More World Records Fall in Cologne

Two more world records fell Sunday when Wilson Kipketer, a Kenyan who competes for Denmark, lowered his own 800-meter mark, and Bernard Barmasai of Kenya bettered the 3,000-meter steeplechase mark at the Cologne Grand Prix in Germany.

The records came two days after the 5,000 and 10,000 records were bettered in Brussels, Belgium, and less than two weeks after three records were set in Zurich, Switzerland.

Both records Sunday improved marks set in Zurich.

Kipketer finished the 800 in 1 minute 41.11 seconds to lower his record of 1:41.24 set in Zurich.

Barmasai surged past fellow Kenyan Moses Kiptanui to shatter the steeplechase mark by more than three seconds, clocking 7:55.72. Another Kenyan, Wilson Boit Kipketer, held the old record of 7:59.08 less than two weeks.

Olympic champion Donovan Bailey of Canada surged ahead shortly after the start and powered past three American sprinters to win the 100 meters in 9.99. Following Bailey across the finish line were Tim Montgomery, Dennis Mitchell and Vincent Henderson. World champion Maurice Greene did not compete.

Marion Jones won the women’s 200 in 21.93.

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A runner in the 15th annual Mexico City International Marathon died of a heart attack 15 miles into the race.

Filiberto Perez Gonzalez, 36, collapsed in the middle of the race, the government news agency Notimex reported.

The race was won by Benjamin Paredes with a time of 2 hours, 17 minutes and 14 seconds. In the women’s division, Maria del Carmen Diaz won her fourth Mexico City marathon with a time of 2:39.09.

Olympics

A bomb rocked New Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden early today, badly damaging a section of the roof but causing no injuries, police said. It was the latest in a series of attacks that have jeopardized Sweden’s bid to stage the 2004 Summer Olympics.

There have been eight other attacks on sports facility in Sweden since the spring, but this was the first outside the Stockholm area. The International Olympic Committee is scheduled to vote on a site for the 2004 Games on Sept. 5.

Tennis

Carlos Moya of Spain won his first ATP Tour title of the year with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-1) victory over Australia’s Patrick Rafter in the Hamlet Cup at Commack, N.Y., a final warmup for the U.S. Open starting today.

At Brookline, Mass., unseeded Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands recorded his third upset in as many days, surprising second-seeded Marcelo Rios of Chile, 7-5, 6-3, in the final of the inaugural $303,000 MFS Pro Championships.

Schalken, 20, ranked 79th in the world, picked up his third career ATP Tour title and first of the year.

University Games

Italian gymnast Yuri Chechi collected another gold medal, winning the rings event at the World University Games at Catania, Sicily.

With 4,500 countrymen filling the Palacatania arena with loud soccer-style chants--and hundreds more watching on a large-screen TV outside the venue--Chechi, the reigning Olympic champion, turned in a powerful routine to win with a score of 9.8, earning Italy its first gold of the games.

In the women’s gymnastic competition, all-around champion Shannon Miller withdrew right before the vault because of a hamstring injury. But she did participate in the uneven bars, where the injury would not be as much of a factor, and finished fifth.

It was an anticlimactic end to the 20-year-old’s University Games. After leading the U.S. to the team silver Friday, Miller recovered from a slip Saturday on the balance beam--in which she’s the reigning Olympic champion--to edge teammate Kathleen Shrieves for the all-around gold.

In men’s basketball, the United States defeated Hong Kong, 120-28, to finish atop its qualifying group with a 3-0 record and move into the medal round. Also advancing were Canada, Britain, South Korea and Brazil.

Swimming

On the final day of the European Swimming Championships at Seville, Spain, triple Olympic gold medalist Michelle Smith of Ireland, dogged by reports of using performance-enhancing drugs, said she will file lawsuits in the next few weeks against three Irish newspapers and one British paper. She also said she is also reviewing possible suits against the Chicago Sun-Times and the French sports daily L’Equipe.

Smith finished the European Championships with two gold and two silver medals, earning her second silver by finishing behind 19-year-old Spaniard Maria Pelaez in the 200-meter butterfly.

Pelaez, from nearby Malaga, clocked a European-best time this season of 2:10.25 seconds. Smith, fading at the finish, was clocked in 2:10.88.

Miscellany

The Czech Republic was eliminated from qualifying for soccer’s 1998 World Cup, losing to Slovakia, 2-1, at Bratislava, Slovakia. It was the first match between the two countries since their split four years ago.

Third-seeded Mike Whitmarsh and Canyon Ceman, playing together in a tournament for only the third time, defeated second-seeded Karch Kiraly and Adam Johnson, 15-7, to win the $150,000 Kodak FunSaver Open beach volleyball tournament at Belmar, N.J.

Powered by former UCLA All-American Mike Diehl’s 17 kills, Team Paul Mitchell defeated Team Inglenook, 15-9, in the Pro Beach Volleyball League’s season finale at Honolulu. In the women’s finale, Team Discus Athletic defeated Team Paul Mitchell, 15-10, led by Wendy Stammer’s 10 kills.

Travis Williams scored 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the United States to a 93-82 victory over Puerto Rico in the qualifying round of the Tournament of the Americas at Montevideo, Uruguay.

A victory tonight by the Anaheim Bullfrogs over the San Jose Rhinos at San Jose would give them Roller Hockey International’s Western Division title. The Bullfrogs lead the series, 1-0. If San Jose wins, a mini-game will follow to determine who advances to the finals against Eastern Division champion New Jersey.

Mack McCarthy, who led Tennessee-Chattanooga to the third round of the NCAA basketball tournament last March, has been hired by Virginia Commonwealth as assistant coach and will take over as coach when Sonny Smith, 60, steps down after the 1997-98 season.