BRIEFLY : BESIEGED BELGRADE STAGES RACE ANYWAY.Byline: - Daily News Wire Services Ignoring heavy rain and chilly winds - not to mention a wartime atmosphere - tens of thousands of people gathered Saturday to cheer runners in the annual Belgrade Marathon The Belgrade Marathon is the biggest sporting event in Serbia. A group of enthusiasts came up with a plan to restore the race that existed in 1910 from Obrenovac to Belgrade. The first modern marathon in Belgrade took place on May 8, 1988. and an accompanying 3-mile ``Fun Run'' in Yugoslavia. But it wasn't a race, in real terms. Most of the competitors ran the same pace, joining hands after 3 hours and 15 minutes to cross the finish line together in a show of united support for a city under siege from the air. Organizers said about 15,000 people participated in the two runs, both clearly meant as demonstrations of high morale despite nearly four weeks of NATO NATO: see North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO in full North Atlantic Treaty Organization International military alliance created to defend western Europe against a possible Soviet invasion. airstrikes. Belgrade Mayor Vojislav Mihajlovic set free 200 doves as a symbolic call for peace, and many of the runners wore T-shirts emblazoned with anti-NATO slogans. Johnny Kelley John ("Johnny") Joseph Adelbert Kelley (born September 6, 1907 – died October 6, 2004) is a former American long-distance runner, who won the gold medal at the 1959 Pan American Games. He twice represented his native country at the Summer Olympics: 1936 and 1948. , known as Boston's Marathon Man, and three other outstanding runners have been elected into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame The National Distance Running Hall of Fame was established on July 11, 1998 to honor those who have contributed to the sport of distance running. It is located in Utica, New York. at Utica, N.Y. Joining the 91-year-old Kelley in the Hall are 1972 women's Boston Marathon winner Nina Kuscik, 1964 Olympic 10,000-meter gold medalist Billy Mills and five-time Olympian Francie Larrieu Smith. HOCKEY: Dallas defenseman Derian Hatcher was suspended by the NHL NHL Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, see there for seven games, including the Stars' first five playoff contests, for hitting Phoenix center Jeremy Roenick in the head. Hatcher's playoff suspension is the longest since Maurice (Rocket) Richard was suspended, after punching a linesmen in March 1955, for the final three games of the regular season and the entire playoffs. New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York, U.S.A. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). center Adam Graves was suspended for four games in the 1992 playoffs. BASKETBALL: Tens of thousands of faithful fans took to the chilly streets of Hartford, Conn., for a parade saluting the University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut is the State of Connecticut's land-grant university. It was founded in 1881 and serves more than 27,000 students on its six campuses, including more than 9,000 graduate students in multiple programs. UConn's main campus is in Storrs, Connecticut. men's team, which won this year's national championship after years of late-season disappointments. MOTOR SPORTS: Local favorite Jimmy Hensley passed fellow Virginian Stacy Compton coming out of the fourth turn with 36 laps to go and pulled away to win the NAPA 250 Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville, Va. Ernie Irvan makes his 300th career start in a Winston Cup race in today's Goody's Body Pain 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. BASEBALL: One day after tying the NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association record for consecutive victories at 34, Florida Atlantic lost for the first time in two months, falling 2-1 to Jacksonville. DIVING: Mark Ruiz continued his dominance of the U.S. Spring National Diving Championships, winning the 3-meter event by rallying past Troy Dumais in Orlando, Fla. Dumais held a sizable lead entering the last dive of the competition, only to see Ruiz roll off a reverse 3-1/2 somersault with a half twist, a dive with a 3.5 degree of difficulty that received 9s and 10s from the judges. |
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