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A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
Formula One is ending the use of female models who parade and stand with the drivers' name boards before every grand prix, with immediate effect.
The sport announced the decision in a statement on Wednesday and said the change would also apply to all support series on the programme.
"While the practice of employing grid girls has been a staple of Formula One grands prix for decades, we feel this custom does not resonate with our brand values and clearly is at odds with modern day societal norms," said commercial manager Sean Bratches.
"We don’t believe the practice is appropriate or relevant to Formula One and its fans, old and new, across the world," he added.
Formula One has not had a woman race driver on the starting grid since the 1970s but is far more mixed off the track, with female engineers and mechanics as well as in media and marketing.
Two of the 10 teams have had female bosses, including former champions Williams, and Formula One management has a number of women in senior positions.
The use of female models, even if not as scantily-clad as in the past, has been increasingly criticised in a sport that is now under US-based ownership following Liberty Media's takeover last year.
Liberty, who ousted former supremo Bernie Ecclestone a year ago, have been looking to make the pre-race show more of a feature with the emphasis on entertainment for fans and promotion.
In 2015, men were deployed in place of the women at the Monaco Grand Prix -- a move welcomed by some fans and deplored by others.
That same year, the FIA-sanctioned World Endurance Championship announced an end to the practice at the Le Mans 24 Hours sportscar race.
USA Gymnastics says all directors have resigned after abuse scandal
USA Gymnastics, the sport's US governing body, said on Wednesday that all its remaining directors have now resigned following revelations that the longtime team doctor had sexually abused numerous athletes under his care.
A USA Gymnastics spokeswoman on Friday had said that the full board intended to resign. The US Olympic Committee threatened to revoke the organization's governing authority if the full board had not stepped down by Wednesday, after former team doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual assault charges.
"We are in the process of moving forward with forming an interim board of directors during the month of February, in accordance with the USOC's requirements," USA Gymnastics said in a statement.
"USA Gymnastics will provide information about this process within the next few days."
