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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

National sports


American Josh Wolff, left, and Grenada's Franklyn Baptiste battle for the ball Sunday. 
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Compiled from wire reports The Spokesman-Review

U.S. men top Grenada, move on to qualifying semifinals

The United States advanced in World Cup qualifying Sunday with a 3-2 victory over Grenada on a soggy field in St. George’s, Grenada.

Landon Donovan, Josh Wolff and DaMarcus Beasley scored for the Americans, who moved into the CONCACAF qualifying semifinals, which begin in August. The U.S. team, ranked ninth in the world, won the opener of the home-and-home series 3-0 in Columbus, Ohio, last week.

Playing on a waterlogged field on this tiny Caribbean island, the Americans immediately pressed the attack. They scored in the 7th minute when Wolff intercepted the ball and fed Claudio Reyna. He sped down the wing and crossed for Donovan, who put a shot into the lower right side.

Grenada, ranked 138th, tied it on a penalty kick just six minutes later. Jason Roberts beat Kasey Keller for the goal.

But Wolff gave the Americans the lead for good when he scored off a scramble following a corner kick in the 23rd minute.

Beasley made it 3-1 in the 79th minute, only to see Ricky Charles score for Grenada a minute later.

Cycling

Ullrich rallies to win

Jan Ullrich of Germany rallied from 15th place to win the Tour de Suisse in Lugano, Switzerland, capturing the race against the clock in the final stage to beat Fabian Jeker of Switzerland by 1 second for the title.

Laszlo Bodrogi of Hungary was second in the time trial, 8.48 seconds behind, and Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland was third, 10.71 back.

Tennis

Wild card takes tourney

French Open finalist Guillermo Coria lost the championship match of the Ordina Open in Den Bosch, Netherlands, beaten by wild card Michael Llodra 6-3, 6-4 for the Frenchman’s first title in his five-year career.

Olympics

Torch hits Montreal

The torch for the Athens Games passed through the host city of the 1976 Summer Olympics amid flag-waving crowds and ceremonies honoring the ancient Greeks.

Montreal is the 15th stop on the torch’s 33-city tour on five continents.

Track and field

Triumphant return

Marathon world-record holder Paula Radcliffe ran the third-fastest women’s 5,000 meters in history, winning at the European Cup in Bydgoszcz, Poland, in her first time on a track in two years after hernia surgery.

The 30-year-old Briton led from the start, lapped most of the field and had spectators standing and cheering. She finished in 14 minutes, 29.11 seconds, less than 5 seconds behind Elvan Abeylegesse’s world record of 14:24.68.

The Russian women won their eighth straight title at the European Cup, which pits Europe’s top eight track and field nations against each other.

Germany won the men’s title.

Two-time world indoor triple jump champion Ashia Hansen of Britain will miss the Olympics because of a career-threatening knee injury at the European Cup.

Hansen damaged the tendon in her left kneecap on her second attempt Saturday.

Rowing

Americans take third

The United States finished third in a World Cup flatwater event in Racice, Czech Republic.

The men’s C2 500-meter race was won by Canada, followed by Belarus and the American team of Jordan Malloch and Nate Johnson.

Eirik V. Larsen of Norway captured the men’s single 500-meter kayak race while Aneta Pastuszka of Poland won the women’s competition.