Sports in Brief: Off-beat training pays off
Tri-athlete Manuel Huerta took a unique sort of high- altitude training and it paid off Saturday with a berth in the Olympics.
Tri-athlete Manuel Huerta took a unique sort of high- altitude training and it paid off Saturday with a berth in the Olympics.
Huerta and Hunter Kemper both qualified for the U.S. Olympic team at the ITU World Triathlon in San Diego.
Kemper, who will be appearing in his fourth Olympics, was clocked in 1 hour, 49.17 seconds, in an event combining a 1,500-meter swim, 40 kilometers of cycling, and a 10-kilometer run.
Huerta, who spent recent time living in a volcano in Costa Rica to get high altitude training, finished at 1:49:31.
TENNIS: Roger Federer will play for his third Madrid Open title with a chance to take over the No. 2 spot in the world ranking after cruising past Janko Tipsarevic, 6-2, 6-3, in the semifinals. The former No. 1 advanced to a final against Tomas Berdych, who edged Juan Martin del Potro, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6).
Serena Williams will meet top-ranked Victoria Azarenka in the women's final after each won their semifinal matchup in straight sets.
Williams beat Lucie Hradecka, 7-6 (5), 6-0, while Azarenka ousted fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-2, 6-4.
BASKETBALL: Louisiana Tech will meet Rutgers in the seventh annual Maggie Dixon Classic on Dec. 9 in Madison Square Garden.
Duke will face St. John's in the second game of the doubleheader that honors the former Army women's basketball coach who died in April 2006 at age 28.
CYCLING:
Paolo Tiralongo of Italy won the seventh stage of the Giro d'Italia in Rocca di Cambio, Italy, while Ryder Hesjedal replaced Adriano Malori as the overall leader and became the first Canadian to wear the pink jersey.
SWIMMING: Michael Phelps was edged by China's Wu Peng in the 200-meter butterfly at the Charlotte Grand Prix.
BOXING: Heavyweight Michael Hunter and super- heavyweight Dominic Breazeale won their semifinal bouts in a qualifying tournament in Brazil and made the U.S. Olympic team.
USA Boxing will send an impressive nine fighters to the 2012 Games, the second-largest men's team headed to London. That's more than any nation except Australia (which will send 10) and more than traditional amateur powers Cuba and Russia.
- Staff and wire reports