Hungarian Swim Officials Reelected Despite Scandal

The top two officials of Hungary’s swimming federation have been reelected, despite a scandal over falsified Olympic qualifying times.

Tamas Gyarfas resigned as federation president Sept. 9, in the wake of disclosures that half of Hungary’s swimmers at the Atlanta Games had qualified on fictitious times at a meet that was never held.

But Gyarfas, who said he had no previous knowledge of the fraud, later withdrew his resignation and was reelected over the weekend by a vote of 65-2.

Federation Secretary General Jozsef Ruza, who admitted knowledge of the scam, also was reelected.

Hungary won six medals in swimming in Atlanta, three of them gold.

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An International Olympic Committee official’s wife, arrested after a scuffle with a police officer during the Atlanta Games, waived arraignment while her attorney sought to win a plea bargain.

Julie Pound, wife of IOC Vice President Dick Pound of Canada, was charged with refusal to comply with a police officer, obstruction, using abusive language and simple battery.

She was scheduled to appear in court Monday to enter a plea, but waived that process and the hearing was canceled.

The officer, Leanne Browning, said in her report that Pound, who was accompanied by her husband at the time of her July 31 arrest, kneed her during the scuffle. She said the scuffle began after the officer tried to stop Pound from jaywalking.

Tennis

Members of the Women’s Tennis Assn. are violating their own rules by paying appearance money to lure top stars to play in tournaments, Der Spiegel, a German magazine, reported.

Files assembled by the prosecutors in the tax evasion trial of Steffi Graf’s father show that the German Tennis Federation paid Graf $1.7 million to play in tournaments in Germany from 1990-1993. The money was in addition to any prizes she won.

Der Spiegel said the files show that Peter Graf, who acted as his daughter’s financial manager, also negotiated appearance money for tournaments in Tokyo, Zurich, Montreal and Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Boxing

Mike Tyson, in lengthy testimony in his former trainer’s lawsuit against the heavyweight champion, denied ever offering Kevin Rooney a career-long contract.

Tyson said he fired Rooney because of the trainer’s comments about Tyson’s former wife, Robin Givens, during a television interview.

“I thought that was betrayal,” Tyson said during his five hours on the stand at Albany, N.Y. “I would never get on television and talk about his drinking problem or fights with his wife. Where’s his sensitivity?”

Rooney, who was fired in 1988, is suing the boxer for $49 million in past and projected earnings. While admitting he had no written contract, Rooney maintains Tyson’s mentor, Cus D’Amato, intended for the trainer to handle Tyson throughout his career.

Basketball

St. John’s University is investigating possible violations that may affect the eligibility of two of the school’s top basketball players.

Felipe Lopez and Zendon Hamilton, both juniors at the Big East Conference school, are under investigation after allegedly accepting an expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas this summer to attend a basketball camp.

If school officials determine the players violated NCAA rules by accepting gifts linked to their athletic ability, the Red Storm will lose its top two scorers from last season.

The trip reportedly was paid for by Sonny Vaccaro, a representative of Adidas.