Johnson?s 10-yr record erased

London: Trinidad-born teenager Kerron Clement has broken Michael Johnson?s 10-year-old 400 metre indoor world record with a time of 44.57 seconds. Clement, running for the University of Florida at the NCAA indoor championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Saturday, was 0.06 seconds faster than the time of 44.63 that Johnson ran in Atlanta on March 4, 1995.

Second-placed Terry Gatson ran what would have been an NCAA record time of 45.29 but still finished some seven metres behind Clement, according to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) website.

Shikha?s run cut short

New Delhi: Qualifier Shikha Uberoi?s impressive run in Indian Wells came to an end on Saturday. According to information received here, the Indian went down 5-7, 1-6 to 27th seed Meghann Shaughnessy of the US in the second round of the Pacific Life meet. Shikha, after three good wins in the qualifiers, had ousted world No. 75 Akiko Morigami of Japan in the first round of the main draw.

With the bonus points earned from the top-100 win, Shikha?s world ranking will go up a few notches from the current 148. It augurs well for the Indian Fed Cup team which faces the mighty Australia next month in Delhi next month.

Mario finally off the mat

Lenzerheide (Switzerland): Austria?s Mario Matt finally put injury woes behind him on Sunday to win his first World Cup race in more than three years. The 25-year-old former slalom world champion, who has been plagued by shoulder problems since injuring himself in 2001, won the final men?s race of the season, finishing Sunday?s slalom in a total time of one minute 22.81 seconds.

?It?s a great comeback victory for me,? Matt said in the finish area. ?It has a special meaning because I?ve faced such a struggle over the past few years. It?s a huge satisfaction to be back in the team with some momentum and form. Coming second in the Kitzbuehel slalom (in January) was fantastic but I was really keen to get a win.? Germany?s Alois Vogl took second place, 0.73 seconds off the pace, with Matt?s Austrian teammate Rainer Schoenfelder finishing third.

Baraja faces long lay-off

Madrid: Valencia midfielder Ruben Baraja faces up to six weeks on the sidelines after tearing a muscle in his right thigh during training on Saturday. As well as missing up to six league matches, the 29-year-old international will also be unavailable for selection for Spain?s important World Cup qualifier against Serbia & Montenegro at the end of this month. Valencia said they would carry out further tests next week to determine the precise extent of the player?s injury.

World mark by Swede

Stockholm: Anna-Karin Kammerling created a short course world record in the women?s 50 metres butterfly at the Swedish national championships on Saturday. Swede Kammerling was clocked at 25.33 seconds, surpassing her old record by three hundredths of a second.

London: Jonny Wilkinson?s latest comeback from injury came to a premature end when he limped off 35 minutes into Newcastle?s Premiership game at Harlequins. Wilkinson, who has not played for England since the 2003 World Cup final, was playing his first game since suffering a knee injury on January 8.

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