A Roundup Of The Week Jan. 7-13

SWIMMING—Australia's 13-year-old JENNY TURRALL broke her third world record in a month with a 16:48.2 clocking in the women's 1,500-meter freestyle at the New South Wales championships. The old mark was 16:49.9.

TENNIS—COLOMBIA stunned the United States 4-1 to win the Davis Cup zone final (page 54).

TRACK & FIELD—DICK BUERKLE kicked off the indoor track season with an impressive two-meet double. The former Villanova runner upset Steve Prefontaine by 60 yards in the two-mile at the Catholic Youth Organization meet in College Park, Md. Buerkle's time of 8:26.2 was the second-fastest American indoor two-mile clocking. The next night Buerkle won a 4:00.3 mile in the New York Knights of Columbus meet at Nassau Coliseum. Also at College Park: ROD MILBURN blazed through the 60-yard hurdles in 6.8 seconds, tying the world record for the second time in a month, and the quartet of MICHELLE McMILLIAN (0:57.3), CHERYL TOUSSAINT (56.0), LORNA FORDE (56.9) and BRENDA NICHOLS (56.8). representing the ATOMS Track Club of Brooklyn, bettered the women's world indoor mile relay mark by 3.5 seconds with a time of 3:47.

MILEPOSTS—FIRED: LARRY POPEIN, 43, as coach of the New York Rangers, after the team's 7-2 loss to Buffalo, which left New York, highly rated before the season started, with a 18-14-9 record and only one point ahead of the fifth-place Sabres. General Manager EMILE FRANCIS took over as coach.

NAMED: As head coach of the New York Giants. BILL ARNSPARGER, top assistant on Don Shula's Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins.

NAMED: As head football coach at Colorado, BILL MALLORY, voted Ohio Coach of the Year after his Miami University team finished the season 11-0. Mallory replaces Eddie Crowder, who retired to become full-time athletic director.

DIED: U.S. ski team member KENT YALE, 22, from brain injuries suffered in a fall during a practice run at the Can-Am Trophy races in Vancouver.