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HONOLULU -- Charging into violent waves at a Maui surf break known as Jaws, a group of women made history Friday as they competed for the first time in the World Surf Leagues big-wave surfing competition.The female competitors paddled into mountains of turquoise water towering more than 30 feet, but the wind shifted at the start of the first heat and several were pummeled by an unexpected breaking wave.Women have pushed for years to be included in big-wave surfing competitions, while organizers of some contests argued that conditions at famous breaks such as Mavericks in California were too dangerous for women.That competition will include women for the first time this season after state regulators said they might refuse to grant a permit if women were not included. And for the World Surf League, which holds professional competitions around the globe, its been a matter of getting enough participants to hold a womens event.Competitor Bianca Valenti, who has pushed for women to be included in professional big-wave surf contests, called the day a big step forward for women in the sport.Its the least we can do to speak to the election the other day, Valenti told The Associated Press in a phone interview before the competition, referring to Hillary Clintons defeat by President-elect Donald Trump.I watched Hillarys concession speech and what she was saying -- how important it was for women to really stand up now more than ever to break the glass ceiling -- and that really resonated a lot, Valenti added.There are 12 women and 24 men competing in separate events at the perilous Hawaii break, where competitors training regimes include building up the ability to hold their breath underwater for four minutes in case they are pinned under by crashing waves.Paige Alms, a surfer from Hawaii, had a few humbling wipeouts, but won the competition.I still feel like its kind of a dream, but ah, I cant believe it, Alms told the World Surf League after her win. What a blessing to be out there with just a couple girls. That was special, for sure.Two women were taken to the hospital with knee injuries during Fridays first heat, and Valentis surfboard broke in half during the second heat when she wiped out on a wave.The World Surf League only recently began holding a big-wave competition, spokesman Dave Prodan said. With a small window of time when conditions are right, its hard to accommodate a large group of men and women, he added.Women have for years and years been participating in the big-wave community, but probably only in recent years have you had a jump in participation to the point where you have that depth in the field to hold an event, Prodan said.In California, the renowned big-wave competition Titans of Mavericks agreed to include women for the first time this season, although it has not yet been held.This is really about paving the way for the future generations and creating opportunities for them, Valenti said. Just the importance of using our voice all the time and speaking up for what we want.Trey Hendrickson Jersey . Takahashi, who had a 10-point lead after the short program, received 268.31 points after the free skate to finish 15 points ahead of second-place Nobunari Oda. Morten Andersen Jersey . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. http://www.customsaintsjersey.com/custom-doug-atkins-jersey-large-522e.html . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Tom Dempsey Jersey . -- Yogi Ferrell orchestrates pretty much everything in Indianas offence. Ethan Greenidge Jersey . Pedro scored from a pass by Lionel Messi in the 33rd minute and added two more goals in the 47th and 72nd after Valdes saved his second penalty in four days following his stop in Wednesdays 4-0 over Ajax in the Champions League.MOSCOW -- When Usain Bolt means business, he is still all alone out there. Bolt coasted to his third straight 200-metre world title on Saturday with the race basically wrapped up as soon as he entered the finishing straight. Jamaican teammate Warren Weir never got close to Bolts world leading time of 19.66 seconds, but crossing .13 seconds later for silver still left him enough time to join Bolt in a reggae dance to Bob Marleys "Three Little Birds." "The energy was great tonight," Bolt said. "The crowd was in to it," Curtis Mitchell of the United States took bronze in 20.24 seconds, but was never in the hunt for gold. Edmontons Angela Whyte highlighted Canadas performance on Saturday with a sixth-place finish in the womens 100-metre hurdles. "Im so happy I made the final, but now we re-evaluate and see what I need to do to really be in the medal mix," Whyte said. "Im just happy to be back at a world class level after knee surgery in 2008." Bolt will go for his fourth triple gold at a major championship when he joins the Jamaican team for the 4x100 relay on Sunday. "It should be even better," Bolt said. The wealth of Jamaican sprinting is such that they might well sweep their American rivals in unprecedented fashion, after Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce clinched a similar 100-200 double and has her final relay also late on the closing day of the championships. Opposition could hardly touch Bolt on Saturday, and once it was clear his right foot was OK after he dropped a starting block on it early in the week, everything was as good as gold. Even his start was strong as he quickly gained a decisive edge. And then in the finishing straight, Bolt fully let loose his giant stride, the one that has dumbfounded rivals since he won three gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His seventh world title leaves him one shy of American greats Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson, who lead the overall gold medal standings in the 30-year history of the event. On Sunday, Bolt can pull alongside them. And with 10 medals overall, Bolt can overtake Lewis at the top with two silvers compared to a silver and bronze for the American sprinter-long jumper. Even though he is only 26, Bolts maturity showed Saturday as the wild hot-dogging of the Beijing Games gave way to a sense of near-seriousness. His Lightning Bolt stance came late and besides the dance steps, everything was contained. "I got to face the fact that I am getting older so I have to try not getting injured during the season," Bolt said. The only thing that never changes is the gold. And it is that which the United States is missing, seeing Russia jump past in the gold medal standings with two great performances on Saturday. While the Russians were overtaking the heavily favoured American 4x400 relay time, Svetlana Shkolina overtook Brigetta Barrett in the high jump. The Russian won by three centimetres with a leap of 2.03 metres. Defending world champion Anna Chicherova, who is also the Olympic champion, had to seettle for bronze after clearing 1.dddddddddddd97. "The crowds roar for the 4x400 relay really put me up for my last attempt," Shkolina said. Emma Green Tregaro of Sweden, who wore rainbow-colored fingernails during qualifying to show support for Russian gays and lesbians in the face of an anti-gay law, finished fifth in the final, with red-painted nails. "It was harder to not paint them in the rainbow than it was to choose to paint them," Green Tregaro said. "Im surprised by the big reactions but Im happy about the big reaction because its mostly been very positive." With the closing day to come, Russia leads the gold medal standings with seven, ahead of the United States with six. Overall, the American team leads the host nation 20-15. Bolts medal pushed Jamaica into third place with four golds. The United States got its only gold on the night from 21-year-old Brianna Rollins, who surged at the end of the 100 hurdles to beat Olympic champion Sally Pearson in 12.44 seconds, edging the Australian by .06 seconds. Whyte finished in 12.78 seconds. "I got out relatively well, came off hurdle one and collapsed quite a bit," she said. "It wasnt the time I was looking for, I didnt execute as cleanly as I wanted to, but I responded well and battled back." Jessica Zelinka of London, Ont., was eliminated in the semifinal earlier Saturday with a time of 13.12 seconds. "Its the strongest Ive ever been, the fastest Ive ever been, lack of coaching has played a role here," Zelinka said. "Havent been able to sharpen up with my hurdling, otherwise I feel great." Early in the day, Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich became the first non-Kenyan since 2005 to win the mens marathon gold medal at the world championships. The Ugandan broke away from Boston Marathon winner Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia in the shaded park around Luhzniki Stadium to win his countrys first mens world title in the 30-year history of the championships. "I am so happy I won another gold medal for my country," Kiprotich said. "Now I am the Olympic and world champion." Another Ethiopian, Tadese Tola, took bronze on a warm afternoon in the Russian capital. Rob Watson of Vancouver was 20th. "I am super pumped about placing 20th, my ultimate goal coming in was a top 20 performance," he said. "When youre hurting and suffering but passing people it makes it that much easier, youre suffering for a cause, not just hanging on for dear life. "I was ranked 48th coming in, I just wanted to beat people in a race." Later in the evening, Ethiopian veteran Meseret Defar added the 5,000 world title to her Olympic gold medal, coming out of the slipstream of teammate Almaz Ayana to win with a strong finish. Defar, the 2007 world champion, finished in 14:50.19, beating silver medallist Mercy Cherono of Kenya by 1.03 seconds. Ayana did most of the heavy work for Defar but weakened near the end. She still won her first major championship medal in 14:51.33. ' ' '