Athletics: Kenyan former 10,000 metres world record holder Samson Kimobwa died aged 58 on Wednesday after complaining of a stomach ailment, officials said. Kimobwa set a world record time of 27 minutes 30.47 seconds on June 30, 1977 in Helsinki. The record was broken by compatriot Henry Rono a year later in Vienna when he ran 27:22.4. Kimobwa, a high school teacher, was among the first Kenyans to earn a track scholarship to study in the United States when he went to Washington State University in early 1970s.
Rugby Union: Royal Bank of Scotland has extended its sponsorship of the Six Nations tournament until 2017, deciding that the partnership represented good value for the part state-owned British bank. The new four-year deal is worth around £43 million and runs from 2014, an increase from the current figure of around £30 million. Held in February and March every year, the Six Nations is the leading tournament for the main rugby-playing nations in the northern hemisphere and RBS has sponsored it since 2003.
Alpine Skiing: Lindsey Vonn (picture) returned to her winning ways after a self-imposed Christmas break when she dominated the Cortina d’Ampezzo downhill for the third time yesterday. The American, already crowned in the Italian resort in 2008 and 2010, took her third victory in one minute 38.25 seconds. While she struggled a bit on her return to competition last weekend in St Anton, Vonn was back to her best yesterday, collecting her 58th World Cup victory and her fifth this season. Current World Cup overall leader Tina Maze continued her unstoppable path towards her first big trophy by finishing second, 0.43 seconds adrift.
Winter Sport: Olympic champion Evan Lysacek has withdrawn from the US figure skating championships as he is still not fit enough to compete following surgery. The 27-year-old had been expected to resume a full competition schedule this season after taking a two-year break following his gold-medal winning performance at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. But injuries followed by surgery in November to repair a sports hernia have kept him out. The US championships will be held in Omaha, Nebraska, starting today.
Basket, NBA: Kevin Durant scored a career-high 52 points as the NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder prevailed 117-114 in an overtime thriller against Dallas Mavericks on Friday. Durant landed a perfect 21 from 21 at the free-throw line, with Russell Westbrook adding 31 points for the visitors as the Thunder (32-8) won their sixth straight match to continue their dominance in the national league.
Snooker: Defending champion Neil Robertson moved into the final of the Betfair Masters with a 6-2 defeat of Shaun Murphy yesterday. The Australian, who beat Murphy 10-6 in last year’s final, saw off the same opponent at London’s Alexandra Palace to set up a final against either Mark Selby or Graeme Dott. Robertson, who himself won the world crown in 2010, said: “It’s an amazing feeling to have the chance to defend my title. I’ve been pouncing on mistakes and making big breaks so it may be in the back of my opponents’ mind that if they miss I can clear up.”