OLYMPICS NEWS

Monday, August 4, 2008
Olympics EXTRA
Olympic runners face heat, pollution
Conditions could be oppressive, especially for asthma sufferers.
John Niyo / The Detroit News

Everyone else was dressed appropriately for the weather: T-shirts, tank tops, a few men even went shirtless.

But as a crowd of two dozen or so gathered for a Thursday night workout at the Hanson's Running Shop in Royal Oak, one runner stood out: Brian Sell, the Olympic marathoner, was wearing a long-sleeved shirt. And he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt layered on top of that, despite early-evening temperatures still hovering in the upper-70s.

Fewer than 45 minutes later, after a finishing an eight-mile run, Sell explained he only wears "the heavy stuff" for "easy runs."

Of course, that's easy for him to say: Sell, 30, the poster boy for the Rochester Hills-based Hansons-Brooks Distance Project, logs 160-170 miles during peak training weeks, so for him a 5:30-mile pace is no sweat.

This week, though, easy won't apply.

Sell and his coach, Kevin Hanson, are in Orlando, Fla., enduring the 90-degree heat and oppressive central Florida humidity. Acclimatization, it's called. And it's all in a day's work for many athletes preparing for the Beijing Olympics, beginning this week in China's sweltering and often smog-choked capital city.

"The training in Florida, that's more or less a way for us to figure out what's realistic," Hanson said. "It just gives us and idea of how brutal the conditions are going to be and how it'll affect Brian."

Clean-up operation

Olympic organizers can't do much about the heat, though the sauna-like conditions might let up a bit this week. High temperatures that reached the mid-90s last week are expected to be in the upper-80s as most of the 10,500 athletes arrive in advance of Friday's Opening Ceremonies.

But the Chinese government has enacted emergency procedures to tackle the well-publicized pollution problem in Beijing, where the air quality last week reached levels deemed dangerous by the World Health Organization. Most days, it's a rather noxious combination of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and dust that shrouds this city of 17.4 million.

And that's one reason why the U.S. delegation is among those bringing a supply of breathing masks for athletes to wear outside their competitions if they choose.

"We're pretty prepared for whatever the situation is," said Mark Schubert, coach for the U.S. swim team. "It's just something we need to keep an eye on. And certainly the swimmers that are asthmatic, they will be talked to by our team physicians and if they show any symptoms we'll deal with it. And if the pollution level is high they'll probably have a mask and be using it."

Rain showers and light wind helped alleviate some of the Beijing smog this weekend. So did the mass shutdown of factories, halting of construction projects and removal of more than half of the city's 3.3 million cars from the roadways.

Still, there's enough concern about the pollution that even the International Olympic Committee admits it could be problematic for athletes competing in outdoor endurance sports, including cycling, triathlon and the marathon.

Months ago, the world record-holder in the marathon, Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie, announced he's skipping the event because of health concerns as an asthma sufferer.

"The heat's going to affect the actual race more than the pollution," Sell said. "But my biggest fear is the pollution affecting people afterward. They've said just spending a day in Beijing is like smoking 17 cigarettes or something like that. So I just wonder what running a marathon in that's gonna do to us afterward. I just hope we're going to be able to breathe when we're done."

Simulated training

Sell's race isn't until Aug. 24 -- the last day of the Olympics -- and he won't arrive in China until Aug 12. Even when he does, he'll bypass Beijing and join the rest of the U.S. marathon team for a week at a training base in Dalian, a resort town some 300 miles east of Beijing.

Assuming, that is, that Olympic organizers don't move up the date of the marathon because of the weather or air quality.

Liu Wenbin, deputy director of the Beijing Organizing Committee's Sports Department, told reporters on Friday that there was an unspecified contingency plan ready if needed. One possibility would be to run the men's marathon on the same day as the women's race, scheduled for Aug. 17.

In the meantime, one of Sell's U.S. teammates in the marathon, Rockford native Dathan Ritzenhein, actually took his training indoors last week in Eugene, Ore. Attempting to simulate the heat and humidity that awaits in Beijing, Ritzenhein utilized a "climate room" at the University of Oregon. The high-tech environmental lab run by the school's human physiology department is affectionately dubbed the "torture chamber."

"We've had to get a little creative," Ritzenhein said. "They can simulate the exact same conditions that will be in Beijing, right down to the sunlight direction."

And for Ritzenhein, the room was set to simulate 77-degree temperatures with 80 percent humidity -- for a marathon that'll start at 7:30 a.m. local time in Beijing.

You can reach John Niyo at john.niyo@detnews.com

Saturday, August 2, 2008
IOC strips gold from 2000 US relay team
Stephen Wilson / Associated Press

BEIJING -- The International Olympic Committee stripped gold medals Saturday from the U.S. men's 1,600-meter relay team that competed at the 2000 Olympics in the aftermath of Antonio Pettigrew's admission that he was doping at the time.

The IOC executive board disqualified the entire team, the fourth gold and sixth overall medal stripped from that U.S. track contingent in the past eight months for doping.

Three gold and two bronze were previously removed after Marion Jones confessed to using performance-enhancing drugs.

Saturday's decision was almost a formality after Pettigrew gave up his gold medal in June. During a trial involving former track coach Trevor Graham, he admitted in May that he used EPO and human growth hormone from 1997 to 2003.

Five of Pettigrew's teammates also lose their medals: Michael Johnson and twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison ran in the final; Jerome Young and Angelo Taylor ran in the preliminaries.

It was Johnson's fifth gold medal of his stellar career. He has already said he was giving it back because he felt "cheated, betrayed and let down" by Pettigrew's testimony. Johnson still holds world records in the 200 and 400 meters.

Three of the four runners from the relay final have been tainted by drugs.

Alvin Harrison accepted a four-year ban in 2004 after admitting he used performance-enhancers. Calvin Harrison tested positive for a banned stimulant in 2003 and was suspended for two years. Young was banned for life for doping violations.

"We support the action taken today by the IOC," USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel said. "Athletes who make the unacceptable choice to cheat should recognize that there will be consequences. Those consequences can be severe including the loss of medals and results. We're in full support of this action. In other matters like this in the past we've worked with the IOC to make certain medals will be returned, and we'll do so again."

The IOC also disqualified Pettigrew from his seventh-place finish in the individual 400 meters in Sydney. And the committee banned him from attending the upcoming Beijing Games "in any capacity," including as a competitor, coach or technical official. Pettigrew has retired from competition, and the U.S. Olympic Committee said there were no plans for him to be in Beijing.

The IOC had previously tried to strip the relay team after it became known that Young tested positive before the Sydney Games. But a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport said the entire team should not be disqualified, and Pettigrew and the others were allowed to keep their medals.

Saturday's move came four months after the IOC stripped the gold from the U.S. women's 1,600-meter relay team and bronze from the women's 400-meter relay squad because of doping by Jones. She admitted last year that she used drugs at the time and returned her five medals, including gold in the 100 meters and 200 meters and bronze in the long jump.

The IOC has put off any decision on reallocating the U.S. medals until later this year when it takes into account all the files from the BALCO investigation in the United States.

No time frame for a decision on medal redistribution has been set, although an eight-year statute of limitations expires on Oct. 1.

Nigeria finished second in the men's 1,600-meter relay, with Jamaica third and the Bahamas fourth.

"That's such a shame, especially for the ones who were clean, and it's most important for the athletes who were second," Sanya Richards, who won gold on the 1,600-meter women's relay in 2004, said from training camp in Dalian. "You lose that opportunity to stand on top of the podium and feel the joy of winning the race. Those are the people who hurt the worst when there are cheaters ahead of them. Giving back the medals is just a technicality because you can't repair the hurt feelings and the hard work that went into it."

The IOC is reluctant to hand Jones' 100 gold to silver medalist Katerina Thanou, a Greek sprinter at the center of a doping scandal at the 2004 Athens Games. She and fellow Greek runner Kostas Kenteris missed drug tests on the eve of the opening ceremony and claimed they were injured in a motorcycle accident. They were forced to pull out of the games and were later suspended for two years.

An IOC disciplinary panel will meet next Thursday to consider whether Thanou can run at the Beijing Games. The 33-year-old sprinter qualified for the Greek team in the 100, but the IOC is reviewing her eligibility.

Thanou's lawyer has threatened legal action if she is barred from the games.

Saturday, August 2, 2008
IOC being grilled on Internet censorship
Stephen Wade / Associated Press

BEIJING -- IOC president Jacques Rogge was accused of backtracking on promises of press freedoms Saturday and some Internet sites remained blocked less than a week before the Beijing Games begin.

Under pressure from the International Olympic Committee, Chinese organizers unblocked some sites at the main press center and venues, but others remained censored for journalists covering the Summer Games.

"Let me be very clear on this," said Rogge, speaking publicly for the first time since arriving in Beijing on Thursday. "We require that different media have the fullest access possible to report on the Olympic Games. And I'm adamant in saying there has been no deal whatsoever to accept restrictions. Our requirements are the same from host city to host city and remain unchanged since the IOC entered into a host city contract with Beijing in 2001."

Chinese officials and high-ranking IOC members have repeatedly said there would be no censorship on the Internet for accredited journalists covering the games -- even though Chinese authorities regularly block sites used by its citizens.

"I'm not going to make an apology for something that the IOC is not responsible for," Rogge said "We are not running the Internet in China. The Chinese authorities are running the Internet."

During an IOC news conference earlier Saturday, Rogge was quoted as saying "foreign media will be able to report freely and publish their work freely in China. There will be no censorship on the Internet."

IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies suggested that Rogge, who is Belgian, may not have been precise when he spoke of "no censorship" because he was speaking in English, not his native tongue.

"There's been no change in the IOC's position," she said. "Again, I think we are trying to hang on every single word often spoken by people whose mother tongue isn't English. Let me be clear again: The IOC would like to see open access for the media to be able to do their job."

In 2001, when China won the right to host the games, Wang Wei, the organizing committee's executive vice president, was widely quoted as saying, "We will give the media complete freedom to report when they come to China."

A check by The Associated Press on Saturday showed many sites the Chinese government dislikes -- for example, the spiritual movement Falun Gong -- were blocked. The sites being blocked seem to change daily, although certain key words always draw blank screens. Sites that host thousands of blogs are also routinely blocked.

Typing in "Tiananmen Square Massacre" yielded a site, but all the photographs on the site were blocked.

Kevan Gosper, head of the IOC's press commission, has acknowledged that full access may not be possible with the games being held in a "communist society."

"I guess there will be some debate as we move toward the games if there are sites that may or may not be open," Gosper said. "And the line between what could be considered as a national-interest issue might be a bit blurred. But we'll work on it and we will deal with any potential grievances."

Meantime, some TV officials have complained about limited live access to Tiananmen Square, red-tape rules that hinder the movement of cameras and reporters and the critical allocation of broadcast frequencies.

"We are continuing to work to have the organizers deliver what has been pledged, what has been outlined," Davies said. "And they have also assured us of this."

Why should the whole relay team suffer because one idiot is a drug addict?

08/07/2008 10:00 AM ET
There's a Bay playing ball in Olympics
Sister of Red Sox outfielder set to pitch for Canada
By Mark Newman / MLB.com

BEIJING -- At the same time that several representatives from the U.S. baseball team were meeting the world press in Conference Room 3 at the Main Press Center on Thursday, the pitcher with the biggest baseball name at these Summer Olympics was right next door in Room 4, speaking as part of the Canada Olympic Committee contingent.

Her name is Lauren Bay Regula, pitcher for Canada's women's softball team and sister of new Red Sox outfielder Jason Bay.While Jennie Finch of the U.S. team has been commanding most of the pre-Games attention over softball, it's probably a good idea to get to know this left-hander.

"I've been to MLB.com 75 times in the last few days. I've been Googling Jason every morning. I told him, 'I've been stalking you,'" Bay Regula said with a laugh outside the interview room, as Canada's media members focused their attention mainly on a team physiotherapist who was talking about air pollution. "I was stressed out the last week, I'll be honest. Obviously his name had been up in the air a ton.

"The Rays were in there for a while, and we were prepared for anything to happen. Then all of a sudden the Dodgers came in, he goes to Boston, and I couldn't be happier for him. Now I'm having to change my Pittsburgh Pirates wardrobe, though."

Bay Regula, from Trail, British Columbia, was wearing the red colors of her homeland as she spoke. Her focus first and foremost has been on the opener Tuesday morning against Chinese-Taipei, starting the preliminary round.

Maybe in a perfect world her brother would have been here with her, representing Canada in the baseball competition, but it's not a perfect world for Olympic baseball because Major Leaguers have to be Major Leaguers at this time of year.

So Bay Regula does her best from within the Olympic Athletes Village to follow her brother as he and his new Boston teammates play the White Sox on the road.

"That's their Olympics," she said. "That's what every baseball player aspires to be. It's all about being in the Major Leagues and winning a World Series. Just like every softball player aspires to be in the Olympics and winning a gold medal."

Another odd coincidence about her appearance simultaneous with and next door to the U.S. team was the fact that both baseball and softball are playing with the knowledge that the sports will not be included in the 2012 Olympics in London. Just as USA Baseball general manager Bob Watson was explaining why he believes baseball will be reinstated for 2016, Bay Regula expressed hopes that softball's absence will be only a hiatus. She said it is not only a matter of representing her country, but fighting for her sport.

"I do -- I feel for softball anyway, because I know the most about that," she said. "We're going to go out there and the softball portion of the Games are going to be outstanding. They'll be the thrilling games you're used to in softball. That will be a platform to show how great the sport is. There are tons of athletes trying to make sure softball and baseball come right back."

Bay Regula, who holds a bounty of records from a great career at Oklahoma State, has been in this situation once before as a pitcher in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Her country failed to reach the medal round that time, but now she is here as the ace, looked up to by younger players, and she comes to Beijing with a pretty strong pedigree.

Besides that Red Sox outfielder in the family, there was her great uncle, Gerry Moro, who competed in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and again in Munich 1972 as a decathlete. It is generally considered the most quintessentially athletic events of them all. Her husband, Chicago-based commodities trader David Regula, was a place kicker for the Ivy League's Dartmouth College, graduating as the second-leading scorer in school history.

Bay, of course, was part of that blockbuster deal announced just after the July 31 Trade Deadline. He went from Pittsburgh to Boston, Manny Ramirez went from Boston to the Dodgers, and the Pirates landed four prospects. So now the question is, what does Jason think of the Canadian lefty at the Games?

"It's always an honor to represent your country in any event, but doing so in the Olympics is above and beyond," said Bay, who represented Canada at the 1990 Little League World Series, the 1996 Junior Olympic Team and, most recently, the 2006 World Baseball Classic. "I'm sure Lauren will do a great job. Our entire family is looking forward to watching her."

For Bay Regula, interest in softball began when she would sit in the stands and watch brother Jason play in Little League. He is the big brother. She turns 27 on Saturday, and that will be the day after the Opening Ceremonies, when she will enter with Canada's force of athletes and catch the attention of many TV viewers who are entirely familiar with the other ballplayer in the family.

She can't wait for Tuesday, for the prelims of a tournament that very well could bring her a medal. That is something she can partially control, a rare powerhouse lefty in this kind of competition. One thing she can't control is how her brother will fare in his new settings, filling some pretty big shoes, but she said so far, so good.

"He's great. He said the guys have been unbelievable to him there," she said. "Jason is a chameleon. He adapts to any surrounding. At first I was worried and I tried to protect him, but I know he's going to be just fine."

Mark Newman is enterprise editor of MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.