Zanardi Not Out of Danger After Another Operation

Doctors performed a follow-up operation on Alex Zanardi on Monday, saying the two-time CART champion was not out of danger after losing his legs in a crash.

“In the moment, he’s stable, don’t get me wrong. But it could change at any moment,” said Walter Schaffartzik, head of the team of doctors treating the 34-year-old Italian. “It’s too early to say if he’s out of danger.

“But it’s my impression that he’s getting more stable.”

A dozen family members, friends, drivers and CART officials were at the Berlin Trauma Center, where Zanardi was flown after his crash Saturday in the American Memorial 500.

Monday’s procedure was to check for fragments or infection.

Doctors are reducing fluids and drugs to take Zanardi out of an “induced coma.” How quickly Zanardi is brought back to consciousness and taken off a ventilator depends on his response, Schaffartzik said.

Zanardi, one of CART’s most popular drivers, also suffered a small pelvis fracture and concussion when his car was hit by another traveling about 200 mph. Amazingly, Zanardi escaped internal or head injuries.

Wrestling

The international wrestling federation agreed to postpone the World Championships of Wrestling, which were to be held Sept. 26-29 at New York’s Madison Square Garden, and to give organizers two weeks to formulate a plan that would keep the event in New York.

If alternative competition dates and housing can’t be arranged, the competition could be moved to another U.S. city or another country.

USA Wrestling officials requested a postponement Friday, citing security concerns and respect for the victims of last Tuesday’s attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Milan Ercegan of FILA, the sport’s international governing body, agreed to the delay.

Before the postponement, 693 athletes from 82 countries had confirmed their participation, which would have made it the biggest World Championships ever.

Miscellany

Hurdler Tony Dees of Tampa, Fla., was assessed a lifetime suspension by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency after a confirmation of his second positive in-competition test for nandrolone metabolites this year.

Dees, a 1992 U.S. Olympian, was serving a two-year suspension for testing positive for the banned anabolic agents at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in March.

He also tested positive at the Norwich Union Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham, England, in February and during an out-of-competition test in Tampa in May.

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Cyclist David KlassenVanOorschot of Riverside was issued a public warning by the USADA after testing positive for pseudoephedrine at the National Off-Road Bicycle Assn. National Championship Series Finals on Aug. 19 at Mt. Snow, Vt.

Pseudoephedrine is commonly found in over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines. For his first offense, he was also disqualified from his 32nd-place finish in the professional men’s downhill competition.

Alcohol may have been a factor in a collision that killed eight members of the Wyoming cross-country team, a state official said at Laramie.