Slutskaya out on her own
Ice skating: History was made at the European Figure Skating Championships in Lyons when Irina Slutskaya, of Russia, became the first woman to win seven titles. She had shared the record of six wins with Katarina Witt and Sonia Henie. Elena Sokolova, also of Russia, took silver and Carolina Kostner, of Italy, bronze.
Sinead and John Kerr, the British champions, further established themselves among Europe’s top ice dancers with a strong performance in the original dance. The siblings, from Livingston, finished ninth and are eighth overall going into tonight’s final free skating. “We really felt the buzz of the crowd,” Sinead said. “We told ourselves that the technical side of the programme is well rehearsed and ready, so we should go out and entertain.”
Tour postponed
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Cricket: Australia’s tour of the West Indies in 2007 has been postponed because of a clash with the World Cup. Australia were scheduled to play in the Caribbean in February 2007, defend their World Cup title in March-April and complete their matches against West Indies in May.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) believed that it was too big a load for the hosts. “We had discussions with the ICC and Cricket Australia and it was decided that it would be best to postpone the tour until a more feasible time,” Roger Brathwaite, the WICB chief executive, said yesterday.
Maloney returns
Boxing: Frank Maloney, the man who took Lennox Lewis to the undisputed world heavyweight title, relaunched himself as a full-time promoter yesterday and introduced David Haye as the new signing who, he believes, can reach the heights attained by Lewis. For the past five years, Maloney has worked for Sports Network, the promotional company of Frank Warren, and while he is still tied to Warren as the manager of Scott Harrison, the WBO featherweight champion, his new promotional venture has revived his interest.
Thomson surprise
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Bowls: Andy Thomson, the world No 1 and No 2 seed, and Ian Bond, provisionally ranked one place below Thomson, were both beaten in the second round of the WBT World Indoor Singles Championship at Potters Leisure Resort, Norfolk, yesterday. Jamie Hill, a 24-year-old New Zealander, returned an 8-5, 11-7 card against Thomson, who said: “Jamie played well, but I have an early chance of revenge because I play him in the Welsh International Open next month.” Richard Morgan, a PBA qualifier from Cardiff, beat Bond 5-8, 9-3, 2-0.
O’Sullivan happy to take his time
Snooker: Nine months after being ground down by Peter Ebdon in one of the most controversial matches played at the Crucible, Ronnie O’Sullivan was admirably patient, disciplined and focused in beating his great rival 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the Saga Insurance Masters at Wembley Conference Centre last night.
O’Sullivan, who lost 13-11 to Ebdon from 8-2 up in the World Championship, was visibly determined not to allow his opponent any such latitude and breaks of 97, 77, 43 and 54 assured his swift progress to 4-0. Ebdon reduced the arrears to 4-2, the sixth frame being, at 59 minutes, the longest of O’Sullivan’s 14-year professional career. After 44 minutes of cat-and- mouse play, he heeded a call of nature and left the arena for seven minutes. When he returned, to ironic cheers, he froze out his opponent.
Revenge mission
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Badminton: Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms, the All-England mixed doubles champions, will be looking for revenge today as they attempt to take another step towards becoming the first home players in 25 years to defend a title successfully.
Robertson and Emms, the silver medal-winners at the 2004 Olympics, play a quarter-final against Xie Zhongbo and Zhang Yawen, the Chinese pair who beat them in the final of the Hong Kong Open in November. That was their last defeat and they put in a fine display in beating Jonas Rasmussen and Britta Andersen, of Denmark, 15-5, 15-3 at the National Indoor Arena yesterday.
McGoldrick mix-up
Rugby league: Three weeks after Castleford Tigers announced the signing of Ryan McGoldrick, the club admitted yesterday that they have only a “50-50” chance of completing the deal in time for their opening home engage Super League match against Hull on February 10. McGoldrick also has a deal with Wests Tigers, the NRL champions. “Castleford aren’t in the wrong, neither are Wests,” Terry Matterson, the Castleford coach, said. “There’s been a mix-up with his management company.”
Mansell returns
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Motor racing: Nigel Mansell will be back at the scene of his greatest triumph when he competes at Silverstone this year. Mansell spearheads the cast list in the Grand Prix Masters championship at the Northamptonshire track on August 13, his first race there since winning the 1992 British Grand Prix on his way to the Formula One World Championship. “Racing a thoroughbred grand-prix car in front of a home crowd at Silverstone will be a surreal and mighty experience,” Mansell said.