French Swimmer Breaks Evans’ 18-Year-Old Record

Olympic champion Laure Manaudou of France broke Janet Evans’ 18-year-old world record in the 400-meter freestyle Friday, finishing in 4 minutes 3.03 seconds at the French national championships in Tours, France.

Manaudou beat the time of 4:03.85 set by Evans in winning the 400 free at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The American won three golds as a 16-year-old at those Olympics and one at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Evans’ record was the second-oldest world mark in the sport.

Evans still holds the 800 and 1,500 free world records. The 1,500, in which she became the first woman to break 16 minutes on March 29, 1988, remains the sport’s oldest world record.

“I want to congratulate Laure on a fantastic swim,” Evans said. “I never felt that the record was mine, but that it belonged to all of the friends, family and coaches that helped me achieve it.”

TENNIS

Federer Moves On, but Roddick Loses

Top-ranked Roger Federer needed five match points to beat Spanish qualifier Nicolas Almagro, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 7-5, and Andy Roddick was eliminated by French teenager Gael Monfils, 6-2, 6-3, at the Rome Masters.

Rafael Nadal beat Fernando Gonzalez, 6-4, 6-3, in the other half of the draw, to extend his winning streak on clay to 51 matches.

Defending champion Justine Henin-Hardenne beat Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, 6-4, 6-2, to advance to the quarterfinals of the German Open at Berlin.

Henin-Hardenne will face either Martina Hingis or top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo. Their quarterfinal match was suspended because of darkness after they split the first two sets.

The UCLA women’s tennis team defeated San Diego State, 4-0, to win its first-round NCAA tournament regional match at Pepperdine. The Bruins advanced to play Pepperdine, a 4-0 winner over Wichita State.

In first-round matches at USC, Long Beach State defeated New Mexico, 4-1, and USC beat Army, 4-0.

PRO FOOTBALL

Harrington Is Officially a Miami Dolphin

The deal to send Detroit quarterback Joey Harrington to Miami was completed, with the Lions acquiring an undisclosed conditional draft pick.

Harrington will give Miami a starter if Daunte Culpepper, who was acquired from Minnesota, isn’t ready to start the season. Culpepper is recovering from surgery to his right knee.

Onterrio Smith, who sat out last season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, signed a contract with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.

Smith could be reinstated by the NFL as early as October.

HOCKEY

Lacroix Stepping Down as General Manager

Pierre Lacroix stepped down as general manager of the Colorado Avalanche, a day after his team was swept from the playoffs by the Mighty Ducks.

Lacroix will remain president of the team and will appoint the new general manager, who will basically serve as his apprentice.

“I’m going to be involved. I’m going to be doing everything I can to make sure this team wins for another decade,” said Lacroix, who built the Avalanche teams that won two Stanley Cup championships.

Paul Maurice was hired as the coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, replacing Pat Quinn, who was fired April 20.

Finland blanked the United States, 4-0, to stay unbeaten at the world hockey championships at Riga, Latvia. With the win, Finland moved to second place in the Group E standings with five points, one behind idle Canada. The Czech Republic, which beat Norway, 3-1, is third with four points. The United States is fourth with two points. The top four teams in each group move into the quarterfinals next week.

MOTOR RACING

Hamlin’s Busch Win Is Second of Year

Denny Hamlin won the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway for his second Busch Series victory of the season.

Hamlin took the pole in qualifying, then held off four Roush Racing drivers -- Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Mark Martin and Greg Biffle -- on a final restart two laps from the end. Hamlin won by 0.353 seconds.

Kasey Kahne recorded a speed of 169.013 to earn the pole position for tonight’s Nextel Cup Dodge Charger 500 at Darlington Raceway.

MISCELLANY

Sharpe and Estrella Lead USC to Victory

Blake Sharpe and Hector Estrella each drove in three runs to lead USC (25-23 overall, 11-8 Pacific 10 Conference) to an 8-6 victory over UCLA (25-21, 8-8) at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

The Bruins scored two runs in the ninth inning and had the tying runs in scoring position before Trojan closer Paul Koss struck out pinch-hitter Cody Decker to get his sixth save.

Naseem Hamed, the former world featherweight boxing champion, was sentenced to 15 months in jail by a judge in Sheffield, England, for dangerous driving that resulted in injuries. Hamed, who boxed as “Prince Naseem,” was also banned from driving for four years. He last fought in May 2002.

Times sportswriter Steve Springer earned two second-place awards in the annual competition of the Boxing Writers Assn. of America. His story on a boxer who fought while he was HIV-positive was honored in the investigative category, and his story on the death of Leavander Johnson after a bout with Jesus Chavez was honored in the news category.

Five members of the 2006 Olympic bronze-medal winning U.S. women’s ice hockey team will carry the Stanley Cup in the 13th Annual Revlon Run/Walk for Women today at the Coliseum.

Leading the way are three-time Olympian Jenny Potter and two-time Olympian Julie Chu. Also walking are defenseman Helen Resor, forward Sarah Parsons and goaltender Chanda Gunn, who is from Huntington Beach. They are participating in honor of teammate Kristin King’s mother, Mary Ellen, who died of cancer in 2003.

UCLA beat Hartwick (N.Y.), 15-2, at the NCAA women’s water polo championships at Davis, Calif. The Bruins will play Stanford in a semifinal tonight. USC beat Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 27-2, and will play Hawaii.