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Audi's Tom Kristensen won the Le Mans 24 Hours for a record ninth time on Sunday in a victory dedicated to fellow-Dane Allan Simonsen, the friend whose death cast a pall over the race's 90th anniversary. _0"> With Danish flags at half-mast over the podium, a standing ovation was held before the victory ceremony in memory of the Aston Martin driver who died after crashing only minutes into the race on Saturday. Kristensen, Denmark's greatest racing driver, told the crowd he had intended to pay tribute to his father but the first race fatality in 27 years at the Sarthe circuit had forced a change of plan. "He can wait for the next victory of mine," he said, voice laden with fatigue and emotion after the final stint to the chequered flag. "This victory today I dedicate to Allan Simonsen, a great fellow Dane." The muted win, after a race littered with safety car periods on a wet weekend in western France before the sun came out at the finish, w

South Africa's Ernie Els held off final round challenges from Thomas Bjorn and Alexander Levy to seal a one-shot start to finish victory at the BMW International Open in Munich on Sunday. _0"> The British Open champion led the field from the opening round and started Sunday tied with France's Levy and Sweden's Alex Noren. The 43-year-old's lead slipped during the final round to both Denmark's Bjorn and tour rookie Levy, but his third consecutive card of three-under par 69 was enough for an 18-under par total, following his stunning 63 on the opening day.   "I just felt good this week," Els told the europeantour.com website. "I just felt my game was there and lucky enough it was one shot good enough. "I really had it going and then I made it tough for myself again. Thomas was playing great, he stumbled on 14, I was watching the kid - I played with him yesterday and he looked like he had a great game - but he stumbled as well on the

Police sorted through bags of items retrieved from the home of New England Patriots football player Aaron Hernandez on Sunday amid a deepening investigation into last week's shooting death of a 27-year-old man. Hernandez, 23, a tight end and rising star in the National Football League, is at the center of an investigation into the death of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player for the Boston Bandits. Lloyd's body was discovered on Monday in an industrial park about a mile from Hernandez's home in North Attleborough, some 40 miles south of Boston, near Gillette Stadium, where the Patriots play. Investigators searched Hernandez's house for nearly four hours on Saturday, removing several bags of material. A law enforcement official with knowledge of the case said on Sunday that police investigators were now busy examining the items, but he declined to give details.   Hernandez has not spoken publicly about the case, and his agent and lawyer have repeatedly

A decade on from his debut grand slam success, Roger Federer will begin 'Mega Monday' at Wimbledon as the defending champion, the holder of a record 17 grand slam titles and in pursuit of an unprecedented eighth trophy at the All England Club. What was clear from the reaction of the public on Sunday was that 10 years on from lifting the gilded, pineapple-topped Challenge Cup for the first time, Federer has not lost any of the magic that makes him a fan favourite no matter where he plays.   After the Swiss knocked around a few balls on the practice courts tucked away in a corner of Wimbledon's vast grounds, he sat down with Reuters to talk about the desire to prolong his career, the fact he feels safe on court despite recent security concerns and the influence of Nelson Mandela. REUTERS: In all your years at Wimbledon, this is the first time that you will have to potentially beat three top-five players to win since Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray are both in your half of the

Russia won the European team championships for the third year running on Sunday thanks to a flurry of points in the final three events. _0"> They finished the two-day competition in Gateshead, north east England, on 354.5 points, with Germany (347.5) second and Britain (338) third. After 37 of the 40 events, Germany held the lead but just three points separated the top three. Dmitriy Tarabin's personal best throw of 85.99 metres for victory in the javelin put the defending champions back in front.   Second place in the men's 4x400 metres relay behind home favourites Britain secured the title for Russia after Germany could only manage to cross the line in fourth. Mariya Kuchina sweetened victory for the Russians by winning the women's high jump, which had been moved indoors due to the rainy weather, with a personal best of 1.98 metres. The bottom three countries, Belarus, Greece and Norway were relegated and will be replaced next year by the Czech Republic,

American shot putter Adam Nelson took a victory lap for his 2004 Olympic gold medal on Sunday nine years after the Athens Games. _0"> The 37-year-old Nelson, now retired, was elevated to the gold medal in May after original winner Yuriy Bilonog of Ukraine was stripped of the win for a doping violation following the retesting of his 2004 sample. "Hopefully the message here is it does pay to do it the right way," Nelson said after receiving a wreath and flowers and the playing of the U.S. anthem as he stood on the U.S. championships podium at Des Moines, Iowa.   "It may not pay right away, but over the long term, you have always got your integrity and eventually that will pay off," he said with his wife and two daughters at his side. A total of five Athens medallists have had their results annulled since last year when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) target-tested some 100 samples using more modern methods. The IOC stores samples for eight yea

Tyson Gay rocketed to the year's fastest 200 meters, clocking 19.74 seconds at the U.S. trials on Sunday to set up a double sprint clash with Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt at August's world championships. _0"> The big win by Gay came two days after he ran a world-leading 9.75 seconds to win the 100 meters at the U.S. meeting in Des Moines, Iowa. Collegian Isiah Young took second place in the 200 at 19.86 with Curtis Mitchell third at 19.99.   The victory ensured Bolt and Gay, barring injury, will be in both the 100 and 200 meters at the August 10-18 championships in Moscow. Bolt won the 100 at the Jamaican championships in Kingston this weekend. He has a wild card bye in the 200 meters. Collegiate champion Kimberlyn Duncan upset Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix in the women's 200. Duncan clocked a wind-assisted 21.80 seconds with Felix finishing second in 21.85. Jeneba Tarmoh took third. (Editing by Larry Fine)