Page 18 - ARUBA TODAY

A18 SPORTS
Tuesday 10 december 2019
Crew chief Pearn leaving NASCAR

to spend time with family

JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) —
Cole Pearn, considered
one of the top crew chiefs
in NASCAR, is leaving the
sport to spend more time
with his family.
Pearn won the 2017 NAS- U.S. Megan Rapinoe is seen on the screen after she awarded
CAR championship with as the best female soccer player during the Golden Ball award
Martin Truex Jr. and guided ceremony at the Grand Palais in Paris, Monday, Dec. 2, 2019.
Truex to the title race in four Associated Press
of their five years together,
including the last three sea- Rapinoe named
sons. Truex was the cham-
pionship runner-up the last Sports Illustrated's
two years, including last In this Nov. 17, 2017 file photo Martin Truex Jr., right, smiles with
crew chief Cole Pearn before practice for Sunday's NASCAR Cup
month when a rare mistake Series auto race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Sportsperson of the Year
in the pits cost the No. 19 Fla.
team a shot at the title. Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. na- has been an outspoken
The team put tires on the tional team star Megan critic of President Donald
wrong side of Truex's car lot of time with your family. I Our friendship is what mat- Rapinoe has been named Trump, who responded
during a routine stop and don't want to miss that time ters most to me and I'm Sportsperson of the Year by with critical tweets when
it put him a lap down — anymore. ....I don't want to happy that he's doing Sports Illustrated. she said she would not visit
too much to overcome look back in 20 years and what's best for him and his Rapinoe, FIFA Player of the White House if the U.S.
to catch Joe Gibbs Rac- think about everything I family." the Year and a two-time women won the trophy.
ing teammate Kyle Busch. missed with my wife and Pearn was an anomaly in World Cup winner, includ- "Rapinoe challenged per-
Truex finished second to kids while I was gone. They NASCAR in that he refused ing this year's tournament ceptions of her, of female
Busch in the race, and are what is most important to wear a firesuit atop the in France, was selected athletes, of all women. She
Busch won the title for to me." pit box — he quipped he for dominating "the world's led her teammates, three
Gibbs. Pearn and Truex had a had no plans to go over game, on the world's stage, months before their tent-
Pearn and Truex joined series-best seven wins this the wall and work on the under attack by a world pole tournament, to sue
JGR this year when Furni- season. In five years togeth- car during a race — and leader." The magazine says the U.S. Soccer Federation
ture Row Racing closed er, the duo qualified for the instead donned a team T- Rapinoe, who is a lesbian, for equal pay and to de-
shop in suburban Denver. title-deciding finale four shirt or hooded sweatshirt is just the fourth woman in clare in advance that they
The move required Pearn, times. They won 23 races during races. His politics the award's 66-year history would not visit the White
a Canadian, to relocate since the start of 2016, best also have a liberal slant to win the honor unaccom- House when they won the
from Colorado to North among all driver-crew chief and after joining Gibbs this panied, calling it "a remark- Cup," the magazine said.
Carolina, and he made no combos over that time. season, he'd occasionally able athletic achievement Rapinoe also won the
secret of the outdoor time "I cannot say enough good offer an opinion on Twit- and a reflection of en- FIFA Golden Boot and the
and activities he missed things about Cole and ter that would later be de- trenched gender biases." Golden Ball for most goals
with his family. what he has meant for my leted, perhaps because of Her pose, arms out- and best player, respec-
"At the end of the day, I career," Truex said. backlash in the conserva- stretched, chin up, head tively, after the U.S. beat
really want to spend time "I appreciate his hard work tive sport. Eventually, he tilted back slightly after the Netherlands 2-0 in July
with my family and actually and dedication to our limited his social media to scoring the World Cup at the World Cup in France.
see my kids grow up," Pearn race team over the past six posts about victories or his winning goal against the She also captured the
said Monday. "Being on the years going back to when family. Gibbs did not imme- Netherlands, represents Women's Sports Founda-
road, you are away from he was my engineer at Fur- diately name a new crew one of the signature sports tion's Sportswoman of the
home so much and miss a niture Row. chief for Truex.q images of 2019. Rapinoe Year award.q

UN calls for truce around next year's Tokyo summer Olympics

By EDITH M. LEDERER of athletes in the ancient Olympics. The Gen- and beyond" the games. Thomas Bach, presi-
Associated Press eral Assembly revived the tradition in 1993 and dent of the International Olympic Committee,
United Nations (AP) — The U.N. General As- has adopted resolutions before all Olympics told the General Assembly that as the United
sembly unanimously approved a resolution since then calling for a cessation of hostilities Nations approaches its 75th anniversary next
Monday urging all nations to observe a truce for seven days before and after the games. year, an Olympic year, there is no better time
during the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan, But member states involved in conflicts have to celebrate the shared values of both orga-
saying sports can play a role in promoting often ignored the call for a truce. nizations to promote peace among all coun-
peace and tolerance and preventing and Yoshiro Mori, head of the Tokyo organizing tries and people of the world. Bach said the
countering terrorism and violent extremism. committee for the 2020 games, introduced IOC's political neutrality "is undermined when-
Diplomats burst into applause as the assem- the resolution calling on U.N. members states ever organizations or individuals attempt to
bly president announced the adoption of the to observe the truce around next year's Sum- use the Olympic Games as a stage for their
resolution by the 193-member world body. The mer Olympics, being held July 24-Aug. 9, and own agendas — as legitimate as they might
resolution recalls the ancient Greek tradition the Paralympics, following on Aug. 25-Sept. 6. be. The Olympics "are a sports celebration of
of "ekecheiria," which called for a cessation The resolution also urges nations to help "use our shared humanity ... and must never be a
of hostilities to encourage a peaceful environ- sport as a tool to promote peace, dialogue platform to advance political or any other po-
ment, ensure safe passage and participation and reconciliation in areas of conflict during tentially divisive ends," he said.q