Hits and misses: Fast runner - and not quite fast enough swimmers

Speed on land and in the water. A legend calls it a day - this time, permanently. A lucky escape for a speedster . . . that was the sporting week.

HITS

* Paula Radcliffe. For her 2h 15m 25s world fastest marathon in London. Her time was almost 15 minutes faster than British compatriot Joyce Smith managed in the same race 22 years ago. In those days, men ran almost half an hour faster than women. Not any more.

* Mike Weir. A triumph for the lefties. Company at last for our own great Bob Charles, who waited almost 40 years for another left-hander to win a major. Nice to see Tiger could raise a genuine smile in helping Weir into his Masters green jacket.

* Irene Van Dyk. Amazing. A 64-from-64 shooting record for the Magic in their 71-36 win over her old mob the Shakers. One can only wonder if the score would have been reversed had she stayed with the capital side.

* Michael Jordan. Finally the great one has called it quits - forever. Thanks for the memories, even if not for what he did the second time round. No one can question the impact he made on the game. Off to join the Globetrotters? We doubt it.

* Yeovil Town. Not the town so much as the footy club. After 108 years they finally get to kick their ball in the English football league. They got there in style, too, with a 4-0 away win over Doncaster.

* North Shore swimmers. Seldom has one club so dominated a national championships. Good coaching, great pool and a bit of money all helped. Hopefully, those results can be replicated at an even higher level and breathe some life into the sport.

* The Warriors and the Rabbitohs. Good to see some real action in the NRL. Wins like the Warriors' 32-12 romp in Brisbane and the Rabbitohs' 32-22 result over the Tigers will help sustain interest in a competition many had predicted would be dominated by a couple of Sydney sides.

MISSES

* The International Rugby Board. It never ceases to amaze and its participation agreement must rate as one of the most ill-conceived documents of all time. This from a body that expects to pocket a $300 million profit from the World Cup and not hand out a cent in prizemoney.

* The Adelaide weather. Again. What should have been a super V8 Supercar battle turned into a farce. South Australia's changeable weather ruined it, with the cars slipping and sliding all over the place.

* The aquatic centre in Kilbirnie. Hardly up to national swimming championship standard in a year when a team is being selected for the worlds. No atmosphere, no touch pads at one end of the pool and so shallow at the other that some starters in backstroke races hit the bottom.

* Scott Dixon. A hit as much as a miss, but thankfully he escaped with little more than a sore wrist. He hasn't had much luck in the last couple of races, but when things go right he has shown he is as fast as anyone. Next up is the biggie at Indianapolis and the chance for real glory. He deserves it.

* The NZRFU. It again seems happy to jump to attention in supporting its counterpart in Sanzar. Whacking Taine with a $3000 fine is tokenism at its worst. After Mehrtens and Randell, you have to wonder who they will put the boot into next.

* Melissa Ingram, Moss Burmester and Scott Talbot-Cameron. Close but not close enough to world swimming championship qualifying times. When times are everything, there will always be heartbreak. Better luck next time when tickets to Athens go on the line.