Chinese Gold Medalist Chooses School Over Diving Career

Fu Mingxia, who at 17 won two gold medals for China in diving at the Atlanta Olympics, plans to attend the management school of Beijing’s Qinghua University, with the help of national sports authorities.

“I want to retire,” Fu said in Tuesday’s editions of the China Youth Daily. “I’m already too old.”

She said she wants to quit at the top of her career.

“It’s like climbing a hill,” she said. “When you reach the top, there’s no way to go other than down. The further you walk, the further down you go.”

Fu’s platform and springboard golds at Atlanta made her the first woman in 36 years to win both Olympic events, adding to a gold she won at the 1992 Olympics.

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Hungarian government officials confirmed newspaper reports that half of Hungary’s swimming team, which won six Olympic medals, “qualified” for the Atlanta Games on the basis of fictitious times from a meet that was never held.

Rezsoe Gallov said 11 of the 22 Hungarian swimmers had not met Olympic qualification times at national and regional meets. So imaginary times from a phantom meet were submitted. Two swimmers were even disqualified for the sake of authenticity.

MTI, the state-owned news agency, said federation head Tamas Gyarfas had resigned.

Jurisprudence

Former heavyweight champion John Tate was arrested on charges of stealing construction materials from a supermarket at Knoxville, Tenn.

Two University of Miami football players facing charges, defensive end Derrick Ham and safety Tremain Mack, agreed to enter pretrial diversion, and if they fulfill the requirements the unrelated cases will be dropped. . . Tennessee State quarterback Robey Williams, who has been suspended from the team since August for academic reasons, has been charged with assault for hitting his girlfriend. . . Soccer star Eric Cantona of Manchester United has been sued by a man who claims he was assaulted by Cantona during a brawl at a hotel two years ago in Liverpool, England.

Pro Basketball

Marcus Camby has agreed to a three-year contract with the Toronto Raptors that will pay him more than $8 million. . . . The contract of Bob Bass, vice president of operations for the Charlotte Hornets, has been extended through the 1997-98 season. . . . The New Jersey Nets signed free-agent forward Tony Massenberg to a one-year contract.

Miscellany

Donovan Bailey, the Olympic 100-meter champion and world record-holder, and Michael Johnson, the 200-meter gold medalist and world-record holder, are planning to race 150 meters but Bailey said the exhibition would not take place before next year.

Kim Wood, daughter of Arkansas chancellor Dan Ferritor, has resigned as academic coordinator for Razorbacks basketball after admitting she knowingly violated an NCAA rule and lied about it to investigators, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

Someone who skis dangerously, in violation of a local “skier responsibility code,” and injures another skier can be sued for damages, California appeals court ruled.

The 3rd District Court of Appeal last week reinstated a lawsuit by Kenneth Zubrick, who suffered a broken leg in a collision with Michael Ford skiing at Squaw Valley in March, 1993. The appeals court said skiers must follow the state skier responsibility code.

Names in the News

Kansas State and former Pepperdine basketball Coach Tom Asbury said he will interview this week for the vacant coaching job at the University of California. . . . Colorado Rapid Coach Bob Houghton resigned with one game left in the Major League Soccer season. . . . Alton “Smitty” Smith Sr., who played in black golf tournaments during an era when he was not permitted to play on most courses, died at 87 in Indianapolis. . . . Longtime horseman Vinnie Moscarelli, 66, racing partner of entertainer Burt Bacharach, died of a heart attack while attending races at Delaware Park in Stanton, Del., Sunday.