International Capsules: Feds seek records from '04 Armstrong doping case
AUSTIN (AP) — Federal prosecutors investigating cheating in professional cycling have subpoenaed documents from a 2004 case in which a Texas company tried to prove Lance Armstrong used performance enhancing drugs.
Jeffrey Tillotson, the attorney who handled the case for Dallas-based SCA Promotions Inc., said Tuesday that his office will send the documents to federal prosecutors in Los Angeles.
The records include depositions from former Tour de France winner Greg LeMond, former Armstrong teammate Frankie Andreu and his wife, and testimony from Armstrong and his business associates. The Wall Street Journal first reported the subpoena Tuesday.
Armstrong has not received any subpoenas or official requests from federal investigators, according to his attorney, Bryan D. Daly, a criminal defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor based in Los Angeles.
"Truthfully, I don't have any idea how Lance Armstrong fits into this whole thing," Daly said. "Lance Armstrong doesn't want to be stuck in the middle of a celebrity investigation."
Armstrong and SCA went to arbitration after the company withheld a $5 million performance bonus it owed Armstrong for his 2004 Tour de France win. SCA had cited published allegations Armstrong was doping, which he denied.
The cyclist never has failed a drug test and has strongly denied all allegations he participated in doping.
The 2004 case ended with SCA paying Armstrong $7.5 million, covering the original contract plus attorneys fees and interest. Sean Breen, one of Armstrong's attorneys in the SCA case, said most of the case testimony already had been leaked in recent years.
"There's nothing in (the subpoenaed documents) that hasn't been released or would support any contention he was doping or cheated," Breen said.
Federal prosecutors' investigation was spurred by more recent accusations from Floyd Landis, Armstrong's former teammate on the U.S. Postal team. Armstrong has denied the allegations and questioned Landis' credibility.
Armstrong won the Tour de France a record seven times from 1999-2005, an era that started after his recovery from testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain.
The SCA case involved three weeks of testimony from dozens of witnesses. Betsy Andreu claimed that days after Armstrong underwent brain surgery in 1996, he told a doctor he used the blood-boosting hormone EPO and other drugs. Frankie Andreu also gave similar testimony.
Armstrong denied those claims and his lawyer released an affidavit from the doctor who led his chemotherapy treatments saying there is no medical record of any such admission.
"I would have recorded such a confession as a matter of form, as indeed, would have my colleagues," Dr. Craig Nichols said. "None was recorded."
Other allegations in the case included LeMond saying Armstrong threatened his life, a charge Armstrong dismissed as "ridiculous." America's top two cyclists have feuded for years.
Federal investigators in Los Angeles also have sought records from several Armstrong associates, including LeMond and former teammate Tyler Hamilton.
LeMond attorney Mark Handfelt said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that the request to his client was only for documents, not testimony. Hamilton's attorney, Chris Manderson, confirmed a subpoena had been issued to his client, but declined to discuss the details.
"Tyler would have preferred to stay out of this," Manderson said. "He wants to concentrate on his training business and his own battle with depression."
Spanish cyclist Lobato handed 2-year doping ban
AIGLE, Switzerland (AP) — The International Cycling Union says Spanish rider Ruben Lobato has been banned for two years for doping based on results from his "biological passport."
The sport's ruling body said Tuesday that Lobato was suspended by Spain's cycling federation. It provided no details on when the ban starts or expires.
Last year, Lobato was among the first five riders accused of doping based on UCI's blood profiling system. More than 800 riders have been giving blood and urine samples so that scientists can study changes in body chemistry profiles to find doping cases.
The UCI had said it wanted a four-year suspension.
In 2008, the 31-year-old Lobato was a teammate of Riccardo Ricco, the Italian who won two Tour de France stages before being thrown out of the race for doping.
Swimming
USA Swimming has 2nd list of people under scrutiny
USA Swimming acknowledged to The Associated Press on Tuesday that it has a second list of people who are under suspicion for unscrupulous behavior, having already banned 46 coaches and officials for life, mostly for sexual misconduct.
The board met in Newark, N.J., to sign off on measures that will be voted on at the national convention in September, another step in its efforts to cope with numerous allegations of coaches abusing underage athletes. They included a new athlete protection policy, expanded background checks and a requirement that all adults who interact with swimmers become members of the organization.
USA Swimming president Jim Wood also told the AP there's a second list of people who've been "flagged" for alleged misconduct against swimmers but haven't faced any disciplinary action because they aren't current members. That will change — the board voted Tuesday to take those cases before the National Board of Review.
Those who decline to attend an NBOR hearing or lose their case will be added to the list of banned officials that was released last month, Wood said. He did not know how many people were on the flagged list, which was disclosed publicly for the first time.
USA Swimming didn't respond to an additional request for the number of people on the list.
"Some of them were added recently. Some have been there for a period of time," Wood said. "They were nonmembers of the organization that we heard things about and we put them on a list to make sure if they ever tried to become a USA Swimming coach, they would be flagged here."
At least one is a former member coach who quit the organization after being confronted with allegations of statutory rape. Dave Goble, secretary of the group's Michigan chapter, said he recently checked on the ex-coach's status with USA Swimming and was told he had not been banned for life but was on the flagged list.
"There are many accusations in his background," Goble told the AP. "In my estimation, he should not be dealing with children."
Mike Saltzstein, a former vice president at USA Swimming and most prominent critic inside the sport, said the biggest problem with the flagged list is that no one is quite sure what a coach has to do to get on it. For instance, his own inquiries showed that it didn't include Randy Nack, a former Southern California high school coach who went to jail nearly two years ago for admittedly having sex with two underage female students.
"Why has this list been secret?" Saltzstein asked.
The most prominent name on the banned list is former national team director Everett Uchiyama, who quit in 2006 after being accused of having a decade-long relationship with a swimmer that began when she was 14. He never faced criminal charges and turned up less than a year later as the aquatics director at the Country Club of Colorado, only about five miles from USA Swimming's headquarters in Colorado Springs.
Uchiyama hastily resigned from the club after the banned list was published. He landed the job with a recommendation by Pat Hogan, who leads USA Swimming's club development.
There are at least four ongoing lawsuits against the governing body, contending it has covered up wrongdoing and allowed a culture of abuse to exist in the coaching ranks.
Ed Vazquez, a spokesman for attorneys in several of those cases, said he was surprised to learn of the second list and reiterated his belief that no meaningful changes will occur until the current leadership is replaced.
"This list raises lots of questions," Vazquez said. "How long have they known about the individuals on the list? Did they investigate them? Did they notify law enforcement if they committed any kind of crime?"
Wood said the organization is moving forward with programs that will ensure a safer environment for young swimmers coming out of the national convention in Dallas. They were designed with assistance from the Child Welfare League of America and other outside experts.
The new athlete protection policy prohibits coaches from giving rubdowns to swimmers — even if licensed in massage therapy — and requires they have the permission of a parent or guardian before they can visit a swimmer's home. On the road, coaches would be barred from sharing a room with athletes regardless of gender (unless it's their own child) or traveling alone with an athlete without a parent's written permission.
Mandatory background checks that had applied only to coaches would expand to include all non-athlete members of USA Swimming, including managers and chaperones. Also, USA Swimming would be required to report any accusation of sexual misconduct involving a minor to law enforcement, and all member clubs would have to complete a series of pre-employment screenings before hiring any coaches or officials.
The board also approved a set of recommendations for its member clubs that go into effect immediately, such as: at least two adults should attend any practice or swim-related function; one-on-one interaction between a coach and athlete should be done in an open setting; coaches should avoid sexual encounters with a former athlete for at least two years after their professional relationship ends, and even then only under "the most unusual circumstances."
"People need to understand that our goal from the very beginning of this was to do the right thing for athletes," Wood said. "This is a major step, but it is only the first step. I think folks will looks at this and realize we did real due diligence and a lot of thought went into this."
But Saltzstein complained there was no real chance to discuss the measures before they were voted on at a board meeting that lasted a few hours.
"It's more of the same people doing the same things and expecting a different reaction or different result," he told the AP in a telephone interview late Tuesday.
Saltzstein said there are already criminal laws covering some of the proposed rules, such as a prohibition on audio or video taping inside a locker room, changing area or restroom. He also noted that while the national governing body would have to report any accusations to law enforcement, there was no such reporting mandate at the local level.
"You have to make sure the professionals — the coaches — are responsible and held to the same standards as teachers, as members of the clergy, as members of the medical profession, as day care providers and those who run summer camps," he said.
Wood said some of Saltzstein's recommendations were included and maintained there was no attempt to cram through a hastily considered plan.
"The board meeting has been scheduled for quite a while," Wood said. "A number of people who are not part of the board attended the meeting and sat in on the discussions. I'm sorry Mike feels that way."
-- Paul Newberry
Track & Field
Farah wins 10K at Euro track championships
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Mo Farah led Britain to a 1-2 finish in the men's 10,000 meters at the European track and field championships Tuesday.
Farah sprinted past Ayad Lamdassem of Spain at the start of the final lap and broke away to win gold in a time of 28 minutes, 24.99 seconds at Barcelona's Olympic stadium.
Chris Thompson took silver in 28:27.33, and Daniele Meucci of Italy knocked Lamdassem off the podium in a final sprint down the straight to the finish.
"The first European gold feels great — it was fierce competition," said Farah, who won silver in the 5,000 meters four years ago.
Farah let out a big smile and started waving his finger as Lamdassem passed him with three laps to go before jumping ahead and finishing the last 300 meters alone.
"I knew I needed to get rid of some runners," Farah said. "Now I look forward to the 5,000-meter — I need to recover fast, but I've got it going on."
Stanislav Emelyanov of Russia won the first gold medal of the meet, and Nadzeya Ostapchuk led a Belarussian 1-2 finish in the women's shot put.
Emelyanov won the men's 20-kilometer walk along the streets of Barcelona in a time of 1 hour, 20 minutes, 10 seconds. Alex Schwazer of Italy finished 28 seconds behind for silver, ahead of Portugal's Joao Vieira, who took bronze with a season-best time of 1:20:49.
"It's been a great race for me," the 19-year-old Emelyanov said after his first success in senior competition.
Schwazer and Emelyanov led from the start and exchanged leads before the Russian eventually powered past for good after eight kilometers in the warm conditions.
"I tried to catch up with Emelyanov but he was in top shape today," said Schwazer, the Olympic 50-kilometer champion. "Now I hope to recover in time for the 50k walk."
Ostapchuk's final throw of 67 feet, 2¼ inches, took her past teammate Natalia Mikhnevich for the gold. Mikhnevich launched 64-1 to finish ahead of Russia's Anna Avdeyeva, who took bronze with a season's best throw of 63-7½.
Former Olympic heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft managed a season-best leap of 21 feet, 8¾ inches, to squeeze into the long jump final. Favorites Christophe Lemaitre and Dwain Chambers, as well as defending champion Francis Obikwelu of Portugal, all easily advanced in the 100 meter heats.
Kluft's jump wasn't close to defending champion Lyudmila Kolchanova's leading distance of 22-6½, but the Swedish athlete still considered the achievement a "big victory" as she continues her recovery from a torn hamstring.
"It's been a really tough year for me so this is just one step ahead to my final goals for next year," the two-time heptathlon winner said. "After being injured for such a long time and to be in a big championship feels so great."
World indoor champion Naido Gomes of Portugal also advanced with a season-best leap, while Tatyana Kotova of Russia failed to get through.
Lemaitre, whose time of 9.98 seconds earlier this month was the fastest by a European this season, was quickest in his first major championship with a time of 10.19 seconds into a strong headwind.
Chambers, who had his 2002 gold taken away for a doping violation, was just behind in 10.21 after easing off in the last 20 meters.
Defending champion Francis Obikwelu of Portugal, who also holds the 200 title, advanced in a time of 10.26.
Irish sprinter Jason Smyth made history by becoming the first Paralympian to compete at the Europeans, going through in a time of 10.43.
"Hopefully I can run a wee bit faster (tomorrow) and see where that gets me," Smyth said.
The men's 10,000 final was later Monday.
-- Paul Logothetis
Christie an inspiration for Chambers at Europeans
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Dwain Chambers will be drawing more inspiration from Linford Christie's Olympic performance than from his fellow Briton's lyrical wit as he prepares for this week's European Championships.
Chambers is the indoor 60-meter world champion and one of the favorites in the 100 at the Montjuic Stadium, where Christie won gold in the 100 at the 1992 Summer Games.
The British team watched videos of that performance ahead of the competition, and of Sally Gunnell winning the 400-meter hurdles. And Christie — now a coach — recited two poems, one of which he wrote himself, for an extra boost.
"It was a very motivational speech," Chambers said on Monday. "But he's better as an athlete than he is as a poet."
Chambers was a 100-meter winner at the European Championships in 2002 but was stripped of his gold after a positive drug test the following year. After a two-year ban, the sprinter returned in 2006 and won gold at the 4x100 meters relay at the championships that same year.
Four years on, he is one of the favorites to win individual gold this week in Barcelona, the scene of two memorable British triumphs at the Olympic Games in 1992. Christie's win came at age 32 — the same as Chambers going into Tuesday's heats.
"It was inspirational to watch and know we are going back to the stadium where he won gold. Especially for the 100-meter guys it's a fantastic opportunity for us to recreate history," Chambers said. "I'm optimistic about it. It's my ambition to win but again I have strong competition."
France's Christophe Lemaitre, who ran 9.98 seconds in the French Championships earlier this month, is likely to be his main rival for gold.
UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee said Britain is targeting up to 15 medals this week.
Kluft's season-best good for Euro long jump final
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Former Olympic heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft managed a season-best leap Tuesday to reach the European Championships long jump final.
Kluft took the last spot with a jump of 6.62-meters, which she labeled a "big victory" as it comes during a difficult season spent recovering from a torn hamstring last year.
The 2004 Olympic heptathlon winner doesn't expect to medal on Wednesday, calling it "just one step ahead to my final goals for next year."
The 27-year-old Kluft is a three-time world champion and two-time European champion in the heptathlon.
Defending champion Lyudmila Kolchanova of Russia had the best jump of 6.87 meters.
Smyth becomes first Paralympic champ at Europeans
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Visually impaired sprinter Jason Smyth has become the first Paralympic champion to compete at the European Championships.
The 23-year-old Northern Irishman qualified for the 100-meter semifinals after finishing 14th in a time of 10.43 seconds in his heat Tuesday at Barcelona's Olympic stadium.
Smyth says "I should be here, competing in major championships, training with these guys, competing with these guys."
Smyth, who has Stargadt's Disease, believes he has "a very outside chance" of making Wednesday's final, and says there is much less margin for error than in the Paralympics where "you're No. 1 and expected to win."
Olympics
London showcases Olympic venues with 2 years to go
LONDON (AP) — Four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson crouched at the starting line, burst forward and ran down the track at the 80,000-seat stadium.
Never mind that Johnson was running for fun against local school kids, the track was just a temporary 60-meter strip of carpet and most of the stands were empty.
Exactly two years before the opening of the London Olympics, Johnson provided a glimpse Tuesday of what fans can look forward to come July 27, 2012.
"Obviously knowing that the Olympics are coming in two years' time, it's great to be here," said Johnson, a two-time 400-meter champion and gold medalist in the 200 and 4x400 relay. "Everything seems to be on time. The stadium looks great. It's going to be very exciting."
The starter for Johnson's race was Sebastian Coe, the former Olympic middle-distance great who heads London's organizing committee.
"It's just scintillating," Coe said. "Here's the greatest 400-meter runner the world has ever seen, and arguably the best 200-meter runner, and this is a guy that's running down a strip of tartan down the middle of your stadium two years out. It doesn't get any better."
Johnson wasn't the only athlete Tuesday to showcase London's Olympic venues as part of a series of activities across the city to mark the two-year countdown.
The spotlight was on the Olympic Park site in east London, where the external structures of the main venues are already complete and the arenas are set to be finished next year and ready to stage test events.
British cyclist Chris Hoy, who holds four Olympic gold medals, took a few spins around a temporary track inside the velodrome as construction workers wearing yellow hard hats cheered from the stands.
"You do imagine what it's going to be like when it's filled to the rafters, when it's the Olympic final," Hoy said. "You can sense that as soon as you walk in. It does get me really enthusiastic for it."
At the temporary basketball venue, where the floor still hasn't been installed, former NBA player John Amaechi shot a few hoops.
While the Olympic project is on track and on budget, organizers are under scrutiny as Britain's coalition government carries out $61 billion in public spending cuts to trim the record budget deficit.
The government recently ordered relatively modest cuts of $41 million in the budget of the Olympic Delivery Authority, the body responsible for building the venues. The overall construction and infrastructure budget stands at $14.3 billion.
The government has not ruled out further Olympic cuts.
Coe's separate privately financed organizing committee budget is $3 billion, raised from sponsorships, television fees, ticket sales and merchandising.
"We wake up every morning trying to figure out how we can deliver this in a more cost effective and efficient way," Coe said.
Earlier in the day, organizers launched a program to recruit 70,000 volunteers and urged people to apply for specialist positions such as doctors, anti-doping personnel and scoreboard operators. The sign-up for more general volunteer positions will open Sept. 15.
London Mayor Boris Johnson announced a separate program to recruit 8,000 "London Ambassadors." They will man key points across the city, such as railway stations and tourist spots, to help guide visitors around the capital.
"These will be the polite, courteous, smiling — without being irritating — faces of the city," Johnson said. "London will be the center of the greatest party on earth."
Tickets go on sale next year, and so far more than 1.4 million fans have registered. A total of 8 million tickets for the Olympics and 2 million for the Paralympics will be on sale.
"Now it's the public's turn," Coe said. "Don't wait. Start planning your games now."
The London 2012 committee opened its flagship merchandising store at St. Pancras International station in central London where, for the first time, soft toys of the child-friendly, one-eyed mascots Wenlock and Manderville went on sale at $38 apiece.
From St. Pancras, Olympic organizers, athletes and dignitaries took the Javelin bullet train for the six-minute journey to the Stratford International station at the Olympic Park.
The group toured the venues and walked across the new main bridge or "front door" to the Olympic Park for a firsthand look at progress on the square-mile site. A once-deprived industrial area of the capital is being transformed into a complex of venues and parkland that will be turned over to the public after the games.
Michael Johnson recalled the two-year countdown when he was training for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where he won the 200 and 400 and broke the 200 world record.
"There was just so much buzz and excitement from that point on," he said. "From two years out, for all of the athletes, this is certainly a motivation. It is reminding them what they're training for every day."
Johnson said the intimate nature of the Olympic stadium could be crucial.
"It's not about the stadium itself," he said. "It's about the crowd who come, and the spectators, and the energy that you get from those spectators. The more intimate a stadium is the more the athletes will feel that type of atmosphere."
Despite the overcast and muggy conditions Tuesday, Coe said he can imagine world records being set in the stadium in 2012.
"This is actually not a bad climate to be breaking world records in," he said. "This would be a perfect track and field day."
And how does he envisage the opening ceremony in the same place two years from now?
"I imagine lots of people in the crowd," he said, "and two or three people — particularly sitting around my seat — certainly being quite nervous."
-- Stephen Wilson
India ramps up pressure on sports federations
NEW DELHI (AP) — The Indian government is threatening to cut off funding to sports federations that refuse to comply with controversial age and tenure limitations, a move that is likely to put the authorities further at odds with the International Olympic Committee.
Angry that more than a third of the 68 associations have ignored the new regulations, Sports Minister M S Gill told the Press Trust of India that only those that comply will be eligible for financial grants and other benefits.
The IOC warned India in May of potential sanctions over government interference in the running of sports federations. The IOC said autonomy was the fundamental principle in the Olympic Charter and any external interference could result in India's exclusion from international sports events.
