DIGEST:The annual French Olympic Week at Hyeres goes into its medal race phase today with no Irish sailors in the top-10 of their respective fleets, writes David Branigan.
This is the first of the established Grade 1 regattas of the European season and more than 800 athletes have been sailing the mostly light airs event this week.
In the Laser Radial class, Debbie Hanna made the cut for the Gold fleet in 51st place and was the only Irish sailor to make this division compared to Palma where most of the squad were able to make the upper grade of their respective class.
In the Finn single-handed class, it was the turn of the established Aaron O'Grady in 51st place to edge ahead of recent newcomer Timothy Goodbody in 59th. Italian cyclist Ivan Basso has complained about what he calls "time-bomb justice" after the Italian Olympic Committee's anti-doping office on Tuesday reopened an investigation into the 2006 Giro d'Italia winner.
"I'm not going to give up, I'm going to carry on. I'm strong-minded," he was quoted as saying in Thursday's edition of the Milan-based newspaper Il Giornale.
"However, I feel really frustrated. If these latest events had emerged in December or January, everything would have been clarified and closed now, for good or bad.
"Instead, new documents have suddenly arrived two weeks before the start of the race (the Giro d'Italia). First they let me train like a donkey and then say 'Sorry, please stop and explain'. That's a time-bomb form of justice."
South Africa's inconsistent performances at the World Cup culminating in a seven-wicket semi-final trouncing by Australia are to be investigated by the national governing body.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) said the team's performance in the semi-final was deeply disappointing and added that the weaknesses exposed by the defeat would be dealt with "as a matter of urgency".
"Although this does not take anything away from the Australian victory, the Proteas' performance was disappointing to say the least," said CSA chief executive Gerald Majola. "There are weaknesses in the Proteas squad which will be addressed as a matter of urgency, there was an alarming inconsistency in the performances by the Proteas."
