MIKA Hakkinen celebrated his birthday knowing he was firmly in the driving seat to clinch the Formula One world championship. Hakkinen had an exciting victory in the Luxembourg Grand Prix at the Nurburgring for his McLaren-Mercedes team to pull four points ahead of second place Michael Schumacher.
The Finn, who is now 30, outdrove twice world champion Schumacher with a superb performance and now needs to finish second in the final race in Suzuka on 1 November to be crowned champion even if his rival wins in Japan.
Around the world
UNDER sunny skies and a brisk breeze, 14 sailors set off on a 43,500-kilometre (27,000-mile) odyssey around the world. Dozens of motor boats and other sailboats crowded the starting line about five kilometres (three miles) off Charleston as a replica of a US Civil War cannon boomed, starting the race.
Sixteen boats will eventually compete, but two sailors remained in Charleston, making last-minute preparations.
The race got underway at about 12.15pm local time as the yachts slipped by the starting line. The 11,045-kilometre leg to Cape Town, South Africa, is expected to take about five weeks for the fastest boat.
Hide's quick work
HERBIE Hide of England defeated German challenger Willi Fischer to retain his WBO heavyweight title.
Hide, who entered the bout weighing 220 pounds (100 kgs), was out-weighed but not over-matched by the 231-pound (105 kgs) German. Veteran referee Joe Cortez stopped the contest after the moody 27-year-old, fighting in front of his home town fans, floored Fischer for a third time just over a minute into the second round of the contest.
Flo-Jo's funeral
WITH an Olympic flag hanging behind the casket, Florence Griffith Joyner was remembered as a champion who ran a race faithfully won. The two-hour funeral at Saddleback Community Church was filled with a mix of affection and anger over accusations that Griffith Joyner's record victories were aided by doping.
Griffith Joyner, a dazzling, muscular runner popularly known as Flo-Jo, captured three gold medals at the 1988 Seoul Games and set world records that still stand for the 100 and 200 metres. She denied using performance-enhancing substances and never failed a doping test. Griffith Joyner, 39, died last week from an apparent heart failure.
Jalabert presured
FRENCH cycling star Laurent Jalabert says he could opt out of the world championships next month because of physical and psychological fatigue. Jalabert, currently competing in the Tour of Spain, said he was not sure he would go to the championships in Valkenburg in the Netherlands staring on 7 October.
Jalabert, a key critic of the authorities' handling of a drugs scandal during this year's Tour de France, added he had also been affected by a suspension threat hanging over him after publicly criticising cycling's governing body.
Elusive Toyota
MONICA Seles beat Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario for the Toyota Princess Cup title for the third consecutive year, again using her power to overcome the Spaniard's speed and wiles.
Seles' 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory in the 2-hour, 17-minute match left Sanchez-Vicario with four straight losses in the Toyota finals since winning the tournament in 1994. She lost to Mary Pierce in 1995.
Grand victory
TAKANOHANA beat fellow yokozuna (grand champion) Akebono to win the 15-day Autumn Grand Sumo tournament with a 13-2 record. In the day's final bout, Takanohana grabbed Akebono's belt, put his head in his foe's chest and sent him out of the ring at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan sumo arena.
Akebono finished at 10-5. The win gave the 26-year-old Takanohana his 20th tournament victory and the second straight grand sumo championship.
Power golf
LONG-HITTING Akiko Fukushima shot a one-under par 71 and won the Miygai TV Cup Dunlop Ladies Open by four strokes over two South Koreans, veterans Ku Ok-hee and rookie Han Hee-won.
The 25-year-old Fukushima, who is planing to join the US tour next year, was tied at six-under with the overnight co-leader Ku before she strung together three birdies in a row and pulled away from her rival.
