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Former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch was in "very serious" condition yesterday in an intensive-care unit at a hospital in Barcelona, Spain.
The 89-year-old Spaniard, head of the IOC from 1980-2001, was admitted after experiencing heart trouble, and about 20 minutes later went into shock, Quiron Hospital chief of internal medicine Rafael Esteban said during a news conference. Samaranch was sedated and put on a respirator, although his prognosis is poor.
Samaranch had been to a gym to exercise on Sunday, Esteban said, and the heart trouble was unexpected, even though Samaranch has dealt with various health problems for years.
Boxing
* The mother-in-law of former boxing champion Edwin Valero said the fighter was addicted to cocaine and had grown increasingly violent recently before he was arrested in his wife's murder and hanged himself in a Venezuelan jail. The fighter's wife, Jennifer Carolina Viera, had told her family that Valero "didn't sleep, he didn't eat, he used drugs every day and he was growing more violent all the time," Mary Finol told reporters at her daughter's funeral in western Venezuela.
Philly File
* Ss. Neumann-Goretti guard Tony Chennault, the Daily News' City Basketball Player of the Year, said he is standing by his commitment to attend Wake Forest. The school recently fired coach Dino Gaudio and replaced him with Jeff Bzdelik. Assistant Jeff Battle, a Philadelphia native who was primarily involved in recruiting Chennault, remains on the staff.
* Matt Paul Basketball will hold a free clinic for girls 9 to 15 on Saturday, 9 to 11:30 a.m., at Springside School's Vare Fieldhouse, in Chestnut Hill. To register, visit http://www.mpbb.net or call 610-331-8812.
Sport Stops
* Golfer Lorena Ochoa, 28, is retiring, leaving the struggling LPGA Tour without its No. 1 player.
* Louisville center Samardo Samuels has declared for the NBA draft but will not hire an agent, leaving open the possibility of returning for his junior season . . . Nevada sophomore Luke Babbitt said he has hired an agent and is forgoing his final 2 years of eligibility.
* Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot's victory in the Boston Marathon will stand, even though he popped onto the sidewalk for a few steps early in the race to pass the leaders. Race organizers said they watched video and don't think Cheruiyot gained any special advantage from the move.
