A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Greek sprinters’ trial starts today
ATHLETICS:Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou are finally set to face trial for allegedly making false statements to authorities in a doping scandal on the eve of the 2004 Athens Games.
The trial, which has been repeatedly postponed, will be heard by an Athens misdemeanour court today.
Greece will be hoping the conclusion of the trial will help close an ugly chapter in the countrys sporting history.
Kenteris, the 200 metres gold medallist at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and favourite to be flag bearer at the 2004 Games, and Thanou, 100 metres silver medallist in Sydney, missed a drugs test at the Athens Olympics and said they had crashed a motorcycle on the way to the athletes’ village.
An inquiry into the crash found discrepancies in Kenteris and Thanou’s testimony, witness statements and medical reports regarding their injuries. One witness was charged with perjury.
Allen beats O’Sullivan in Masters
SNOOKER:Ronnie O'Sullivan suffered a first-round exit at the British Masters as Mark Allen battled to a 6-4 win at Wembley Arena. Allen had dominated the early exchanges, leading 3-1 at the mid-session interval but O'Sullivan, currently down at number nine in the world rankings, fought his way back to 4-4. The Northern Ireland potter recovered his poise, though, and came through to set up a clash with either Stephen Hendry or world champion Neil Robertson.
Allen took the opening frame with breaks of 38 and 32 and was handed a chance in the second when O’Sullivan missed an easy black. He was unable to capitalise, though, and “The Rocket” levelled.In the final frame Allen produced an excellent long pot and cleared to the blue to win.
Australian trio earn Open place
GOLF:Australians Matt Millar, Kurt Barnes and Rick Kulacz have all earned places in this July's British Open at Sandwich, the course where their compatriot Greg Norman achieved the lowest total in the championship's history 18 years ago.
The trio, ranked 914th, 540th and 469th in the world respectively, survived yesterday’s 36-hole international qualifier at Kingston Heath in Melbourne. Millar, who on 10 under par beat Barnes by one after rounds of 66 and 68, and Kulacz, who defeated former US Open runner-up Stephen Leaney in a play-off for the final spot, will be playing their first major.
- SKIING:Russian cross-country skier Nikolay Pankratov has received a two-year ban after being caught carrying equipment for blood doping, the country's skiing association (RSA) said yesterday. In September, custom officials found 22 vials of the banned substance Actovegin along with equipment for intravenous injections in Pankratov's luggage after he was stopped on the Austrian-Swiss border.
Wozniacki plays down defeat
TENNIS:World number one Caroline Wozniacki shrugged off defeat in her first competitive match of the year at the Sydney International yesterday, saying she would be ready to go at the Australian Open next week.
Dane Wozniacki went down 6-3 6-3 to Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulova in a rain-disrupted second-round match and was later joined at the exit by second seed Vera Zvonareva and fourth seed Sam Stosur.
“It happens,” the 20-year-old said. “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. You need to learn from the losses.
“It’s the first tournament of the year. I just want to get the match playing going. There were a few positive things in there that I can take out of it, and then I just need to work on the rest. But I’m confident that for Melbourne I’ll be okay.”
Klitschko to defend title against Solis in March
BOXING:WBC heavyweight champion Vitaly Klitschko will defend his title against 2004 Olympic champion Odlanier Solis from Cuba in Cologne on March 19th, the Ukrainian said yesterday.
The 39-year-old Klitschko, whose younger brother holds three of the other four belts, retained his world heavyweight title by beating American Shannon Briggs on points in October, improving his record to 41 wins, two defeats.
“Solis is an experienced, quick and uncomfortable fighter,” said Klitschko in a statement. “I will not underestimate him.” The 30-year-old Cuban, who beat Ray Austin in December to get a shot at the title, is undefeated in 17 professional fights, with 12 knock-outs.
“Vitaly has been choosing weak opponents for years. But that is finished now. I will beat him, take his belts and leave Cologne as champion,” said Solis.
Vladimir Klitschko is fighting Briton Dereck Chisora on April 30th and said he expected to face WBA champion David Haye on July 2nd.
Manager of Month named
MANAGER OF MONTH: Anne Keenan Buckley, team manager of the Irish Under-23 men’s cross country team, has been named Philips Manager of the Month for December. In the Algarve on December 12th, the team secured Ireland’s first gold medal at the championships since the inaugural event 16 years ago.
