Gold Medal Biathlete Remains In Custody

A federal judge yesterday ordered Canadian Olympic gold medalist Myriam Bedard to temporarily remain in the custody of U.S. marshals on a charge that she violated a child custody order by bringing her 12-year-old daughter to the United States.

U.S. Magistrate Judge James K. Bredar scheduled a hearing for Friday in Baltimore to address whether the U.S. government has the authority to detain the former biathlon champion pending extradition to Canada.

Kevin McCants, an attorney representing Bedard, said he was working on an arrangement that would enable his client to return voluntarily to Quebec on Friday to face the charge.

"We're hoping to have a deal in place in the next day or so," McCants said.

Bedard, 37, was arrested Friday night in Maryland after U.S. marshals found her and her daughter, Maude, at a Columbia hotel. Bedard, of Quebec, has been in custody since the arrest. Her daughter is back in the custody of Bedard's ex-husband, Jean Paquet.

Bedard faces up to 10 years in prison on the child abduction charge, but her attorneys contend she didn't break the law.

"She's confident that when these proceedings are over that . . . she will be vindicated. She's done nothing wrong," McCants said.

Bedard won two gold medals in the biathlon competition at the Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, in 1994. She won a bronze medal in that same event in the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.

· GOLF: Lorena Ochoa ended Annika Sorenstam's five-year reign as the best player on the LPGA Tour, winning six times on tour and, yesterday, was named AP Female Athlete of the Year.

Ochoa swept all the major honors on the LPGA and picked up another award at the end of the season with a landslide victory for athlete of the year.

She received 220 points in voting from sports editors around the country, double the point total of French tennis player Amelie Mauresmo, who captured Wimbledon and the Australian Open.

· COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Duquesne University basketball coach Ron Everhart was hospitalized with abdominal pain and will miss tomorrow night's game at Boston College.

Everhart, 44, became ill on Christmas and went to the hospital that day. He is currently taking antibiotics for a gastrointestinal problem, and is expected to remain hospitalized for four or five days.

· HOCKEY: The United States lost to Germany, 2-1, at the World Junior Hockey Championship in Leksand, Sweden, beaten by Marcel Muller's goal 1 minute 51 seconds into overtime. It was Germany's first victory over the Americans in the world juniors, although West Germany won three times, the last in 1981.

· BASEBALL: Free agent first baseman Shea Hillenbrand agreed to join the Los Angeles Angels after splitting last season between Toronto and San Francisco. The one-year contract includes a club option for 2008. The deal is pending a physical.

· BOXING: Former heavyweight champion Greg Page was released from a rehabilitation center, a month after he was hospitalized with pneumonia and other health problems.

Page, 48, was released from Frazier Rehab Institute in Louisville. He was sent there after being hospitalized on Nov. 24.

-- From News Services