Sharp, Stewart Are Fastest in Phoenix

Scott Sharp and Tony Stewart became the first Indy Racing League drivers to exceed 170 mph in the league’s new cars on a one-mile oval Wednesday during the second annual Test in the West at Phoenix International Raceway.

Stewart was the first, turning a lap at 170.455 mph in the morning session in Team Menard’s G Force-Oldsmobile Aurora.

Sharp then turned a lap at 170.697 mph in A.J. Foyt’s G Force-Aurora.

The race is the Indy Racing League Phoenix 200, March 21-23 at Phoenix, the fourth event of the 1996-97 IRL season.

Boxing

Riddick Bowe says adjusting to screaming drill instructors was a “complete shock,” and he quickly realized family life was more important to him than Marine boot camp.

“Contrary to many media accounts, the physical training was not difficult for me,” the former heavyweight champion said. “Remember, I had just finished two wars with Andrew Golata and hold two victories over Evander Holyfield. I could handle the physical part.”

These were Bowe’s first comments since leaving Parris Island, S.C., Friday after only 10 days of boot camp. Bowe, home in Fort Washington, Md., released a statement through a New York public relations firm.

The Marines disputed an initial report in the Washington Post in which Bowe was regarded as a “problem” recruit. But the Marines acknowledge he had trouble dealing with the demanding regimen and said his decision to leave was a “two-way process.”

Bowe, 29, said he found it impossible to deal with the loss of control of his life.

“Every waking hour as a recruit you are told what to do, how fast, when and where, even when it comes to personal things,” he said. “There were day and night personal body inspections as we stood naked near our bunks.”

Bowe said being unable to talk with his wife and five children led him to conclude he could not stay with the Marines.

After discussions with Marine brass, Bowe was separated from the Corps.

Winter Sports

Lyubov Egorova, a six-time Olympic champion from Russia, failed a drug test during the World Nordic Ski Championships at Trondheim, Norway, and probably will be banned from her sport for two years.

It is believed to be the first time a cross country skier tested positive for banned drugs at the World Championships since they began in 1925.

Egorova won the five-kilometer classical style race Sunday, three years after winning the same distance in the Lillehammer Olympics.

She will be stripped of her medal and barred from the championships.

The International Ski Federation said Egorova had used the substance Bromantan, considered a stimulant that can mask other prohibited drugs.

Pro Football

The Detroit Lions will move their training camp out of the Silverdome for the first time since 1990 and hold workouts at Saginaw State University. . . . Pro Bowl running back Terry Allen re-signed with the Washington Redskins. . . . Mike Sheppard, who spent the last four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens and former Cleveland Browns, was hired as offensive coordinator by the San Diego Chargers.

Names in the News

Juan Antonio Samaranch, 77, said he will seek a fourth term as head of the International Olympic Committee, a post he has held without challenge since 1980. In an interview with a Swiss radio station, Samaranch said he will run again if the medical report he expects in the next few days is “favorable.” . . . David Carter, an English golfer scheduled to play in the Dubai Desert Classic, was found unconscious in his hotel room and required emergency brain surgery. Carter, 24, is to stay at the hospital a few more days. He is in stable condition.