Swimming: Australian teenage sensation Ian Thorpe nearly packed his bags to leave a World Cup meeting yesterday after a row over drugs testing but stayed to shatter his own world 200 metres freestyle record.
Thorpe clocked one minute 41.10 seconds in the new Berlin pool, taking an incredible 1.44 seconds off his previous short course mark of 1:42.54 set last month in Sydney.
In under three weeks, the 17-year-old has taken more than two seconds off the record.
But he almost did not take part in the second day's finals after Australian and American swimmers threatened to pull out because drug-testing procedures at the pool did not comply with FINA regulations.
The dispute was settled after they were assured the sample containers would be sealed under police supervision and in the presence of a FINA official.
Cycling: After recording five top-20 placings on stages, including three top-10 finishes, Irish neo-pro Ciaran Power substituted thoughts of personal ambition for some selfless team riding in the last two days of the Tour of Lankawi at the weekend.
With Power's team-mate Matthew Stephens in fourth place overall and the Linda McCartney squad third in the team classification, the 23-year-old dedicated himself to preserving the status quo until the race ended yesterday with a criterium in Kuala Lumpur.
Ultimately just one of those goals was achieved, with the American Saturn team rider Antonio Cruz gaining enough time to displace the s Linda McCartney squad from their place on the podium, but Stephens's fourth overall was of bigger concern to the British team and they will return from Malaysia satisfied.
Power placed 70th in Saturday's 84-mile stage, which was won by Italian rider Ivan Quaranta, and he crossed the line in the bunch yesterday in 58th place. Cricket: Jacques Kallis and Shaun Pollock made the telling contributions as South Africa reached the final of the triangular limited overs series with a 53-run win over Zimbabwe in Port Elizabeth yesterday. Kallis scored an unbeaten 98 and paceman Pollock produced an opening burst of three for six off seven overs as the home side made 204 for seven in their 50 overs and dismissed Zimbabwe for 151 in 46 overs.
South Africa's opponents in Saturday's final in Johannesburg will be decided in the last round-robin match between Zimbabwe and England at Centurion Park on Wednesday.
