Cuban Jumper Sotomayor to Retire

Javier Sotomayor, the only high jumper to clear eight feet, will retire next week, the Cuban news agency Prensa Latina said Friday.

The 1992 Olympic champion, who turns 34 today, won the silver medal at last year’s Sydney Games. He successfully fought a ban from competition after testing positive for cocaine.

During a career of more than two decades, Sotomayor broke five world records, two of which he still holds--8-0 outdoors and 7-11 indoors.

Golf

Tom Lehman’s three-shot lead evaporated in the wind, enabling Craig Parry to pass him and take a one-shot advantage through three rounds of the Invensys Classic at Las Vegas.

Parry holed a six-iron shot for a rare double eagle, then made a 30-footer for birdie on the final hole to shoot a six-under-par 66 and move to 19 under, a shot ahead of Lehman and two clear of Bob Estes and Scott McCarron.

Allen Doyle shot a five-under 67 in windy conditions to take a one-stroke lead over Hale Irwin and Tom Jenkins after the first round of The Transamerica seniors’ event at Napa. ... Defending champion Lee Westwood beat Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn, 1-up, to advance to the semifinals of the World Match Play Championships at Virginia Water, England. Westwood will face Wales’ Ian Woosnam, a 4-and-3 winner over Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie. ... England’s Suzanne Strudwick shot a three-under 69 to take a five-stroke lead after the third round of the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament at Daytona Beach, Fla.

Tennis

James Blake and Andy Roddick won singles matches to give the United States a 2-0 lead over India in their Davis Cup World Group qualifier at Winson-Salem, N.C.

Blake, 21, knocked off Leander Paes, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3, after the 19-year-old Roddick served 15 aces in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Harsh Mankad.

Jennifer Capriati lost to Sandrine Testud, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, in the quarterfinals of the Porsche Grand Prix at Filderstadt, Germany, but still can earn the No. 1 ranking for the first time. Capriati’s possible ascent to No. 1 depends on whether Martina Hingis reaches the final to extend her 209-week reign at the top of women’s tennis, the WTA said. Hingis will play third-seeded Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals. ... Marat Safin beat Max Mirnyi of Belarus for the second time in a week, scoring a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory to reach the semifinals of the Lyon Grand Prix in France. ...Top-seeded Monica Seles defeated France’s Stephanie Foretz, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, to advance to the semifinals of the Kiwi Open at Shanghai.

Motor Racing

Todd Bodine, proving again to be an impressive qualifier, turned a fast lap at 93.724 mph in his Ford to win the pole for the Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville, Va. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who qualified right after Bodine, will start on the outside of the front row in his Chevrolet after a run at 93.617.

A wet track at Memphis Motorsports Park because of overnight rain forced the cancellation of qualifying for the Sam’s Town 250 Busch Series race at Millington, Tenn., giving points leader Kevin Harvick the pole.

Soccer

Michelle Akers, 35, the U.S. women’s soccer star selected the “player of the century” by the sport’s world governing body, has given up hopes of returning to competition. Akers said that she will not try to play again in WUSA after missing the league’s inaugural season because of shoulder problems.

Ali Karimi scored the winning goal in the 71st minute as Iran beat Iraq, 2-1, at Tehran to move to the top of its World Cup qualifying group.

In a sudden move that angered soccer’s ruling body, the insurance carrier for the World Cup withdrew its coverage because of the Sept. 11 attacks. FIFA President Sepp Blatter insisted the World Cup “will definitely go ahead” next year in Japan and South Korea despite the decision by the French company AXA.

Miscellany

Illinois guard Frank Williams, the Big Ten player of the year, said he will leave the Illini after this season to make himself eligible for the NBA draft.

Ricky Deci, a 13-year-old member of the U.S. junior national gymnastics team died after collapsing at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. An autopsy was to be performed Friday.

USA Gymnastics withdrew its athletes from the Rhythmic World Championships in Madrid, citing recent travel warnings issued by the FBI. The organization also canceled training camps in France and Belgium.