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Sport Beijing Briefs

■ PHILIPPINES

Winner set for windfall

The Philippine government and the private sector are offering 9.5 million pesos (US$220,000) to any athlete who brings home the country’s first-ever Olympic gold medal, an official said yesterday. The most recent medal of any color was silver in boxing in Atlanta in 1996. “This is an incentive. The first gold winner will get the money,” said Philippine Olympic Committee spokesman Joey Romasanta. The government pledged 5 million pesos and the rest came from donations from the private sector, Romasanta said.

■ UNITED STATES

Coach faces fight for life

US swimmer Dara Torres, set for her fifth Olympics next month in Beijing at age 41, is devastated as her coach for the past two years, Michael Lohberg, faces an unexpected fight for his life. The Miami Herald reported he had been diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare blood disorder. “It’s so awful — really, really terrible. I can’t even talk about it right now. I haven’t stopped crying,” Torres told the newspaper. “They told me I might last only weeks or maybe even days ... Without treatment, I might not make it to Monday,” Lohberg said. Treatment can include blood transfusion or a bone marrow transplant. “I have always had a good outlook on things, so I will fight this as hard as I can and see if I can make it,” Lohberg told the Herald.



■ AUSTRALIA

Viagra abuse a risk: scientist

Next month’s Olympics may be remembered for the abuse of Viagra and other legal drugs among athletes, a leading Australian sports scientist said yesterday. Robin Parisotto, principal scientist involved in the development of a test for the banned blood booster EPO (erythroipoietin), said legal drugs including Viagra and psychological medicines also enhance athletic performance. The World Anti-Doping Agency is considering including Viagra on its list of banned substances, but a decision will not be made until after this year’s Olympics. “Any physical activity that goes for longer than two minutes would be a beneficiary of something like Viagra, just like the normal blood-doping drugs.” Parisotto told ABC Radio. The former senior scientist with the Australian Institute of Sport said Viagra had the same benefits as blood doping because it opens up arteries and veins — “and not only in the private parts.” But the erectile dysfunction drug isn’t the only legal medicine that can boost an athlete’s performance. Drugs used for psychological purposes can help competitors gain a mental edge, Parisotto said. “With sport quite often it comes down to a battle of wills and as you become fatigued you become confused and your judgement is not so good,” he said. “So to take a drug which will keep your mind clear and focused certainly is another area of drug-taking that would be of benefit to athletes.”



■ GERMANY

Rights group fears for horses

An animal rights group has called for the country’s equestrian team to pull out of the Olympics because of fears over the extreme temperatures horses will endure. The equestrian events will be held in Hong Kong’s sweltering heat and the German Animal Defense Association fears for the animals’ lives. “We are afraid of collapses and injuries because of the high workload the animals face in high temperatures,” spokesman Thomas Schroeder told the Sport-Bild Web site. “There is a real danger in that heat of serious injury and in bad cases, animals may have to be put to sleep.”




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