Olympic stories in brief
Powell will be 'weak' for final
ATHLETICS:Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell believes drug testing has taken so much of his blood at the Games that it could hamper his 100-metre final run.
Former world record-holder Powell, who could be checked again today, said the tests on himself and his team-mates at the Games had gone too far.
"They've tested me four times here; they're taking so much blood I'll be weak for the final," Powell said.
Powell says Jamaican compatriot Usain Bolt and American world champion Tyson Gay will not run him down if he takes the lead in the final.
"A lot of people are saying Usain and Tyson are very strong finishers, but if I get out in front of them no matter how they are finishing, they won't even close on me," Powell said yesterday.
Competition in the 100 metres begins on Friday with the final on Saturday.
Opening ceremony was pre-recorded
OPENING CEREMONY:Parts of the acclaimed opening ceremony last Friday were pre-recorded, including some of its spectacular fireworks, Olympics organisers have admitted.
The ceremony won rave reviews around the world for its use of fireworks and a series of perfectly choreographed sequences, watched by an estimated one billion people.
Some of the fireworks, though, did not actually go off that night.
"Some footage had been produced before the opening ceremony to provide theatrical effect," Beijing Games executive vice-president Wang Wei said yesterday.
Among the sections that were pre-produced were parts of a stunning fireworks display across the city, a series of fireworks "footprints" that led to the Bird's Nest Stadium where the four-hour extravaganza was staged.
A night-time aerial shot traced the consecutive explosions on the ground as they approached the stadium.
"There were footprints of fireworks," Wang said.
1998 world relay record is thrown out
ATHLETICS:The IAAF have removed the 4x400 metres men's world relay record after one of the sprinters, Antonio Pettigrew, admitted to doping in May.
Americans Jerome Young, Pettigrew, Tyree Washington and Michael Johnson ran the world record of two minutes 54.20 seconds to win at the now-defunct Goodwill Games in Uniondale, New York, on July 22nd, 1998.
The IAAF said the new official 4x400 metres relay record would go to another US team, achieved on August 22nd, 1993, during the World Championships in Stuttgart with a time of 2:54.29.
The four runners were Andrew Valmon, Quincy Watts, Butch Reynolds and Johnson.
"The IAAF will continue to fight doping with total determination, whether it is by educational measures, improved testing methods or tougher rules and sanctions," IAAF president Lamine Diack said yesterday.
Japan's Noguchi out of marathon
ATHLETICS:Women's Olympic marathon champion Mizuki Noguchi of Japan has withdrawn due to injury, Japan's Olympic delegation chief said on Tuesday.
Japan's Kyodo news agency had reported that the 30-year-old had undergone a second MRI scan after cutting short her altitude training in Switzerland, citing muscle soreness.
"Noguchi has injured muscles in her left thigh," said Tomiaki Fukuda, citing a report from the Japan Association of Athletics Federations that the runner would not be able to compete. "We decided to respect the decision by the association taking into account that the recovery of her injury is not going well," Fukuda said.
Japan will not send a replacement, as her substitute is also undergoing treatment for injury, he added.
The withdrawal is a huge blow to Japan, where marathon running is popular and draws enormous crowds. The country has won the last two women's Olympic marathons.
Nadal crushes Hewitt
TENNIS:Rafael Nadal crushed former world number one Lleyton Hewitt 6-1 6-2 yesterday, before Roger Federer gave El Salvador's Rafael Arevalo a lesson he will never forget.
Dogged Australian Hewitt tried everything he knew to contain Spanish powerhouse Nadal but he proved no match for the 22-year-old who is looking to add Olympic gold to the French Open and Wimbledon crowns he has won this year.
While Nadal faced a familiar foe, Federer had probably never heard of Arevalo. The Swiss duly won 6-2 6-4 but Arevalo played a full part in an entertaining tussle.
Nicolas Massu's hopes of emulating his Athens gold ended when he wilted against Argentine David Nalbandian, losing 7-6 6-1.
Nikolay Davydenko became the highest-ranked men's casualty so far when he fell to 7-5 6-3 to Paul-Henri Mathieu. Novak Djokovic of Serbia made no mistake when he saw off Germany's Rainer Schuettler 6-4 6-2.
Woeful Warren
BOXING:American world flyweight champion Rau'shee Warren left the Olympic's in tears after losing his first bout to South Korean Lee Oksung by one point, 9-8, yesterday.
With 30 seconds to go, Warren trailed by a single point but surprisingly started dancing away from his opponent as if he was in the lead. "We were screaming at him to punch but I think he heard someone in the stands yelling 'Move', said American coach Dan Campbell.
