Iditarod Ejects Former Champion After Death

Rick Swenson, the only five-time champion of the Iditarod, was ejected from the sled dog race after one of his dogs died, a decision that drew angry protests Tuesday in Anchorage, Alaska.

Swenson was disqualified Monday for violating the “expired dog rule” that was introduced this year in response to criticism from animal-rights groups. The rule is designed to protect the more than 1,000 dogs in the mushing marathon. Last year, two dogs died during the 1,150-mile race from Anchorage to Nome.

Race officials made their decision hours after Swenson brought a dead dog into Skwentna, only 149 miles into the race, which began Saturday.

Iditarod Rule No. 18 calls for mushers to be disqualified “unless the cause of death is an external force beyond the musher’s control such as a moose or snowmachine.” Swenson’s elimination did not imply deliberate misconduct and an examination of the carcass failed to turn up a cause of death.

Swenson, who had run in 20 of the previous Iditarods without losing a dog, reacted angrily to his ejection, saying, “There are a lot of people who don’t understand dog mushing running the dog race.”

Tennis

To-ranked Pete Sampras, who led the United States to the Davis Cup championship last year, won’t play in the second-round match April 5-7 in the Czech Republic because of a schedule conflict with two individual tournaments.

Sampras also skipped last month’s opening-round victory over Mexico but said he would be available to play in the semifinals and final later this year, if the United States gets that far.

Olympics

A top Chinese Olympic official criticized U.S. Swimming for its lenient treatment of Jessica Foschi, the 15-year-old freestyler who tested positive for steroids.

Foschi was given a reprieve last month when U.S. Swimming’s board of directors rescinded a two-year ban and put her on probation instead, clearing her to compete in this week’s Olympic trials in Indianapolis.

The United States led an international campaign for tough sanctions against China after seven of its swimmers tested positive for steroids at the Asian Games in 1994.

“It’s not good for America to take this type of position,” said He Zhenliang, the Chinese member on the International Olympic Committee’s executive board. “You have to be consistent and fair, not severe only for some and lenient for others.”

Alexandre de Merode, IOC medical commission chairman, confirmed that a new high-tech drug-testing machine will be used at this summer’s Atlanta Games.

De Merode said the high-resolution mass spectrometer is three times more effective than standard equipment in detecting use of anabolic steroids.

Boxing

A federal judge in Las Vegas has stopped Lennox Lewis and his promoters from pursuing legal action aimed at getting the World Boxing Council to withhold its sanction from Frank Bruno’s title defense against Mike Tyson.

The order by U.S. District Judge Lloyd George means that a hearing set for Thursday in New Jersey will not be held and that the Bruno-Tyson bout March 16 in Las Vegas probably will be a championship fight. Lewis contends that he, not Tyson, should be the challenger because he beat Lionel Butler in a 1994 fight. The WBC had said the winner would be the mandatory challenger for the title then held by Oliver McCall.

Evander Holyfield, a former undisputed champion, will fight Bobby Czyz, a former cruiserweight champion; Lennox Lewis, a former WBC champion, will fight Ray Mercer, and Tim Witherspoon, a former WBA and WBC champion, will fight Jorge Luis Gonzalez on a card at Madison Square Garden May 10.

Miscellany

The University of Southern Maine said it has asked the NCAA to restore the eligibility of 11 baseball players who gambled on intercollegiate athletics.