Shuttered Olympic lab awaits WADA approval

Shuttered Olympic lab awaits WADA approval

RIO DE JANEIRO

The shuttered anti-doping laboratory for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics has been inspected by officials from the World Anti-Doping Agency, which will soon decide if the laboratory gets re-accredited, with the games opening in just over three weeks.

WADA tells The Associated Press that it expects “a recommendation from the disciplinary committee in the coming days, and a decision by the chairman of WADA’s executive committee next week.”

The anti-doping laboratory was suspended last month for “nonconformity with International Standard for Laboratories.”

The suspension is an embarrassment for local organizers and a major headache for the International Olympic Committee, which could be forced to send blood and urine samples abroad for testing if the lab remains closed.

Jennings film shows journey backstory

Beach volleyball star Kerri Walsh Jennings is the subject of a new documentary, and to get any closer to what’s going on inside the three-time Olympic gold medalist you would need an X-ray.

Actually, the 45-minute film scheduled to debut five days before the opening ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro Games includes MRI scans of her shoulder, along with footage from the operating room where Walsh Jennings had one of the four surgeries she needed to get back to the Olympics for a fifth time.

“It seemed like such a big honor and such a big opportunity to show everything that goes into it,” Walsh Jennings said in an interview with The Associated Press. “We’re a pretty open-book family; we kind of lead with our hearts. There’s nothing to hide.”

Bach talks Russian doping

LONDON

IOC President Thomas Bach says international Olympic officials will try to find “the right balance between collective responsibility and individual justice” in dealing with Russian doping ahead of the games in Rio de Janeiro.

Bach says “the right to individual justice applies to every athlete in the world.”

Bach spoke in a telephone interview Wednesday with The Associated Press and two other international news agencies.

GOLF

Absence of top golfers to be evaluated

LONDON

IOC President Thomas Bach says the absence of many of the top men from the Olympic golf tournament in Rio de Janeiro will be taken into account in evaluating the sport’s future in the games.

Bach says the IOC has to “respect the individual decisions” of golfers who pulled out citing concerns over Zika, but notes that there have also been “very different reasons” not related to the virus that have led some to skip the games.

Golf will be part of the Olympics for the first time since 1904. Twenty male players, including the top four in the world rankings, have pulled out.

Bach says “we are now looking forward to the Olympic tournament” but adds that golf will be evaluated along with other sports after the games.

He says “one of the main categories for the evaluation is, of course, the question of the participation of the best players.”

Angelo Que cites Zika in pulling out

TROON, Scotland

Angelo Que of the Philippines has become the 20th male golfer to pull out of the Olympics.

Que says the main reason for his withdrawal is the Zika virus. The 37-year-old Filipino says he has given it a lot of thought and believes he is making the right decision. He says the health of his family comes first and he does not want to put himself at risk.

He has three victories on the Asian Tour, most recently in 2010.

Next on the list to replace Que will be Rodolfo Cazaubon on Mexico, meaning there still will be 34 countries represented in men’s golf.

Staff/wire reports