A round-up of today's other stories in brief
McCann finishes second in the Tour de Taiwan
CYCLING:David McCann ended the Tour de Taiwan a superb second overall yesterday, moving up a place when race leader Mehdi Sohrabi was dropped six kilometres from the finish, writes Shane Stokes.
McCann was 14th on the uphill finale to Yangmingshan, crossing the line 17 seconds behind the solo winner Adam Semple (Drapac Professional Cycling).
Sohrabi was slightly ahead of Tabriz Petrochemical team-mate Markus Eibegger heading into the stage, but got into difficulty heading towards the top of the final climb. McCann and the Austrian Eibegger finished together, ending the ten day race 13 seconds apart.
McCann rode strongly throughout the event. He was second on stage two and again on Sunday’s eighth stage.
His fellow Irishman Ryan Sherlock was 37th on the stage and a solid 33rd overall.
He is only in his first year of international racing, and has performed well.
Hendry far too hot for Stevens
SNOOKER: Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry romped into the second round of the China Open with a 5-0 thrashing of Wales' Matthew Stevens. Hendry, 42, opened with a century and had further breaks of 93, 75 and 65, restricting Stevens to only nine points during the entire five frames. Ken Doherty failed to make it past the wildcard round as he was trounced 5-1 by Chinese wildcard Li Hang, who will now face Scot Graeme Dott.
Pitches go blue for Olympic Games
HOCKEY:Blue pitches with pink surrounds will be used for the London 2012 Olympics hockey tournament, organisers said yesterday.
It will be the first time a major hockey tournament has been played on a blue surface since artificial green turf began to replace natural grass pitches in the 1970s.
It is hoped that the vivid colour combination will provide a better spectacle for fans at London’s Olympic Park hockey venue and those watching on television.
“As we look to be innovative as well as providing first-class facilities, we are pleased to be working with the International Hockey Federation and installing blue hockey pitches in 2012,” Debbie Jevans, London 2012’s Director of Sport, said in a statement.
“The colour blue will define hockey in 2012.” The venue, when built, will hold 16,000 fans.
Sharapova brushes aside Stosur
TENNIS:A resurgent Maria Sharapova is one win away from back-to-back semi-finals at WTA events, after brushing aside fourth seed Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-1 at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami yesterday. The 16th seed, who reached the semi-finals last week at Indian Wells, had three aces and five break points in the hour and 21 minute match, and now has a 7-0 record against Stosur.
“Her serve is one of her biggest weapons. She has a great kick out there and gets more spin than anyone on tour,” said Sharapova, who said she focused on the quality of her return to break Stosur. This is the first time the Russian player has competed in the main draw at Miami since 2007, and she will play number 26 seed Alexandra Dulgheru in the quarter-finals.
Thanou proclaims her innocence
ATHLETICS: Former Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou said she never doped or hid from anyone as she testified in court yesterday in her trial over alleged false statements to authorities in the 2004 Athens Olympics scandal.
Thanou, 36, told the Athens misdemeanour court she could not recall the exact details of how a motorcycle accident involving her and fellow athlete Kostas Kenteris, who is also on trial, had happened.
The pair are accused of staging the crash on the eve of the Games to avoid a doping test.
“I never doped or hid from anyone,” Thanou told the court.
We had to do something. Suddenly I saw Kostas getting the keys to the motorcycle and I followed him. During the journey I felt the bike shake and we fell.”
Thanou said she could not remember how the accident occurred, only that a passing driver took them both to the hospital because Kenteris felt faint.
Wanjiru to miss London Marathon
ATHLETICS: Olympic champion Samuel Wanjiru has pulled out of this month's London Marathon because of a knee injury but fellow Kenyan and another former winner Martin Lel will race, organisers said yesterday.
Wanjiru, who won gold in Beijing in 2008 and the London Marathon a year later, has not raced since winning the Chicago Marathon in October.
“I am bitterly disappointed not to be able to race in London this year,” Wanjiru, whose wife recently dropped a charge of attempted murder against him, said in a statement.
“Winning the London Marathon in 2009 was one of the great achievements of my career and I was hoping to become the London champion again. Unfortunately, it has not responded well enough for me to make my final preparations for London.
Lel, winner in London in 2005, 2007 and 2008, has asked to be added to the field after recovering from his own injury problems.
