Teams that were affected by COVID-19 this past week haven't told the NCAA that they will not participate in the NCAA tournament if chosen by the selection committee, ESPN has learned.

Those teams include Duke, Kansas and Virginia, which were forced to withdraw from their respective conference tournaments last week because of positive coronavirus tests and contact tracing.

Several schools and conferences communicated with the NCAA leading up to Saturday's 11 p.m. ET deadline to withdraw from consideration for the tournament, the sources told ESPN, but no teams indicated they wouldn't be able to meet the required medical/testing protocols.

The selection committee will announce the 68-team bracket at 6 p.m. ET Sunday.

Any team that is selected and then notifies the NCAA before 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday that it can't meet the medical/testing protocol will be replaced with another team selected by the committee, which will have a predetermined list of the first four teams out.

Sources told ESPN's Rece Davis on Saturday that Duke would be able to play in the NCAA tournament if selected.

The Blue Devils withdrew from the ACC tournament Thursday after a positive COVID-19 test within the program. At the time, athletic director Kevin White said in a statement that the cancellation of the conference tournament quarterfinal game "will end our 2020-21 season," ending Duke's streak of 24 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

The Blue Devils (13-11, 9-9 ACC), who won their first two games in the conference tournament, entered the week knowing that they likely needed to win the ACC tournament to extend the NCAA streak dating back to 1996.

To play in the NCAA tournament, a team needs to show seven consecutive negative daily tests before arriving in Indianapolis, then undergo daily testing while inside the controlled environment there.

Dan Gavitt, NCAA senior vice president of men's basketball, has said that a team needs just five healthy players to play in an NCAA tournament game.

The Los Angeles Lakers will be without starting center Marc Gasol for at least two more games as the big man continues to be away from the team because of the league's health and safety protocols, coach Frank Vogel said Saturday.

Gasol has already missed three games, spanning back to before the All-Star break, because of a violation of the NBA's COVID-19 restrictions. While the team has not divulged what caused Gasol to be put into the health and safety protocols, a contact tracing violation, accompanied by a negative test, requires only a seven-day quarantine.

By the time the Lakers' back-to-back games on Monday against the Golden State Warriors and Tuesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves are completed, Gasol will have been away from the team for 16 days.

"At the end of the day, we're pros," Lakers guard Dennis Schroder, who previously missed time because of a contact tracing violation, said Saturday when asked about Gasol. "Even if you are healthy and in the health and safety protocols, you still try to get the work in. I mean, I think the situation with Marc is even worse than mine. But at the end of the day, we can't control that. We just got to do our things that we can control but ... it's some B.S., for sure."

Gasol, who signed a two-year contract with L.A. in the offseason, has struggled in his debut season with the Lakers, averaging 4.8 points on 40.3% shooting, 4.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 20.1 minutes per game.

Damian Jones, signed to a second-consecutive 10-day contract this week, started at center in the Lakers' win against the Indiana Pacers and put up seven points and one rebound in 16 minutes.

Alex Caruso has been diagnosed with a mild concussion after hitting the back of his head against the court Friday, and has been placed in concussion protocol, the team said.

Third-year forward Kostas Antetokounmpo will also miss the Warriors and Wolves games because of the health and safety protocols, according to Vogel.

In his first game since undergoing surgery in January to remove a cancerous mass on his kidney, Caris LeVert made his Indiana Pacers debut with 13 points and six rebounds in 27 minutes to help his team defeat the Phoenix Suns 122-111 on Saturday.

LeVert admitted to feeling "heavy legs" while struggling to regain his wind and conditioning but said he was pleased with the results.

"A month and a half ago, two months ago, I didn't even know if I knew I was even gonna be out here, especially this soon, just with everything that happened, so it's definitely a level of gratefulness and just happy to be on the court," LeVert said.

Emotionally, the Pacers organization tried to make LeVert feel comfortable.

He hadn't played in an NBA contest since Jan. 12 as a member of the Brooklyn Nets, before being traded to Indiana. The small mass on his left kidney was discovered during a team physical and medical test prior to the trade being finalized.

In LeVert's debut in Phoenix, the Pacers snapped a two-game losing streak in a stretch of six losses in seven games. Two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis posted a triple-double with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.

Pacers coach Nate Bjorkgren said he felt LeVert's presence was a boost for the team. After the game, when the guard entered the locker room, his teammates celebrated his return with loud claps and support.

"Absolutely, he energized our team, and his character level is so high," Bjorkgren said. "He's such a good person. He's been a great teammate throughout this entire time that he's been out, so our guys were very happy to have him back out there on the court."

Bjorkgren expects "a lot more" out of LeVert moving forward as he continues to adjust.

LeVert said this was his second time participating in 5-on-5 action since his health ordeal.

"We've got a resilient group. We've got great guys on the team, and they were in my ear the whole game today, even leading up to the game," LeVert said. "I can't thank those guys enough, and it's gonna be a special rest of the season, for sure, once everybody starts clicking and things like that. We played a great game as a team."

NEW YORK -- James Harden has passed Larry Bird on the NBA's all-time scoring list and now sits at 34th overall. Harden reached the milestone by scoring 24 points on Saturday night in the Brooklyn Nets' 100-95 win over the Detroit Pistons.

"We all know how good Larry was and the things he did in Boston," Harden said. "A legend. And I think I just play the game the right way, and hopefully good things happen for me passing one of the greatest ever to play basketball is a great honor."

Harden now has 21,792 points, one more than Bird.

Harden also had 10 rebounds, 10 assists and three blocks to go with his 24 points Saturday. It was the ninth triple-double Harden has recorded since joining the Nets in mid-January. It is tied for the third-most triple-doubles recorded by a player in a single season across the Nets' franchise, according to ESPN's Stats & Information research.

It is also the fourth most by a player in his first season with a team, according to Elias Sports Bureau data.

Harden scored the final 10 points of Saturday's win for Brooklyn -- tying his second-most clutch-time points. With the win over Detroit, the Nets improved to 8-1 when Harden records a triple-double, and he can move past Gary Payton (21,813 points) and secure the 33rd overall place by scoring his next 22 points.

"I just got to continue to build, because at the end of the day, I want my name to be mentioned with those greats," Harden said.

Carmelo Anthony moved into 11th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list, passing Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon by hitting a pull-up jumper with 9 minutes, 46 seconds left in the fourth quarter of the Portland Trail Blazers' 125-121 win at the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.

Olajuwon, a two-time NBA champion and 12-time All-Star with the Houston Rockets, ended his career with 26,946 points.

"We all know what Hakeem did for the game," Anthony said during an on-court interview. "The mark he left on this game is well beyond precedent."

Anthony finished with 26 points for Portland as he took over the game down the stretch. He hit a key baseline jumper and a pair of 3-pointers, and Anfernee Simons also hit two 3s to give Portland a 109-103 lead.

With the game winding down, Anthony then hit a step-back jumper to put the Blazers up 118-115, and with the Wolves still trailing by three, the 17-year veteran found Derrick Jones Jr. alone under the hoop for a dunk that sunk Minnesota's comeback hopes.

"I'm just happy to be here," Anthony said. "I'm still here is all that matters. I'm able to continue to play. I'm still here and I'm still climbing."

Anthony's performance Saturday put him at 26,955 points for his career. Next up on the NBA's scoring list is Elvin Hayes in 10th with 27,313 points.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Corey Kluber overcame occasional wildness, allowing two runs and four hits over four innings in his second spring start, and the New York Yankees beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5 on Saturday.

Kluber is a two-time Cy Young Award winner with his third team in three years. He has thrown just one official inning since being hit on the right forearm by a comebacker in May 2019 and tearing a muscle in his right shoulder in his Texas debut last July.

Kluber hit two batters, threw a wild pitch and allowed a third-inning solo homer to Troy Stokes Jr. on Saturday. He struck out two in an outing in which the Pirates went down in order just once.

"Some pitches, probably, could have been located a little better, been a little sharper," Kluber said. "The home run, first pitch, left it a little too much over the plate. Definitely some stuff to work on. Fine-tuning location, things like that.

"I was happy with the way I felt physically."

The right-hander allowed a leadoff double and hit a batter in the first inning but got out of the jam with a double play. After a perfect second, Kluber gave up Stokes' homer and then avoided further damage by working out of a two-on, one-out situation.

Kluber, who turns 35 in April, struck out three over two perfect innings in his other start on March 3 against Toronto. He had a live batting-practice session five days later.

After losing to the eventual American League champion Tampa Bay Rays in a five-game division series last year, the Yankees allowed Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton and J.A. Happ to become free agents. They signed Kluber to a one-year, $11 million contract and acquired Jameson Taillon from Pittsburgh for four prospects.

"Looks like himself," Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu said. "Ball's moving all over the place."

New York's projected rotation also includes ace Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery. Deivi Garcia and Domingo German are among the candidates for the fifth starter spot.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

We have years of watching Juan Soto bash home runs, win awards and obliterate benchmarks, but maybe the most fun will be in seeing how he invades the thoughts and intent of opposing pitchers.

He's only 22 years old; with intense smiles and subtle sneers, his face betrays how absurdly often he diagnoses the pitcher's plan against him, how he correctly anticipates particular pitches. Even when he doesn't swing, you can see in his shuffle in the batter's box and his stare to the mound the great competitive arrogance he has.

Already he possesses all the elements of the best hitters. The ability to make contact -- and when he hits the ball, he typically hits it very hard. He also has developed a unique understanding of how opponents plan to get him out, which aids him in making that contact and in driving the ball with power. He rarely chases pitches out of the strike zone.

A special hitter like Soto deserves a special statistic that can reflect those layers of skill and understanding.

Batting average doesn't cut it because it doesn't show the acute nature of his plate discipline. There have been some great high-average hitters who are hackers. Slugging percentage can't really demonstrate his ability to consistently put the ball in play with authority. You can have a really good slugging percentage while also having a ton of missed swings. His home run ratio and exit velocity, as good as they are, don't really show how efficient he is with his swing, especially in an era filled with a lot of hitters who generate gobs of missed swings.

So we give you the "Crush Quotient" -- a relatively simple statistic that reflects Soto's stunning mastery of what Ted Williams called the science of hitting. The Crush Quotient is this: Total bases divided by the number of swings a hitter takes. If you are like Barry Bonds or Mike Trout or Soto and you know you're probably going to get very few pitches to hit in the strike zone, you need to do damage when you do get them. A high ranking in the Crush Quotient reveals a special set of skills.

Oregon teenager wins stunning mile and 3000m double as British runner Finley Mclear goes close in 800m at US collegiate championships in Fayetteville

Britain’s European junior 800m bronze medallist Finley Mclear had the race of his life in the 800m final on Saturday (March 13) at the NCAA Indoor Championships but it wasn’t quite enough as he lost out by just a hundredth of a second to Charlie Hunter in a rough race.

However, his 1:45.91 smashed his PB – his previous fastest outdoors was 1:47.33 – as he added his name to Britain’s world-class 800m roster and he moved to seventh all-time indoors in the UK.

Takieddine Hedeilli led through 200m in 25.85 but at 400m it was Jason Gomez who was narrowly ahead in 52.62. The Briton was well placed through the first two laps in 26.03 and 52.98 though occasionally boxed and he was even closer at 600m as Gomez (79.20) and Hedeilli (79.22) were virtually level just ahead of Mclear (79.32) who covered that section in a very lively 26.35.

Mclear (below right) made his move on the final lap but Hunter (below left), the Australian indoor mile record-holder at 3:53.49, came from fourth at 600m to overhaul him with a well-timed dip just before the line with a 26.40 last 200m to the Briton’s 26.59.

The track star of the championships though was teenager Cole Hocker. The 19-year-old American first easily won the mile from the front in 3:53.71.

The early pace was slow – 409m in 61.44, 809m in 2:01.42 and then he gradually wound the pace up with laps of 29.92 and 28.91 to reach 1209m in 3:00.24. His lead was only a few metres as he ran a 27.61 penultimate lap and Alabama’s Eliud Kipsang held close but the Kenyan had no answer to the blazing last 200m of 25.87 and he opened up a two second plus winning gap as Kipsang followed at a distance in 3:55.93.

Tom Dodd finished a fine seventh in 3:58.65 having run his last 400m in 56.82 and he overhauled fellow Brit Yusuf Bizimana on the final lap. The latter paid for a more aggressive run having been in medal contention until the final 400m and he ran 3:59.55 in eighth.

A month ago Hocker beat Cooper Teare in a stunning indoor collegiate mile record of 3:50.39 to 3:50.55 and the two Oregon athletes resumed battle in the 3000m here with Hocker again edging it 7:46.15 to 7:46.23 and this happened less than a hour after he finished his mile and this time he left his leading as very late as possible taking the lead in the last few metres.

The 1000m mark was reached with Teare ahead in 2:38.75 and the modest pace continued through 2000m in 5:18.30. Teare lost the lead briefly but he was back ahead with two laps to go with the watch showing 6:51.74.

He stretched out out on the penultimate lap with a 28.43 split and on 7:20.16, he had a few metres on Mario Garcia Romo (7:20.49) and Hocker (7:20.66). The latter though might have had already had a fast mile in his legs but he possesses the greater finish and he blasted the last lap in a world class 25.49 to just edge past his team-mate who still run a lively 26.09 but just weakened in the final stride.

The sprints were also fast as Georgia’s promising 20-year-old Matthew Boling won the 200m in a world leading 20.19 a fraction ahead of Terrance Laird’s 20.20. Laird had been the previous world leader with 20.28 and their times moved them into the all-time top 10 indoors.

LSU’s Noah Williams went fourth all-time at 400m with a huge PB in the 400m as he also went top of the world in 2021 as he won in 44.71 with Randolph Ross’s 44.99 in a different race gaining the event silver medal.

Williams went through 200m in 20.94 but was trailing Bryce Deadmon’s 20.91 but the latter faded to run 45.54 with Williams’ 23.77 second circuit giving him a clear win.

The 60m was also quick as Oregon’s Micah Williams equalled his PB with 6.49 to win by half a metre from Raymond Ekevwo’s 6.54.

The 60m hurdles was more competitive with Damion Thomas running a PB 7.51 to edge home from Jamal Britt (7.52) and Trey Cunningham (7.53).

North Carolina won the 4x400m in 3:03.16 with Trevor Stewart’s 44.67 anchor being their fastest leg but even quicker in their heat was Elija Goodwin’s 44.21 contribution which was the fastest indoor 400m or 4×400 leg in history.

KC Lightfoot’s great pole vault form continued as he cleared a championship record 5.93m. After first-time clearances at 5.70m and 5.75m, the Baylor student fell behind Zach McWhorter at 5.80m when he only cleared it third time to his rival’s second.

A first-time 5.85m got him ahead again and sealed gold as his rival bowed out at that height. Lightfoot then cleared the championship best at the second attempt, and having cleared 6.00m last month, he then attempted 6.03m but failed his three attempts.

Oregon’s Italian Emmanuel Ihemeje was an easy winner of the triple jump with a PB 17.26m.

Thanks to a great last day, Oregon thus comfortably won the team competition with 79 points to LSU’s 56.

Results

Men:

60
1 Micah Williams Oregon 6.49
2 Raymond Ekevwo NGR Florida 6.54
3 Rikkoi Brathwaite IVB Indiana 6.56
4 Tavarius Wright NC A&T 6.64
5 Gaston Bouchereau Oregon 6.65
6 Marcellus Moore Purdue 6.65
7 Sterling Warner Louisville 6.67
8 Brendon Stewart USC 6.69

200
r1
1 Joe Fahnbulleh Florida 20.38
2 Micaiah Harris Texas 20.43
3 Terryon Conwell Clemson 21.09
4 Tyler Davis Florida 21.44
r2
1 Matthew Boling Georgia 20.19
2 Terrance Laird LSU 20.20
3 Javonte Harding NC A&T 20.39
4 Lance Lang Kentucky 20.88

400
r1
1 Randolph Ross NC A&T 44.99
2 Jacory Patterson VATech 45.14
3 Champion Allison Alabama 45.79
4 Trevor Stewart NC A&T 45.83
r2
1 Noah Williams LSU 44.71
2 Ryan Willie Florida 45.40
3 Bryce Deadmon TexasA&M 45.54
4 Dwight St. Hillare TTO Kentucky 45.89

800
1 Charles Hunter AUS Oregon 1:45.90
2 Finley Mclear GBR Miami/OH 1:45.91
3 Takieddine Hedeilli ALG TxTech 1:46.84
4 Samuel Voelz NotreDame 1:47.62
5 Jason Gomez IowaSt 1:48.06
6 Ackeen Colley JAM WIllinois 1:49.01
7 Kieran Taylor Arkansas 1:50.79
8 Bashi Mosavel-Lo VATech 1:51.83

Mile
1 Cole Hocker Oregon 3:53.71
2 Eliud Kipsang KEN Alabama 3:55.93
3 Waleed Suliman OleMiss 3:57.26
4 Adam Fogg AUS Drake 3:57.32
5 Reed Brown Oregon 3:57.62
6 Sean Dolan Villanova 3:57.91
7 Tom Dodd GBR Michigan 3:58.65
8 Yusuf Bizimana GBR Texas 3:59.55
9 Lucas Bons BYU 4:01.97
10 George Kusche RSA Nebraska 4:03.23

3000
1 Cole Hocker Oregon 7:46.15
2 Cooper Teare Oregon 7:46.23
3 Mario García ESP OleMiss 7:48.59
4 Amon Kemboi KEN Arkansas 7:50.54
5 Alec Basten Minnesota 7:52.05
6 Ahmed Jaziri TUN EKentucky 7:53.19
7 Baldvin Thór Magnússon ISL EMichigan 7:53.72
8 Cameron Ponder Furman 7:54.56
9 Antonio Lopez ESP VATech 7:55.87
10 Colt Johnson WashingtonSt 7:57.38
11 Gilbert Boit KEN Arkansas 7:57.90
12 Tom Brady Michigan 7:57.92
13 Andrew Kent GATech 7:58.34
14 Benjamin Nibbelink VATech 7:59.74
15 Waleed Suliman OleMiss 8:02.31
16 Ben Fleming VATech 8:08.12

60H
1 Damion Thomas JAM LSU 7.51
2 Jamal Britt Iowa 7.52
3 Trey Cunningham FloridaSt 7.53
4 Phillip Lemonious JAM Arkansas 7.54
5 Eric Edwards Jr. LSU 7.58
6 Filip Jakob Demšar SLO SCarolina 7.74
7 Jesse Henderson MissSt 7.77
8 Tre’Bien Gilbert Arkansas 7.79

4×400
r1
1 Texas 3:07.71
2 LSU 3:08.49
3 OhioSt 3:08.83
r2
1 Florida 3:06.31
2 Arkansas 3:06.35
3 TexasA&M 3:06.77
4 Alabama 3:08.25
r3
1 NC A&T 3:03.16
2 Kentucky 3:03.61
3 Tennessee 3:04.10
4 Georgia 3:04.84

PV
1 KC Lightfoot Baylor 5.93
2 Zach McWhorter BYU 5.80
3 Zach Bradford Kansas 5.70
4 Eerik Haamer EST SDakota 5.60
5 Ethan Bray SDakota 5.50
6 Caleb Witsken BYU 5.50
7 Clayton Fritsch SamHouston 5.50
8 Hunter Garretson Akron 5.40
9 Nathan Stone Indiana 5.40
10 Trent Francom SDakotaSt 5.30
11 Kyle Rademeyer RSA SAlabama 5.30
12= Itamar Basteker ISR Arkansas 5.30
12= Greg Skage AirForce 5.30
– James Courson Auburn nh
– Branson Ellis SFAustin nh
– Mitch Lipe AirForce nh

TJ
1 Chiebuka Emmanuel Ihemeje ITA Oregon 17.26
2 Chengetayi David Mapaya ZIM TCU 16.95
3 Carey McLeod JAM Tennessee 16.93
4 Chris Edwards Alabama 16.61
5 Sean Dixon-Bodie LSU 16.59
6 Owayne Owens JAM Virginia 16.53
7 Tamar Greene BAH Purdue 16.28
8 Georgi Nachev BUL Missouri 16.20
9 Clarence Foote-Talley OhioSt 16.18
10 Jalen Seals TxTech 16.06
11 Tejaswin Shankar IND KansasSt 15.97
12 Welch Chris HouBaptist 15.90
13 Jalen Tate Tennessee 15.13
14 Jonathan Miller BAR Florida 15.11
– Malcolm Clemons Florida dns
– Papay Glaywulu Nebraska dns

The 1984 Olympic javelin champion celebrates her 65th birthday today and we choose 10 of her most memorable competitions

Tessa Sanderson was born in St Elizabeth in Jamaica on March 14, 1956, and moved to Britain at the age of eight to join her parents, who had moved to Wolverhampton a few years earlier.

She began to show potential in her early teenage years and won her first national title in 1971 aged 15 when she won the javelin gold with a 42.02m throw.

Even then she was more than just a javelin thrower and at the end of 1971 apart from being top intermediate in her speciality, she was also in the top 10 in the high jump (1.56m) and pentathlon (3149 points) in the UK.

Two years later she was a disappointing 12th in the European Junior Championships (with 39.18m) but later in the season she set a UK age-17 best of 51.34m and qualified for the 1974 Commonwealth Games where as a 17-year-old she was a fine fifth with a distance of 48.54m.

At the age of 20 she finished 10th in the 1976 Montreal Olympics close to her British record with a 57.00m throw.

It was clear at this stage that Sanderson was an exceptional talent and here we pick out 10 of her greatest moments thereafter in chronological order.

In her career she won 10 Women’s AAA senior javelin titles between 1975 and 1996 and three UK titles at the event in 1978, 1979 and then 1997 for one of the biggest ever gaps in winning any British title! In addition she was awarded a MBE in 1985, OBE in 1998 and a CBE in 2004.

European Cup Semi Final, Dublin, July 17, 1977
1st 67.20m (UK record)

A day after she finished third in the inaugural UK 400m hurdles championships in 60.46, she first broke through the 60-metre barrier in the javelin with 60.24m before improving to a top class 64.42m but no one expected the improvement to go this far in this Cup match. Up against world record-holder Ruth Fuchs, the Briton smashed her Commonwealth record with a massive 67.66m to go second all-time as she finished well clear of the East German (64.46m). She was not quite able to replicate that from the rest of the year but finished second in the European Cup and third in the inaugural World Cup with Fuchs winning both.

Commonwealth Games, Edmonton. August 10, 1978
1st 61.34m

There was little doubt who would take gold but the Briton won her first major title at a canter as with her opening throw she advanced the Games record to over 60 metres and 200 feet as she won by a massive six and half metres from Canadian Alison Hayward (54.52m).

European Championships, Prague, September 1, 1978
2nd 62.40m

After the highs of the Commonwealths, British athletes generally struggled and Sanderson proved the most successful Briton who did both in all events alongside decathlon runner-up Daley Thompson. She was nowhere near giving Fuchs a challenge and the latter broke the European record with a huge 69.16m throw.and won by the six and half metres that Sanderson took Commonwealth gold. Sanderson though had the huge consolation of winning Britain’s first ever European throwing medal.

Europe v West Germany, Stuttgart, June 5, 1980
1st 69.80m (UK record)

Sanderson added two metres to her Commonwealth record and had Fuchs not thrown 69.96m a few weeks earlier it would have been a world record throw. On this form she was expected to challenge for gold in the Moscow Olympics but she suffered a terrible loss of form and threw over 20 metres less (48.76m) and failed to get through qualifying as Cuba’s Maria Colon won gold with a 68.40m throw.

European Cup Heptathlon, Brussels, July 11-12, 1981
2nd 6125 (UK record)

In 1981 she reconfirmed her position as world No.2 in the javelin with a 68.86m throw but she also showed what a brilliant all-round sportswoman she was and how more athletic she was than the average world-class javelin thrower. A 13.72 hurdles was followed by a 1.63m high jump, 12.78m shot, 24.89 200m, 5.97m long jump and she finished with a 2:26.20 800m as she smashed her UK record. Only the Olympic and world bronze medallist Sabine Everts (6350) got the better of her and this ranked her 15th all-time at the end of the 1981 season.

Tarmac Edinburgh Games, March 26, 1983
1st 73.58m (UK record)

Having missed virtually all of 1982 with a serious injury, she suffered her first ever loss after 18 wins to the five-years younger Fatima Whitbread but she came back a week later to produce her first ever 70m throw with a Commonwealth record 70.58 and then took three metres off it here.

Throwing into a strong headwind (the 100m reading was 8.5m/sec!) on the first round she added seven metres to Fuchs 10-year-old Scottish all-comers’ record 66.10m which at the time was a world record and went third all-time just over a metre down on Tiina Lillak’s current world mark of 74.76m. Whitbread threw a PB 68.36m in second. In the World Championships in Helsinki, Sanderson could only finish fourth (64.76m) to Whitbread’s second (69.14m).

Olympics Los Angeles, August 6, 1984
1st 69.56m

She had lost to Whitbread twice in the build up but without the East Germans who were missing because of the boycott, she was one of the clear favourites. After her harrowing demise in 1980, there were no similar nerves here and an opening Olympic record throw of 69.56m proved sufficient for gold though world champion Lillak threw 69.00m to go close while Whitbread gained a further British medal with 67.14m. With this gold, Sanderson became the first ever British thrower – male or female – to win Olympic gold and the first Afro-Caribbean woman to win a gold for Britain.

Commonwealth Games, Edinburgh, July 31, 1986
1st 69.80m

After Sanderson’s Olympic triumph, Whitbread normally got the better of her but this was was probably the best contest between the pair and Sanderson scored a highly satisfactory victory over her English team-mate Whitbread. In most of her best competitions, Sanderson usually started strongly but here it was Whitbread who in command as she opened with a 65.60m, 65.50m and 68.54m compared to Sanderson’s 59.14m, 60.14m and a no throw.

The latter improved to 66.30m but again Whitbread had the best throw of the round with 67.12m.
It only takes one throw though to win and Sanderson’s fifth throw was a near perfect 69.80m compared to her rival’s 66.14m. Whitbread made it five rounds of six in her favour with a 66.42m final throw but despite her better series had to settle for second as Sanderson fouled her last throw.

A few weeks later Whitbread won the European title in 76.32m (after a world record 77.44m in qualifying) with Sanderson injured and unable to compete. Whitbread also won the following year’s world title with 76.54m with Sanderson fourth (67.54m).

Commonwealth Games, Auckland, February 1, 1990
1st 65.72m

Because of an Achilles injury, she failed to make the Olympic final in Seoul but two years later she comfortably won the Games gold, her task made easier with Whitbread being injured and unfit and unable to take up her England team place. Sanderson opened with a 60.20 before her big winning throw coming in the second round and she also had a 61.60 final throw in excess of runner-up Sue Howland who threw 61.18m. It gave her her third Commonwealth gold.

European Cup Final, Frankfurt, June 29, 1991
1st 65.18m

The distance was not huge but for the first time she defeated Olympic champion and world record-holder Peter Felke, who had upped the record to a mind-boggling 80.00m and it was appropriate this was our 10th choice, 14 years after her world-class breakthrough in the competition which was our first choice. It was actually the Soviet’s Irina Kostyuchenkova with 64.56m who was second with the off-colour Felke only throwing 63.18m.

The following year Sanderson became the first Briton to compete in a fifth Olympics where at the age of 36 she finished a fine fourth (63.58m) then had her last major win with a World Cup victory in Havana in 61.86m. She carried on competing and just missed out on the final in the Atlanta Olympics (a record sixth Olympics) at the age of 40 finishing 14th in qualifying with a 58.86m throw but she did achieve a 64.06m that year.

She won the British title for the last time in 1997 with a 58.30m throw. Amazingly that meant she was the only athlete to win at the inaugural UK Championships in 1977 and the very last one, 20 years later when it was held as a World Championships trial!

Abby Steiner’s 200m world lead and Athing Mu’s 4x400m leg impress in final all-women’s session on Saturday night in Fayetteville

With the quality of the women’s endurance events not matching the men’s at the NCAA Indoor Championships, it was the sprinters who stole the show in a final session (March 13) which was purely an all women’s affair.

Kentucky’s Abby Steiner narrowly won the 200m in lane five in 22.38 from Tamara Clark’s 22.45 a lane outside her. The winning time which was an outright PB, overhauled Shaunae Miller-Uibo’s 22.40, which was also set in Fayetteville in January, as the world lead.

It moved Steiner to equal fifth all-time and equalled Gabby Thomas’s US national collegiate and meeting record. Steiner, who held a narrow gap into the final straight, said: “Amazing. I can’t believe it. I tried to keep my form as best as I could.”

Jamaica also seem to have unearthed another world class sprinter as Oregon’s Kemba Nelson stormed to a clear and shock 60m win in a collegiate and meeting record of 7.05. Her pre-championships best was a mere 7.19 and her modest 100m PB of 11.49 is clearly due some major revision. “That’s crazy,” said a stunned Nelson.

OH MY KEMBA NELSON!@oregontf's @iamkemba set a new collegiate and meet record with a time of 7.05 in the women's 60m! ?#NCAATF pic.twitter.com/fuzH0pbCgc

— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) March 14, 2021

TeeTee Terry was a metre back with 7.14, which was disappointing after a 7.09 heat.

There was also a shock in the 400m as world under-20 record-holder Athing Mu was beaten by USC’s Kaelin Roberts’ 50.84. The 2019 champion’s previous indoor best was 51.50 and the time is quicker than her outdoor best.

Roberts was through 200m in 23.70 to Mu’s 23.75 and making the teenager run wide and then holding her off on the final bend she then pulled away in the straight to win by just short of two metres from Mu’s 51.03, who lost momentum after clashing with the race winner.

Fourth in the race and fifth overall was European junior silver medallist Amber Anning, who ran a fine outright PB of 51.83 to move to 12th all-time indoors among British athletes. She was through 200m in 24.42.

That was not the end of Mu’s contribution though as the meeting ended with a high quality 4x400m as Texas A&M won in a meeting record of 3:26.68 but just fell short of their Collegiate record and world lead 3:26.27. However, it was notably faster than the Netherlands ran in winning the European title the previous week.

The Texas team were led off by Jania Martin’s 53.16 and then Charokee Young’s 50.97 moved them ahead. Tieera Robinson-Jones ran 53.01 and dropped to second as she was overtaken by USC’s Briton Nicole Yeargin’s 52.08 final stretch surge.

That meant Mu was setting off immediately behind her individual conqueror Roberts though the long-legged teenager decisively kicked past just before bell and in full flow she left Roberts well behind.

Making up for her earlier disappointment, she was timed in a superb 49.54 closing leg to help her team win by over a second from USC (3:27.91) as a fatigued Roberts ran 51.07.

No one has ever run a 400m or 4x400m leg as fast as Mu ran indoors.

Kentucky were fourth in their heat with 200m winner Steiner contributing a 51.75 leg. LSU won their heat in 3:29.69 helped by Anning running the fastest leg in the heat with a 51.46 anchor having set off over one and a half seconds back.

Aaliyah Miller of Baylor won the 800m in a PB and meeting record 2:00.69. She led through 200m in 27.69, 400m in a seemingly suicidal 56.90 and though slowing through 600m in 87.49 for a two-second lead and struggling through a painful 33.21 final lap, she won by a few metres from Laurie Barton.

Meet-record for Miller! ?@aaliyahmiller28 of @BaylorTrack sets a new women's 800m record with a time of 2:00.69! ?#NCAATF pic.twitter.com/8eWKra2h1f

— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) March 14, 2021

Another Baylor winner was Ackera Nugent who took the 60m hurdles title in 7.92 from fellow Jamaican Daszay Freeman who ran 7.99.

Colorado’s Sage Hurta won the mile in a PB 4:30.58 thanks to a strong ever faster last three laps which she covered in 33.44, 32.07 and 31.12 to win by nearly two seconds.

The 3000m was a close race which saw seven together with 400m to go but Brigham Young’s Courtney Wayment had the strongest finish as she closed with laps of 33.04 and 31.20 to win in 9:01.47 just ahead of Lauren Gregory’s 9:01.67.

The day’s only women’s field event was the triple jump and it was close and high quality as both Texas Tech’s Nigerian Ruth Osoro and Texas A&M’s Ghanaian Deborah Acquah equalled the meeting record with 14.27m leaps but Osoro won on countback.

Acquah led the opening round with a 13.92m but improved her PB with her 14.27m in the second round.
Usoro was struggling back in fifth until she moved into second with a 14.21m in the fifth round and that jumped proved the decider when she went six centimetres further in the final round as Acquah’s second best was her opener of 13.82m.

This proved the most international event of the championships as six different nations featured in the top seven.

Despite having no individual wins on the final day, Arkansas won the team title from Baylor.

Results
Women
60
1 Kemba Nelson JAM Oregon 7.05
2 TeeTee Terry USC 7.14
3 Kiara Grant JAM NorfolkSt 7.16
4 Tamara Clark Alabama 7.18
5 Alfreda Steele Miami 7.22
6 Joella Lloyd ANT Tennessee 7.23
7 Jada Baylark Arkansas 7.23
8 Halle Hazzard GRN Virginia 7.27

200
r1
1 Kynnedy Flannel Texas 22.64
2 TeeTee Terry USC 22.75
3 Anavia Battle OhioSt 22.76
4 Favour Ofili NGR LSU 22.96
r2
1 Abby Steiner Kentucky 22.38
2 Tamara Clark Alabama 22.45
3 Delecia McDuffie NC A&T 23.01
4 Amira Young Minnesota 23.47

400
r1
1 Talitha Diggs Florida 51.26
2 Tiana Wilson Arkansas 52.02
3 Rosaline Effiong Arkansas 52.50
4 Kennedy Simon Texas 52.69
r2
1 Kaelin Roberts USC 50.84
2 Athing Mu TexasA&M 51.03
3 Charokee Young JAM TexasA&M 51.41
4 Amber Anning GBR LSU 51.83

800
1 Aaliyah Miller Baylor 2:00.69
2 Laurie Barton Clemson 2:01.21
3 Shafiqua Maloney VIN Arkansas 2:01.22
4 Lindsey Butler VATech 2:02.15
5 Claire Seymour BYU 2:02.25
6 Gabrielle Wilkinson Florida 2:03.32
7 McKenna Keegan Villanova 2:04.26
8 Sarah Hendrick KennesawSt 2:04.36

Mile
1 Sage Hurta Colorado 4:30.58
2 Kristlin Gear Arkansas 4:32.37
3 Kennedy Thomson CAN Arkansas 4:33.95
4 Kaley Richards UMass-Lowell 4:36.26
5 Allison Guagenti OhioSt 4:36.71
6 Kate Hunter BYU 4:37.65
7 Aneta Konieczek POL Oregon 4:38.46
8 Katie Rainsberger Washington 4:39.67
9 Gracie Hyde Arkansas 4:44.40
10 Heather Hanson BYU 4:48.97

3000
1 Courtney Wayment BYU 9:01.47
2 Lauren Gregory Arkansas 9:01.67
3 Joyce Kimeli KEN Auburn 9:02.79
4 Katie Izzo Arkansas 9:03.85
5 Abby Gray Arkansas 9:05.52
6 Jessica Drop Georgia 9:05.98
7 Olivia Hoj BYU 9:06.77
8 Maudie Skyring AUS FloridaSt 9:09.05
9 Logan Morris Arkansas 9:10.40
10 Jennie Baragar-Petrash CAN NDakotaSt 9:10.51
11 Alyson Churchill FloridaSt 9:14.91
12 Elly Henes NC State 9:19.29
13 Olivia Markezich NotreDame 9:21.74
14 Hannah Brookover WakeForest 9:28.70
15 Allie Schadler Washington 9:29.83
– Allison Guagenti OhioSt dns

60H
1 Ackera Nugent JAM Baylor 7.92
2 Daszay Freeman JAM Arkansas 7.99
3 Chanel Brissett Texas 8.01
4 Tiara McMinn Miami 8.01
5 Milan Young LSU 8.06
6 Mecca McGlaston USC 8.07
7 Emily Sloan Oregon 8.08
8 Trishauna Hemmings JAM Clemson 8.16

4×400
r1
1 Texas 3:33.85
2 UCLA 3:35.23
3 Minnesota 3:35.70
4 Tennessee 3:36.60
r2
1 LSU 3:29.69
2 Florida 3:30.58
3 SCarolina 3:32.67
4 Baylor 3:33.27
r3
1 TexasA&M 3:26.68
2 USC 3:27.91
3 Arkansas 3:28.07
4 Kentucky 3:30.28

TJ
1 Ruth Usoro NGR TxTech 14.27
2 Deborah Acquah GHA TexasA&M 14.27
3 Rūta Lasmane LAT FloridaSt 14.15
4 Jasmine Moore Georgia 13.73
5 Charisma Taylor BAH WashingtonSt 13.61
6 Natricia Hooper GUY Florida 13.53
7 Tikeisha Welcome CAN Oklahoma 13.35
8 Euphenie Andre Missouri 13.31
9 Alonie Sutton FloridaSt 13.29
10 Chantoba Bright GUY KansasSt 13.26
11 Essence Thomas Oklahoma 13.26
12 Rhianna Phipps JAM KansasSt 13.18
13 Titiana Marsh Georgia 13.14
14 Dominique Ruotolo Oregon 13.02
15 Arianna Fisher Missouri 12.95
16 Kala Penn IVB Florida 12.53

Final Team standings
1 Arkansas 68
2 TexasA&M 57
3 LSU 39
4 USC 35
5 Georgia 31
6 Florida 30
7 BYU 29
8 Texas 25
9 Baylor 24
10 Auburn 20