Cricket: Retired test paceman Ryan Harris will be tasked with developing Australia’s next generation of fast bowlers as high performance coach at the National Cricket Centre academy in Brisbane, Cricket Australia confirmed yesterday. Queenslander Harris, who took 113 wickets in 27 tests for Australia before retiring in 2015, will be joined in Brisbane by Matthew Elliot after the former test batsman was named high performance coach in charge of batting programs for youth teams.

Motor Racing: Colombian Tatiana Calderon has joined Sauber in the role of development driver, hoping eventually to break the male domination of the Formula One starting grid. “I look forward to working with the team and learning as much as I can. It is a step closer to my dream – one day competing in Formula One,” she said yesterday.  The 23-year-old will race in the GP3 support series this season while also embarking on a Sauber programme that includes simulator training and working with engineers.

Rugby Union: South Africa centre Damian de Allende has been ruled out for the next three months after sustaining a serious ankle injury in the Super Rugby match against the Bulls, the Stormers confirmed yesterday. A scan confirmed a lengthy absence for the 25-year-old, who has won 22 caps for the Springboks and is expected to be back before the three-test series at home against France in June. De Allende had shown good touches as the Stormers beat the Bulls 37-24 at Newlands on Saturday before going off with injury.

Gymnastics: Olga Korbut, the gymnastics darling of the 1972 Munich Olympics who has apparently fallen on hard times, has sold off her Games medals and other trophies through a US auction house. Thirty-two lots, including two golds and a silver from the Munich Olympics, fetched $333,500 in a weekend online sale by Heritage Auctions for the former Soviet gymnast who now lives in Arizona. The top item was her team gold medal, which brought $66,000 for the 61-year-old Korbut. Russia’s Gazeta.ru news reported that she has had financial difficulties.

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