Capriati Wins Female Athlete-of-Year Award

In late 1988, when Jennifer Capriati was 13 and about to turn pro, she played in a tennis exhibition at Haverford, Pa. Some players worried she was too young to start a career and would be off the tour within a few years; others were certain she was too talented not to become a star.

It turns out, both predictions were on the mark.

Capriati’s remarkable return from career crisis to the top of tennis in 2001, with championships at the Australian and French Opens and a brief turn at No. 1, earned her the Associated Press award as female athlete of the year on Thursday.

She received 37 first-place votes and 157 points from sportswriters and broadcasters, topping another tennis pro, Venus Williams, also the runner-up in 2000. Williams had 26 first-place votes and 120 points.

Golfer Annika Sorenstam was third with 94 points, while pole vaulter Stacy Dragila and basketball star Lisa Leslie completed the top five.

Williams stopped Capriati’s streak at the majors by winning Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Sorenstam won eight times on the LPGA Tour, the most in 22 years, and became the first woman to shoot 59 in competition.

Points were awarded on a 3-2-1 basis, and eight women received at least one first-place vote.

Capriati’s resurgence was stunning, coming years after she first flashed the power game that would carry her back to the top. She won three titles and reached four other finals, posting a 56-14 match record, including a year-best 24-2 in Grand Slam tournaments.

“I am proud to be able to come back from everything that’s happened in my life, and just to enjoy tennis and play this well,” Capriati said in October, when she moved to No. 1 in the WTA rankings. “I think it shows everybody that it’s never too late to realize your talent, or your dream.”

At 14, just out of eighth grade, Capriati reached the semifinals in her first Grand Slam tournament--the 1990 French Open.

Another 11 years would pass before she would take the next step, reaching a major final.

Golfer Mike Weir, who defeated an elite field in winning the Tour Championship, capping a year in which he earned more than $2.7 million, has won the Lionel Conacher Award as Canadian male athlete of the year for the second year in succession.

The left-hander from Bright’s Grove, Ontario, won the award in one of the closest races in recent years, edging out Colorado Avalanche captain Joe Sakic by two points in balloting conducted by the Canadian Press and Broadcast News.

Skiing

Evi Sachenbacher became the first German in nearly 14 years to win in World Cup cross-country skiing, and Italian Cristian Zorzi took the men’s race in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

Sachenbacher shook off Italian Sabina Valbusa and Norwegian Maj Helen Sorkmo on the final hill to win her first World Cup event and take the lead in the sprint standings.

She was heavily cheered by German spectators as she won just the fourth World Cup event in the sport for her country and the first since Simone Greiner-Petter-Memm on Jan. 15, 1988.

Zorzi edged Norwegian Tor Arne Hetland in the final, a reverse of the outcome at the World Championships.

Zorzi also won the World Cup opener at Cogne, Italy, over Hetland, his main rival for Olympic gold.

Swede Peter Larsson finished third Thursday.

Soccer

Cesare Maldini will coach the Paraguayan national team through the World Cup in Japan and South Korea, where he may oppose his son Paolo, Italy’s captain.

The 69-year-old Maldini, Italy’s coach in the 1998 World Cup, agreed to a six-month contract and will have fellow Italian Beppe Dossena as his top assistant, Paraguayan federation spokesman Rogelio Catebeke said.

Maldini and Dossena were assistant coaches to Enzo Bearzot in the 1982 World Cup in Spain, when Italy last won the tournament.

Maldini replaces Sergio Markarian, who was fired last month after Paraguay lost its last two games in qualifying for the World Cup.

Yachting

German entry illbruck led a group of around-the-world yachts early today in the Sydney to Hobart portion of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Illbruck had a slight lead over Tyco with the yachts approaching the northeastern tip of the island state of Tasmania.

News Corp, which led late Thursday, and Assa Abloy also were close to the leader.

Thirteen of the 75 yachts that started Wednesday have pulled out.