Sports Digest

A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Controversy forces Bloomberg to cancel iconic race

The New York City marathon was cancelled amid growing criticism that staging the race tomorrow would drain resources from an area reeling in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

“While holding the race would not require diverting resources from the recovery effort, it is clear that it has become the source of controversy and division,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York Road Runners, which organises the race, said in a statement released last night.

“The marathon has always brought our city together and inspired us with stories of courage and determination. We would not want a cloud to hang over the race or its participants, and so we have decided to cancel it.”

Around 500 Irish people are believed to have travelled to New York to run in the race.

Wada will not appeal Usada's decision to ban Armstrong

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has announced it will not appeal against the decision to ban American cyclist Lance Armstrong for life and strip him of his seven Tour de France titles.

Wada had the option of challenging the ruling that was made by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) and backed by the International Cycling Union (UCI).

“Wada has no concerns as to the complete process and the overwhelming weight of evidence,” president John Fahey said in a statement yesterday.

“Rather it is of the opinion that the actions of Usada have highlighted the need in all cases for athletes to be able to come forward with evidence that will help rid sport of doping cheats.

“This case has resulted in a right and proper sanction for the athlete in question and has served as a revelation to the world of sport. For this Usada must be applauded,” Fahey added.

Wada, embroiled in a war of words with the UCI, also called on cycling’s governing body to reveal details of its independent investigation.

Janowicz on a high after Tipsarevic win

Jerzy Janowicz is on such a high that he barely needs to sleep or eat between matches at the Paris Masters. The Polish qualifier is the man of the moment having claimed his fourth top-20 scalp in a row after beating German Philipp Kohlschreiber, Croatian Marin Cilic, Briton Andy Murray and Serbian Janko Tipsarevic, his quarter-final victim yesterday.

Asked if he slept well after eliminating world number three Murray in the third round after saving a match point on Thursday, Janowicz said with a grin: “I stayed on my computer for a few hours. I just went to sleep at 5am. I just was not able to sleep this night, but as I can see, it doesn’t matter if I sleep.”

While the eighth-seeded Tipsarevic was booed for retiring exhausted when trailing 3-6 6-1 4-1, Janowicz enjoyed the support of the Paris crowd.

But it is unlikely to last as the world number 69, who started the year outside the top 200 but will feature in the top 40 on Monday, next faces local favourite Gilles Simon.

Trump reaches top rung in China

Judd Trump was earmarked for the world number one ranking from an early age and yesterday he reflected on “a long road” to attain that status as he reached the top rung and another major final.

The 23-year-old from Bristol made a 147 maximum break in an age-group event as a 14-year-old and has been a professional since the age of 16, but making the transition from being an all-conquering junior to the paid ranks was not the easiest step.

It took Trump several years to bed down as a professional, and it was almost out of the blue in April 2011 when, as a qualifier, he lifted the China Open.

Trump has not looked back, going on to reach the World Championship final a month later and then landing the UK Championship title in York in December of last year. He stands on the brink of another major trophy, having swatted aside Peter Ebdon 9-1 in their International Championship final in Chengdu, China, yesterday, to set up a showdown tomorrow with Neil Robertson or Shaun Murphy, who contest the second semi-final today.