■ Soccer
US thrashes Taiwan
Abby Wambach scored three goals to lead the US to a 10-0 victory over Taiwan in a women's soccer friendly on Sunday. Lindsey Tarpley and Megan Rapinoe added two goals apiece, and Kristine Lilly scored a goal in her 312th international game -- an all-time appearance record for women or men. Goalkeeper Briana Scurry kept a clean sheet in earning her first shutout since the 2004 Athens Olympics. Taiwan did not manage a single shot on goal. The US next plays Iceland in Richmond, Virginia, on Sunday.
■ Boxing
Costa Rican hospitalized
Costa Rican boxer Lucas Green Arias was being treated to relieve bleeding in his brain on Sunday following his loss in a WBC super-middleweight bout. Arias (11-2) was floored by Jean Pascal near the end of the sixth round of their fight on Saturday at the Montreal Casino. Promoter Yvon Michel visited the hospital on Sunday and was told Arias was responding to the treatment. The 25-year-old looked to be winning the sixth round of an even fight until Pascal (14-0) sent him to the canvas with a flurry of blows. Arias got up for the final second of the round, but moments later slid off the stool in his corner, vigorously rubbing his head. He was treated at ringside, then taken to hospital on a stretcher.
■ Half-marathons
Ramaala wins again
South African Hendrick Ramaala won England's Great North Run for the third time on Sunday. Ramaala recorded a winning time of 1 hour, 3 seconds after breaking away over the last 4km of the Newcastle to South Shields course to finish ahead of Ethiopian Dejene Berhanu and the US' Dathan Ritzenhein. Berhanu, who won the race two years ago, clinched the runners-up spot with a time of 1 hour and 23 seconds. Ethiopa's Berhane Adere, a former world champion at the half-marathon distance, won the women's race in a time of 1 hour, 10 minutes and 1 second. Race organizers Nova International later revealed a 29-year-old man had died on the run.
■ Marathons
Kenyans win Twin Cities
Kenya's Mbarak Hussein successfully defended his Twin Cities Marathon title in St. Paul, Minnesota, by winning in 2 hours, 13 minutes, 52 seconds on Sunday. Training partner Simon Sawe finished second in 2:14:09. Blind runner Marla Runyan of the US won the women's race in 2:32.17. Runyan gave birth to her daughter, Anna, exactly 13 months ago. Mary Akor finished second in 2:33.50. The race was marred by the death of a middle-aged man from the Twin Cities who collapsed at the 10km mark near Lake Calhoun after apparently suffering a heart attack. The man later died at a local hospital.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but