Times wires
Saturday, March 5, 2011
SKIING
VONN'S ROUTINE: FOURTH STRAIGHT DOWNHILL TITLE
TARVISIO, Italy — Here's a measure of Lindsey Vonn's strength in the downhill: She no longer bothers to celebrate the seasonlong championship.
The American gold medal winner at the 2010 Olympics won her fourth consecutive downhill crown Saturday by finishing second to Sweden's Anja Paerson. A day earlier, Vonn clinched her second straight super-combined title. She has 11 World Cup titles and could clinch the super-G today.
"You can never expect any titles," Vonn said. " … This year I wasn't able to win as many times as last year, so it definitely wasn't easy."
MEN: Just 10 days after having surgery to correct an irregular heartbeat, Olympic champion Carlo Janka of Switzerland won a men's World Cup giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.
TENNIS
Bryan brothers bring U.S. to brink
Twins Bob and Mike Bryan, who live in Wesley Chapel, put the U.S. Davis Cup team ahead of host Chile 2-1 in Santiago, beating Jorge Aguilar and Nicolas Massu 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (6-4). Spain beat Belgium in doubles for an insurmountable 3-0 lead and faces the U.S.-Chile winner next. Also, Sweden eliminated Russia, and Argentina ousted Romania.
MONTERREY OPEN: Top seed Jelena Jankovic reached today's final, beating Polona Hercog 6-3, 6-2 in Mexico. Jankovic next faces No. 2 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Horses
Pletcher horse wins at T.B. Downs
Todd Pletcher trainee Colizeo won the $60,000 Challenger in stakes-record time at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar. Ridden by Willie Martinez, Colizeo ($6.60) ran 11/16 miles in 1:42.94. Jardim was second and Yummy With Butter third. Drosselmeyer, the 2010 Belmont Stakes winner, finished fourth.
SANTA ANITA HANDICAP: Game On Dude edged Setsuko by a nose in the $750,000 race, running 1¼ miles in 1:59.47.
GOTHAM STAKES: Stay Thirsty beat Norman Asbjornson by 3¼ lengths in the $250,000 stakes for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct.
ET CETERA
SWIMMING: Michael Phelps beat former Gator Ryan Lochte in the 200-meter individual medley at the Indianapolis Grand Prix. Phelps, the two-time defending Olympic gold medalist in the event, swam in 1 minute, 56.88 seconds, the world's best time this season.
SPEED SKATING: American Shani Davis won the 1,500 meters in Heerenveen, Netherlands, to guarantee a record fourth straight season title at the distance.
BOXING: World heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko withdrew from IBF/WBO title defense against Derek Chisora with an abdominal injury. The fight had been scheduled for April 30 in Germany. … Zab Judah (41-6, 28 KOs) knocked out Kaizer Mabuza in Round 7 to win the IBF junior welterweight title in Newark, N.J.
SOCCER: FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he would welcome goal-line technology at the 2014 World Cup, but the head of the sport's world governing body added that 10 systems tested thus far fail to meet FIFA requirements.
GREYHOUNDS: Nova kennel's Hi Noon Renegade won his first career stakes box-to-wire in the $64,000 Sprint Classic at Derby Lane in St. Petersburg. Trained by Rosa Gibbs for owner Charles Haliburton III, Hi Noon Renegade paid $16 to win and clocked 550 yards in 30.70 seconds. Backwood Cody was second, Tmc's Pistol third.
Don Jensen, Times correspondent; Times wires