OLYMPIC NOTEBOOK | From Athens

In the mix: Jana Pittman, the 400-meter hurdles world champion and Australia's best hope for Olympic gold in track and field, could still run at Athens after having surgery Sunday on her injured right knee. Pittman's coach Phil King said late Sunday she was given a 60 percent chance of competing following the surgery in London. Pittman hurt the knee Friday while warming up for a race in Zurich. "We're back in the mix," King said. "It was nowhere near as bad as first interpreted. The surgeon quoted there was a 60 percent chance of running in Athens."
Lost pole: Talk about lost luggage. Champion pole vaulter Dmitri Markov may be forced to compete with an unfamiliar pole after his own went missing en route from his home in Australia. The three airlines that Markov used have been unable to trace the pole since he arrived in Europe two weeks ago. The 2001 world champion, Markov already has had to use a different pole for a number of competitions since his arrival. "I hope that it can be found or he can find a good replacement," said John Coates, president of the Australian Olympic Committee. Markov has said that the loss of his pole would be a tough break for him.
Road rules: A road safety guidebook has been distributed to Olympic accredited drivers after several vehicles got into accidents. Special Olympic lanes came into operation on Aug. 1. The lanes are meant to ensure the quick transportation of media and the Olympic Family -- which includes sponsors and International Olympic Committee members. Since then, police said, there have been five accidents, with one woman seriously injured when a vehicle hit her. "The measures of the Olympic lanes were put into effect recently," said Seraphim Kotrotsos, an Athens 2004 spokesman. "People need time to adapt." Authorities will withdraw licenses from drivers caught exceeding the speed limit and impose hefty fines on those who break the law.
Youngest German: Diver Nora Subschinski figures that if she makes a mistake, her German teammates will understand -- after all, she's the youngest member of the bunch. At 16, Subschinski is the youngest German competing in any sport at the Olympics, and she's 11 years younger than her synchronized diving partner, Annett Gamm. But if anything, she said, that's an advantage for her. "It doesn't make me nervous," Subschinski said Sunday. "I think that since I'm still young, nobody will be upset with me if I mess up, therefore I'm going to the games totally relaxed." Subschinski said Gamm has been a great help, using her experience to help Subschinski overcome any stage fright. "She always calms me down before every competition with words like 'You can do it,' or 'You'll make it,' " she said. The youngest competitor at the Athens Games is Bryan Nickson Lomas, a 14-year-old diver from Malaysia.
Associated Press