Thursday March 23, 2006

Commonwealth Games: Briefs

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Asafa Powell is dedicating his sprinting career to two of his brothers who died tragically.

The 100 meters world record holder won his first gold medal at an international competition this week in Melbourne at the Commonwealth Games, and will run again Friday as part of Jamaica's 4x100-meter relay team.

The 23-year-old Powell took up athletics seriously about five years ago after a childhood spent at home near Kingston with his five older brothers playing soccer and watching them compete on the track.

Tragedy struck in 2002, when his brother Michael was shot and killed in a taxi in New York.

The family's agony worsened the following year when another of the siblings, Vaughn, collapsed on a soccer field and died.

"I took it really hard back then, but now I dedicate everything in my career to them,'' Powell was quoted as saying in Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper.

"I could have quit but I never thought about it because I know they would have wanted me to continue running, so why stop? I've still got too much to do.''

That work includes his declared goal of besting the of 9.77 seconds he ran in Athens, Greece, last June to become the world's fastest man over the 100.

Powell said he was not trying for a new mark in Melbourne, but might later in the year.

Powell has become a hero in his home country, a Caribbean island nation of 2.6 million people that is torn by gang violence and street crime.

When Powell was a child, his father William narrowly escaped death when he was shot in the face by burglars he interrupted in the family home.

Powell and his brothers were raised in a deeply religious household by their mother Portia and father William, a pastor.

Powell said he believed his brothers who died were celebrating his gold medal.

"They would be jumping all over the place - I am sure they are watching me.''

______

UNCOMFORTABLY CLOSE: - Two star-struck police officers were removed from Commonwealth Games security duties for taking snapshots too close to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and inside Prince Edward's hotel room.

Victoria state Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon said a woman detective sergeant had been disciplined for coming too close to the queen while taking photographs during the monarch's visit to Melbourne last week to open the games.

The officer was believed to have come within one meter (yard) of the queen before members of the monarch's security detail told the officer to leave, Australian Associated Press reported.

In a separate incident, a second officer was caught snapping photographs inside the hotel room being used by Prince Edward, in Melbourne as the vice-patron of the Commonwealth Games Federation.

The officer, a member of the state police force's personal protection team for the games, was stopped by other police.

"They took the camera off him and deleted the photos,'' Nixon said.

Both officers were returned to non-games duties. There names were not released, and no further disciplinary action would be taken.

"In both cases, I think they are an error of judgment, and both those people are back in their own work and I think that's probably sufficient to deal with those matters,'' Nixon said.

____

BETTER, FASTER, FEWER MEDALS: - There are fewer medals on offer at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne than at the previous edition at in Manchester 2002, and Australia says it's chances of beating its previous overall tally are being hurt as a result.

The lower number of medals is partly attributable to changes in the sports schedule such as dropping wrestling and merging weightlifting's two disciplines and combined total into a single-medal event.

That still leaves 1,334 medals on offer - 441 gold, 441 silver and 452 bronze (both losing semifinalists in boxing get bronze medals) - among some 4,200 athletes, about 400 more than in Manchester.

Games records have tumbled across most sports.

Australia was well clear atop the medal table with four days to go, but was more than 50 medals shy of the 208 - one more than last time - team officials set as their target.

"We still have a chance to get there. But it was always going to be a tough call because there are 150 less medals on offer than Manchester,'' said Perry Crosswhite, the Australian Commonwealth Games Association's chief executive.

"When you look at England, India and Canada, their totals are down too. It's just a reflection that there are less medals across the board.

"I think we've done very well. In fact, some countries would say we've done too well,'' Crosswhite said.

Midway through Thursday's competition, Australia had 158 medals, more than double the tally of England in second place with 74. Canada was third with 56.

___

NON EVENT: New Zealand has played down reports of a sexual assault of an athlete by two teammates.

Local media reported that a woman claimed two New Zealand cyclists tried to strip off her clothes and urinate on her during post-competition celebrations at the village on Sunday.

New Zealand team chef de mission Dave Currie denied the allegations.

At a news conference Thursday, he read a statement from the woman saying it was a 'non event' and that no formal complaint would be made.

About 5,100 people are staying in the games village.

Latest sports news from AP-Wire

News Poll

Latest Jobs from Star-Jobs

Latest from StarProperty