After being alerted to the latest allegations, the IOC called an emergency meeting of its executive board and said it would investigate.
The committee will also consider a complete shake-up of how Olympic tickets are distributed among member countries.
A spokesman said: “On being informed of the allegations, the IOC immediately convened an extraordinary meeting of its executive board and determined a number of actions - the convening of the ethics commission and asking for any evidence of wrongdoing to be provided to the Commission without delay.
“The IOC takes these allegations very seriously and has immediately taken the first steps to investigate. Should any irregularities be proven, the organisation will deal with those involved in an appropriate manner. The NOCs are autonomous organisations, but if any of the cases are confirmed the IOC will not hesitate to impose the strongest sanctions.
“The IOC has also determined that it will take on board any recommendations coming out of the inquiry to improve the way that tickets are allocated and sold internationally in the future.”
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
As M&S becomes latest supermarket to offer 'quality' budget lines one mother shows how you can save £750 a year without tasting the difference - Daily Mail
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Its food is a byword for quality — at a price. But now M&S has launched a range of ‘basic’ products at knock-down prices. In the past year, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons and Tesco have also updated their cut-price value ranges, so how does the new Simply M&S selection compare? Mother-of-three AMANDA CABLE finds out...
BAKED BEANS
SIMPLY M&S Baked beans in rich tomato sauce
Simply M&S, 40p for 410g
Verdict: Sweet and almost identical to market leader Heinz, which cost 69p for 415g, a saving of almost 29p a tin – which in our household is 87p a week, or 48.72 a year. Simply M&S contained far more juice than the rival Essential Waitrose. Score: 7/10
We also tried: Morrisons M Savers (28p per tin), Asda Smart Price (26p per 410g), Essential Waitrose (41p per 400g), Sainsbury’s Basics Beans in Tomato sauce (26p for 420g), The Co-operative Simply Value (30p for 410g), Tesco Everyday Value Baked Beans (26p for 420g).
Overall winner: Morrisons M Savers. Thick, tasty beans for just 28p a tin – a saving for my family of 68.88 a year. In our own ‘blind’ taste test, my bean-loving children preferred these to Heinz and M&S.
Avoid: Asda Smartprice Baked Beans — mushy, with too much sauce and not enough flavour.
SIMPLY M&S Sliced white bread
SLICED WHITE BREAD
Simply M&S, 69p for 800g
Verdict: What a winner. It has a fresh smell, a soft texture and is incredibly tasty. Market leader Hovis costs 1.25 for a loaf the same size, so this switch represents a saving of 56p a time, which is a whopping 53.76 a year for my family. A good switch, especially because all the other budget alternatives tasted of plastic. 10/10
We also tried: Asda Smart Price sliced white bread (47p for 800g), Essential Waitrose (69p for 800g), The Co-operative (59p for 800g), Morrisons M Savers (47p for 800g), Tesco Everyday Value sliced white bread (47p for 800g).
Overall winner: Simply M&S. The only budget bread worth buying.
Avoid: All the other budget breads, but particularly offerings from Asda Smart Price and The Co-operative, which were dry, thin, tasteless and curled when toasted.
SIMPLY M&S 8 Pork Sausages
PORK SAUSAGES
Simply M&S, 1.19 for 454g
Verdict: The pork content is just 60 per cent — hence the budget price — and the taste was average. I normally buy Debbie & Andrew’s Harrogate Pork Sausages at 2.39 for 400g. Switching to Simply M&S would save me 1.20 a go — or 67 a year. But my children preferred other budget sausages which cost even less. 5/10
We also tried: Morissons M Savers Pork Sausages (56p for 8), Essential Waitrose (1.27 for 8), Asda Smart Price (84p for 12), Tesco Everyday Value (56p for 8).
Overall winner: Asda Smart Price. We cooked these alongside our Essential Waitrose sausages and couldn’t tell the difference. Golden, crisp skin and tasty pork inside. Morrisons M Savers were also delicious.
Avoid: Sainsbury’s Basics — lacked any real flavour.
SIMPLY M&S Orange juice
ORANGE JUICE
Simply M&S, 1.20 for 1litre
Verdict: Superb taste, which equalled market leader Tropicana (2.28 for 1litre). So by switching to Simply M&S, I will save a hefty 1.08 a carton, and 12.96 a month. But when we tried other budget juices, we found we could make even bigger savings, without compromising on taste. 8/10
We also tried: Morissons M Savers Orange juice (56p for 1L), Essential Waitrose (1.20 for 1L), Asda Smart Price (56p for 1L), The Co-operative Simply Value (1.69 for 2L), Tesco Everyday Value (56p for 1L).
Overall winner: The Co-operative. Smooth, great value and the children didn’t notice the difference between it and brand leader Tropicana.
Avoid: Asda Smart Price — drink too much and it tastes like wallpaper stripper.
WAFER THIN HAM
SIMPLY M&S British wafer thin ham
Simply M&S Wafer Thin Ham, 1 for 120g
Verdict: Top marks for this fresh, wafer-thin ham, with no fat. Nothing cut-price here, and it would save me more than 200 a year. M&S has knocked 9p off the price since re-launching it within the Simply Range. 10/10
We also tried: Essential Waitrose – runner up (2.39 for 2x90g), Morrisons M Savers cooked ham (1.65 for 400g), The Co-operative (1.73 for 400g) Tesco Everyday Value (61p for 125g) Sainsbury’s Basics (1.65 for 400g). Asda Smart Price cooked ham (61p for 125g).
Overall winner: Simply M&S. Not only delicious, but stayed fresh for longer. Essential Waitrose was equally tasty but dried up faster.
Avoid: Morrisons M Savers ham — grey-coloured, watery and processed. One mouthful was enough, and even our dogs turned up their noses!
BEEF MINCE
SIMPLY M&S lean Minced Beef
Simply M&S, 2.70 for 500g
Verdict: Superb. A dark colour with little fat and an annual saving of 36.40. We found the budget rivals were high in fat and salt and looked, as my son Charlie put it, ‘like pale, fat worms’. 9/10
We also tried: Morrisons M Savers beef and pork mince (2.49 for 800g), Asda Smart Price (1.56 for 500g), Tesco Everyday Value (1.56 for 500g).
Overall winner: Essential Waitrose (2.09 for 250g). Low in fat and salt, and a rich, deep colour. Simply M&S came a close second — showing that when it comes to mince, you get what you pay for.
Avoid: Asda Smart Price — fatty, and tasted metallic when fried.
WEETABIX
Simply M&S Wheat Bisks, 1.49 for 24
Verdict: Market leaders Weetabix cost 2.17 for 24. So this swap is worth 68p a go, or 32.64 a year for my family, and you won’t even notice the difference. Since re-launching their Wheat Bisks in their new Simply range, M&S has shaved 40p off the price per packet — one of its biggest cuts yet. 8/10
We also tried: Sainsbury’s Basics Wholewheat Biscuits (75p for 24) Essential Waitrose (1.49 for 24) Morrisons M Savers (63p for 24) Tesco Everyday Value Wheat Biscuits (63p for 24)
Overall winner: Sainsbury’s Basics. As tasty as the market leaders but at a price which makes sense to every household.
Avoid: Asda Smart Price — small and liable to disintegrate as you take them from the packet.
CHOCOLATE DIGESTIVES
SIMPLY M&S Milk Chocolate Digestive Biscuits
Simply M&S, 86p for 300g
Verdict: Brand leader McVitie’s cost 1.75 for 400g — so the M&S version saves just under 89p a go, or almost 7 a month in our house. Impressively thick layer of chocolate, but it wasn’t the only budget range to triumph. 7/10
We also tried: Sainsbury’s Basics Milk Chocolate Digestives (41p for 300g), Asda Smart Price, (41p for 300g), The Co-Operative Simply Value (48p for 300g) Essential Waitrose (95p for 400g), Tesco Everyday Value (30p for 400g).
Overall winner: Asda Smart Price milk choc digestives. Identical to the delicious M&S biscuits (according to six children — mine and their friends — wearing blindfolds) but far cheaper.
Avoid: Paying extra for any brand name. Every budget biscuit we tried was delicious.
BUTTER
SIMPLY M&S English salted butter
Simply M&S English Salted Butter, 1.39 for 250g
Verdict: Creamy and delicious. A good swap for our usual Lurpak, which costs 1.60 for 250g. Choosing the Simply butter would save 21p a go — or shave 20.16 off my yearly butter bill. 8/10
We also tried: Asda Smart Price Butter (1.19 for 250g), Sainsbury’s Basics Salted Butter (1.19 for 150g), The Co-Operative Simply Value butter (1.25 for 250g), Morrisons M Savers (1.19 for 250g), Essential Waitrose (1.19 for 250g), Tesco Everyday Value (1.19 for 250g).
Overall winner: The Co-operative Simply Value. Smooth, easy to spread but with a delicious salty taste. Just as good as our favourite Lurpak butter, but 35p cheaper.
Avoid: Tesco Everyday Value — a nasty yellow colour and appalling packaging.
SIMPLY M&S Peanut Butter
PEANUT BUTTER
Simply M&S, 1.38 for 340g
Verdict: Smooth, sweet and just as tasty as market leader Sunpat, which costs 1.49 for 340g. At 11p less for the Simply M&S version, this is a saving of 41 a year. 7/10
We also tried: Asda Smart Price (62p for 340g), Sainsbury’s Basics (62p for 340g), Morrisons M Savers (62p for 340g), Essential Waitrose (1.31 for 340g), Tesco Everyday Value Peanut Butter (62p for 340g).
Overall winner: Asda Smart Price. Packed with nuts, and bursting with taste. In our blind taste test, the children rated this higher than M&S.
Avoid: Paying through the nose for brand labels, as all the budget ranges were delicious.
TEA BAGS
SIMPLY M&S Tea Bags 160
Simply M&S 80 Red Label Teabags, 1.31 for 80
Verdict: Strong, bursting with flavour and refreshing. A great alternative to our usual PG Tips, which cost 2.49 for 80, saving me 1.18 a time, or 28.32 a year. But other budgets teas fared well, with M Savers and Waitrose coming a close second. 10/10
We also tried: Asda Smart Price (27p for 80), Morrisons M Savers round tea bags (27p for 80), Essential Waitrose (80p for 80), Tesco Everyday Value Teabags (27p for 80).
Overall winner: Simply M&S for flavour, but M Savers was also a winner for great value with taste.
Avoid: Asda Smart Price — very weak, lacking in flavour and the colour of dishwater.
SIMPLY M&S 4 rolls toilet tissue
TOILET ROLL
Simply M&S Two-Ply toilet tissue, 1.99 for four rolls
Verdict: Disappointing. Felt and looked like a budget product, yet saved only 9p compared with market leader Andrex, though over a year this adds up to 4.32. 3/10
We also tried: Tesco Everyday Value (70p for four rolls), Sainsbury’s Basics (1.96 for six rolls), Essential Waitrose (1.88 for four rolls), Asda Smart Price (70p for four rolls), Morrisons M Savers (1.31 for four rolls).
Overall winner: Essential Waitrose. Soft and such good quality that you won’t be able to tell the difference between this and Andrex.
Avoid: Asda Smart Price — rough texture and hard-to-flush cheap paper. Your bottom deserves better!
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Arkansas four-hits CWS newcomer Kent State in rout - ESPN
2012 NCAA baseball tournament
For complete coverage of the 2012 NCAA baseball tournament, from the first pitch of the regional round to the final pitch at the CWS in Omaha, turn to ESPN.com. College sports home
• Sherman: Arizona bullpen matures
• Sherman: Ready for rematch
• Sherman: Stony Brook wins the town
• Sherman: Let Rosenblatt rest in peace
• DiRocco: UF hoping to break through
• Mitrosilis: Stony Brook no fluke
• Primer: Omaha field is set
• Complete tourney schedule/results
Source: scores.espn.go.com
Kent St. knows survival in CWS will be tough task - San Jose Mercury News
An 8-1 loss to Arkansas on Saturday leaves the Golden Flashes fighting for survival in a bracket that includes two-time defending national champion South Carolina, No. 1 national seed Florida and a Razorbacks team that just beat them.
Kent State coach Scott Stricklin offered a simple message to his players after DJ Baxendale and Brandon Moore combined on a four-hitter against them Saturday.
"Get it out of your mind. Get ready to play on Monday night again in Omaha, Neb.," Stricklin said. "Our kids are thrilled to be here. But that's thing we've got to make sure that we're not just happy to be here. We want to compete and get some wins and make a run at it. It's still possible."
Baxendale didn't allow a hit until Sawyer Polen's infield single with two out in the fifth. He held the Flashes (46-19) scoreless until Jimmy Rider homered in the sixth.
Arkansas (45-20) broke open the game on Matt Vinson's two-run double that made it 5-1 in the bottom of the sixth.
Baxendale (8-5) allowed just three hits, giving way to Moore with one out in the seventh. He struck out five and walked one.
"DJ Baxendale was outstanding," Stricklin said. "He kept us off balance. His fastball was sharp and he throws the breaking ball when he's behind in the count. He really competes."
Kent State starter David Starn
(11-4) walked three of the first four batters he faced and left after Vinson's two-out double in the sixth.Starn threw 24 pitches in the first inning, just eight for strikes, and walked the bases loaded before Brian Anderson's hard liner up the middle knocked off the pitcher's glove and brought home the first run. An inning-ending double play let Starn escape further damage.
"It was basically just a flaw in my mechanics," Starn said. "I wasn't really finishing my pitches. And I was leaving them arm-side, and that's basically what happened with the control issues and everything."
Kent State is the first team from the Mid-American Conference to make it to the CWS since Eastern Michigan in 1976.
Wearing their old-school gray uniforms with high socks, the Flashes struggled early against a Razorbacks team that was last in Omaha in 2009.
Arkansas was up 2-0 by the time the Flashes had their first hit. Rider's homer down the left-field line cut the Hogs' lead to 3-1 in the sixth.
The Flashes looked like they could draw closer in the seventh after Baxendale walked Nick Hamilton to put runners on first and second with one out. Moore came on to get a groundout and flyout to end the threat. Moore worked the last 2 2-3 innings for his third save.
Arkansas made it a four-run game in the bottom of the sixth on Vinson's two-out, two-run double, and Wise drove in two more runs in the eighth with a two-out single off Ryan Mace.
Starn threw 24 pitches in the first inning, just eight for strikes, and walked the bases loaded before Brian Anderson's hard liner up the middle knocked off the pitcher's glove and brought home the first run. An inning-ending double play let Starn escape further damage.
Wise, the No. 9 batter, made it 2-0 in the second when he went deep to left center for his second homer of the season, and first since the second game of the season on Feb. 19. It was the Razorbacks' first homer since May 19, the last day of the regular season.
Baxendale retired 14 of the first 15 batters he faced before Polen ripped a hard grounder up the middle for a base hit. Second baseman Bo Bigham made a great stop, but his throw to first was wide and late.
Source: www.mercurynews.com
Kent’s chief constable honoured by the Queen - Kent News
Chief Constable Ian Learmonth
Saturday, June 16, 2012
10:45 AM
Ian Learmonth among a list of the county’s finest to be recognised in the birthday honour’s list
Kent’s chief constable has received the prestigious Queen’s Police Medal in the birthday honours list.
Ian Learmonth, who joined Kent Police in July 2010, was among a list of the county’s finest to be recognised for their services and work in the county.
The chief constable was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal, which is given to officers for distinguished service.
Mr Learmonth joined Essex Police as a Cadet in 1974, and served with the force in a variety of uniform operational roles until 2005 when he was promoted to Assistant Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police.
In that role he led the major police operation for the G8 summit in 2005, and the policing response to the attack on Glasgow Airport by terrorists in 2007.
He was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable of Norfolk Police in 2007, where he led a major programme to redesign the force to put more officers on the frontline.
In July 2010, he was promoted to Chief Constable of Kent Police. His work with the force has been praised by both the Prime Minister in August 2011 during the disorder that gripped the country, and by the Home Secretary.
Mr Learmonth is the national lead for the police service on public order policing, a role he was given after last summer’s disorder.
He said he was both delighted and humbled to receive the Queen’s Police Medal.
“The success of Kent Police is down to the hard work and deep sense of public service of my officers and staff,” he said.
“I have not worked with a more dedicated team.
“I don’t consider what I do to be special, but I’ve worked with some amazing people over the years and seen the profound impact that effective policing has on people’s lives.”
Deputy Chief Constable Alan Pughsley added: “Ian Learmonth has given 38 years of his life to selflessly serving the community in a variety of difficult and dangerous police roles.
“He is an exemplary police officer who has always put the public first. It is a privilege to serve under his leadership, and this award from the Queen is very richly deserved and brings honour to the force as a whole.”
Director of Turner Contemporary, Victoria Pomery, was honoured with an OBE for services to the arts.
Ms Pomery runs the hugely successful gallery in Margate, which attracted more than half a million visitors in its first year of opening.
Others recognised in the honours list were leading hop grower Tony Redsell, who farms across Kent, who was awarded an OBE for services to the UK’s hop industry; Sally Anne Sweeney Carroll, founder and mentor of Transport for Sick Children, who received an MBE for services to child care; and Professor Christopher John Rudge, formerly national clinical director for transplantation and consultant in renal transplantation, who was honoured with CBE for services to transplantation and organ donation.
Mary Butcher, from Canterbury, and Heather Clemence, from Tonbridge, were both recognised for their talents and services to the community.
Ms Butcher was awarded an MBE for services to basket making after 35 years in the industry.
She said: “When I first saw a letter from the cabinet office, I wondered what I had done. Then I opened it and I couldn’t quite believe it.
“It’s such an honour, not just for me personally, but for the craft too.
“I have taught people in the last 35 years who have become traditional basket makers, and I have taught people to think differently about the basket making process.”
Heather Clemence has volunteered at Sevenoaks’ British Heart Foundation branch for more than 30 years and received a British Empire Medal for her long service.
She said: “I was completely surprised because I had no idea about it at all. I got it through my charity work which my husband and I have been doing since 1978.
“The award of the BEM is a great surprise and honour. I must share it with all those who, over more than 30 years, worked together as fundraisers.
“But most of all I will always remember the friendship we all shared, the happy meetings, the fun which we all had over coffee and biscuits and the pleasure of fundraising events.”
Source: www.kentnews.co.uk
London 2012: LaShawn Merritt aiming to bury tarnished gold at Olympics - The Guardian
LaShawn Merritt could not have known when he bought penis enhancement pills over the counter from a local convenience store in Bradenton, Florida, that his embarrassment would go global. "It was more energy-wise," the American Olympic 400 metres champion says, suppressing a guilty smile when explaining his purchase of a product that contained the banned substance Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and which led to his suspension for 21 months.
"[There] was a condom and right beside it was [ExtenZe]. It was a 'boom boom', went-home-type deal. It was a poor judgment call from me. If I'd looked on the back and saw that the label [said] DHEA, I definitely wouldn't have taken it. I'd never think in a million years that I could buy something from a 7/11 and test positive for track and field."
Nor be asked to explain why he bought it in the first place. "Embarrassment was an initial reaction for a minute," he said, "but, when I thought about it, I'm pretty sure there's more than a couple of men here who've taken it. But I'm a pro athlete so I just forgot that part. When I was picking it up, I wasn't thinking about anything. It was just 'boom boom', to the house."
And now it's "boom boom" to the Olympics and Merritt is back in the big time. He is the first banned gold medallist to defend his title, a dubious distinction that does not sit well with Dai Greene, who says he will make his displeasure known if they meet in London. "If I'm in the relay team and we reach the final then there's every chance we'll be lining up against Merritt," the Welsh hurdler says. "I'll tell you now, I'll happily go and find him at the start and tell him to his face, 'You're a cheat and you shouldn't be here'."
Merritt is cool about that. "I have read [what Greene said] and I put it down and kept on about my business," he says. "I just looked at it as somebody else's opinion – it was, honestly, just nothing."
Was he interested in replying to Greene? "You know what, not really but, if we line up, we'll go at it like anyone else. If we get together in the four by four, I'm gonna do my job and he's going to do his job and USA are gonna bring the gold home. It is a little motivating but I've always been motivated without saying anything to anyone. This is what I love to do. If I didn't say a word all year I'd still be as confident."
You tend to believe him. Merritt has a quiet aura, one derived from natural talent and an admirable work ethic – although there are plenty of people in his sport who side with Greene. "There may be people here who think the same thing," he said at the US Olympic team media summit in Dallas. "People think what they think, but I have nothing to do with it. I have to continue to do what I do and that's work hard and show up."
He certainly showed up at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, two weeks ago when he ran 44.91 seconds to beat a field that included the rising Grenadian Kirani James. The teenager, who beat Merritt on his return to international athletics at the world championships in Daegu last year in 44.60, false-started in the Prefontaine race but ran it anyway – and finished just a stride behind Merritt. Merritt also beat his fellow American Jeremy Wariner, the 2004 Olympic champion, as well as the twice Olympic 400m hurdling gold medallist Angelo Taylor and the Jamaican Chris Brown.
Wariner and Merritt will meet in the final US trials, starting on Friday. "He's a threat every time he steps on the track," Merritt says. "You respect your co-workers because you know how hard it is. But we're fighting for the same position."
It would, nonetheless, be a major shock if Merritt does not make it to London – although he wishes there was one other member of his family there to see him run. His older brother, Antwan, died in mysterious circumstances at college 13 years ago, and LaShawn to this day is not satisfied that justice has been done. "He never got the chance to see me run track," he says. "I'm here and able to do something and I have to maximise my potential. He was a musician who wanted to be an architect and he passed away at his first semester at college. He never even got a chance to start his dream.
"He went to Shaw University in North Carolina. Evidently he got into an altercation with a guy on a basketball court and the guy was part of this off-campus fraternity. That same night, the guy's frat brothers ended up coming to his dorm room, which was on the ninth floor, and he ended up out of the window. It was three big guys. He'd just turned 18 and was smaller than what I am now.
"He died a little bit later but the guys shouldn't even have got through security. There was a camera pointing right [at] the window but it wasn't working. Whoever thought that could happen? They were charged [with manslaughter] but there was some law which meant they couldn't prove that they [were responsible for his death]. One got a little bit of time and others got community service, so I don't think justice was served.
"It gave my life perspective. I learned when terrible things like that happen you just have to keep moving forward, because nothing else is going to stop. The more you sit there in your misery, it's not going to help. If I sit here and do nothing, then I'm only hurting myself. So I kept training. That's what I did during the drug stuff. I went back to school. I didn't finish my degree but I'm majoring in business management. I talked to a couple of local schools on how things in life may happen."
When Merritt failed his drugs test, he became a non-athlete. He always thought he would be reinstated but says it was tough to stay focused on a sport that had rejected him. "For two years I didn't get any money. With the help of some friends, I could pay my bills but not much more than that."
And, if his accountant had something to do with looking after his finances, it was his dead brother who provided the underlying motivation to return to athletics. "I think about my brother before every race because he never got the chance to see me run. He saw me play baseball, basketball and football when I was young but never at track. So I'm doing this for the both of us.
"Me and my brother were really close. He was five years older than me, and I was hanging with him and his friends some time. When I was a youngster he would tell all his friends that I was fast and I would race older guys in the street. He would come to all of my sports events and be the big brother, supporting me. He would give me money; he'd say if I hit two home runs, he'd give me 20 dollars, or whatever. He definitely played a big part when I was growing up.
"He was always a hard worker and I can remember him being in the house at high school, writing music for the whole band. He was a guy who had this talent for music. Even before I step on the track, I say a prayer which he's in and it just gives me strength. I know he's watching over me. I kiss my two fingers, I raise them as high as I can and then, after that, it's time to do what I was blessed to do. If he was here he would have loved to see me do it."
If Merritt does not keep his title, if James rediscovers that extra stride to beat him again – he maintains: "I really feel I beat myself in that race" – he might turn to American football as a second sporting career, having flirted with the option during his enforced exile, as a wide receiver. "It's still a possibility," he says. "It was serious in my mind. I was thinking I have to do something and I think I may still try out. I think am I going to regret it if I never tried it."
Americans love their goals and dreams. Merritt's fulfilment of his talent in Beijing four years ago has been tarnished but he is hanging on to it, regardless. And London, he says, will neither prove him guilty nor innocent.
"Gold wouldn't be redemption for me. I continue to train, to work hard, just as I've done ever since I was 18. If I win – when I do win – I won't think about what went on. It will just be a case of all the hard work I've done paying off. I don't feel I've got anything to prove. No pressure. I'll take it round for round. Now I'm here I'm just going to get the job done.
"I feel the drug testing itself was nothing. Something happened, I didn't read a label. To some people, it may be a cloud but, to me, I just made a mistake and I'm moving forward from it. I feel my case was unique."
Drug-taking in sport has long been an art and a science. It is wrong and it is widespread, but those who are good at it often profit. They risk their health and their credibility because they think it is a price worth paying, a delusion that is sadder even than their fall from grace. Merritt's is yet another case of an athlete claiming ignorance as a defence. It is pretty much the default position of anyone careless enough to get caught – and this one had the added piquancy of embarrassment.
"I was laying in bed, my agent told me, 'We got the letter and they're not letting you compete.' At first it was like when the police pull up behind you on the road and your heart just drops … oh, no. My agent thought it was funny … "
True. But how could an athlete be stupid enough to risk universal derision by using a product such as Merritt did in the pursuit of a possibly marginal advantage? Perhaps he is telling the truth, after all.
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
So I have to drive to 6 or so Supermarkets to save a few hundred pounds a year. Do I walk all those miles with heavy bags, or do I use the car and spend a few hundred pounds extra on fuel, not to mention the few hundred extra hours?
- Kuri, UK, 16/6/2012 10:40
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