In brief: Leyva claims gold at world championship
Gymnastics: Danell Leyva showed the U.S. men can rake in the gold, too, winning the parallel bars title Sunday in Tokyo to give the Americans their first gold medal at the world gymnastics championships in eight years.
Leyva landed his dismount without so much as a wiggle and the 19-year-old from Miami let out a roar that could be heard clear to the other end of the arena. Leyva’s score of 15.633 put him one-tenth ahead of Vasileios Tsolakidis of Greece. There were still four gymnasts left to go, however, including all-around champion Kohei Uchimura. But none could catch Leyva.
It is the first U.S. gold at worlds since Paul Hamm won the all-around and floor exercise titles in 2003, and the first medal on parallel bars since Sean Townsend won gold in 2001.Leyva earned two medals at worlds – the U.S. men won the bronze in the team competition – most by a U.S. man at a world championships since Hamm won three in 2003. And it gave the Americans three medals Sunday, with Aly Raisman winning a bronze on floor and all-around champ Jordyn Wieber taking bronze on the balance beam.
The U.S. leaves worlds with seven medals, four of them gold.
Red Bull’s Vettel wins F1 Korean Grand Prix
Auto racing: Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel won the Korean Grand Prix in Yeongam, South Korea, and the team clinched the Formula One constructors’ championship.
Vettel, who started from second on the grid, passed pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton on the first lap and dominated the 55-lap race before crossing the finish line 12 seconds ahead McLaren’s Hamilton.
• Beckman takes Funny Car lead: Jack Beckman took the Funny Car standings lead with two events left, racing to his third career victory at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Ariz.
Larry Dixon (Top Fuel), Vincent Nobile (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won.
Murray tops Ferrer at Shanghai Masters
Tennis: Defending champion Andy Murray defeated David Ferrer 7-5, 6-4 to win the Shanghai Masters, ensuring he’ll vault past Roger Federer to No. 3 in the ATP rankings.
Murray has been unbeatable during the autumn Asian swing of the ATP tour, capturing consecutive titles in Bangkok, Tokyo – where he beat Rafael Nadal in the final – and Shanghai.
• Bartoli wins Japan Open: Second-seeded Marion Bartoli of France cruised to a straight-sets victory over top-seeded Samantha Stosur of Australia to win the Japan Open in Osaka.
Bartoli defeated the U.S. Open champion 6-3, 6-1 in 1 hour, 14 minutes on the hard court at the Utsubo Tennis Center.
• Kvitova beats Cibulkova to win Generali Ladies: Top-seeded Petra Kvitova beat Dominika Cibulkova 6-4, 6-1 to win the Generali Ladies in Linz, Austria, for her first title since Wimbledon in June.
Gagnon edges White in Dew Tour final
Skateboarding: Canadian Pierre-Luc Gagnon edged Shaun White by a half-point to win the Skateboard Vert final and successfully defend his Dew Cup title in Las Vegas.
Gagnon and White had spectacular runs in the finals at the Hard Rock Hotel, with Gagnon finishing with 92 points en route to his third season championship. Bucky Lasek was third at 88.5.
Knee injury ends Lattimore’s season
College Football: A turbulent week for No. 14 South Carolina closed with devastating news: Star tailback Marcus Lattimore is out for the year with a knee injury.
Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier said Lattimore has a torn ligament in his left knee and also suffered some cartilage damage. Lattimore will require surgery; although doctors want to keep the knee braced and allow it stabilize for several weeks before operating.
U.S. adds two records at Pan Am Games
Miscellany: Colombia got rolling with a pair of gold medals on the bicycle at the start of Day 2 at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Maria Luisa Calle won the women’s time trial in 28 minutes, 4.82 seconds, and Marlon Perez soon followed with the men’s title in 49:56.93.
After setting three Pan Am Games records a day earlier, the Americans added two more.
Elizabeth Pelton won her 100-meter backstroke heat in 1:01.57 to set the first record of the day.
American shooter Daryl Szarenski then scored a record 583 points in qualifying for the 10-meter air pistol.
• Mungara wins fourth straight Toronto marathon: Kenneth Mungara of Kenya, finished with a time of 2 hours, 9 minutes and 51 seconds to win his fourth straight Toronto marathon. Ethiopia’s Shami Abdulahi Dawit was second, while Canadian Reid Coolsaet finished third.
• Barito wins Woman of the Year award: Laura Barito of Stevens Tech has won the NCAA Woman of the Year award, capping a college swimming and track career that included 22 All-America selections and two national titles.
• Contador likely to skip 2012 Giro d’Italia: Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador says he is unlikely to defend his Giro d’Italia title in 2012 while he focuses his attention on the Tour de France, where he finished a disappointing fifth last year.