Gebhardt’s Iditarod lead ends at frozen lake

Paul Gebhardt was leading the Iditarod on Tuesday, until his dog team deserted him near Farewell Lake, Alaska.

Gebhardt had pulled past four-time winner Doug Swingley to the front of the 81-team field when his sled rammed into the last tree before the frozen lake, near the western end of the Alaska Range. His team kept running and snapped the steel-core rope connecting them to the sled.

Gebhardt was left alone in the 1,100-mile race from Anchorage to Nome as his dogs kept going.

Gebhardt trudged up the trail for 2 miles before hitching a ride with Swingley.

Swingley took Gebhardt another 2 miles before dropping him with a group of buffalo hunters on snowmobiles. Gebhardt borrowed a snowmobile and caught up with his team 10 miles from Farewell Lake.

Figure skating

South Korean seizes early lead at juniors

Kim Yu-na of South Korea took the lead in the short program after favorite Mao Asada failed to complete a triple axel-double loop at the World Junior Figure Skating Championship at Ljubljana, Slovenia. The Japanese skater tried to become the first woman to pull off the tricky combination at an international championship, but managed only a single loop after executing the triple axel.

Cycling

Armstrong’s lawyer wants charges dropped

Lance Armstrong’s lawyer asked a court in Latina, Italy, to drop charges in a defamation lawsuit against the seven-time Tour de France champion.

Italian cyclist Filippo Simeoni brought the suit against Armstrong following an April 2003 report in the French newspaper Le Monde.

In the report, Armstrong contended that Simeoni had agreed to testify against doctor Michele Ferrari in exchange for a lesser penalty if the Italian rider were accused of doping by the sport’s governing body.

College football

Arizona State hires Wrenn as assistant

John Wrenn, who compiled a 223-46 record as a high school coach in Arizona and Illinois, was hired as running backs coach on Dirk Koetter’s staff at Arizona State.

Miscellany

North Carolina-Duke game draws throng

North Carolina’s 83-76 win over then-No. 1 Duke on Saturday was watched by an average of 3.78 million households – the largest audience for a men’s college basketball game in ESPN’s history.

•Forward Tamika Williams, the WNBA’s all-time leader in career field-goal shooting, re-signed with the Minnesota Lynx.

•Austrian biathlete Wolfgang Rottmann retired, the second team member to quit following Olympic doping raids.