SPORTS DIGEST: The driving force of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) fight against doping in sport, Prince Alexandre de Merode, has died aged 68 after a long fight with cancer.
The Belgian-born de Merode had been a member of the IOC since 1964, but had become best known for creating the Medical Commission in 1967, which fought a frustrating but determined battle with the drugs cheats.
Their biggest success was the unmasking of Canada's Olympic 100-metre athletics champion Ben Johnson in Seoul in 1988, although de Merode also admitted years later in a BBC documentary several positive tests from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics had been shredded by mistake.
IOC president Jacques Rogge, on a trip to Cuba, paid tribute to his fellow Belgian. "The Olympic movement has lost an exceptional man. Through his charisma and his convictions, the Prince de Merode was a fervent defender of Olympic values throughout his life.
"He was, in particular, one of the pioneers in the fight against doping, creating the IOC Medical Commission in 1967.
CYCLING: Lithuanian cyclist Raimondas Rumsas, whose wife was jailed in France after being caught with large quantities of medication, was named yesterday as the country's athlete of the year.
Arturas Poviliunas, head of Lithuanian Olympic Comittee, handed Rumsas an Olympic star for his third place in the prestigeous Tour de France race.
Rumsas' wife Edita was imprisoned in July, immediately after the Tour de France, after being caught with a large amount of growth hormones and the endurance-boosting drug EPO in her car. She was released from jail on October 11th on €20,000 bail.
BADMINTON: Wales beat Ireland 4-1 in the second round of the Celtic Countries Triangular Badminton International yesterday in Perth, setting up a Wales versus Scotland battle for the title.
Fiona Glennon was Ireland's only winner. She came through a tie-break first game against Kerry-Anne Sheppard to dominate the second and win 13-10 11-0.
In the men's doubles, Ireland's Bruce Topping and Donal O'Halloran lost to Matthew Hughes and Martin Lewis, 5-15 15-12 15-7.
Indonesian Irwansya beat Ciarán Darcy 15-1 15-1 andJo Muggeridge and Felicity Gallup beat Keelin Fox and Ruth Kilkenny 11-2, 11-1.
The mixed doubles was closer, but the Welsh came out on top, Hughes and Muggeridge beating O'Halloran and Glennon 11-9, 11-7.
FORMULA ONE: Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone has chosen Istanbul over two other Turkish cities competing for rights to hold a grand prix in 2005.
Turkey has been campaigning to win one of two grands prix slots expected to become free by 2005 and in August took Ecclestone on a tour of Istanbul, Izmir and Antalya.
Ecclestone chose Istanbul over the other candidates because of its global stature and because it is more easily reached by road from Europe.
