In brief: American Katie Ledecky wins 200-meter freestyle in elite field
Swimming: Katie Ledecky won the 200-meter freestyle at the world swimming championships Wednesday night in Kazan, Russia, against a stellar field that included defending champion Missy Franklin and two-time winner Federica Pellegrini.
The 18-year-old American rallied from fourth after the first two laps to touch first in 1 minute, 55.16 seconds for her second gold medal of the championships.
Ledecky already won the 1,500 free, lowering her world record in the preliminaries and final.
Pellegrini finished second in 1:55.32, and Franklin was third in 1:55.49.
Better known as a distance specialist, Ledecky was competing in the 200 free for the first time at the worlds.
• Britain’s Hunt top high diver: Also at the world championship, Gary Hunt of Britain swept to victory in the final of the high diving.
Hunt, the silver medalist two years ago, held on to his lead from Monday’s first three rounds to take the gold medal with a total score of 629.30 points.
Jonathan Paredes of Mexico was second at 596.45. Artyom Silchenko of Russia pleased the home crowd on the banks of the Kazanka River, winning the bronze with 593.45.
Vegas, Quebec City advance to Phase 2 in NHL expansion bids
NHL: Las Vegas and Quebec City advanced to the second of three phases in their bids to land NHL expansion franchises.
Bill Foley, who heads the Las Vegas bid, made the announcement on his group’s website. Montreal-based Quebecor announced on its Twitter account that its Quebec City bid also is moving forward.
Foley said Phase 2 will feature bidders providing the NHL additional information regarding their respective markets and arena plans. The bidders will also gain access to certain league-related information.
• Outdoor games here to stay: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said there’s no reason for the league not to keep holding outdoor games each season.
Bettman made a promotional appearance at the University of Minnesota football stadium. That’s where the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks will play outside Feb. 21 as part of the NHL’s Stadium Series games, which were started in 2014 to supplement the annual Winter Classic on New Year’s Day.
Bettman said fans, communities and teams “cannot get enough” of the outdoor games.
Isner dominates Burgos in third round of Citi Open tourney
Tennis: John Isner hit 17 aces and won 37 of 40 first-serve points to move into the third round of the Citi Open by beating Victor Estrella Burgos 6-3, 7-6 (5) in Washington.
Isner, seeded eighth at the hard-court tuneup for the U.S. Open, never faced a break point, powering serves that regularly topped 130 mph. The American compiled a 26-9 edge in winners.
Defending women’s champion Svetlana Kuznetsova pulled out of the event, citing an injury to her lower left leg. Kuznetsova, who was seeded fourth, easily won in the first round.
• Riske upsets Navarro: American Alison Riske, ranked 59th, beat third-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California.
Federal government asks to see Armstrong’s medical records
Miscellany: The federal government wants to see Lance Armstrong’s medical records from his treatments for cancer.
Court records show that government lawyers on July 30 subpoenaed the Indiana University School of Medicine to provide records of Armstrong’s treatments and donations he later made to the school.
The federal government has sued Armstrong to recover millions of dollars in sponsorship money the U.S. Postal Service paid to his teams. Penalties could approach $100 million.
• Maglione disputes report of dirty water: Julio Maglione, the head of swimming’s governing body, said dirty water at next year’s Olympic venues is “not a big problem.”
An Associated Press investigation last week showed a serious health risk to the 1,400 Olympic athletes who will compete at water venues around Rio de Janeiro that are rife with human waste and sewage.
At Copacabana Beach, venue for marathon swimming, an AP study showed virus readings that water experts in the U.S. say would be considered highly alarming on beaches in the U.S. or Europe.