South African Swimmer Heyns Breaks 100 Breaststroke Mark

South African Penny Heyns broke the women’s 100-meter breaststroke world record Monday in Durban, South Africa with a time of 1:07.46 during heats at her national championships.

Heyns, who swims for the University of Nebraska, shaved 23 one-hundredths of a second off the previous 50-meter pool record, set by Australian Samantha Riley at the 1994 world championships in Rome.

The 21-year-old Heyns, who set the record during the final qualifying heat, predicted she could go even faster.

“Now it’s my record and I know if I try hard I can break it again, because I don’t feel I’ve done my best yet.”

Jurisprudence

Former Nebraska football player Christian Peter was cited for third-degree assault after he allegedly grabbed a female by the neck in Kearney, Neb.

No formal charges have been filed, Buffalo County Deputy Attorney Amy Jacobsen said.

Prosecutors dropped drug charges against Grambling guard Denise Goins and she will play for the Tigers in the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament.

Football

The Chicago Bears signed wide receiver Curtis Conway to a four-year, $10 million contract, making him the third team member to receive a contract this year worth more than $2 million per season.

Conway, a former player for USC and a restricted free agent, caught 62 passes for 1,037 yards and 12 touchdowns last season for the Bears.

Safety Kevin Ross returned to the AFC West when he agreed to a two-year, $1.8 million contract with the San Diego Chargers.

The 12-year veteran, who played previously for the Chiefs and most recently with the Falcons, will replace Bo Orlando at free safety. Orlando, a six-year veteran, is expected to sign with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Milt Woodard, a former sportswriter who later became president of the American Football League, has died in San Jose. He was 84.

Auto Racing

NASCAR fined John Andretti $2,000 for ramming the back of another car Sunday after the Pontiac 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

NASCAR spokesman Andy Hall said the fine was levied for “conduct detrimental to the sport of auto racing.”

Tennis

Gilbert Schaller, an Austrian ranked 19th in the world, made an opening-round exit from his third straight tournament, losing 6-1, 7-6 (7-1) to Patrick McEnroe in the Franklin Templeton Classic in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Schaller, a clay-court specialist, upset Pete Sampras in the first round the 1995 French Open. He entered this event as the fifth seed despite a 2-5 singles record this year.

Top seed Wayne Ferreira advanced with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands, while UCLA student Justin Gimelstob, a wild card entrant ranked No. 436, beat Karol Kucera of England 6-4, 6-2.

Boris Becker and Michael Stich withdrew from the ABN AMRO tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Becker, who withdrew from the tournament for the fourth straight year, sent a fax to say he was in bed with a virus.

Stich will be out of action for two-to-three weeks with an injury to his left ankle sustained in a locker-room incident during last week’s Milan tournament.

Golf

U.S. Senior Open champion Tom Weiskopf shot a 2-under-par 70 to take a one-shot lead over J.C. Snead after the opening round of the Senior Slam at Cabo Real Golf Club in Los Cabos, Mexico.

Jack Nicklaus rallied from an opening nine of 39 with 34 on the back side and is two shots back of Weiskopf heading into today’s final 18 holes.

Miscellany

The California State Games, the largest athletic competition for children in the state, will be played in Orange County this year.

The seventh annual event, featuring 20 sports, will take place Aug. 8-12 in 13 cities throughout the county. Event organizers expect participation from more than 5,500 athletes.

Rick Swenson, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race’s only five-time winner, could be out of this year’s race less than a day after it began under the race’s new “dead dog rule.”

A 3-year-old female on Swenson’s sled died and the new rule would disqualify any Iditarod musher who loses an animal during the course of the race.

Travis Roy, the paralyzed hockey player from Boston University, wants to go back to school and get on with his life.

“I’ve got to try and make this some sort of a regular life,” he said during a call to Boston radio station WEEI. “I’ve got to get an education, and find a job. I can still do that stuff, it’s definitely a little more difficult.”

Roy, 20, was playing in his first game with the Terriers on Oct. 20 when he crashed into the boards minutes into the game. The collision paralyzed him.

Following a nine-month search, American University in Washington named Cal State-Sacramento athletic director Lee McElroy Jr. as its new director of athletics, effective May 1.

The Olympic beach volleyball field trials will be in Baltimore at the Harborview Complex from June 5-9.

The U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team, known as “Dream Team III”, will begin its Gold Medal quest on July 20 against Argentina.

The men will also play preliminary round games against Angola on July 22, Lithuania on July 24, China on July 26 and Croatia on July 28. All of the USA’s games will be at the Georgia Dome.

The trainer of Cigar says he’s optimistic the Horse of the Year will run in the $4 million Dubai World Cup on March 27.