Denise Lewis faces a potentially significant hurdle as she seeks her first world heptathlon title this

Denise Lewis faces a potentially significant hurdle as she seeks her first world heptathlon title this summer ­ a conflict of loyalties on the part of her coach, Charles van Commenee. The Dutchman, who has worked with her for the last four years at his training base in Amsterdam, will have other commitments in his new capacity as UK Athletics’ director of technical events and jumping, a role he took up last month.
Britain’s 28-year-old Olympic, European and Commonwealth champion denied yesterday that Van Commonee’s supervision of other British athletes would prove an obstacle to her winning the only major gold medal missing from her collection “There will be no clashes,” she said with a grin “I will have first say. If not, I’ll just ring Max [the Performance Director Max Jones] and complain.” But, while Lewis made light of the subject, she acknowledged that Van Commonee’s new appointment would inevitably involve him extending his influence to numerous other athletes.”He’s taking a bit of time to adapt to the job,” she said “He’s become something of a white collar worker, I suppose But that’s OK. I’ve told him: ‘You’re not driving up and down visiting everyone.’ ” The Olympic champion’s own working conditions have altered, too ­ she now trains in the north London area, at either Haringey or Copthall Stadiums, or at the Eton track. Today, however, she departs along with her coach for five weeks’ warm-weather training in Los Angeles.Lewis is contemplating seeking her first world title this summer without having done a heptathlon in preparation. After competing in Edmonton, she wants to round off her season by taking part in the Goodwill Games in Brisbane, which, she said, made it unlikely that she would be in the field on 26-27 May at the annual multi-event meeting in Gotzis, where she has previously broken the British record.”My goal is to retain my title in Manchester next year,” Lewis said.

She was speaking at an event publicising the multi-million pound involvement of Microsoft in providing software for next year’s Manchester Commonwealth Games. Only half of the operating budget of £62m has been raised, but the Games’ Commercial Director, Niels de Vos, is optimistic that the total, which is underwritten by Manchester City Council, can be reached before the Games get underway on 26 July.. When Michael Holden and Julius Francis last met 13 months ago the British heavyweight title was at stake, but tonight in their first fight since that night they will meet in a yet to be decided title eliminator. When Michael Holden and Julius Francis last met 13 months ago the British heavyweight title was at stake, but tonight in their first fight since that night they will meet in a yet to be decided title eliminator.
Last March Holden narrowly out-pointed Francis to win the British title at York Hall, London, and the pair meet again in the same ring after an uneventful break from boxing.Francis was expected to win easily when they met last year, but just two months earlier he had received nearly £400,000 for fighting Mike Tyson in front of 22,000 people in Manchester. On the night he faced Holden he was getting less than £20,000 in front of a just a few hundred people.Holden, who was having just his 12th contest, fought the right fight and won by three rounds but because of various injuries he has not boxed since.

Francis has also been inactive and only just returned to the gym before Christmas.The original main event tonight was meant to feature Brixton’s Danny Williams in defence of both his British and Commonwealth heavyweight title, but a mystery illness struck last week and Williams fell lame and was forced to withdraw. The promoters, Frank Warren and Frank Maloney, attempted to persuade Williams to relinquish one or both of his belts but he sensible refused.Last October Holden decided to surrender his British title after six months of inactivity to allow Williams to challenge for it against Mark Potter. Holden had decided to give his championship up because he was promised an early challenge against Williams when his injured eye healed. Just last weekend Williams withdrew, leaving Holden without a title fight.After a furious day of negotiations both Holden and Francis were persuaded to share the ring and Warren and Maloney went in search of a title to give the winner. The search was still on yesterday but the truth is that the rematch between the pair is good enough as a main attraction and is in fact far better than many of the fights that take place for one or more of the baubles that the various sanctioning bodies toss into the ring like confetti.Francis is motivated now and should gain revenge on points in what will once again be a hard and gruelling fight without any thrills.. The atmosphere in the hushed corridors of what was once an elegant house in London’s St James’s has been a mixture of stunned disbelief and mourning for the last few weeks, but yesterday the Royal Ocean Racing Club yesterday confirmed the cancellation in 2001 of its flagship event, the Admiral’s Cup.

The atmosphere in the hushed corridors of what was once an elegant house in London’s St James’s has been a mixture of stunned disbelief and mourning for the last few weeks, but yesterday the Royal Ocean Racing Club yesterday confirmed the cancellation in 2001 of its flagship event, the Admiral’s Cup.
The biennial event for three-boat international teams has taken place uninterruptedly since 1957, but in recent years has struggled to find the support of its heyday years such as 1979, when 19 teams entered.As the entry date closed there were only two names for the series scheduled for 16 to 28 July off Cowes, Britain and France. Five more teams were needed, but, following America’s withdrawal, Germany, Italy and Australia did likewise.The international committee which manages the event had been consulted and agreed over the weekend that the only way forward in the short term was cancellation. Instead, the RORC will offer a four-day regatta for one-design classes, if for no other reason than to protect its position in the world regatta programme.It also indicated that there will be a radical restructuring of the Cup, which it hopes to stage again in 2003. But the club knows that there could be competition from other overseas venues, who wish to attract the top crews and boats from all over the world.The reasons behind the failure of most of Europe to back an event which was seen as the pinnacle of international offshore team racing are mixed and sometimes unclear. Pandering to the whims of owners led to a situation where the tail was wagging the dog. The dropping of the Fastnet Race from the schedule diminished the mystique.

The reintroduction of amateurism diminished status, and the high prices charged for accommodation left a sour taste.Nor has the cancellation pleased a British team which was promising to be the best prepared and funded for several years, including many Olympic medallists and the core of the British America’s Cup team crew. The sponsors, Barlo Plastics and United Airlines, have said they will continue support for the likes of Adrian Stead, Ben Ainslie and Ian Walker, but their programme of racing will be largely domestic.. A maximum field of 40 runners seems sure to breast the tape before the Grand National on Saturday, after 57 horses were declared for the race at yesterday’s five-day stage. The news that Papillon, last year’s winner, is expected to be among them was further positive news for the race, as racing looks for an event and a hero to pierce the gloom following the drawn-out abandonment of this year’s Cheltenham Festival. A maximum field of 40 runners seems sure to breast the tape before the Grand National on Saturday, after 57 horses were declared for the race at yesterday’s five-day stage.