Cuban Olympic Medalist Defects to U.S.

A 1992 Olympic bronze medal-winning wrestler, Lazaro Reinoso, has defected from Cuba and said he wants to compete for the United States.

Reinoso, 24, who finished second in the 1993 World Championships, said Friday in Miami he will seek political asylum. He left the 13-member Cuban national team while clearing customs Thursday night at Miami International Airport as the team was heading to a meet at Teaneck, N.J.

Soccer

A tear-gas grenade exploded in front of the Japanese Embassy in Buenos Aires, slightly injuring three people in an attack apparently motivated by Japan’s refusal to grant soccer star Diego Maradona a visa because of his drug record.

Maradona’s teammates on Argentina’s national team said they would refuse to play in the Kirin Cup against Japan and France, a tournament they had hoped to use to prepare for the World Cup.

Greece and Bolivia played a scoreless tie in an exhibition between World Cup teams in Athens.

Football

U.S. District judge Thomas Hogan has overturned an arbitrator’s ruling that the Washington Redskins must suspend players who refuse to pay $5,000 in annual union dues.

The decision bolstered the case of former Redskin Terry Orr and 15 players against the NFL Players Assn., a suit in which the players claim that they work in Virginia, a right-to-work state, and do not have to join a union.

The NFLPA claims they work in Washington and must be union members.

Cornerback Tyrone Braxton, a starter last season for the Denver Broncos, has signed a two-year contract with the Miami Dolphins.

Right cornerback Sean Vanhorse, who lost his starting job late last season, has agreed to a two-year, $800,000 contract to remain with the San Diego Chargers.

With New Year’s Day falling on a Sunday, Orange Bowl officials say it will be the only major bowl game played on Jan. 1 next year. The others will be on Monday, Jan. 2.

Basketball

Three teen-agers charged in an $8-million lawsuit that New Jersey Nets Derrick Coleman and Jayson Williams beat them in the early morning hours of April 30 outside a New York bar co-owned by Williams after they teased the players about a playoff loss to the New York Knicks.

The Atlanta Hawks announced that they plan to leave the downtown Omni and build an arena, probably in the northern suburbs, for the 1996-97 NBA season.

Motor Sports

Ernie Irvan won the provisional pole for today’s Budweiser 200 NASCAR Southwest Tour stock car race at Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., with an average lap of 91.514 m.p.h.

Funny car driver Jerry Caminito, 51, was reported in critical condition after crashing during qualifying for the Meguiar’s Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park in Millington, Tenn.

Miscellany

City and provincial taxpayers will have to pay $17 million in 1995 to cover projected losses for the Winnipeg Jets, according to city estimates. It would be a 70% increase from this year.

USC’s women’s tennis team beat Clemson, 6-0, in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Athens, Ga. . . . UC San Diego won the Division II women’s tennis title with a 7-2 victory over Williams College at Kalamazoo, Mich.

Cycling

German amateur Sven Teutenberg became the first rider to win two stages of this year’s Tour DuPont, taking the ninth stage, a 131-mile ride between Asheville and Charlotte, N.C. He had previously won the second stage. Viatcheslav Ekimov, 28, remained the overall leader. . . . Marino Alonso became the first Spaniard to win in this year’s Tour of Spain, taking the 19th stage. Tony Rominger of Switzerland kept his overall lead. . . . The National Cycle League’s Los Angeles Wings will take on four teams in two doubleheaders at 11 a.m. today in Hollywood.

Names in the News

Danielle Scott of Long Beach State won the Honda Award as women’s volleyball player of the year. . . . Marguerite Norris, former president of the Detroit Red Wings, died of heart failure in Waterbury, Conn., at 67. . . . Swen Nater resigned as basketball coach at Christian Heritage College in El Cajon.