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De Lima set to miss Beijing
RIO DE JANEIRO: Vanderlei de Lima, the Brazilian runner who was famously attacked by a spectator while leading the marathon at the 2004 Olympics, is set to miss the Beijing Games because of injury, his trainer said on Wednesday.
De Lima, who went on to win the bronze medal in Athens, has been forced to pull out of Sunday's Prague marathon, his last chance to qualify, because of a nagging injury in the back of his left thigh.
"Although he has partly recovered, he's not in condition to run a high performance race," Ricardo D'Angelo told Brazilian media.
De Lima, 38, became an instant celebrity in Brazil after the incident in 2004.
The rank outsider was leading with around 6km to run when former Irish priest Cornelius Horan ran across the course and bundled him into the crowd.
De Lima managed to struggle free after spectator Polyvios Kossivas, who also became a celebrity in Brazil, intervened.
Aussie walker suffers injury scare
SYDNEY: Australia's world walking champion Nathan Deakes suffered a setback in his buildup to the Beijing Olympics after injuring a hamstring while training in Europe.
Deakes, who won the men's 50km walk at last year's world championships in Osaka, Japan, had been preparing to compete in a 20km race in Russia this weekend when he aggravated the injury.
The 30-year-old immediately withdrew from the race and returned home to Australia but team officials remain confident he will fully recover in time for Beijing.
"Deakes aggravated an existing injury in the lead up to the event, and has returned home to Canberra," Australian team manager Brent Vallance said in a statement on Thursday.
"This injury is an untimely one, however we are confident that Nathan will be at his best in August for the 50km in Beijing."
Williams gets one-game ban
NEW YORK: Atlanta Hawks forward Marvin Williams was suspended for one game without pay on Wednesday for committing a flagrant foul on Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo in Sunday's Game 7 of their first-round playoff series.
Williams knocked Rondo to the floor with 9:09 remaining in the third period of Atlanta's 99-65 loss in Boston. The victory moved the Celtics into the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The 21-year-old Williams will serve his suspension in Atlanta's first game of next season.
Scott in buoyant mood
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida: Elated after making a strong start to the 2008 PGA Tour, former winner Adam Scott of Australia was in upbeat mood for this week's Players Championship.
The 28-year-old from Adelaide won his sixth title on the world's most competitive circuit earlier this month and has not finished worse than joint 25th in seven starts.
"I'm very excited about playing this week," Scott, the world number three, told reporters on the eve of Thursday's opening round at the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass. "I'm in pretty good form so I'm looking forward to it.
"Ever since winning, I've loved coming back here," he added, referring to his triumph in 2004 when he became the tournament's youngest champion aged 23.
"I loved coming here before winning but it's a pretty special place to win on Tour. There aren't too many tournaments like it. To get one under my belt here early was incredible."
Henin revels in return to clay
BERLIN: Justine Henin took just 58 minutes to beat Chan Yung-jan of Chinese Taipei 6-0, 6-2 and reach the third round of the German Open on Wednesday.
The world No 1 from Belgium, playing a tournament on her favorite clay surface for the first time this year, breezed through the first set and stayed in ruthless form in the second, taking two break points out of two to seal an easy win.
"It's good to have a first match like that after not playing on this surface for a year," Henin said at a news conference. "With such a clear victory, keeping up the initiative and playing aggressively - I'm really pleased."
Fourth seeded Serb Jelena Jankovic also had a few problems early on before her class told in a 7-5, 6-0 win over Peng Shuai of China.
Defending champion Ana Ivanovic had a few more problems in her first match of the tournament - the top eight seeds received a bye for the first round - before winning 7-6, 6-2 against Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan.
(China Daily 05/09/2008 page23)
