Samantha Stosur, Bernard Tomic and Lleyton Hewitt were named in Australia’s Olympic tennis squad Wednesday.
Stosur, Hewitt get Aussie call-up
Samantha Stosur, Bernard Tomic and Lleyton Hewitt were named in Australia’s Olympic tennis squad Wednesday. Olympic tennis manager Todd Woodbridge said, “We have a good chance of something happening” in London, though he conceded the Australians were not medal favourites. “It will be the pinnacle of the Olympics to be playing at the home of tennis at Wimbledon,” said Woodbridge. Stosur, ranked 5th in the world, automatically qualified for the singles event and will also contest the doubles title, pairing up with 108th-ranked Casey Dellacqua.
US athletics want 30 medals at least
US Olympic athletics team is aiming at no less than 30 medals at the upcoming London Games, said coaches Andrew Valmon and Amy Deem. Men’s Olympic coach Valmon and women’s coach Deem expressed confidence on a rest day at the US Olympic track and field trials. “There are a lot of opportunities to get those 30 medals,” Valmon was quoted as saying by Xinhua Tuesday. The 30-medal goal for London was set by former USA Track and Field chief executive Doug Logan and backed by new chief executive Max Siegel.
Argentina says no to Falklands issue
President Cristina Kirchner said Argentina would keep politics out of sports during the London Olympics despite its decades-long dispute with Britain over the Falkland Islands. “They are expecting some sort of foolishness from us, but we do not mix such things,” Kirchner said at a ceremony Tuesday to send off the country’s delegation to the Games.
Liu wants to run in London first
China’s 110 metres hurdler Liu Xiang will complete his Olympic preparation by running in the London Grand Prix just two weeks before the Games begin, meeting organisers said in a statement on Wednesday. The 2004 Olympic champion has been confirmed to race on July 13 in the Diamond League meeting at Crystal Palace.
‘We are free to visit London’
Syrian Olympic Committee head General Mowaffak Joumaa said that he was free to visit London, dismissing reports he was being denied a visa. Any reports of Syrian athletes being barred were “unfounded,” he insisted. “The Syrian Olympic Committee has not received anything about my coming to London or about the participation of athletes” at the July 27-August 12 Olympic Games in the British capital. The BBC reported that Britain has refused to grant the general, who is close to President Bashar al-Assad, a visa to travel to London because of the deadly crackdown on dissent in Syria.
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