Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Anna says no
MOSCOW: Anna Kournikova has turned down the chance to play for Russia at the Sydney Olympics, the country’s tennis chief said.
“She said it didn’t fit into her schedule,” the president of the Russian tennis federation, Shamil Tarpishchev, said on Monday. “We had a spot open for her but she turned it down.”
Tarpishchev said he had chosen Elena Likhovtseva, Elena Dementieva and Anastasia Myskina to play singles in Sydney while Likhovtseva would team up with Myskina in doubles.
On the men’s side, it would be a familiar Russian Davis Cup duo of former World No 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin playing both singles and doubles.
Rafter reopens rift with Philippoussis
SYDNEY: Pat Rafter laid the boot into Mark Philippoussis again on Tuesday, indicating his fellow Aussie would not be mixing with the rest of Australia’s Sydney Olympic tennis team.
“We’ll just stick to ourselves,” he said of fellow team-mates Lleyton Hewitt, Mark Woodforde, Tood Woodbridge and Andrew Ilie, who will attend a training camp in Sydney after the US Open.
Rafter will meet Philippoussis in Toronto this week for the first time since The Scud rubbed his team-mates up the wrong way when he cried-off at the last minute from Australia’s Davis Cup semi-final against Brazil with a knee injury.
Sotomayor still hopeful
HAVANA: Cuba’s high jump champion Javier Sotomayor, banned for two years after testing positive for cocaine, is still hoping to compete in the Sydney Olympics.
The 32-year-old World record holder is counting on the IAAF accepting his pleas of innocence and scrap the ban which runs until July 30 next year.
“I’m hoping they’ll take account of my arguments, that they’ll take a close look at my career and the 300 jumps I’ve achieved over 2.30m and that they’ll realise I’ve got no need for drugs,” he said here on Monday.
Sotomayor failed a drug test at the Pan-American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, on July 31 1999.
Bubka’s swansong
KIEV: Pole vault World record-holder Sergei Bubka has confirmed that he will make his farewell appearance at the Sydney Olympics.
The 36-year-old, who has been battling a serious Achilles tendon injury for several years, will lead a 230-plus Ukraine team to the Games, the country’s Olympic committee secretary general Volodymyr Gerashchenko said on Tuesday.
Gerashchenko said the government has approved a bonus structure for medallists: $50,000 for gold, $30,000 for silver and $20,000 for bronze.
