Ervin Gives U.S. an Unexpected Gold

Anthony Ervin upstaged the 100-meter duel between Ian Thorpe and Pieter van den Hoogenband, giving the U.S. a surprising gold medal Friday at swimming’s world championships at Fukuoka, Japan.

Ervin, of Valencia, won by one-tenth of a second and set a world championship record. He had to wait several moments for the scoreboard to confirm his freestyle victory. At the finish, the times were shown only for the other seven lanes, and teammates stood chanting, “USA, USA.”

“I knew my only chance to getting a medal was to just go out and swim like crazy,” he said.

Ervin finished in 48.33 seconds, breaking the championships record of 48.57 set by van den Hoogenband in the semifinals.

Thorpe finished fourth, 0.48 behind the winner. Van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands took the silver in 48.43, and 100 butterfly winner Lars Frolander of Sweden won the bronze in 48.79.

Australia later set two world records, including one in the 800 freestyle relay that gave Thorpe his fifth gold medal of the meet. The Australians beat their world mark of 7 minutes 7.05 seconds by winning in 7:04.66.

Tennis

Meghann Shaughnessy upset Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4), to advance to the semifinals of the Bank of the West Classic at Palo Alto.

Second-seeded Lindsay Davenport dispatched Germany’s Jana Kandarr, 6-3, 6-2. Fourth-seeded Monica Seles defeated fellow American Lilia Osterloh, 6-2, 7-5.

Top-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain lost to Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador, 7-6 (6), 6-2, in the quarterfinals of $900,000 Generali Open at Kitzbuehel, Austria.

Fifth-seeded Guillermo Coria of Argentina advanced to the semifinals by defeating Stefan Koubek of Austria, 6-4, 6-0. He next meets Albert Costa of Spain, who defeated Hugo Armando, 6-4, 6-4.

Auto Racing

Todd Bodine claimed his second pole in three weeks during qualifying for NASCAR’s Pennsylvania 500 at Long Pond, Pa.

Bodine hustled his Ford around Pocono International Raceway at 170.326 mph.

Kenny Wallace took the pole for the Busch Series’ NAPA AutoCare 250, turning a lap of 131.062 mph at Fountain, Colo. . . . John Force led qualifying for the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Kent, Wash., with a quarter-mile run of 4.876 seconds at a track-record 310.41 mph.

Miscellany

A woman has accused former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson of sexually assaulting her July 16 in a Big Bear Lake home the boxer has been renovating, authorities said.

No charges have been filed against Tyson and there is no warrant for his arrest, said Chip Patterson, a spokesman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

“At this point, it’s just an allegation,” Patterson said. “He’s not even a suspect per se.”

Sheriff investigators want to interview the boxer, who is in Phoenix training for a possible Sept. 8 fight in Denmark against Brian Nielsen.

The Mighty Ducks signed defenseman Drew Bannister. Bannister played three games for the New York Rangers last season. He also played 73 games and had 143 penalty minutes for Hartford in American Hockey League.

Helena Fuchsova, the 800-meter bronze medalist at the world indoor track and field championships, has withdrawn from the outdoor championships because of a heel injury.

The Galaxy will play striker Luis Hernandez’s former club, Necaxa of Mexico, in an exhibition on Aug. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento. Also, midfielder Alex Bengard of Chino Hills re-signed with the league and was assigned to the Galaxy.

The Minnesota Timberwolves signed second-round draft choice Loren Woods.