Annus stripped of gold medal
Athletics: Adrian Annus, the men’s hammer champion, has been stripped of his gold medal after failing to take a drugs test, the IOC announced yesterday. The Hungarian failed to meet an IOC deadline on Friday to submit a urine sample, handing gold to Koji Murofushi, of Japan. Annus, 29, who announced his retirement after winning his medal, was tested twice during the Athens Games. Both tests were negative, but the IOC called for a second out-of-competition test after suspicions that he may have used a contraption to dupe testers.
Killeen surge
Cycling: Liam Killeen, of Great Britain, moved from 23rd to finish in fifth place with a spirited late surge in the men’s mountain bike on Saturday. On the difficult terrain over a seven-lap course of almost 27 miles, the 22-year-old’s stamina came into play over the last two laps. The winner, Julien Absalom, of France, finished 3min 30sec ahead of Killeen.
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Adieu Backley
Athletics: Steve Backley, already the only Briton to win medals at three Olympics, fell narrowly short of making it four when he missed a medal by less than a metre in the men’s javelin. Backley placed fourth in a competition won by Andreas Thorkildsen, from Norway, who threw 86.50. Backley recorded 84.13 in the last competition of his career.
Lacklustre finish
Sailing: Iain Percy and Steve Mitchell finished their last race in the Star class in fourth place on Saturday, leaving the Britons a disappointing sixth overall. In the Tornado catamarans, Leigh McMillan and Mark Bulkeley concluded an even worse series with a fifteenth place in their final round, putting them thirteenth overall.
Britons miss out
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Diving: Peter Waterfield and Leon Taylor, winners of the silver medal for Great Britain in the synchronised highboard competition on the first weekend of the Games, finished fifth and sixth respectively in the 10-metre highboard diving on Saturday night. The title went decisively to Hu Jia on 748.08 points.
Stevenson fails
Taekwondo: Sarah Stevenson, Britain’s last hope for a medal in the sport, was eliminated from the under-67kg tournament yesterday in her opening bout. Stevenson ended the match against Adriana Carmona, of Venezuela, level on points. However, the judges ruled that Carmona had been the superior fighter.