Spanish officials pressure cyclist
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A day after Spanish cyclist Maria Isabel Moreno was kicked out of the Beijing Games for testing positive for a blood-boosting hormone, Spanish officials called on the 27-year-old Olympian to cooperate with authorities and tell them who supplied her with the banned drug.
"We are going to hunt down the shameless people who are causing harm to the health of our athletes," sports minister Jaime Lissavetzky said. "We will look to apply the maximum law to totally clamp down on drug-taking in sport. We will go to the courts, because we want to jail all the cheats."
Eugenio Bermudez, secretary general of the Spanish cycling federation, said Moreno's backup "B" sample was tested Sunday night and was positive for EPO. Moreno is the first athlete caught under the IOC's Beijing drug-testing program, which includes a record 4,500 doping controls, with athletes subject to surprise, out-of-competition tests.
Spanish cycling federation president Fulgencio Sanchez said Moreno, who was to compete in the women's road race and individual time trial, had been tested for EPO six times since February. Under a new IOC rule, Moreno will be barred from the 2012 London Olympics if she's banned for more than six months.
Anti-doping legislation passed by Spain last year calls for prison sentences of six months to two years for anyone convicted of prescribing, dispensing, or facilitating the use of banned substances among athletes.
Buoyant Bush departs
Halfway around the world, President Bush managed to cap his Olympic experience at a place he calls home: a baseball field. He was at ease as he reflected on an Olympics experience that was extraordinary even by presidential standards."It's exceeded my expectations," Bush told the Associated Press before returning to Washington. He meant the whole deal: the venues, the people, the pride.
Never before had a US president taken part in an Olympics on foreign land. Bush soaked it in for four days.
He managed to do what he promised he would - take in a whole lot of sports - while dealing with Russia's violent crackdown on Georgia and carefully confronting China's repression of human freedoms.
Keep it rolling
The US women's soccer team is looking for win No. 2 and a spot in the quarterfinals tonight (broadcast this morning at 7:45 on MSNBC) against New Zealand.The Americans need a victory to secure a spot in the second round, but even a draw could be enough depending on other results.
The defending champions recovered from the opening defeat to Norway with a 1-0 win against Japan Saturday.
"I think the more minutes we get together in the Olympics, the better it is," coach Pia Sundhage said. "We have 180 minutes now and get 90 more against New Zealand. So we will improve our game from one game to another."
Changes for Iraq
Iraq's government and the International Olympic Committee agreed on a process to govern the election of a new Iraqi Olympic body after a dispute prevented some Iraqi athletes from competing in Beijing.Under the latest agreement, Iraq will organize elections among athletes and officials for the country's national sports federations. Those elected will elect members of a new national Olympic committee, according to a statement issued by the government in Baghdad. Iraq's Independent Election Commission, judiciary, and the IOC will supervise the election, according to the statement.
Watchful eyes
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