■TAEKWONDO
Pimp fighter to sell brothel
A New Zealand athlete who opened a brothel to fund his Olympic campaign is auctioning off the business and will use the proceeds to pay his way to foreign competitions, he said yesterday. Logan Campbell, who finished in the top 16 in the featherweight division at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was condemned by the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) when he opened a “high class gentleman’s club” in Auckland to finance future competition. The NZOC said such a business went against Olympic principles. Campbell will sell the business on an auction Web site and hopes to raise NZ$300,000 (US$210,000) toward the cost of his bid to represent New Zealand at the 2012 London Olympics. The business is listed on the New Zealand Web site Trademe with a US$1 reserve.
■TAIWAN
SAC to spend US$50m
The Cabinet-level Sports Affairs Council (SAC) will spend NT$1.6 billion (US$50 million) this year on a program aimed at boosting participation in sports, the country’s top sports administrator said yesterday. Sports Affairs Council Minister Tai Hsia-ling said the program would help finance construction of sports or exercise centers to encourage the public to exercise regularly. The council also intends to invest NT$4 billion over the next four years to build new cycling trails, Tai said. “The trails will connect with 17 road networks around Taiwan to form two round-the-island cycling trails — one a 1,022km coastal path and another a 907km mountain trail,” Tai said.
■BASKETBALL
Rose joins All-Stars
Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose was excused from the rookie challenge during NBA All-Star weekend and replaced by Golden State’s Anthony Morrow on Tuesday. Rose, last season’s rookie of the year, was selected as a reserve for the All-Star game next week and will compete in the skills challenge as the defending champion of the event. Because that would have meant events on three straight nights, the NBA said he could skip the rookie game. Players in their first two seasons selected for the All-Star game are typically required to compete in the game between rookies and sophomores.
■FOOTBALL
Jets fine coach for finger
The New York Jets have slapped head coach Rex Ryan with a US$50,000 for making an obscene gesture during a mixed martial arts event in Miami last weekend. “Rex showed extremely poor judgment and his conduct was inappropriate,” Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said. “He knows he was wrong, has apologized and we have accepted his apology.” In his rookie season as head coach, Ryan led the Jets to a 9-7 record and a wild-card berth.
■MOTORCYCLING
Manca to fly home
Italian motorcyclist Luca Manca, critically injured in the Dakar Rally and placed in an induced coma after a fall, has recovered sufficiently to be repatriated, a hospital spokesman said on Tuesday. “Luca Manca has been given the green light medically and can be transferred to an Italian hospital in the next 48 hours,” a statement issued by the hospital read. The 29-year-old Manca had been undergoing treatment at Cobre de Calma hospital after being airlifted from the course and was put on a respirator. He had been ninth in the standings on his Dakar debut, but then fell in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile on Jan. 7 as the racers made their way from Antofagasta to Iquique.
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash. Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13. The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game. Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take
Australia yesterday won two of four races on the first day of the SailGP Sydney event on Sydney Harbour to finish the day atop the points table ahead of Britain and a French team who made an outstanding return after missing the first two events of the season. Australia also had a third and a second placing, finishing the day with 37 points, ahead of Britain with 32 points and France with 27. Britain won the second race of the day and Switzerland, who won the first race, were in fourth place overall. Australia’s prowess in the start box was again the