Sport in brief: Crump speeds to title

Australian scores a spectacular 24-point maximum in the British Grand Prix at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
BRISTOL-BORN Australian Jason Crump scored a spectacular 24-point maximum, the finest riding the Millennium stadium in Cardiff has seen, at the British Grand Prix last night. Of the British trio, Nicholls and wild card Edward Kennett missed the semi-final cut, but a swashbuckling fifth-heat victory sent Chris Harris through, only for him to be disqualified in the semi-final for impeding Hans Andersen.
British prospects for next month’s World Cup already look bleak, though that didn’t trouble a crowd of 41,991, which included a massive contingent of Poles. Crump, who became only the third rider to achieve a 100% record since 2005, said: ‘I’m very proud. I started well every time and held onto my leads.’ The Polish quartet had a poor night, as did Crump’s chief challenger, Emil Sayfutdinov, the baby-face Russian. The 19-year-old missed the semi-finals cut by a point but he was not easily intimidated, delighting the crowd by trading punches with one opponent after a fiercely fought second heat.
GOLF
RETIEF GOOSEN carded a third-round 67 for a two-stroke lead at the BMW International Open in Munich.
Bernhard Langer shot 65 to reach a total of 15-under-par 201 and second place behind the South African. England’s Nick Dougherty fell into a tie for third on 14 under with Scotland’s David Drysdale. Despite a hole in one, Colin Montgomerie fired a 72 to leave him three under and out of contention. Rory McIlroy, 10th in the US Open on Monday, is joint 15th on nine under after a 69.
KENNY PERRY had his overnight lead trimmed to one stroke when the weather-hit second round of the Travelers Championship was completed in Connecticut. Fellow American David Toms, three shots off the pace when play was suspended the previous day because of thunderstorms, birdied two of his last five holes for a five-under-par 65. Paul Goydos (68) and Ryan Moore (65) were tied for third at nine under.
CHEYENNE WOODS, the niece of Tiger, missed the cut on her professional golf debut, shooting a two-over 74 in the second round of the Wegmans LPGA in New York. Woods, 18, finished at five-over 149 — four strokes above the cut line.
SWIMMING
OLYMPIC champion Rebecca Adlington withdrew from the women's 400m freestyle at the Scottish Championships in Glasgow, blaming her asthma. In Friday's 800m, Adlington came within three seconds of the world record she set in Beijing in 2008. She was due to race in the final heat in the 400m but her absence is unlikely to cost her a place in the British team for next month's World Championships. Gemma Spofforth secured her third title at the championships ing the 100m backstroke.
GERMANY’S Britta Steffen set a world record in the 100m freestyle for the second time this week. Steffen, who won Olympic gold in the 50m and 100m freestyle in Beijing, set the record in the final of the German National Championships with a time of 52.56sec.
CRICKET
MIDDLESEX beat Surrey by seven wickets in the Twenty20 at the Brit Oval. Surrey batted first and with the help of Michael Brown, who scored 77 from 54 balls, reached 160 for five. But Owais Shah hit an unbeaten 61 from 41 balls to see Middlesex home.
MOTO GP
VALENTINO ROSSI won his 100th grand prix from pole position at the Dutch TT race at Assen. The Italian, who took the lead in the overall standings, finished in 42min 14.611sec, beating teammate Jorge Lorenzo by more than five seconds and Australian Ducati rider Casey Stoner by more than 23 seconds. Britain’s James Toseland finished sixth.
RALLYING
FINLAND’S Mikko Hirvonen maintained his lead on the second day of the Rally of Poland. The Ford driver was 12 seconds ahead of compatriot Jari-Matti Latvala. ‘I was going flat out all the time, the stages were very fast,’ said Hirvonen, who started the day with an 8.9sec advantage over the field. Spain’s Dani Sordo was third, while world champion Sebastien Loeb was down in 13th place.
SUPERBIKES
CAL CRUTCHLOW took pole position for the British round of the World Supersport Championship at Donington Park. Eugene Laverty and Joan Lascorz followed.
BEN SPIES secured the Superpole at Donington Park in the World Superbike Championship. Max Biaggi, Shane Byrne and Shinya Nakano completed the front row. Britain’s Leon Haslam finished in ninth place with Tom Sykes 10th and Jonathan Rea 12th.
ATHLETICS
SCOTLAND’S Mhairi Spence helped Great Britain win team gold at the European Championships in Leipzig. She finished 12th overall, with Heather Fell taking individual silver and Katy Livingston finishing 10th.