Latvian cyclist Andris Nauduzs took fourth place in the 15th stage of the Giro d'Italia race. The Italian Alesandro Petaki won the 243-kilometer stage and set a record in the process by winning the most stages in an edition of the race. It was Petaki's eighth stage win. The Ukrainian Jaroslavs Popovics is currently in the lead, with his compatriot Serhiy Gonchar in second place. Nauduzs, who rides for the Domina Vacanze team, is 1.04.29 hours behind Popovics, and is currently in 105th place. The Giro d'Italia takes place over 20 legs and covers a distance of some 3,424 kilometers.
Latvian Raimonds Bergmanis won the Baltic Strongest Man 2004 contest, which was held in Jurmala, Latvia, on May 22. The Lithuanian team leader Zydrunas Savickas came second, and fellow Lithuanian Vlius Petrauskas, who won last year's event, came third. "If the strongest men in Europe had been competing, it would have been difficult for them to finish in the top three because the participants were so good," Bergmanis said. "That is why I am so proud of my win. The competition was of a really high standard. The only negative was the bad weather."
The critics are starting to speculate if Andre Agassi's number is up after the 34-year-old crashed out of the first round of the French Open in a shock straight sets defeat to little known French player Jerome Haehnel on May 24. The Frenchman is ranked 270th in the world. It was Agassi's 16th French Open and the American was hoping to record his 800th career win, but it wasn't to be. Agassi was at a loss to explain the defeat, which has led to rumors that he will retire at the end of the season.
A former South African rugby player was arrested and charged with murder after he reportedly mistook his daughter for a burglar and shot her dead in the family's driveway. Rudi Visagie, 44, heard someone driving a car away at 5 a.m. on May 23 and told police he assumed it was a thief. He then fired a shot through the bedroom window, but when he went out to investigate he found his 19-year-old daughter slumped dead in the driver's seat. Rugby is a hugely popular sport in South Africa and Visagie was a well-known figure in a culture that idolizes sports celebrities.
