since 2007, and this is not even counting the Trial des Nations titles, where he has also been a dominant force with Team Spain. The big surprise was that he had a fall in the first of two Grands Prix at Ponte di Legno, Italy, allowing Matteo Grattarola (ITA, Beta) to take the first win ahead of him. Bou won on Sunday with only 8 penalty points, ahead of Grattarola. Emma Bristow (ENG, Sherco) won the women’s title -her eight in nine years- after winning both legs in Italy and the majority of events this year. She is second of all time among women.
  9. Superfight. Gordon Ryan (USA) is now the second winningest competitor of all time at the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, as he beat the winningest, André Galvão (BRA), in the Superfight. He also beat Nick Rodriguez (USA) in the +99 kg Men’s Division. He now has five golds. With the +99 kg title, he won a historic Championship in a fourth different weight class, and also became the first grappler to win the +99 kg and the Superfight titles on the same night. Another impressive result was that by Amy Campo (USA), who beat defending Champion Gabi Garcia (BRA) despite their big size difference.
  10. Hydroplane. Jimmy Shane (USA) won his seventh APBA/UIM H1 Hydroplane Championship in nine seasons, which place him second of all time, tied with Bill Muncey (USA) and Chip Hanauer (USA). He won the season’s finale in San Diego. He won three of five Finals this year.