1.   But after New York -- where she became the first African woman to win a major marathon -- there were apologies.

2.   Despite winning five times last year, Woods dropped off after his victory at the Masters, when he became the first player to win four consecutive professional majors.

3.   It becomes winning.

4.   When he became the first fighter ever to win the heavyweight title three times, over the unfortunate Leon Spinks, he seemed to turn back the clock.

5.   A year ago, Woods won the Masters and the question was whether he could become the first player to win all four majors in the same year.

6.   Allen Iverson, who last year became the first Sixers player since Chamberlain to win the NBA scoring title, is next.

7.   DuPont is where she became the youngest woman to win all four majors, yet it is also the place where she learned her grandfather had suffered a stroke.

8.   Jose Saramago, who Thursday became the first author in Portuguese to win the Nobel literature prize, is a soft-spoken man known for his hard-edged and iconoclastic views.

9.   When Ludmila Petrova became the first Russian to win the New York City Marathon, there was a message in the victory for her husband.

10.   If Brazil do become the first nation to win a fourth World Cup title, they will dedicate it to Senna.