The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • 97

SPORT NZ player falls to his David was alive when emergency wu going to move to take death to Queenstown to give a Talented HUOBY perma-nendy here and play his rugby" David had been due to go to Queenstown for the Hurricanes' warm-up match on February 6 against the Highlanders Hurricanes manager Tony Bedford mid David was a promising player with a big future wu going to be a big year for him looking forward to Hurricanes Cote play maybe New Zealand Colts and anything that followed' Bedford said "We felt that he wu an ideal one taste of the pro rugby life' David had been working a bartender and in other jobs in Wellington and wu at home with his three flatmates when the accident happened Senior Sergeant Tony Wareham said family members were travelling from Gisborne but police did not have details of funeral arrangements Results of a post mortem examination were expected tomorrow services arrived but died on the way to Wellington Hospital David formerly from Gisborne moved to Wellington to pimr nigby after spending some tune fat Waharapa He was a winger for Wairarapa against the Wellington Lions in May and was a member of last yean 40-man national sevens training -1ft a real shock' Wellington Lions coach Graham Mouric said yesterday Wellington A NEW Zealand footballer fell to hit death on Chriatmae Day ending a promising career with local and city rugby union teansa Raymond Jeremy Peter David 20 died after he etepped on to a window ledge of hie flat in central Wellington to retrieve a clothes hone and fciltwo storeys to the ground An ambulance spokeswoman said OLYMPICS Quebec to sue IOC MONTREAL: The man who led Quebec City's bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics said he would sue the International Olympic Committee if allegations of corruption surrounding the winning bid by fan Lake City were proven Rene Piquet former president of the Quebec committee said he would bring suit against the IOC for expenses incurred by the government and big business organisations which had financed the failed bid Quebec City managed only seven votes compared with 54 for Salt Lake City The IOC the American Olympic Committee end the FBI have all opened investigations into die allegations MOTOR SPORT NZ Aussie WELLINGTON: An Australian win ride for New Zealand in the world 500cc motorcycle championship next year The Auckland-based BSL team announced that Mark Willis 22 would be aboard its new machine in the 1999 world championship Willis finished sixth and ninth in thfe world superbike round in Australia this year and rode a works Suxuki to 14th in the 1998 Australian 500ce grand prix BYDMEY-HOBART RACE ALEX BROWN Sydney Harbour SPECTACULAR collisions between maxi yacht Nokia and fellow competitors Sword of Orion and Bright Morning Star highlighted an eventful start to the annual Sydney-Hobart classic Nokia skippered by Cook Island Olympic aspirant David Win escaped an initial penally for die incident which saw all three vessels concede time the fleet embarked on the vital sprint to the Heads Sword of Orion skipper Bob Kothc lodged a protest against Nokia citing severe damage sustained to the hull and masL A ruling will not be made until the fleet reaches Hobart In glorious Boxing Day conditions race favourite Sayooan secured an early lead after winning a lacking dud with maxi mrindabelliL Sayunara rounded the first turning mark slightly ahead of Bnndabdla in die 10 to 15-knot winds followed by Wild Thing Marchioness and 60-foot entrant Sydney Immediately after the opening turn Sayonara hoisted its grand number-one spinnaker it surged south in quest of line honours and perhaps the race record But the giant maxi suffered a setback soon after when its spinnaker ripped In response Brindabella sallied and the pair were virtually parallel they led the fleet put UUadulla Marchioness wu only two nautical miles further back just ahead of Wild Thing A mass of pleasure craft engulfed the field of US competitors they exited the Heads while foreshore space wu at a premium thanks to the hordes of spectators Although the splendid conditions in die early stages of the race may have lulled some competitors into a false OUTDUELLED: The maxi yacht BrindabeKa (above) came favourite Sayonara off second beat in an early SOCCER gain LONDON: German international defender Steffen Freund has signed with Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of S2 million The 28-year-old Freund capped 21 times and a member of the German squad that won the Euro "96 tide has signed a four-year contract with Spurs who are 13th in the English Premier League SOCCER Man City hit LONDON: Manchester City's flaggi ng promotion campaign in England's division two hat hit another crisis with three key slayers down with Central defender Andy Morrison influential midfielder Kevin Horiock and striker Craig Russell were sent home ftom training with symptoms of the illness SOCCER Away in a jail PARIS: Djibril Diawan a defender with the 1997 French champions Monaco spent Christmas Day in jail after he was arrested early in the morning after a riot which left five policemen injured Diawan was fined S2J00 in November for assaulting a policeman tacking contact with pre-race Ha juuan Andrews be forced into a penalty 720-degree turn In the charge to the Heads however no such measure had been ordered allowing Nokia to confirm its position in the top 10 of the race fleet In the minutes immediately after the race start Marchioness attempted an ambitious ploy moving several hundred metre! to the port side of the main fleet Sayonara meanwhile maintained a steady course which enabled it to assume an early lead But Marchioness appeared unfaxed soon rejoining the field and leaving the Heads in fourth offered a gale warning for waters south of Broken fay while a strong-wind warning had been issued for the coastline to Seal Rocks Sayonara left the Cruising Yacht Club at Rushcutters Bay yesterday confident of eclipsing Morning Glory's 1996 race record given conducive winds be disappointed if we don't take line honours' said crew member Lachlan Murdoch is my second Syd ney-to- Hobart so I am going into this knowing a utile more of what to expect Organisers were predicting a nigh casualty list after Weather reports suggesting strong winds had most bracing for a torrid few days 7 learning of the storm and gale forecuts But leading out of Sydney Harbour no vessels had withdrawn amid rolling swells and a stiff breeze Speculation mounted after the collision between Nokia and Bright Morning Star that one of the yachts most likely Nokia would sense of security weather reports suggesting strong winds had most bracing for a torrid few days A severe storm forecan to strike overnight promised 40-knoc winds rain and mountainous swells conditions which are more usually associated with the notorious Bam Strait than the south coast of NSW And the predictions for later in the race seemed only to worsen with a gale of up to 55 knots scheduled to hit the field some time this afternoon The Bureau of Meteorology issued a priority storm warning for coastal waters south of Merimbula just one hour after the starter's gun had fired at 1pm Additionally the bureau CALM BEFORBTHE STORMS Pages 94 THE SUN-HERALD wwwsimhoraidconuui December 27 1998.