■ Athletics
Kenyan relay record ratified
The 4x800m (3,200m) relay world record set by the Kenyan men's team in August was ratified on Friday by the International Association of Athletics Federations. Joseph Mutua, William Yiampoy, Ismael Kombich and Wilfred Bungei finished in 7 minutes, 2.43 seconds on Aug. 25 at a track meet in Brussels, Belgium. The previous record of 7:03.89 was set by Peter Elliott, Garry Cook, Steve Cram and Sebastian Coe of the UK in 1982.
■ Athletics
US gold medalist dies
Annette Kelly, a two-time US Olympic gold medalist in the 400m relay, died on Wednesday. She was 93. Her daughter, Kathleen Kelly, said Annette Kelly suffered a stroke about two months ago and was battling an infection at the time of her death. Kelly won gold medals in the 400m relay at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles and the 1936 Games in Berlin. Kelly also placed sixth in the high jump in 1932 and fifth in the 100m in 1936. She told her family she and her teammates knew the politics involved in competing in 1930s Germany. "But they were athletes and they were excited about competing and when the US decided to go, they went to represent their country and that was that," Kathleen Kelly said.
■ Baseball
Sheffield signs with Tigers
The New York Yankees traded outfielder Gary Sheffield to the American League champion Detroit Tigers on Friday, receiving three pitching prospects in return. Sheffield will be reunited with manager Jim Leyland and general manager Dave Dombrowski in Detroit. The three were all members of the 1997 World Series champion Florida Marlins. The Yankees received right-handers Humberto Sanchez, Kevin Whelan and Anthony Claggett in exchange for Sheffield, who battled through injuries this year. It was the first significant deal of the major league baseball offseason, with the Tigers and Yankees reaching a tentative agreement on Tuesday.
■ NFL
Walsh battles cancer
Bill Walsh, the Hall of Fame coach who built a NFL dynasty with the San Francisco 49ers and revolutionized the sport with his West Coast offense, has told friends and colleagues at Stanford University he has cancer. School officials confirmed on Friday that Walsh, who served as the school's interim athletic director until July, is fighting leukemia. "I'm positive, but not evangelistic," the 74-year-old Walsh told the Sports Xchange Web site. "I'm pragmatically doing everything my physicians recommend, and I'm working my way through it." Walsh said the cancer first was diagnosed in 2004, but he feels better since a series of blood transfusions in the past month.
■ Skiing
Nyberg tears knee ligaments
Five-time Olympian Fredrik Nyberg's career could be over after he injured his knee on Friday in a crash during training in Austria. The 37-year-old Swede tore ligaments in his knee and will sit out the season, national team coach Matias Eriksson told Swedish news agency TT. Nyberg, who has won seven World Cup races and competed in every Olympics since 1992, had previously said this would be his last season. "He has said the World Championships in Are would be his last competition -- he's done now," Eriksson said. Nyberg was practicing the Super-G at the Reiter Alm resort when he crashed.
■ Rugby Union
Cecillon jailed for 20 years
Former French rugby union forward Marc Cecillon was found guilty on Friday of murdering his wife and sentenced to 20 years in prison. About 60 witnesses saw Cecillon pull out a gun at a party and shoot Chantal Cecillon in August 2004. Cecillon, 47, had no visible reaction during the reading of the verdict. It was not immediately clear whether he planned to appeal.
■ Rugby Union
Jenkins backs Islanders
Wales coach Gareth Jenkins has backed calls for the Pacific Islanders to be integrated into the Tri-Nations tournament. "It is the way forward for them, there is no doubt at all about that," said Jenkins, whose Welsh side took on the Islanders yesterday. "There is so much talent in those three islands it is incredible, but it has to be harnessed and managed and think this is the right profile for it." The Islanders squad is made up of players from Samoa, Fiji and Tonga. They are also due to play Scotland and Ireland this month on what is only their second tour since an inaugural series against the southern Hemisphere powers in 2004.
■ Boxing
Molitar takes IBF crown
Canadian fighter Steve Molitor knocked out Michael Hunter in the fifth round on Friday night to win the vacant IBF super-bantamweight title. The unbeaten Molitor, who hadn't fought for more than a year, was outboxed in the first few rounds but took charge in the fourth, flooring Hunter with a straight left. In the fifth, Molitor put Hunter down again with a series of left hooks, and referee Phil Edwards counted the English fighter out after 1:32 of the round. Molitor extended his record to 23-0, with nine KOs. Hunter fell to 26-1-1. "This means the world to me. I've been waiting for this for 17 years," Molitor said. "It took me a while to get into the fight tonight. I had a bit of ring rust. He surprised me the way he came out boxing." Hunter, fighting in front of his hometown fans at the Borough Hall, paid Molitor full credit. "He caught me with a decent shot on the top of the head," he said.
■ Formula One
Brits reject F1 sharing deal
British racing officials have rejected a proposal by Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone to alternate their grand prix with France. Stuart Rolt, chairman of the British Racing Drivers' Club, said having a race every other year in Britain would not be financially viable for the Silverstone circuit north of London. "We were unable to see how a grand prix every second year works financially," Rolt told the Times. The British Racing Drivers Club runs Silverstone. Silverstone has a contract with F1 to hold the race for the next three years. British officials have been under pressure from Ecclestone to spend to modernize the privately run Silverstone circuit. In the last few years Ecclestone has moved races out of Europe to Turkey, China, Malaysia and Bahrain, which have built modern, state-financed race tracks. South Korea, India, South Africa and Russia are in line for new races beginning in 2010.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Armand Duplantis will be among the reigning Olympic champions adding star power to the world indoor championships this weekend when the Chinese city of Nanjing hosts the first major global athletics meet since the Paris Games last year. The three-day event was originally slated for 2020 and faced multiple postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Nanjing’s Sports Training Center would finally welcome more than 570 athletes for the start of the showpiece today. One of the main attractions would be pole vaulter “Mondo” Duplantis, who soared 6.27m to break the world record for a staggering 11th time in Clermont-Ferrand last
RSS