A HK$3,000 bonus is expected to inspire fast times at the Coca-Cola Running Fun race tomorrow morning. Defending men's champion Thomas Kiprotich may well have his work cut out to defend his title , as Chan Ka-ho and Gi Ka-man are among a strong group of challengers for the 10-kilometre race. Chan stands at No 1 in the 10km rankings, while Gi, the Hong Kong 15km record holder, leads the half-marathon rankings. Defending women's champion Yu Kit-ching will also face some serious competition from Michelle Lowry, Chow Chi-ngan and veteran runner Angelina Kong. More than 2,600 runners will compete for the total purse of HK$44,000. Richard Castka
The 2013 Super Rugby season will kick off with more of a whimper than a bang, with only Australian sides contesting the competition's opening round owing to a clash with the British and Irish Lions' tour Down Under. The Lions' nine-match tour in June and July includes matches against all five of the Australian Super Rugby sides along with three fixtures against the Wallabies, meaning staggered rest periods throughout the southern hemisphere provincial tournament, which runs from February to August. The opening weekend of the 15-team competition will feature two Australian derbies, with the Melbourne Rebels hosting the Perth-based Western Force (February 15) and the Canberra-based ACT Brumbies taking on the Queensland Reds at home the following evening. Reuters
American speedskater Simon Cho, a 2010 Winter Olympic bronze medallist, allegedly tampered with the skates of a rival at a world championship event on orders of his coach, Chun Jae-su. The information was revealed in an arbitration filing on behalf of 13 speedskaters trying to have Chun dismissed as coach of the national team after allegations of abuse against the former South Korean national coach. The filing claims Chun asked Cho to sabotage Canadian Oliver Jean by tampering with his skates before the 5,000-metre relay final at last year's world short track team championships in Poland. Jean's problems meant Canada could only send three skaters on to the ice. AFP
