Olympic Briefs -- Cricket in Asian Games; British Olympian Turns 100

India, and the other leading Cricket teams in Asia, all pledged to send their best teams to the Asian Games in 2010. (Getty Images) The Olympic Council of Asia approved cricket’s bid to join the Asiad program at the 2010 games in Guangzhou, China. India and Pakistan, two perennial superpowers in the sport, both pledged to send their best squads in 2010.

The shortened Twenty20 format will be used at the games. The four Asian Test playing nations of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh will automatically qualify for the tournament, which will feature men and women competitions, as will host nation China. There will be three spots reserved for other teams.

"India and Pakistan were the drivers. Pakistan and India will come with their best teams because it will be a big competition," OCA President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Sabah was quoted by the AFP after the OCA’s General Assembly on Wednesday.

The 1998 Commonwealth Games was the last multi-sport event with cricket in its program.

The 2010 Asiad will take place Nov. 12 – 27.

Philippine Sports File Complaint to IOC

Nine sports organizations in the Philippines that are upset at the leadership of the Philippine Olympic Committee have filed an official complaint with the IOC.

The National Sports Associations claim that POC chief Jose Cojuangco has violated the Olympic Charter and has abused the POC’s power by attempting to solve disputes within the NSAs.

Philippine news outlets say the NSAs sent a letter to Jacques Rogge on May 11 with their complaints.

They asked for the IOC to use its authority to launch an investigation into the POC.

All of the nine NSA’s complaints Godfrey Rampling (arms crossed), seen with his 4x400m teammates. (British Olympic Association) revolve around either complaints about elections or leadership. They asked for autonomy from the POC in dealing with their crises.

Oldest British Olympian Turns 100

Great Britain’s oldest Olympian turned 100 today.

Godfrey Rampling, won a silver medal in the 4x400m at the 1932 Olympics and claimed a gold medal four years later. He is Great Britain’s last surviving gold medalist of those Games.

Rampling also ran in the men’s 400-meters but never won a medal. He did win the race at the 1934 British Empire Games in London.

He will celebrate the occasion at his home in Hertfordshire, England on Saturday with his family.

Jean-Claude Van Geenberghe, 1962-2009

Olympic equestrian rider Jean-Claude Van Geenberghe died of a heart attack while competing in an event in Ukraine on Saturday. He was 46.

Van Geenberghe died after falling off of his horse during the competition and was originally believed to have succumbed to injuries suffered in the fall. However, an Olympic equestrian rider Jean-Claude Van Geenberghe 1962-2009. (Getty Images)autopsy revealed a heart attack as the cause of death.

Van Geenberghe competed in equestrian in the Summer Olympics twice, representing his native Belgium at the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea and riding for Ukraine at the 2008 competition in Hong Kong during the Beijing Games.

Said FEI director of jumping John Roche in a statement, “Jean-Claude’s untimely death comes as a tremendous shock to all of us and creates a huge void in the equestrian world. He was a great horseman, whose involvement, passion and dedication to the sport will be greatly missed.”

Briefs...

…Australia's head swimming coach Alan Thompson called on the swimming federation to quickly resolve the issue of high-tech swimsuits. The federation is currently debating whether or not to allow the use of high-tech suits, like the LZR suit used at the Beijing Olympics, which many believe helped break so many world records, and has been called “technological doping.” "I've said all along we need to get back to talking about athletes and their performances and not whether or not a suit is legal or otherwise. But to do this we need to clarify the issue once and for all," Thompson said in a statement on Wednesday. "We need to ensure all new guidelines are in the best interests of the sport and we need to ensure those guidelines are followed."

Written by Ed Hula III and Greg Oshust.