Women sport news

USA Track & Field announced today that defending women's Olympic Trials Marathon champion Colleen De Reuck (Boulder, Colo.) will not compete at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon in Boston on April 20.

Four-time Olympian Jearl Miles-Clark set an American masters record Friday at the Florida Relays when she ran the 400 meters in 55.18 seconds. photo www.usatf.org

Lisa Koll has been named USATF's Athlete of the Week after setting an American collegiate record in the women's 10,000 meters Friday at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.

New South Wales has clinched the 2008 19/U title at The Athlete’s Foot Netball Championship, defeating Victoria 19-15. It was sweet revenge for NSW, who were narrowly defeated by Victoria in the 17/U Grand Final over the weekend.

Australia’s potential stars of the future have been identified and announced in the 2008 17/U and 19/U Junior Talent Squad, following The Athlete's Foot National Netball Championships held this week in Perth.

Schnyder and Hantuchova two top seeds bowed out in the second round of the Bausch and Lamb Championships in Florida after defeats by Russian Elena Vesnina and Karolina Sprem

Amelie Mauresmo survived a tight contest with Agnieszka Radwanska, winning a third set tie-break to reach the quarters of the Tier II Bausch & Lomb Championships on Thursday.

On the last week of the season, with the destination of all eight EHL titles confirmed, and all the teams facing automatic relegation knowing their fate, attention turned to the race to reach or avoid the EHL Play-offs. Photo John Coxon

England Head Coach Hope Powell has named a 28 player squad for a training camp at Bisham Abbey between 27 April and 1 May, as preparations begin once more for the final competitive fixture of the season. photo FA

Following last week's five day training camp and two international 'friendlies' against the New Zealand Tall Ferns at the AIS in Canberra, Basketball Australia has named twelve athletes to contend the 'Good Luck Beijing 2008' tournament in China. photo FIBA

A shark sighting by a competitor at the infamous Southside break, Margaret River, Western Australia, has derailed the third day of competition at the Drug Aware Pro Margaret River presented by O'Neill. photo www.drugaware.com

Britain's Hannah Miley became the second fastest woman in the world after claiming the silver medal in the final of the women's 400m Individual Medley on the first day of the World Swimming Championships (25m) in Manchester.

Diving Canada is pleased to announce its national team that will represent the country at the 2008 Maple Leaf Simply Fresh Canada Cup taking place May 1-4 at the Olympic Pool in Montreal.

Jennifer Abel of Montreal won her semifinal heat to advance to the final on women’s 10-metre tower on Thursday to open the third stop on the FINA Grand Prix diving circuit. photo diving.ca

Burke Mountain Academy's Mikaela Shiffrin (Lyme, NH), won three gold medals leading the U.S. squad to overall victory as the team collected the Nations Cup trophy at the 2008 Whistler Cup.

The Girls Slalom at the British Land National Ski Championships today belonged to Perthshire skiers Charlotte 'Charlie' Guest and Hope Whitelaw.

JACK LEMLEY the former chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), today claimed that the cost of the 2012 Games could top £20 billion as new figures for the cost of some of the venues were released.

AS THE recriminations from London's torch relay begin, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has banned Chinese security guards from escorting the Olympic torch when it visits Canberra later this month.

The United States Cycling Team captures American Mountain Bike title last weekend at the annual Continental Championships in Venezuela. photo US Cycling

ATTENTION LADIES: Ever wanted to give track cycling a try but not quite sure how to get started? photo US Cycling

With the 2008 Olympic Games just four months away, the United States is currently illustrating its strength as one of the top women’s road cycling nations in the world, referenced by two women in the top ten of the UCI international rankings, two women in the top ten of the UCI Women’s Road World Cup series and the U.S.’ fourth-place ranking in the world. photo US Cycling

Who is tougher, stronger, smarter, more agile? Cops or firefighters? Come find out and cheer for your profession at the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls' Emergency Services Appreciation Scrimmage at 12:30 p.m., Sunday, April 13, at the Bladium Sports Club, 2400 Central Park Boulevard in the Stapleton Development in Denver.

Britain’s top disabled sailors have today been named as part of the Paralympics team for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. photo onEdition

Unexpected results this weekend opened up the Netball Super League. Mannas beat Vipers and Stingrays to go 2nd in the league table with 6 points.

Despite a phenomenal team effort, the East Midland’s premier netball team, Loughborough Lightning, couldn’t quite take the Co-operative Superleague title last weekend (5 April).

Different cultures breed many “why” questions that eventually lead to the same answer. For example, why do the sounds of a marching band blare outside of my window every afternoon like they are doing now? Well, Tracy, that’s just the way it is in China.