Bolt will go fasterMIAMI, Florida (CMC):
British sprinter Christian Malcolm, one of the chasers in the momentous men's 200-metre world record race at the Beijing Olympics a week ago, is backing Jamaican sensation Usain Bolt to go faster in the near future.
Malcolm, who finished fifth to Bolt and then admitted to not even seeing the Jamaican in the race, believes the 22-year-old can dip below 19 seconds in the 200 metres and go as fast as 9.40 seconds in the 100.
"Looking at the way Bolt runs he can go faster. I believe he can probably run under 9.40 for the 100m and dip under 19 seconds for the 200m," Malcolm told reporters after he returned from Beijing. "If he does that, I can't see either being broken for the next 30 years."
Bolt ran 9.69 seconds to set the 100 metres World record and a remarkable 19.30 seconds to break a long-standing mark of 19.32 seconds for the 200 metres in an outstanding outing in the Bird's Nest. He completed the feat with such ease that it raised the question of if the lanky Jamaica could be beaten.
"He's definitely a freak of nature, six-feet, five-inches with speed in his legs like he is five feet, five inches and such a long stride.
"I am an athletics fan as well as a competitor and what he did (in the 200m) was phenomenal, amazing. To be part of it, being in the same race was a privilege," Malcolm added.
Phelps was 'lucky'
SYDNEY, Australia (AP):
Mistakes by his rivals helped American Michael Phelps win eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, world record-breaking Australian swimmer Eamon Sullivan said yesterday.
Sullivan, who broke the world 100-metre freestyle record in the semi-finals at Beijing, but finished second in the final, said Phelps was able to break Mark Spitz's record of seven golds at one Olympics through good fortune and some small errors by rivals.
"There was an element of luck," Sullivan said.
Phelps came from behind to beat Serbia's Milorad Cavic by 0.01 seconds in the 100-metre butterfly final and needed an outstanding swim by anchorman Jason Lezak to win gold in the 4x100 metres freestyle relay.
"You see Phelpsy took another stroke, he (Cavic) took a glide and obviously (Phelps') arms are coming over at a faster pace ... But if he (Phelps) had made the other decision he might not have been as lucky.
"I'm not saying he didn't deserve it, I'm saying he did everything he could do to win those golds and he came away with it, but at the same time there were little mistakes by other people that allowed him to do that."
Ruiz doesn't fear Valuev
BERLIN (AP):
On Saturday, John Ruiz will encounter an opponent who is 36 kilos (79 pounds) heavier and 25 centimetres (10 inches) taller. But according to Ruiz, it's not weight or height that will decide his bout against Russia's Nikolai Valuev for the WBA heavyweight title.
"Only the size of a boxer's heart wins on the canvas," Ruiz told The Associated Press yesterday, following the fighters' weigh-in at a convention center in Berlin. "And I am sure mine's bigger."
The 7-foot (2.13-metre) Valuev weighed in at 144.4 kilos (318 pounds), while the 6-foot-2 (1.83-metre) Ruiz was at 108.6 kilos (239 pounds) ahead of tonight's fight. Valuev is considered the tallest and heaviest heavyweight champion in boxing history.
Surgery for Ginobili
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP):
San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili says he needs arthroscopic surgery to repair a ligament injury in his left heel after playing for Argentina in the Beijing Olympics.
"They're going to operate on me," Ginobili was quoted as saying by Argentina's La Nacion newspaper yesterday.
Ginobili, who helped lead Argentina to a bronze medal in Beijing, said a subsequent MRI exam of his injured ankle showed no improvement.
