US sailor's quest one for the ages
The oldest sailor at the Olympics, 58-year-old American John Dane III, and his son-in-law Austin Sperry took an unexpected overall lead in the venerable Star dinghy class with second- and fourth-place finishes yesterday.
"That's what's great about this regatta," said Sperry. "Nobody expects us to win a medal . . . but we're not here as tourists."
Dane, of Gulfport, Miss., qualified for the US sailing team after 40 years of unsuccessful attempts, first in 1968, at age 18, when he was No. 2 in a borrowed Dragon-class boat. He tried again in the Soling class in 1972, then in the Finn class in 1974, and the Star in 1984. It finally worked when he teamed up with the 30-year-old Sperry, a graduate of Avon Old Farms.
"It feels great. I'm probably in the best sailing shape I've been in for 30 years," said Dane, who's been sailing since he was 10.
But after just three races in the 11-race series, Dane says it's too early to be thinking about medals. The Americans are just 1 point ahead of the No. 2 New Zealand boat, and just 5 points out of sixth place.
The oldest athlete at the Summer Olympics is Japanese equestrian team member Hiroshi Hoketsu, 67.
Softball striking out
Softball's campaign to get voted back onto the Olympic roster appears to be having little impact on the people who matter, with only a handful of the IOC's 110 members attending games.
With the sport due to be dropped from the Olympic program after these Games, the International Softball Federation has been vigorously lobbying IOC members to get the sport reinstated for 2016. A big part of that effort has centered around educating Olympic members about the sport and convincing them to come to Fengtai Field and watch a game.
"We've had about 12 come out, and I've talked to about 40 of them," ISF president Don Porter said. "I see them off and on at the hotel and there will be more coming out. [IOC] president Jacques Rogge is coming out on the 20th and several others have told me they will be coming out. Hopefully there'll be more."
The IOC will vote in October 2009 to decide which sports will be added and dropped for 2016.
Walking into an inquisition
Valeriy Borchin pulled away from veteran Jefferson Perez to win the 20-kilometer walk, then strode into waves of questions about Russia's doping-mired track and field team. Three race walkers tested positive for EPO in out-of-competition tests in Saransk in April, Russian news agency All Sport reported before the Games started; they were former 20k world record-holder Vladimir Kanaikin, Athens Olympics bronze medalist Alexei Voyevodin, and Viktor Burayev.
Kanaikin qualified second behind Sergey Morozov for the Russian team - both going under the world record at the trials in March - but neither competed in Beijing.
Morozov did not start the 20k, despite being listed as the favorite by the IAAF. Borchin, who was suspended for 12 months after testing positive for the stimulant ephedrine in March 2005, said he had no detail about Kanaikin's case or Morozov's absence.
"I did not even know what it was all about," Borchin said through a translator. "For the last month I have been training all alone. I know some of my teammates have fallen ill, and it just happened . . . that they couldn't make it here."
McCutcheon rejoins team
Barbara Bachman, wife of stabbing victim Todd Bachman, left Beijing via air ambulance to return to a hospital in the United States. All three of her daughters have also returned to the States, while son-in-law Hugh McCutcheon, coach of the US men's volleyball team, resumed his duties, as his team beat China to remain undefeated at 4-0. Bachman's husband was stabbed to death last week by a man at the Drum Tower who then killed himself. Bachman herself underwent eight hours of surgery after suffering multiple lacerations and stab wounds. McCutcheon said he was inspired to return when visiting his mother-in-law's hospital bed. "One of the first times I saw her when she was awake in the ICU, she was asking me why I wasn't coaching the team," he said . . . Dana Hussein wasn't sure she would even be allowed to run. The Iraqi sprinter was, however, and set a personal-best mark, finishing her heat of the 100 meters in 12.36 seconds. Hussein and her Iraqi teammates were cleared to compete after a dispute with the IOC was resolved, and they arrived in China late last Monday. Hussein, who didn't advance out of her heat, has been training under hostile conditions: A sniper once took a potshot at her in Baghdad 