U.S. Gymnasts Win Bronze With Miller

Because of a painful ankle injury, world champion Shannon Miller wasn’t supposed to be competing in all the events at the World Gymnastics Championships at Sabae, Japan. But that was before the Russians threatened to keep the Americans out the team medals.

Miller, the 1993 and 1994 world all-around champion, begged to stay in the lineup, scored the seventh-best total of any gymnast in the optional exercises, and helped the Americans edge the Russians by 0.016 points for the bronze medal Saturday.

The defending champion Romanians, who soared on the uneven bars and were flawless in their last few floor exercise routines, fended off a strong Chinese challenge for the gold. The final score was 387.865 to 386.476.

Golf

Eighteen-year veteran Brad Bryant and rookie Carl Paulson share the lead at 14 under par after the second round of the rain-shortened Walt Disney Classic at Lake Buena Vista, Fla. One stroke behind is Patrick Burke. None has a PGA Tour victory.

Seniors Lee Trevino and John Bland failed to take advantage of eagle opportunities on the final hole, leaving them in a four-way tie with Bruce Summerhays and Ben Smith at 135 for the lead in the Transamerica at Napa, Calif.

Motor Sports

Mark Martin overwhelmed the field in winning the All Pro Bumper to Bumper 300 Busch Grand National stock car race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Martin, a regular in NASCAR’s elite Winston Cup series, led 167 of the 200 laps on Charlotte’s 1 1/2-mile oval, including the final 52, and averaged 136.415 m.p.h. Dale Jarrett was second, about 10 car lengths behind.

Steve Kinser won his 18th World of Outlaws sprint car title of the year at the Champion Spark Plug Nationals at Syracuse, N.Y. . . . Ron Hornaday Jr. won his sixth NASCAR SuperTruck Series title, beating Wally Dallenbach Jr. by 4.3 seconds in the $154,205 Subway 100 at Sears Point. . . . Doug George clinched the NASCAR Winston West Series title, beating Butch Gilliland by 2.94 seconds in the Sonoma 100.

Louis Meyer, the first three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, died in a Las Vegas hospital. He was 91. Meyer won the Indy 500 in 1928, 1933 and 1936.

Tennis

Jim Courier avenged a defeat at Wimbledon this year to Cedric Pioline by beating the Frenchman, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, in the semifinals of the Toulouse Open in France. Arnaud Boetsch, seeded fourth, rallied to defeat second-seeded Marc Rosset, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4. . . . Second-seeded Mary Pierce and seventh-seeded Iva Majoli advanced in straight sets to the final of the European Indoors tournament in Zurich, Switzerland. . . . Mark Philippoussis and Marcelo Rios each scored straight-set victories to reach the finals of the Salem ATP Tour Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Miscellany

Clipper center Brian Williams strained his left knee in the team’s first practice at training camp at UC Irvine and will be examined today by team physician Tony Daly. Tony Maroney, a 7-foot-1, 275-pound center from Hawaii, will practice with the team until Williams’ status is determined. . . . Mark Allen of Boulder, Colo., won his sixth Ironman Triathlon World Championship at Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, finishing the 140.6-mile competition in an unofficial 8 hours 20 minutes 35 seconds. Karen Smyers of Lincoln, Mass., won the women’s title in 9:16:41. Smyers passed seven-time winner Paula Newby-Fraser of Encinitas, who collapsed about 300 yards from the finish line.

Livan Hernandez, 20, became the fifth pitcher to defect from the Cuban national baseball team in four years when he walked out on his teammates at a training camp in Monterrey, Mexico, 11 days ago. . . . Steffi Graf, the world’s No. 1 women’s tennis player who is under investigation for tax evasion, faces possible arrest, German magazine Der Spiegel said. . . . Magic Johnson’s plans to play a basketball exhibition in the Philippines hit a snag after immigration authorities said because he has the AIDS virus he must secure a permit before being allowed into Manila. . . . Jeannie Longo of France won her second gold medal at the World Cycling Championships, taking the 85.5-kilometer women’s individual race in Duitama, Colombia. Danny Nelissen of the Netherlands won the men’s 110.2-mile race.