TOP SPORTS NEWS FROM AROUND THE SOUTH, THE NATION AND THE WORLD HOT CORNER

1 WOMEN’S HOCKEY:

Slowed by an injury entering the world championships, it still seemed only a matter of time for Canada’s MariePhilip Poulin to make her presence felt. That moment came Sunday in Utica, New York, with Poulin scoring twice in a 6-5 overtime win over the United States that has the gold medal returning to Canada for a tournament-record 13th time. In an outing sealed by Danielle Serdachny converting a rebound 5:16 into the extra period for a power-play goal, Poulin was the difference-maker in a game filled with momentum shifts, three lead changes and neither team building more than a one-goal lead. Canada won a year after a 6-3 loss to the U.S. outside of Toronto. Julia Gosling, Erin Ambrose and Emily Clark also scored Sunday for Canada. Caroline Harvey, Hilary Knight, Laila Edwards, Megan Keller and Alex Carpenter scored for the U.S.

TRACK AND FIELD: 2

Lithuania’s Mykolas Alekna broke a world record in the discus that had stood since 1986 on Sunday during a world invitational meet in Ramona, Okla. A throw of 243 feet, 11 inches eclipsed the 243 feet of East German Jurgen Schult on June 6, 1986. World Athletics said Schult’s mark had been the longest-standing men’s world record in track and field. Alekna is a junior at the University of California.

3 COLLEGE SWIMMING:

Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart says he can’t comment on a lawsuit filed by two former swim team members against him, the school and former coach Lars Jorgensen, alleging sexual assaults including rape by Jorgensen and claiming the school disregarded multiple credible reports of inappropriate sexual relationships. Former Kentucky swimmer and assistant coach Briggs Alexander and a woman identified only as Jane Doe filed suit in U.S. District Court.

4 OLYMPICS:

French President Emmanuel Macron said the July 26 opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics planned on the River Seine could be shifted instead to the country’s national stadium if the security threat is deemed too high. France is on high alert ahead of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics.