Phelps earns fifth gold at worlds
Michael Phelps and the U.S. 400-meter medley relay team closed the fastest meet in swimming history with an appropriate finish Sunday night – the 43rd world record.
Phelps earned his fifth gold medal of a world championships that showed he’s still got plenty of motivation, even after winning a record eight times at the Beijing Olympics.
Swimming the butterfly leg in Rome, Phelps helped the U.S. pull away from Germany and Australia to win in 3 minutes, 27.28 seconds. That easily broke the mark of 3:29.34 set by the Americans at last summer’s Olympics.
“That relay brings out the best in me,” Phelps said.
Phelps was named the most outstanding male swimmer of the championships. Italy’s Federica Pellegrini received the female award.
Also Sunday, Ryan Lochte won his fourth gold of the championships and Germany’s Britta Steffen matched her 50-100 freestyle sweep in Beijing.
Taking advantage of Phelps’ absence, Lochte added the 400 individual medley title to his medal haul at the championships. Lochte also won the 200 IM along with two relay golds, in addition to taking bronze in the 200 backstroke.
The Americans still went 1-2 even without Phelps. Tyler Clary came on strong in the freestyle to beat Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh, taking silver.
Tunisia’s Ous Mellouli matched his Olympic gold by winning again in the 1,500 free.
A pair of world records fell in non-Olympic events. Liam Tancock of Britain broke his own world record to win the 50 backstroke in 24.04. Russia’s Yuliya Efimova set a world record in the 50 breaststroke, finishing in 30.09.
Venus upset in final
Tennis: Venus Williams was upset by France’s Marion Bartoli 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in the championship match of the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, Calif.
Williams, making her first appearance at the event since 2005, reached her seventh final in eight appearances at Stanford. She’s won two titles but none since 2002.
•Querrey wins in L.A.: Sam Querrey ended a string of final round frustrations by beating Carsten Bell 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 to claim the L.A. Tennis Open title. Querrey was playing in his third straight final and fourth of the season, but he had yet to win a tournament.
•Davydenko cruises: Top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko routed former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 6-0 to win the Croatia Open in Umag. It was the Russian’s 16th career title and comes a week after winning the German Open.
•Bellucci breaks through: Qualifier Thomaz Bellucci won his first ATP Tour title, beating Andreas Beck 6-4, 7-6 (2) in the Swiss Open final in Gstaad.
•Dushevina rolls: Vera Dushevina of Russia beat Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic 6-0, 6-1 in the Istanbul Cup final to win her first WTA title.
Brack, 43, wins X Games gold
Miscellany: Former Indianapolis 500 winner Kenny Brack emerged with a gold medal in the Rally Car Racing Super Special in Carson, Calif., while making his X Games debut.
Brack, 43, a CART and IRL driver from Sweden who retired from racing after the 2003 season, leaped onto the roof of his car to celebrate his win in the final official event of the action sports showcase.
Defending champion and nine-time X Games gold medalist Travis Pastrana took the silver medal after he crashed into a wall toward the end of the first lap and wasn’t able to complete the head-to-head final race.
Rune Glifberg successfully defended his Skateboard SuperPark gold medal while Andy Macdonald took the silver and Chad Bartie the bronze.
•Finch leads U.S. to Japan Cup: Jennie Finch threw a one-hitter and drove in two runs to lead the United States to a 2-0 victory over Japan in the final of the Japan Cup softball tournament in Sendai.
Finch doubled in two runs in the bottom of the first inning and then struck out eight and walked just one batter. She was named tournament MVP.
•U.S. women win gold: Nnemkadi Ogwumike scored 22 points with 20 rebounds as Team USA beat Spain 87-71 in Bangkok, Thailand, for the U19 world championships gold medal. Ogwumike, who plays for Stanford, was named to the All-Tournament Team.
•Massa headed home: Ferrari driver Felipe Massa is on the mend with only some swelling near his left eye and will return home to Brazil today, nine days after fracturing his skull in a crash while qualifying in Hungary.
He will travel on a medical plane with his wife, Raffaela, who is six months pregnant with their first child, and family doctor Dino Altmann. They are expected in Sao Paulo tonight. Massa’s parents and his brother flew back Sunday.
•Attfeild wins eighth: Perfect Shower captured the $500,000 Breeders’ Stakes in Toronto, giving trainer Roger Attfield a record-setting eighth victory in the third jewel of Canadian horse racing’s Triple Crown.
Perfect Shower became the longest-priced winner in Breeders’ Stakes history at 46-1, and paid $95.30, $34.80 and $13.60. The colt won the 1 1/2 -mile race in 2:29.39 on firm turf. Guipago, a 29-1 longshot who was 1 3/4 lengths behind, returned $23 and $11.90. Reservoir finished third in the 13-horse field, paying $5.90.