By Times Staff and Wire Reports
Published January 15, 2004
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy - Canada's Genevieve Simard won a super giant slalom race Wednesday for her first World Cup victory. Simard was superb at the top of the steep layout and none of the favorites came close to matching her winning time of 1 minute, 13.05 seconds.
Germany's Maria Riesch was second, a distant .65 behind. Hilde Gerg, also from Germany, was third, .78 back. The closest American was Caroline Lalive, who finished fourth, .85 behind. It was her best finish since suffering a knee injury last season. Teammate Julia Mancuso was 10th.
Gerg, winner of Sunday's super-G in Veysonnaz, Switzerland, moved ahead of Michaela Dorfmeister atop the super giant slalom standings. Dorfmeister was 25th on Wednesday.
GOLF: Lincicome in the lead
Seminole's Brittany Lincicome, 18, shot 1-under-par 71 to take a one-stroke lead in the opening round of the South Atlantic Ladies Amateur tournament in Ormond Beach. Her round included five birdies. Bradenton's Naree Song, who has withdrawn from the University of Florida to play on the Futures Tour, was six back.
SOFTBALL: Seminoles start at No. 20
Florida State, which finished 46-11 last season, is ranked No. 20 in the preseason ESPN.com/USA softball poll. Florida is not ranked, but received 37 votes. South Florida received two. The Bulls, who open Jan. 31 in the USF-Louisville Slugger tournament, are coming off a 54-19 season. They finished No. 25.
AUTOS: Driver stays with Ferrari
Ferrari extended the contract of Brazilian driver Rubens Barrichello through 2006. "I've enjoyed my stay at Ferrari so far," he said, "and this extension gives me the security to be with the right team." Barrichello has been with Ferrari since 2000 and has won seven races. He is the teammate of Michael Schumacher, winner of six championships.
TRACK AND FIELD: Conforming to the rules
USA Track & Field changed its false-start rule to conform with regulations adopted last year by the sport's global governing body. The new rule calls for the first false start in any race to be charged to the field. Subsequent penalties would result in the disqualification of the athlete responsible. The rule will apply to all Golden Spike Tour and USATF Championship events.
Report: Medalist retires: Olympic silver medalist Stephanie Graf retired, citing lack of motivation to keep running, the Austria Press Agency reported. The 30-year-old Graf, who took second in the 800 meters at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, made the announcement in an e-mail while training in South Africa.
CYCLING: Doping arrests made
Three people connected to the Cofidis cycling team were arrested, and police seized performance-enhancing drugs at the Paris home of a former rider. Robert Sassone was detained after police found male hormones, the endurance-booster EPO and amphetamines in his apartment. Two others associated with Cofidis, former rider Marek Rutkiewicz and assistant Boguslaw Madejak, also were arrested.
BOXING: Early upset at amateurs
Unranked super heavyweight Mike Wilson upset No. 2 George Garcia in a 22-14 decision in the early rounds of the U.S. Amateur Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo. Also, Rashiem Jefferson defeated Joseph Santistevan in a bantamweight fight and three-time amateur champion flyweight Roberto Benitez advanced when his bout against Ricky Alexander was stopped. The quarterfinals are today.
SWIMMING: Sweep for American
Ed Moses won the 100-meter breaststroke, completing a three-race sweep at the FINA World Cup short-course meet in Stockholm, Sweden. Moses won the 50 and 200 breaststroke, then turned in his best race in the 100. Leading all the way, the 23-year-old won in 58.08 seconds, just .21 off the record he owns. He beat Japan's Kosuke Kitajima (58.68) and Britain's James Gibson (58.87).
