■ SWIMMING
Diaz circles Manhattan twice
After more than 22 consecutive hours of swimming around Manhattan, Marcos Diaz finally came ashore on Sunday. The Dominican world record holder had a goal for his marathon overnight swim: To raise money for poor Dominican children with cancer and start a program for youngsters with asthma. Diaz, 32, battled asthma as a child by swimming in Caribbean waters. He circled the island twice and finished the 96km swim at the Dyckman Marina in the Washington Heights neighborhood, which is the heart of New York's Dominican community. He was welcomed by thousands of people and a feast featuring live music. While doctors examined Diaz in a tent, the crush of the crowd was so intense that organizers found a lookalike to draw admirers away. Diaz walked out of the water smiling after 22 hours, 14 minutes of swimming.
■ GOLF
Flanagan wins Xerox Classic
Australia's Nick Flanagan won his third US Nationwide Tour title of the year to earn an immediate promotion to the US PGA Tour, closing with a 7-under 63 to win the Xerox Classic by a stroke in Rochester, New York, on Sunday. The 23-year-old Flanagan, the 2003 US Amateur champion, made a 9m birdie putt on the par-4 18th to finish at 10-under 270 on the Irondequoit Country Club course. He began the round seven strokes behind runner-up James Driscoll.
■ CRICKET
Tait out of Twenty20 Cup
Fast bowler Shaun Tait was ruled out of the Australian squad yesterday for next month's Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa. Chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said Tait, a key player in Australia's limited overs World Cup success in the Caribbean this year, has not recovered sufficiently from elbow surgery. "Recent efforts to resume bowling have resulted in some elbow discomfort, which is an indication that more time is required for him to start training at a greater intensity," Australian team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said. Cricket Australia says it has written to the International Cricket Committee seeking approval for the inclusion of paceman Ben Hilfenhaus in the 15-man squad as Tait's replacement.
■ CYCLING
Ballan wins Cyclassics race
Alessandro Ballan won the Cyclassics cycling race in Hamburg, Germany, Sunday in a mass sprint to the finish. The Lampre-Fondital rider from Italy finished the 229.1km race in 5 hours, 21 minutes, 5 seconds. The defending champion, Oscar Freire, finished second and Gerald Ciolek was third in the same time. Ballan planned to help teammate Daniel Bennati win when he started the final climb after a breakaway group were caught with 20km left. "Winning was a big surprise," Ballan said. "When I turned my head, I couldn't find Bennati."
■ GOLF
Ilonen wins in Stockholm
Mikko Ilonen won the Scandinavian Masters in Stockholm by two shots on Sunday after Martin Kaymer double-bogeyed the last hole. Ilonen closed with a 2-under 68 to finish with a 6-under 274 total. It was the second European Tour victory for the former British amateur champion. The Finn won his first tournament at the Indonesia Open in February.
The tournament is one of the best attended in Europe behind the British Open. Total attendance was more than 120,000 for the week.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and