■ Swimming
Popchanka breaks record
Alena Popchanka of France broke the European record in winning the women's 200m freestyle final on Sunday at the European Short Course Championships. Popchanka, who was born in Belarus, finished in 1 minute, 54.25 seconds. Melanie Marshall of Britain, who finished eighth and last, set the old mark of 1:54.53 in January. Otylia Jedrzejczak of Poland was runner-up in 1:54.39 and defending champion Josefin Lillhage of Sweden came third in 1:54.75. Peter Mankoc of Slovenia won the men's 100m medley final in 53.05. Six-time world champion Jani Sievinen of Finland finished fifth in what was the final race of his career.
■ Boxing
Maskaev retains title
Oleg Maskaev defended his WBC heavyweight crown on Sunday with a unanimous decision over Peter Okhello in the first world title fight held in Russia. Maskaev kept Okhello backpedaling in the early rounds at the Olympisky Stadium on Moscow and in the 10th round battered him to a standstill with short shots to the head. Maskaev was born in Kazakhstan when it was part of the Soviet Union, but has lived in the US for a decade and is a US and Russian citizen, Russian President Vladimir Putin having granted Maskaev Russian citizenship a day before the bout. The 37-year-old Maskaev (34-5, 26 knockouts) captured the WBC title in August with a 12th-round knockout of Hasim Rahman. Okhello, a 34-year-old Ugandan who lives in Japan, dropped to 18-8 with 16 KOs.
■ Awards
Royal wins sports award
Zara Phillips won a British sports personality award on Sunday -- 35 years after her mother, Princess Anne, who also won the honor for her equestrian performances. Phillips, who is a granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, was named the BBC Sports Personality of the Year -- an award voted on by the public. Golfer, Darren Clarke, was second with gymnast, Beth Tweddle, third. The 25-year-old Phillips won the individual gold in the three-day eventing competition at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany.
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