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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, August 6, 2009

On this date: 1926 — American Gertrude Ederle first woman to swim the English Channel


Associated Press

Aug. 6

1926 — Nineteen-year-old Gertrude Ederle of New York City becomes the first woman to swim the English Channel, making the crossing in 14 hours and 31 minutes.

1958 — Glen Davis of Columbus, Ohio, sets a world record in the 400 hurdles with a time of 49.2 in a meet at Budapest, Hungary.

1966 — Muhammad Ali knocks out Brian London in the third round to retain his world heavyweight title.

1972 — South African Gary Player wins his second PGA golf championship with a two-stroke victory over Jim Jamieson and Tommy Aaron.

1978 — John Mahaffey beats Tom Watson and Jerry Pate on the second hole of a playoff to win the PGA Championship.

1979 — Australian David Graham rebounds from a double-bogey on the final hole in regulation to beat Ben Crenshaw on the third hole of a playoff.

1991 — Debbie Doom of the United States pitches her second consecutive perfect game in women's softball at the Pan American Games. Doom threw a perfect game at the Netherlands Antilles in the opener of the competition and matches that performance against Nicaragua, winning 8-0.

1992 — Carl Lewis leads a U.S. sweep in the long jump in the Olympics with a mark of 28 feet, 5½ inches on his first attempt. Mike Powell takes the silver and Joe Greene the bronze. Kevin Young demolishes one of track's oldest records with a time of 46.78 seconds in the 400 hurdles. Bruce Baumgartner becomes the first American wrestler to win medals in three straight Olympics, taking the gold in the 286-pound freestyle division.

1994 — Jeff Gordon wins the Brickyard 400, the first stock car race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

1995 — Canada's Donovan Bailey wins the 100 meters at the World Track and Field Championships in Goteborg, Sweden, marking the first time since 1976 an American fails to win a medal in the event at a major meet.

1999 — Tony Gwynn goes 4-for-5, singling in his first at-bat to become the 22nd major leaguer to reach 3,000 hits, as the San Diego Padres beat the Montreal Expos 12-10.

2001 — Marion Jones' magnificent winning streak of 42 consecutive victories in 100-meter finals ends at the World Championships when Zhanna Pintusevich-Block clips her by fractions at the finish line. It's Jones' first loss since her final race of the 1997 season when she was beaten by Merlene Ottey of Jamaica.

2006 — Floyd Landis is fired by his team and the Tour de France no longer considers him its champion after his second doping sample tested positive for higher-than-allowable levels of testosterone. Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme says Landis no longer is considered champion, but the decision to strip him of his title rests with the International Cycling Union.

2006 — Sherri Steinhauer wins the Women's British Open for the third time, and the first since it became a major. Steinhauer finishes at 7-under 281 at Royal Lytham for her second major title. Cristie Kerr and Sophie Gustafson tie for second at 4 under.

2006 — Tiger Woods wins his 50th PGA Tour title, shooting his fourth-straight 6-under 66 for a three-stroke victory over Jim Furyk in the Buick Open. Woods is the seventh member of the PGA Tour's 50-win club.

2008 — Sammy Villegas, a former University of Toledo basketball player, is charged with point shaving. Villegas, who played basketball for four years at Toledo, is accused of shaving points in games during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons.

2008 — Kim Terrell-Kearney wins the first professional championship match featuring two black bowlers, beating Trisha Reid 216-189 in the U.S. Bowling Congress' U.S. Women's Open. Terrell-Kearney collects her second U.S. Women's Open title and third career major title.