TOKYO: Japanese judo queen Ryoko Tani is to give up her bid
TOKYO: Japanese judo queen Ryoko Tani is to give up her bid
for a record-stretching seventh straight world title to have a
baby, she said on Monday.
The 29-year-old double Olympic champion, who is married to
Japanese baseball player Yoshitomo Tani, had been favorite to
extend her winning run in Cairo in September before announcing
the pregnancy.
She had already qualified for the world championships by
winning the national trials, even with an injured hand.
The world bantamweight champion retained her Olympic gold in
the under 48 kilogram category last August. -- AFP
Phelps wins hat trick
in world swim tuneup
SANTA CLARA, California: Olympic swim hero Michael Phelps won
his third title in as many days at the Santa Clara Invitational,
taking the 200m individual medley in 1 min, 59.31 secs on Sunday.
Barely half an hour after a third-place effort in the 100m
freestyle, Phelps won the 200 IM by 3.06 seconds over Ryan
Lochte, although Phelps' time was well off his world record of
1:55.94 set in August 2003.
Six-time Olympic champion Phelps, 19, won the 200 freestyle
Friday and the 100 butterfly Saturday and used the final day of
the last tuneup meet for next month's World Championships in
Montreal to test his endurance and speed. -- AFP
Injury scare
hits Powell
KINGSTON, Jamaica: World 100 meters record-holder Asafa Powell
is fighting off an injury scare after winning the Jamaican 100
meters athletics crown here on Saturday and booking a berth at
August's World Championships in Helsinki.
Powell won the sprint title in 10.04 seconds but pulled up
after the race and fell to the ground, shocking a crowd
celebrating his first meet since setting the world record of 9.77
seconds on June 14 at Athens.
After a few seconds, Powell slowly rose and was aided by coach
Stephen Francis in walking off the track.
"It hurt a lot," said Powell, clutching his right thigh. "It's
really painful. I don't know what happened but I will be getting
some treatment and hopefully everything will be all right."
-- AFP
Ex IOC member Kim
to be paroled
SEOUL: South Korea will parole former International Olympic
Committee (IOC) vice-president Kim Un-yong this week, a year
after he was found guilty of corruption, a justice ministry
spokesman said on Monday.
Long one of the most powerful figures in the Olympic movement,
Kim was sentenced last June to two years in prison for embezzling
some 3.3 billion won (US$3.26 million) and accepting 788 million
won in kickbacks while serving as the head of international
sports organizations.
The sentence was later reduced to two years on appeal.
"The decision on parole was based on a thorough review of the
case, taking into consideration factors such as age and health,"
the spokesman said by telephone.
He said Kim, 74, would be paroled on June 30 because of health
and other concerns
The IOC's decision-making executive board agreed this year
with an ethics commission report that Kim had "seriously
tarnished the reputation of the Olympic movement". Kim has always
denied the charges against him. -- Reuters