Athlete stripped of gold medal

Veteran Surinam athlete Letitia Vriesde was today stripped of her 800 metres Pan American Games gold medal after she failed a drugs test.
[foxsports.news.com.au]

David Beckham may have yet to pull on the famous white shirt in a competitive match, but after four friendlies on his new club's Asian tour he is already seen as a fixture in Real Madrid's star-studded side.
[foxsports.news.com.au]

Australia's Commonwealth Games shot put champion Justin Anlezark is just centimetres off medal contention at the Paris world championships.
[foxsports.news.com.au]

With four races to go, Michael Schumacher's six-point advantage looks shaky.
[guardian.co.uk]

Victoria and David timed their exit to perfection, jumping into first-class just as his Real Madrid transfer had been confirmed in the press, adding to the hype of their tour.
[timesonline.co.uk]

The 23-year-old Englishman told The Sun newspaper that he's 'lucky to have' girlfriend Louise, who is vying for victory in the Fame Academy TV show.
[homeoff1.com]

Heat and humidity was not the only thing the Indian hockey team had to bear with during their camp in Lucknow.
[timesofindia.indiatimes.com]

The nadir came too quickly after the zenith for long jumper Anju George. Last Tuesday, she joined 'Payyoli Express' P T Usha as the second Indian athlete to win medals at the International Amateur Athletic Federation-organised meets with a silver at the DN Galan Super Grand Prix at Stockholm.
[timesofindia.indiatimes.com]

Zakir Khan comes from a family whose monthly earning could be a middle class family's restaurant expenditure for a day. The family of five survives on a sum of Rs 1,050 a month and Zakir's father Azad Khan, a labourer, has no other option but to work in the fields in Johri village.
[hindustantimes.com]

Anti-smoking groups said 72-year-old F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone's decision late last week to axe the Montreal event for 2004 reeked of 'extortion.'
[homeoff1.com]

Former F1 ace Luciano Burti reckons 'some changes' will occur in the driver line-ups of the top teams in the series next year.
[homeoff1.com]

Formula One legend Sir Jackie Stewart has once again called on the Government to intervene and help secure the future of the British Grand Prix.
[msn.skysports.com]

It seems the biggest story in world football this summer was hardly noticed by Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson.
[hindustantimes.com]

Peter Reid is threatening to wield the axe at struggling Leeds before the season has even started.
[msn.skysports.com]

Dennis Bergkamp revealed today that he would have quit football if he had been unable to agree a new deal with Arsenal.
[thisislondon.co.uk]

Lennox Lewis remains undecided on whether to retire, but has confirmed he will not fight again this year.
[independent.co.uk]

French centre back Marcel Desailly has signed a one-year extension to his Chelsea contract that will keep him at the club until June 2005.
[hindustantimes.com]

The Rajiv Khel Ratna awardee and former world billards champion Geet Sethi blamed the Arjuna Award committee for the current controversy surrounding the nominations. "The committee has not only exceeded its brief but also seems to lacking objectivity," he said.
[indianexpress.com]

Her mind was racing. Her cellphone was ringing. And in 95-degree heat, Kim Clijsters had goosebumps.
[ctnow.com]

The football world yesterday paid tribute to the brief but glittering career of a Midland soccer star whose death in a car accident at the age of 21 marred the opening day of the new season.
[icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk]

Francis Jeffers last night apologised for the moment of madness in the sweltering heat of Cardiff which landed him with the 50th red card of Arsene Wenger's reign.
[mirror.co.uk]

India's K Kalyani won three gold medals in the Asian Junior Weightlifting Championship being held in Bali, Indonesia.
[ndtv.com]

It's not even mid-August, F1 has only just begun it's (now) traditional three week vacation and yet Ferrari's Michael Schumacher is already drawing up his Christmas 'wants' list.
[pitpass.com]

Britain's selectors are hoping to be told today that Paula Radcliffe will compete at the world championships next week after putting injury and illness problems behind her.
[guardian.co.uk]

Jonathan Edwards has not yet said anything definite about his athletics future but, after watching him taken away from the Crystal Palace arena on a stretcher on Friday night, I could not help wondering if we might have seen the last of this great athlete.
[guardian.co.uk]

David Beckham will return to Spain today having won the full respect of his megastar team-mates.
[thesun.co.uk]

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is refusing to read too much into Sunday's Community Shield triumph over Arsenal.
[nationwide.co.uk]

Jonathan Edwards and Paula Radcliffe face D-day in their battle to be fit for the World Championships.
[thesun.co.uk]

Ken Bates, still chairman of Chelsea, and Roman Abramovich, the Russian billionaire who now owns them, have been making cautionary noises; don't expect success too soon, despite the endless influx of stars to Stamford Bridge.
[thisislondon.co.uk]

Marks out of 10 for the Manchester United and Arsenal players following the Community Shield.
[bbc.co.uk]

Still insisting that he never called Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells a "homo", New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey apologized on the weekend.
[365gay.com]

Roman Abramovich's £60 million investment in Chelsea has failed to impress television bosses. They are spurning Chelsea's Champions League qualifier against MSK Zilina in Slovakia on Wednesday despite the considerable interest in the expensively assembled team.
[guardian.co.uk]

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