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Sports in brief

 
Published Jan. 20, 2013

SKIING

VONN EARNS FIRST VICTORY SINCE ILLNESS

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — Lindsey Vonn is back at full speed.

Vonn won a World Cup downhill Saturday for her first victory in more than five weeks, beating overall leader Tina Maze by nearly half a second.

And more important, Vonn's back to health after a nasty bacterial problem.

"I'm excited to be racing, and I have that fire again, and I trust that my body is strong enough to ski the way I want to ski," the American Olympic gold medalist said. "It wasn't always the case in all the races this year. I'm back to my old self and it's a good feeling."

Vonn clocked 1 minute, 38.25 seconds down the sunny Olympia delle Tofane course. Maze finished second, and Vonn's American teammate Leanne Smith was third, 0.89 back.

100 mph record: Johan Clarey of France set a World Cup speed record of 100.6 mph on the Lauberhorn men's downhill in Wengen, Switzerland. He placed fifth in a race won by Christof Innerhofer of Italy. Clarey clocked the fastest speed recorded in the 46-year history of the World Cup; Canadian Benjamin Thomsen went 99.3 mph earlier in the race to briefly hold the mark.

HORSES

Agent: Hurt jockey should be okay

The agent for jockey Ramon Dominguez said doctors were optimistic the nation's leading rider will fully recover from a fractured skull suffered Friday in a spill during a race at Aqueduct in New York. Dominguez was aboard Convocation, which clipped heels with Sovereign Default and fell forward.

COLLEGES

NCAA streamlines numerous rules

The NCAA Division I board of directors approved 25 of 26 proposals in a sweeping deregulation of rules. Among the changes, as of Aug. 1, is eliminating the limit on how much coaches can contact recruits, and how many of a school's coaches can make contact. Also, athletes can accept up to $300 a year to attend nonscholastic events, and get money to help offset expenses associated with practices and competition with national teams, including tryouts.

ET CETERA

AUTOS: Stephane Peterhansel and Cyril Despres, both of France, defended their car and motorbike titles in the Dakar Rally.

SOCCER: Barcelona's 19-game unbeaten streak to start the Spanish league season ended when host Real Sociedad erased a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 with the winner coming in injury time. Barcelona went down to 10 men after Gerard Pique's second yellow card. … Tiny Cape Verde tied host South Africa 0-0 to open the African Cup of Nations.

OBITUARY: Former sumo grand champion Taiho (real name Koki Naya), whose 32 championships are the most in the history of Japan's ancient sport, died Saturday in Tokyo. He was 72.

Times wires