U.S. women qualify for hoops in Beijing

Tina Thompson scored 18 points to help the United States qualify for the 2008 Olympics with a 101-71 victory over Cuba on Sunday at Valdivia, Chile, in the gold medal game at the FIBA Americas tournament.

The U.S. (5-0) was forced to qualify for an Olympics berth for the first time since 1980 because of a third-place finish at the World Championships last year.

Tennis

Venus wins title

Top-seeded Venus Williams beat Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 in the championship of the Korean Open in Seoul, South Korea.

Williams hadn’t lost a set in the tournament heading into the final, but she had to work to improve to 3-0 in her career against Kirilenko.

•Top-seeded Richard Gasquet of France won the Mumbai Open in Mumbai, India, beating Olivier Rochus of Belgium 6-3, 6-4.

•Dmitry Tursunov of Russia won his third ATP career title, beating Benjamin Becker of Germany 6-2, 6-1 in the Thailand Open at Nonthaburi.

Miscellany

Gay wins 100 meters

Tyson Gay, who won three gold medals at the world championships in Osaka in August, returned to Japan, winning the men’s 100 meters in 10.23 seconds at the Super Track and Field Meet in Yokohama.

•Mississippi sprinter Rodney Lydale Lockhart died from one gun shot to the front of his head, Lafayette County Coroner Lonnie Weaver said.

Lockhart, a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. 1,600-meter relay team in the 2006 World Junior Championships in Beijing, was found shot to death Saturday at his apartment in Oxford, Miss.

•Haile Gebrselassie broke the world record in winning the Berlin Marathon in two hours, four minutes and 26 seconds.

The 34-year-old Ethiopian lowered the mark of 2:04:55 sat by Kenyan Paul Tergat four years ago by 29 seconds.

•Curlin caught Lawyer Ron in the final strides after a riveting stretch duel and won the $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup in New York.

•Unbridled Belle edged stablemate Indian Vale at the finish and won the $600,000 Beldame Stakes at Belmont Park in New York.

•English Channel won the $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park in New York.