Lance Armstrong finished safely on the final day of the Tour de France to seal a record-breaking sixth race victory.
Tom Bonnen claimed the glamour leg on the streets of Paris, while Robbie McEwen took the green points jersey. But the day belonged to Armstrong, who bettered the five Tour wins of cycling greats Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain. Andreas Kloden clinched second place on the podium, ahead of Italian Ivan Basso and German compatriot Jan Ullrich. Armstrong's victory was never in doubt on what was a largely processional last stage. And, flanked by his hard-working US Postal team-mates, he looked very relaxed throughout, even finding time to drink a glass of champagne in the saddle.
TOUR 2004 JERSEY WINNERS
Yellow: Lance Armstrong
Green: Robbie McEwen
Polka dot: Richard Virenque
White: Vladimir Karpets
The 32-year-old American, whose winning margin slipped to six minutes and 19 seconds, has won the last six Tours since the late Marco Pantani's sole victory in 1998. And he will have the chance to make it seven in a row in 2005, although he has yet to commit to riding in that race. Armstrong admitted that he had been a bit surprised at how easy the sixth win had been. "We never had a sense of crisis, only the stress of the rain and the crashes in the first week," he said. Six times, standing on the top step on the Champs Elysees is really special Lance Armstrong
"I was surprised that some of the rivals were not better. Some of them just completely disappeared."
The Texan added, however, that his milestone would take a long time sink in, "It might take years. I don't know. But six times, standing on the top step on the Champs Elysees is really special," he said. Below Armstrong in the overall classification, Kloden, 28, completed a fine Tour de France by beating his T-Mobile leader Ullrich to finish as runner-up. CSC's Basso split the Germans by hanging on in Saturday's time trial to take third spot on the Paris podium. To win six Tours in a row is incredible - I don't think anyone will do it again Tyler Hamilton Much of Sunday's excitement revolved around the green jersey battle, with Robbie McEwen, Thor Hushovd, Erik Zabel, Stuart O'Grady and Danilo Hondo starting within 37 points of each other. Once McEwen had won the first intermediate sprint of the day, only he and Hushvold looked likely to win the title. But on the Champs Elysees, both were pipped by Boonen, who led last year's winner Jean-Patrick Nazon and Hondo over the line with McEwen fourth, Zabel fifth and Hushovd well adrift. Frenchman Richard Virenque had already sealed his record-breaking seventh King of the Mountains title and added to it the Tour's combativity prize. The young rider's white jersey was won by Russia's Vladimir Karpets, who pipped long-time yellow jersey wearer Thomas Voeckler.
-10 *T Hamilton (US), E Els (SA) -9 P Mickelson (US) -6 L Westwood (Eng) -5 D Love (US), T Levet (Fra) -4 S Verplank (US), R Goosen (SA) -3 M Weir (Can), T Woods (US) -2 D Clarke (NIr), M Calcavecchia (US), S Kendall (US)
Little-known American Todd Hamilton beat Ernie Els in a play-off to clinch the Open title at Royal Troon. The pair tied at 10 under when Hamilton bogeyed the last but he bounced back to win the four-hole play-off by a shot. Masters champion Phil Mickelson was third on nine under, with England's Lee Westwood fourth on his own at six under after a closing 67. Tiger Woods finished at three under and local hero Colin Montgomerie ended up a disappointing two over after a 76. The 38-year-old Hamilton won his first major title after Els pulled his tee shot en route to a bogey at the short 17th, the third extra hole. The pair shared pars at the first and second holes and Els was unable to force a tying birdie on the 18th.
Hamilton, the overnight leader, began the day at eight under, one clear of playing partner Els in the last group. He slipped back with a bogey on the par-four second but the world number 56 was not overawed by the superstars in the groups just in front of him and clawed shots back at the fourth and fifth. He stumbled briefly at the 10th as Mickelson, who had joined him in the lead at the fourth and then again at the seventh, went ahead on his own at nine under. But Hamilton birdied the 11th and 14th to go two clear as Mickelson fell back at 13 before closing to within one stroke after a birdie at the 16th. Hamilton, though, fended off his more illustrious opponent with a birdie of his own at 16 to reach 11 under, as Els took over the chase and closed to within one at the same hole. Els, who won the Open at Muirfield in 2002 and was second in 2000 and 1996, began the day at seven under and went out in two-under-par before a double bogey at the 10th seemed to have scuppered his chances. But birdies at 13, 16 and 17 kept him in touch, and when Hamilton bogeyed the last hole via the right and then left rough, Els was left with an eight-footer for victory, which he missed to set up the play-off. The South African, who could have become world number one if he had won and Woods had finished outside the top 17, was also pipped to this year's Masters title when Mickelson birdied the last hole to win. The Masters champion ended with a second-straight 68, while former European number one Westwood continued his recent renaissance with a closing 67 to record his best-ever Open finish, beating his tie for 10th, also at Troon, in 1997.
The 31-year-old began at two under but after falling back to level par at the fifth, blazed three straight birdies to reach the turn in 35. He then picked up three more shots on the more difficult back nine to set a challenging target in the clubhouse. America's Love came from nowhere with a final-round 67 to finish alongside France's Thomas Levet, the joint first-round leader, who only qualified late last Sunday when he won the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond. US Open champion Retief Goosen was unable to get on a roll and carded a two-over 73 to sit at four under with American Scott Verplank (71). One stroke behind was Canada's former Masters champion Mike Weir and Woods, who picked up two shots to advance to six under by the sixth but handed strokes back at the tricky 11th, 12th and 17th holes. Montgomerie, meanwhile, improved to four under at the fourth but back-to-back bogeys at nine and 10 and doubles at 13 and 17 sunk his cause. Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke ended strongly with a 68 to head a trio on two under alongside America's 1989 Troon Open winner Mark Calcavecchia and second-round leader Skip Kendall, also of America.
Jan Ullrich believes he can still win the Tour de France despite lying almost a minute behind arch-rival Lance Armstrong in the overall standings.
"I'm going to try every day to reduce this 55-second split," said the German. "I could go to my room, get into bed, pull the sheet over my head and cry, but I won't." He added: "I won't concentrate 100% on Lance. If my legs are good and I have the means to attack, it's necessary to attack right away." After Monday's rest day, stage nine of the Tour sees the riders tackle the first of three stages in the Massif Central in the middle of France before heading into the tougher climbs of the Pyrenees. Frenchman Thomas Voeckler is in the yellow jersey with five-time winner Armstrong in sixth place, nine minutes 35 seconds behind. Telekom rider Ullrich, who won the Tour in 1997, is in 20th.
2004 NBA FINALS
6 June: Lakers 75-87 Detroit
8 June: Lakers 99-91 Detroit
10 June: Detroit 88-68 Lakers
13 June: Detroit 88-80 Lakers
15 June: Detroit 100-87 Lakers
The Detroit Pistons won their first NBA title for 14 years after producing a dominant display over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. A 100-87 victory gave them a 4-1 win in the finals leaving the last two games redundant.
It was their first win in America's showcase basketball competition since they beat the Portland Trail Blazers by the same 4-1 margin in 1990. Detroit guard Chauncey Billups was named the most valuable player in the finals. The Lakers had been widely expected to win the 2004 finals but the Pistons showed that sometimes team-work can overcome individual brilliance. Detroit led by just one point after the first quarter, but scored 30 in the second period to gain a 10-point lead at half-time. Richard Hamilton, Ben Wallace and Tayshaun Prince were all scoring heavily for the Pistons who piled on the pressure in the third quarter to move 82-59 in front, and well out of reach. The Lakers knew they would have a tough night when Karl Malone was forced to miss Tuesday night's contest with torn knee ligaments. His replacement Slava Medvedenko made four baskets and had an assist in the first six minutes as the Lakers took a 14-7 lead. But the Pistons took the lead for good late in the first quarter and never looked back.
Lakers stars Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant scored more than half of the Lakers' points between them but as a team they were out-performed.
MAY 2004
Vitali Klitschko overcame a nervous start to claim the vacant WBC heavyweight crown with a technical knock-out of Corrie Sanders. The Ukrainian finally put away his brave South African opponent when the referee stopped the fight with 14 seconds left of the eighth round. A packed Staples Centre in Los Angeles saw Sanders adopt a one-punch strategy as he troubled the favourite early on.
But the 38-year-old's resistance ended when referee Jon Schorle stepped in. Klitschko exacted a measure of revenge for his brother Wladimir's knock-out defeat to Sanders 13 months ago. The 32-year-old eventually wore down his overweight opponent but will need to improve if he is dominate the heavyweight division like his predecessor Lennox Lewis. Klitschko made a ponderous start and a left hook from Sanders at the end of the opening round had him back-pedalling furiously. The favourite recovered slightly in the second but Sanders, who had not gone beyond two rounds in any fight since 1997, again took the initiative in the third. The southpaw twice shook Klitschko with left hooks before the Ukrainian made some progress with his jab in the fourth.
Klitschko remained wary of the South African's obvious punching power but had Sanders staggering backwards with a potent combination at the end of the fifth. Sanders survived to the bell and, despite a bloodied face, counter-attacked impressively in the sixth to dent Klitschko's growing confidence. Sanders' sapping energy appeared to be taking its toll in the seventh and he literally fought himself to a standstill in the eighth. With Sanders wobbling and Klitschko moving in for the kill, the referee stopped the fight after two minutes and 46 seconds of the round.
April 2004
Phil Mickelson birdied the last to win his first ever major title in thrilling fashion at Augusta.
The popular American carded a three-under-par final round to pip South Africa's Ernie Els by one shot. Mickelson, who had played in 46 majors without victory, had trailed Els by as many as three shots on Sunday but stormed home in 31 shots to steal it. KJ Choi claimed third after an eventful round, while Sergio Garcia and Bernhard Langer tied for fourth.
Paul Casey was Britain's highest finisher after a final round of 74 gave him a two-under-par total and a share of sixth place. Also finishing on two under were American quartet Davis Love III, Fred Couples, Chris DiMarco and Kirk Triplett, Zimbabwe's Nick Price and Fiji's Vijay Singh. On an incredible day at the Augusta National, there were also two holes-in-one in little more than 10 minutes.
Ireland's Padraig Harrington holed his tee shot at the par-three 16th only for Triplett to folllow suit in the next group. They were only the 16th and 17th aces in the 70-year history of the Masters, although the 15th came on Thursday when DiMarco holed-in-one at the sixth. But the real story of the day was Mickelson's remarkable back-nine charge for victory.
Magnificent eagles on the eighth and 13th holes had threatened to hand Els the third leg of a career grand slam. The world number three was three shots clear with five to play when his second eagle hit the cup. But the 33-year-old Mickelson, so often the bridesmaid at golf's biggest events in recent years, knuckled down and hit back with birdies at the 12th, 13th and 14th holes.
Els took his lead back to two strokes with a birdie at the par-five 15th but Mickelson, roared on by a partisan crowd, birdied the 16th with a gutsy 20ft putt from the edge of the green to set up a fairy-tale finale. While Els, who narrowly missed his own birdie putt at the 18th minutes before, prepared for a sudden-death play-off, Mickelson rolled in an 18ft putt to finally banish his tag of being the best player never to win a major. He also became the second consecutive left-hander to win a Green Jacket after Mike Weir's victory last year. Prior to the final round, much had been made of Mickelson's run of three third-place finishes at Augusta.
But Els will now have to reflect on his own record of second, sixth, fifth, sixth and second over the last five years.
British sprinter Dwain Chambers has been banned from competition for two years after being found guilty of taking the anabolic steroid THG. Chambers, the European 100m champion, will also be prevented from competing in another Olympic Games.
The 25-year-old tested positive last August and has been suspended since November, but continues to maintain his innocence and may appeal. He has 60 days to do so, a possibility his solicitor has not ruled out.
Chambers statement in full
"Dwain has been given the minimal ban available in the circumstances and he continues to assert his innocence," said solicitor Graham Shear. "The decision of the tribunal is being studied in detail for the purpose of considering a possible appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport."
The ban is backdated to 7 November, when Chambers was initially suspended. UK Athletics chief executive David Moorcroft said Chambers' suspension was "a price worth paying".
"UK Athletics is proud of the fact that we conduct a full programme of in and out-of-competition testing alongside targeted testing to ensure we do all we can to protect those athletes who compete fairly," said Moorcroft. "We are mindful of the fact that this may lead to adverse findings and that publicity resulting from a positive finding can hurt the sport. "But we feel this is a price worth paying to keep the sport clean."
Chambers' legal team argued that THG is not specifically listed on the International Association of Athletics Federations' (IAAF) list of prohibited substances. However, the UK Athletics Disciplinary Committee was "satisfied" that THG is "chemically or pharmacologically related" to a substance on the banned list. Have Your Say What now for Dwain Chambers? Dick Pound, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said he was "pleased" at the outcome. "Mr Chambers has the right to appeal but we are very satisfied with this first step and hope it sends a message to other athletes who would contemplate using banned substances or methods," said Pound. "Those who cheat will be caught and will face the consequences." Chambers, the reigning European 100m champion, won 4x100m relay gold at last summer's World Championships. But the relay team could now lose those medals.
His former coach, Remi Korchemny, is one of four men indicted by a federal grand jury in America on charges relating to distributing steroids to athletes. Four American athletes, including world indoor 1500m champion Regina Jacobs and shot putter Kevin Toth, tested positive for THG at last June's US Championship in Stanford. The THG scandal broke when the United States Anti-Doping Agency was contacted by an anonymous athletics coach who claimed that several top athletes were using a banned substance. The same coach then handed over a syringe containing THG, which USADA used to develop an effective test for the substance.
Australia: 17
England: 20
England won the Rugby World Cup with a breathtaking Jonny Wilkinson drop goal just 26 seconds from the end of a thrilling final in Sydney.
Millions watched around the world as captain Martin Johnson became the first player to lead a northern hemisphere side to the world title. Wilkinson's last-gasp effort was all that separated the sides after 100 minutes of rugby and a dramatic extra-time finale. Australia battled hard and were never out of the game but ultimately fell just short, despite opening the scoring through wing Lote Tuqiri. The match represented the culmination of four impressive years of improvement from an England team that flattered to deceive in the last World Cup. Oh the delicious irony - Jonny wins it with a drop goal! Pinch me someone, I'm dreaming!
Then, Johnson and his cohorts were kicked out by South Africa and were rightly criticised for lacking a 'killer spirit'. There were no such weaknesses on display on Saturday as England wrestled the cup away from an Aussie side who fought tooth and nail to become the first team to retain the trophy. The Wallabies started strongly when Tuqiri out-jumped Jason Robinson to a huge Stephen Larkham bomb with just six minutes on the clock. The score was no more than Australia deserved but three Wilkinson penalties soon silenced the strong home support. There's no one you'd rather want in that position than Wilko Martin Johnson More England reaction Australian match reaction Despite the rain continuing to fall, both sides chose to keep the ball in hand and as the game progressed, so the mighty England pack began to dominate. With just 10 minutes of the first half left, Ben Kay knocked on with the line beckoning to the frustration of the visiting fans. Minutes later, England finally silenced their critics when Robinson scuttled over wide on the left after a powerful midfield burst from Lawrence Dallaglio. The men in white started the second half as they had finished the first.
KEY MOMENTS
6 mins: Tuqiri's try puts Australia ahead 38 mins: Robinson scores a try after three Wilkinson penalties to put England 14-5 ahead 80 mins: The hosts haul themselves level with Flatley's last-gasp penalty 82 mins: Wilkinson's penalty gives England an extra-time advantage 97 mins: Flatley strikes again to equalise at 17-17 100 mins: Wilkinson's drop goal wins England the World Cup
Johnson led from the front with a towering performance and Dallaglio and flanker Richard Hill caused numerous problems down the middle of the pitch. But just as England looked likely to pull away, two sloppy penalties allowed Elton Flatley to bring his side back within touching distance. England looked the more confident side with the ball in hand - but only just. Will Greenwood knocked on inside the Aussie 22 and Wilkinson then missed a drop goal as the match entered a tense closing quarter. Runs from the powerful Stirling Mortlock and George Smith pushed England back into their own half. And as referee Andre Watson prepared to blow for full time, Flatley slotted his third kick of the half to push the match into extra time. The players looked understandably exhausted and when Wilkinson and Flatley again swapped penalties the match looked as if it was heading into sudden death.
But England were not to be denied and it was fitting that Wilkinson sealed a deserved victory as well as the most memorable result in English rugby history. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
England: J Lewsey, J Robinson, W Greenwood, M Tindall, B Cohen; J Wilkinson, M Dawson; T Woodman, S Thompson, P Vickery; M Johnson; (capt), B Kay; Richard Hill, N Back, L Dallaglio. Replacements: D West, J Leonard, M Corry, L Moody, K Bracken, M Catt, I Balshaw.
Australia: M Rogers, W Sailor, S Mortlock, E Flatley, L Tuqiri; S Larkham, G Gregan (capt); B Young, B Cannon, A Baxter; J Harrison, N Sharpe; G Smith, P Waugh, D Lyons. Replacements: J Paul, M Dunning, D Giffin, M Cockbain, C Whitaker, M Giteau, J Roff.