Norris Gratified by Silver at Paralympics

Karen Norris has won a world championship and a Paralympics gold medal in a relay, but she said her crowning achievement is the Paralympics silver medal she won Wednesday at Atlanta in the S10 class (primarily below-knee amputees) of the 100-meter backstroke.

“Because of everything I’ve gone through, this was sweeter,” she said.

Norris, 31, of Van Nuys, pushed world-record holder Sarah Bailey of Great Britain to the finish line despite a series of setbacks the past few months.

In May, her father’s death prompted her to “question my motives and goals and to wonder if I was spending too much time in the pool.” The past two months, physical ailments have drastically curtailed her training.

Norris finished in 1 minute 16.23 seconds, .7 seconds off her career best.

Norris was among California’s highest-ranked junior swimmers when, at age 11, her lower leg was amputated because of a rare form of nerve cancer.

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Lindsay Talyor, 11, of Saugus won the high-point trophy for 11 and 12-year-olds at the AAU Long Course swimming championships at USC.

The meet was sponsored by the U.S. Olympic Section of Southern California Swimming.

Boxing

Olympic boxer Fernando Vargas of Oxnard apparently is close to signing a professional contract with Lou Duva’s Main Events after turning down a $2 million signing bonus with the International Marketing Group.

The IMG deal called for Vargas, 18, to move to Miami and sever ties with his local training staff. But leaving of Oxnard and trainer Eduardo Garcia was too much.

“It was for $2 million,” Vargas said. “They wanted me to leave my people, leave my trainer, leave everybody. They would have assigned me a trainer. But I’m true. I ain’t fake.”

Main Events has offered a four-year deal worth more than $5 million, including a $250,000 signing bonus, Vargas said.

Vargas said that “if everything goes good” a deal might be reached “maybe in a week.”

Main Events would allow Vargas to stay in Oxnard and train with Garcia, Vargas said.

Golf

John Geiberger, son of PGA Senior Tour player Al Geiberger, has been hired as coach at Pepperdine.

Geiberger, who played for the Waves from 1989 to 1991 and twice earned All-West Coast Conference honors, succeeds Todd Andrews, his former Pepperdine teammate, who took a position with Callaway Golf.

The Waves, who were No. 22 in the nation last year, have five of their top seven players back, including All-WCC selections Jason Gore of Valencia and Michael Walton.

Contributing: Mike Hiserman, Michael Lazarus, Peter Yoon.