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This Week in Sports :: June 30-July 4, 2008

Jul 03, 2008

Swimmer Dara Torres tries out for her fifth Olympics and Tyson Gay sets the American 100 meter record. See what else happened!

Torres Aims to Make Fifth Olympics

This week the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials are taking place in Omaha, Nebraska. One of the Olympic hopefuls is Dara Torres. Torres is no stranger to Olympic trials, she has competed in four Olympics including the '84 Los Angeles Games, the '88 Seoul Games, the '92 Barcelona Games and the 2000 Sydney Games! The 41-year old has medaled nine times - including winning four golds. If she makes the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she will be the first swimmer to compete in five Olympics and will be the oldest female swimmer to compete in the games. In the first race of the trials, Dara held her own by winning her heat in the 100-meter freestyle preliminaries. Her time is currently the third fastest of the trials.

Tyson Gay Sets Record

During the 100 meters quarterfinals of the US Olympic Track and Field Trials last weekend, Tyson Gay set an American record with a time of 9.77. The time was also the third fastest 100 meter in the history of the sport! In the finals the next day, Gay ran a 9.68 which is the fastest 100 meter in any condition, but did not count as a record because it was wind-aided. No doubt, Gay will be one of the biggest stars of the Beijing Olympics. Look for this 25-year-old Kentucky native to set records and collect gold medals in the 100 meter, 200 meter and the 4 x 100 meter relay next month!

Sonics Move to Oklahoma City

It was no secret this past year that the Seattle Supersonics would probably move to Oklahoma City. But Seattle locals hoped there was still a chance the team would stay put. On Wednesday, the Sonics met their fate as Clay Bennett, the owner of the team, paid $75 million to get out of his lease with the city of Seattle. Now Bennett is taking the Sonics across the country to Oklahoma City next season. The Sonics had been in Seattle since 1967 and won an NBA Championship in 1979. The Sonics have had many great players come through the Emerald City including Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, Lenny Wilkins, Jack Sikma and Kevin Durant. This is the second NBA team the Pacific Northwest has lost in the past decade. In 2001, the nearby Vancouver Grizzlies moved to Memphis.

Notes Around the Sports World

  • Baron Davis of the Golden State Warriors surprised everyone by opting out of his contract on Tuesday. He has decided to sign a five-year, $65 million deal with his hometown team, the Los Angeles Clippers.
  • Unlike Baron, free agent Gilbert Arenas will stay put with the Washington Wizards. Arenas signed a six-year, $111 million contract with the Wizards on Thursday.
  • It is going to be an all Williams final this year at Wimbledon. Venus Williams will meet her sister Serena in the Wimbledon women's final on Saturday.
  • Once again Roger Federer will face his arch-rival Rafael Nadal in the final of Wimbledon on Sunday. Federer has not lost at Wimbledon since 2002.


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