Inside the rings

Greene wins slow wager


This must have been the first time Maurice Greene was a winner by being the slowest.

Greene, the world record-holder, had a strange wager with friends Ato Boldon and Jon Drummond on yesterday's first round of the 100m.

The bet was over "who could win their heat in the slowest time," Boldon said.

Boldon failed miserably. He had the fastest time, 10.04 seconds. Drummond was the day's fourth fastest at 10.15sec. Of the three, Greene was the slowest at 10.31sec, even though he won his heat easily.

"I'm down one," Boldon said.

Champion donors


International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch has urged athletes to donate their organs for transplants.

He believes transplantation is one of the most important benefits of modern medicine and athletes are the perfect donors.

"These transplantations must be coming from organs of healthy people and the most healthy people in the world are the athletes."

Samaranch said a recent meeting with World Transplant Games Federation president Maurice Slapak had encouraged him to support the biennial sporting event.

Soccer a scream


If Japan scores a goal against the US in today's Olympic men's soccer quarter-final, some television viewers may have to reach for the volume control.

Masashi Funakoshi, a broadcaster for Japan's NTV, shouted "goal" 30 times at the top of his voice when the Japanese team hit the net in their victory over South Africa, prompting several viewers to complain to the Tokyo-based station.

"They said he was too noisy and elderly colleagues here agree," NTV spokeswoman Yukiko Irie said. "But we don't think it's negative, it's his style and it's popular with the younger generation."

Irie said the Olympic soccer tournament was unbelievably popular in Japan.

Dash for cash


Sydney prostitutes are offering customers "Sprints! Relays! and Marathons!" in an advertising drive to cash in on the Olympic Games.

One brothel in the Lidcombe area, near the Olympic complex, insists in an advert in the Daily Telegraph tabloid that it has "gold-medal specialists" to entertain clients.

Another near the Olympic Homebush Bay venues says: "Go for gold! - We always go the distance."

Brothels are legal in New South Wales.

Scalpers head off


Two Italians have been deported for scalping Olympic tickets sourced from high-profile national Olympic committees.

Around 200 tickets are believed to have been confiscated by Games organisers and are likely to be sold to athletes and volunteers.

The tickets, sourced from the national Olympic committees of the United States, Russia, Spain, Venezuela and Switzerland, will not go back into general sale.

The two scalpers were deported for violating their tourist visas by engaging in commercial activities.