Sotomayor Takes His World High Jump Record Up Half an Inch

Javier Sotomayor of Cuba broke his world record in the high jump Tuesday with a leap of 8 feet 1/2 inch in a meet at Salamanca, Spain.

His mark of eight feet had stood for four years.

The bar teetered but stayed up on his second, record-breaking attempt at the Salamanca Invitational track and field meet. Sotomayor leaped from the pit to be mobbed by athletes.

“This record could last several more years,” he said.

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Austrian sprinter Andreas Berger admitted that he and teammates Franz Ratzenberger, Gernot Kellermayr and Thomas Renner took banned substances.

The four tested positive earlier this month in tests carried out by the International Amateur Athletic Federation, the world governing body for track and field.

Berger, 32, said he turned to drugs after two false starts in the Barcelona Olympics, two Achilles’ tendon operations and a hernia.

Tennis

Andre Agassi defeated Patrick Kuhnen of Germany, 6-2, 6-4, in a first-round match in the rain-delayed Player’s International Canadian Open at Montreal. On a day when most matches were washed out, one seeded player lost. No. 14 Amos Mansdorf of Israel was beaten, 6-3, 6-3, by Aaron Krickstein.

Beate Reinstadler upset seventh-seeded Lisa Raymond, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, in the U.S. Women’s Hardcourt Championships in Stratton Mountain, Vt.

Two seeded players advanced to the third round. No. 4 Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere defeated Anne Mall, 6-0, 6-1, and No. 5 Zina Garrison-Jackson dispatched Jennifer Santrock, 6-1, 6-1.

Mary Joe Fernandez withdrew from the tournament because of a right shoulder injury.

Basketball

Etdrick Bohannon, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward from San Bernardino, will transfer from Arizona because of apparent dissatisfaction over playing time last season.

Bohannon was said to be interested in transferring to Cal State Long Beach, among other schools.

The Lakers will open training camp Oct. 8 in Honolulu, where they will play exhibitions against the Utah Jazz on Oct. 15 and 16.

Phoenix Sun forward Jerrod Mustaf was among those questioned by telephone about the murder of a woman described as an acquaintance, his agent said.

Glendale, Ariz., police said Althea Hayes, 29, was found shot to death in her apartment Saturday.

Miscellany

The Chinese Olympic Committee said that the U.S. House gravely violated the Olympic spirit by passing a resolution opposing Beijing’s bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics.

A statement issued by the Chinese committee described the vote as an “overbearing act” by a small group of Americans and a “gross interference” in the affairs of the International Olympic Committee.

NASCAR driver Stanley Smith’s condition was upgraded to critical but stable in a hospital at Birmingham, Ala. The 43-year-old Chelsea, Ala., driver fractured his skull in a crash in the DieHard 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Names in the News

Canadian Rob McMillan shot a four-under-par 66 to take a three-shot lead after the first of two days of qualifying in the U.S. Junior Golf Championship at Portland, Ore. Tiger Woods of Cypress, the two-time defending champion, is at 69. Ted Oh of Torrance shot 71. . .The Washington Capitals re-signed free-agent left wing Kelly Miller to a two-year $1.65 million contract. . . . Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins will undergo surgery to determine the cause of his continued back pain. . . . Johnny Mutolo, a professional mountain bike racer from Thousand Oaks, is in fair condition at Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, Colo., after a head injury when he crashed in his downhill run during the Grundig World Cup at Vail, Colo., on July 18. . . . Heavyweight Alex Garcia of San Fernando won the last three rounds on all three judges’ scorecards Tuesday night to earn a draw with James Warring in Las Vegas. . . . Undefeated middleweight Raul Marquez underwent surgery in Houston to repair scarring and torn tendons in both hands and is expected to miss up to six months.