Olympics Log

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Olympics Log

Saturday, September 23, 2000

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

NBC will broadcast the U.S. men vs. New Zealand in basketball today. Finals in track and field and swimming will be the focus tonight.

NEWS & NOTES

Olympic Stadium has some unexpected -- and very annoying -- visitors: giant moths.

Thousands of bogong moths, migrating from dry areas of Queensland to the cool Snowy Mountains, have detoured to Sydney and been drawn to the lights at the 110,000-seat stadium.

"Moths will flock to such a light, and at this time of year you're just asking for it," entomologist Sharon Cory told The Australian newspaper.

The moths, with a wingspan about the size of a sparrow's, have swarmed around the towering floodlights and have swooped down to the track, getting into the faces of some of the athletes. Scientists say the moths are harmless.

The IOC is helping police track down an Ugandan athlete who allegedly assaulted a 17-year-old woman. Police said he might have fled Sydney.

Police said Friday they have issued a warrant for the athlete's arrest. The alleged assault occurred in the early hours of Wednesday at a western Sydney suburb adjoining the main Olympic site.

Bitter memories of the Atlanta Games have spurred the world record-holder in the mile and the 1,500 meters to train "like a soldier" for the Sydney Olympics.

In the 1,500-meter final four years ago, Moroccan Hicham el Guerrouj clipped the heels of eventual gold medalist Noureddine Morceli and wound up in a heap on the track. He finished last.

"Atlanta was a big shock to me," he said through a translator yesterday.

El Guerrouj, 26, said he has conditioned himself "like a soldier" leading to his chance at redemption and is ready "to fight for the title and to have every young person remember my name."

The 1,500-meter final is Friday.

The Norwegian Olympic Committee says tests support weightlifter Stian Grimseth's claim that he unwittingly ingested nandrolone in a food supplement he began using in August. He is still barred from the Sydney Games. Grimseth has said he checked with Norwegian team doctors and read them the ingredients list, which show no banned substances, before trying the product.

A test of the product, called Ribose, at the doping laboratory in Cologne, Germany, showed it contained two substances -- nandrostenedion and norandrostenediol -- that break down into nandrolone in the human body but were not listed on the contents.

"This means that Stian is not a cheater," said Bjoerge Stensboel, a leading official of the Norwegian sports program Olympiatoppen, in Sydney.

The positive test still will be reported to the Norwegian Sports Federation's doping panel, and that result will be sent to the International Weightlifting Federation.

THE FINISH LINE

The father of Dutch gold medalist Pieter van den Hoogenband criticized U.S. swimming coaches for saying the sport is not drug-free.

Cees-Rijn van den Hoogenband, a doctor with the Dutch swim team, told ABC radio in Australia that jealousy about the success of other countries motivated the allegations.

"This is jealousy, nothing else, because they can't swim, they can't win. That's the problem," he said.

Richard Quick, the U.S. women's coach, said drugs are still prevalent in the sport and called for the International Olympic Committee to conduct more extensive testing.

The Americans were far ahead in the swimming medals race, but two of the biggest stars in the pool are from the Netherlands. Besides "Hoogie," Inge de Bruijn already captured golds in the 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly and was favored in the 50 freestyle.