Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Phelps leads power-packed U.S. swimming team for London
OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) – The United States have picked a
powerful team of 47 swimmers, overflowing with talent and
experience, for the London Olympics after the national trials
ended on Monday. The squad was made up of 23 men and 24 women,
and led, once again, by the mercurial Michael Phelps, who
qualified for his fourth Olympics.
Women’s baseball pioneer Doris Sams dies at 85
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Torres narrowly misses out on London Games
OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) – Dara Torres announced her
retirement from swimming after she came up agonizingly short in
her bid to make the United States team for the London Olympics
on the last day of the trials on Monday. The 45-year-old
mother, who defied the odds for years by beating women much
younger than her, needed to finish in the top two of the
women’s 50 meters freestyle to qualify for her sixth Olympics
but could only manage fourth place.
Serena feels fresh for quarter-final with Kvitova
LONDON (Reuters) – Serena Williams, the Wimbledon winner in
2010, had a warning for Petra Kvitova, the present champion,
ahead of the quarter-final meeting between the two at the
All-England Club on Tuesday. ”I don’t feel tired at all; I feel
so fresh,” the American sixth seed said after Monday’s
three-set win over Kazakh Yaroslava Shvedova.
Australian athletes handed sedatives ban
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia has banned its athletes at the
London Games from taking strong sedatives after former Olympic
champion swimmer Grant Hackett said he had become reliant on
Stilnox, a brand of the medication zolpidem. The 400 or so
athletes heading to London could have their rooms searched and
face punishment up to and including expulsion if found to be in
breach of the ban, Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) chief
John Coates told reporters on Tuesday.
Bad day for Sharapova, Federer grits teeth
LONDON (Reuters) – Maria Sharapova has had better days,
Roger Federer more mobile ones and local sun-hat sellers more
profitable ones as Wimbledon’s manic Monday turned into a bit
of a damp squib after several days of nerve-shredding drama.
Beaten comfortably by Germany’s Sabine Lisicki, top seed
Sharapova’s dream of a French Open/Wimbledon double ended in
tatters under miserable grey skies and her world No.1 ranking
looks almost certain to follow.
Paterno family says Penn State email release smears coach
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The family of Joe Paterno on Monday
said the name of legendary Penn State football coach is being
smeared by the selective release of emails relating to a sex
abuse investigation, and called on investigators to release all
emails in the matter. ”The public should not have to try and
piece together a story from a few records that have been
selected in a calculated way to manipulate public opinion,” the
family said in a statement.
French seal Volvo Ocean Race at end of eight-month trek
GALWAY, Ireland (Reuters) – Franck Cammas became only the
second French skipper to win the Volvo Ocean Race when he
guided his Groupama team in to a rapturous welcome from more
than 100,000 people in Galway on Tuesday. The eight-month,
39,270-nautical mile (72,728km) race was decided when Cammas’s
Groupama 4 boat finished second in the ninth and final leg, a
short 550-mile sprint from Lorient in France.
Tour de France: Cavendish scripts impressive win in second
stage
TOURNAI, Belgium (Reuters) – A leaner Mark Cavendish showed
he was still too talented for the rest of the Tour de France
bunch, outpacing his rivals for victory in the 207.5-km second
stage in Tournai on Monday. The Briton did not need any help to
upstage Andre Greipel and Matthew Goss on a podium reminiscent
of the last world championships in Copenhagen, when the Manx
missile also beat the Australian and the German for gold.
NBA top draft pick Davis joins the injured list of Olympic
team
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