Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Torres expects emotional adventure in London
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – American Dara Torres is still
waiting for the big cry. Three weeks after missing out on her
sixth Olympics by .09 of a second, the 45-year-old swimmer said
that while the agony is still raw, it has not fully found its
way to the surface.
Groff out to put U.S. on triathlon map
BOSTON (Reuters) – While the United States’ swimmers and
track athletes have had to endure cut-throat qualifying
competitions to secure their places in the Olympic Games,
triathlete Sarah Groff has had the luxury of a year to prepare
for London. Groff, 30, will be one of three U.S. athletes to
compete in the women’s triathlon on August 4, starting with a
1,500 meter swim in the Serpentine lake in Hyde Park and
followed by a 40-kilometre bike ride and a 10-kilometre run.
Snedeker and Scott to play in shadow of Woods
LYTHAM ST ANNES, England (Reuters) – Brandt Snedeker and
Adam Scott continue to bid for a first major win with the
shadow of former world number one Tiger Woods looming large
ahead of them in the British Open third round on Saturday.
American Snedeker matched Scott’s opening 64 in the second
round to equal the Open 36-hole record and his Australian
playing partner followed up his scorching start with a tidy 67
to lie one stroke off the pace.
Merrit shines again in Monaco
MONACO (Reuters) – American hurdler Aries Merritt and
Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare showed that they are in
prime form and real threats to the big-name favorites at the
London Olympics with impressive victories in the Monaco Diamond
League meeting on Friday. In the final warm-up event before the
Games, which begin in seven days, Merritt roared to yet another
sub-13 second victory in the 110 meters hurdles while Okagbare
chalked up a second successive sub-11 second run to beat
another clutch of Olympic hopefuls in the women’s 100 meters.
High maintenance Rice keeps expectations low for Olympics
MANCHESTER (Reuters) – Constant shoulder pain has led
Stephanie Rice to play down her chances of a repeat of her
swimming gold medal haul of four years ago when she takes to
the pool at the London Olympics. The 24-year-old Australian won
three golds in Beijing, two individual and one relay, but has
since been dogged by an injury that has needed surgery and
which requires a long list of daily treatments.
Judo ”wrestler” mining for more gold for Mongolia
ULAN BATOR (Reuters) – Mongolian judoka Naidan Tuvshinbayar
begins the day jogging through the glistening grasslands he
says helped make him the country’s first Olympic gold medalist.
Back in the training centre, set in verdant hills 1,400 meters
above sea level, he wiggles his hefty frame to thumping house
music, as he slams younger athletes into the ground one-by-one
with a sly grin, occasionally giving them a playful headlock
for good measure.
North Korea looks to flex muscles in London
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Former U.S. Olympians have no regrets over 1968 protest
PALM SPRINGS, California (Reuters) – Forty-four years after
American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos electrified the
Mexico City Olympics with their heads-bowed, arms-raised civil
rights protest, they have no regrets about their controversial
gesture. They were rebuked as unpatriotic and for using the
Olympic platform to make a political statement, but both men
say their stand was for human rights.
Snedeker ties Faldo record to take charge
LYTHAM ST ANNES, England (Reuters) – American Brandt
Snedeker, who missed the cut in his three previous British
Opens, made amends in thrilling fashion by seizing the lead
with a six-under-par 64 in Friday’s second round. While the
majority of the field seemed stuck in reverse gear on a calm
day at Royal Lytham & St Annes, the 31-year-old accelerated
clear with a record-equaling 36-hole total of 10-under 130.
World Cup loss firing up U.S. women for London
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