Global Sport

Gosper, a candidate to replace Juan Antonio Samaranch as IOC president in 2001, cited the reaction of tennis players to Petr Korda’s positive steroid test as a positive step.

Jim Courier, Lindsay Davenport and Andre Agassi were among the leading players who spoke out about the Korda case.

Keep it sacred

DARWIN (AUSTRALIA): Aboriginal sacred sites will receive more funding for protection to deal with an expected rise in tourists during next year’s Sydney Olympic Games.

Environment minister Robert Hill said 6.2 million Australian dollars ($4 million) would be spent equally on Ayers Rock and Kakadu National Park. Almost 500,000 tourists visit Ayers Rock each year with about half of those wanting to climb the monolith, despite objections from local aborigines.

Gray’selegy

WINNIPEG: Thirty-nine-year-old Johnny Gray became a Pan-American Games gold medallist for the second time on Sunday, 12 years after his first success, as he won a men’s 800 metres on the track.

World champion Ivan Pedroso of Cuba overcame a stuttering start to win the men’s long jump on a day which featured the unusual sights of Cuba winning on the soccer field and Brazil entering the baseball arena. Cuba beat Uruguay 3-1.

Irvine wins GP

SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA:

For three seasons, Eddie Irvine drove in Michael Schumacher’s shadow.

Irvine won the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday, using a clever pit-stop strategy and staving off a determined challenge from David Coulthard.

Ford bid

BERLIN:

The Steward-Ford Formula One team is hoping to recruit Germany’s two-time former world champion Michael Schumacher, who is currently with the Ferrari team, it was reported.

The team has already made a bid to secure the services of reigning world champion Mika Hakkinen of Finland.

Donald toskip

JOHANNESBURG:

Top South African cricketers Allan Donald and Gary Kirsten have been excused from the quadrangular limited-overs cricket tournament in Nairobi at the end of September, the United Cricket Board (UCB) said.

Donald has been granted leave of absence to wrap up his benefit season at Warwickshire and Kirsten to enjoy his honeymoon, the Sapa news agency reported.

White re-elected

JOHANNESBURG: Ray White has been re-elected president of the United Cricket Board of South Africa at the Board’s annual meeting in Johannesburg.

He defeated vice-president Percy Sonn on Saturday in the first leadership contest since the sport was racially united eight years ago.

Sonn, who was the first coloured person to contest for the post, had the support of coloured administrators.

Yevgeny scores

ISTANBUL: Yevgeny Bezruchenko upstaged world champion Alexei Akatiev in the men’s five-kilometre open-water race to deny his Russian team-mate a second golden double at the European SwimmingChampionships.

Bezruchenko beat the world champion by five seconds on the Kamburgaz Course on the Sea of Marmora.