■ATHLETICS
Olympian shot dead
David Laut, who won a bronze medal for the US in the shot put at the 1984 Olympics, was shot to death after confronting intruders outside his California home, authorities said on Saturday. He was 52. Laut was gunned down early on Friday when he went outside to check on a noise in the yard, Oxnard Police Sergeant Ken Klopman said. Police on Saturday hadn’t made any arrests or identified suspects. Laut also won a gold medal at the 1979 Pan American Games. He was favored to win the gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics after throwing 21.59m at the US Olympic trials. He won the bronze instead with a mark of 20.97 on his final attempt at the Los Angeles Coliseum. In 1985, he was ranked the No. 7 shot-putter in the world and the No. 1 American. But his career nearly ended the following year when he tore tendons in both knees during an agility test to become a fireman.
■ALPINE SKIING
Toni Sailer laid to rest
Austria on Saturday said goodbye to three-time Olympic alpine ski champion Toni Sailer who passed away after a lengthy illness. The 73-year-old was buried in his home town of Kitzbuehel after a two-hour long mass attended by several hundred mourners. Sailer’s coffin was covered in white and red flowers and a photograph of him during his heyday as a successful champion stood among the flowers. Sailer, who is considered as one of the best-ever alpine skiers, won three Olympic gold medals and seven world titles between 1946 and 1958 and became a successful actor and singer after his active skiing career.
■CYCLING
Cancellara wins first stage
Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara clocked 5 minutes 20 seconds on Saturday to win the 4.8km opening stage of the Spanish Vuelta. Belgium’s Tom Boonen finished nine seconds behind at the Assen MotoGP circuit to take second place, while American Tyler Farrar was third, 12 seconds adrift. Alexandre Vinokourov, back after serving a ban for blood doping during the 2007 Tour de France, finished seventh, 18 seconds behind Cancellara. Defending champion Alberto Contador skipped the race after winning this year’s Tour, and rival Lance Armstrong, third in the Tour, also withdrew.
■MARATHON
Shimahara wins in Hokkaido
Asian Games silver medalist Kiyoko Shimahara of Japan won the Hokkaido marathon yesterday, with Kenya’s Daniel Njenga taking the men’s title. Shimahara, whose previous best finishes were second in the 2004 Tokyo and 2005 Hokkaido marathons, pulled away from teammate Akemi Ozaki at the 12km mark and crossed the finishing line in two hours 25 minutes, 10 seconds. Ozaki was never in a position to challenge Shimahara’s lead and had to settle for second place in 2:27:23, ahead of Satoko Uetani in 2:33:55.
■VOLLEYBALL
Japan wins third of three
Japan saw off South Korea yesterday for a third win out of three to advance with Iran to the world men’s volleyball championships. The Japanese, who finished eighth in the 2006 championships, coasted to a 25-23, 25-16, 25-22 victory to finish top in the four-team round robin competition. Earlier in the day, Iran defeated Kazakhstan 25-18, 25-14, 23-25, 25-16 for a second win against one defeat, and then waited for the outcome of the Japan-South Korea clash to ensure they were through. South Korea ended third with a 1-2 win-loss record, ahead of winless Kazakhstan.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
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