Cycling: Germany's Jan Ullrich stormed to the world time trial championship title in Treviso, Italy, yesterday less than two weeks after winning the Tour of Spain. Averaging 50.2 kph over a 50.6 kms circuit in the Veneto countryside, Ullrich recorded one hour and 28 seconds, 14 seconds faster than Sweden's Michael Andersson who claimed an unexpected silver. Britain's Chris Boardman took the bronze, finishing 58 seconds slower than Ullrich.
Ullrich, 1993 amateur world road race champion, showed his best form in setting the fastest times through four intermediate time checks. Andersson had topped the leader board until Ullrich arrived, but of the pre-race threats only Boardman responded, fighting back from sixth fastest at half-way.
Tennis: Defending champion Sandrine Testud staged a remarkable comeback to defeat US Open champion Serena Williams 3-6 6-4 7-5 and reach the quarter-finals of the Porsche Grand Prix in Filderstadt, Germany yesterday.
The Frenchwoman trailed 4-2 in the second set and 5-1 in the third before rallying to win the last six games of the match and end the third seed's 16-match winning streak.
There were no such problems for the top two seeds with Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Lindsay Davenport of the United States both easing into the last eight. Davenport needed only 43 minutes to overwhelm Italian qualifier Silvia Farina 6-0 6-1 while Hingis took just six minutes longer to defeat American Jennifer Capriati 6-4 6-0.
Mary Pierce of France was another second-round winner, although the number four seed needed almost two-and-a-half hours to battle past Natasha Zvereva of Belarus 7-6 5-7 6-4.
Meanwhile, former Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna, who announced her retirement from the game after defeat by Italy's Silvia Farina in the same tournament on Tuesday, has decided to end her career at the Chase Championships in New York in November. "If I qualify, I'll play there," said Novotna, who is currently ranked 18th in the WTA Tour rankings and has only an outside chance of making the championships she won two years ago.
Sailing: Sydney to Hobart yacht race organisers said yesterday they had received more than double the number of applications for this year's race despite last year's tragedy when six yachtsmen died at sea.
Hugo van Kretschmar, Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, said competitors from as far afield as Sweden, the Czech Republic and the United States had expressed interest in the race.
"The Sydney to Hobart race has, if anything, grown in stature as a result of last year's circumstances," van Kretschmar said. "The world at large recognises the challenge associated with this great race and admire the quest for adventure that compels sailors to compete year after year.
"As was so tragically demonstrated last year there are clearly risks associated with this venture but then some risk is an essential component of any adventure," van Kretschmar added.
More stringent safety training and equipment requirements have been brought in for this year's 630-nautical mile event starting on December 26th.
Gaelic Football: Tyrone attackers Mattie McGleenan and Adrian Cush are out of Tyrone's pre-Christmas National Football League campaign. Both players have opted out due to pressure of work, but may be available when the National League resumes for its post-Christmas phase next February. The pair will definitely miss the first three games, starting with the visit of Dublin on October 31st, the trip to Kerry on November 14th, and the home tie against Roscommon on November 28th.
Motor Sport: The boss of Jaguar's new Formula One team rates Eddie Irvine the perfect man to spearhead the team's first steps on the grand prix circuit next year. Jonathan Browning is manager of the Jaguar stable, as Stewart Ford is to be known next season, and believes Irvine shares similar personality traits with the identity of the famous brand. "We chose him for his personality and for his ability to work in unison with team managers and technicians," he said.
