Olympic Newsdesk - FINA Worlds Drug Free; Archery Worlds Conclude

No Failed Doping Tests at FINA Worlds

The FINA world championships in Rome last month were drug-free. The federation reported Wednesday that no athlete at the event failed a doping test.

FINA said that all 391 doping tests that it conducted at the world championships turned out negative. The testing included 162 samples for EPO.

A total of 252 swimmers were tested during the event, while 65 water polo players, 33 divers, 30 open water swimmers and 11 synchronized swimmers were also tested.

“Following the conclusion of the entire analysis procedure, FINA is pleased to announce that 391 doping control tests were conducted in Rome with the occasion of the 13th FINA world championships and all were negative,” FINA said in a statement.

FINA said it would consider the long-term storage of samples to permit future analysis, something which it currently doesn’t do.

FINA had also reported no doping violations at its 2005 and 2007 world championships.

The water sports federation also reported that Michael Phelps, who won five gold medals and one silver, was selected the best male swimmer of the world championships, while Federica Pellegrini of Italy, who won two golds and set three world records in the 200 and 400-meter freestyle events, was tabbed as best female swimmer.

South Korea Leads Concluding Archery Worlds

The World Archery Championships in Ulsan, South Korea concluded on Wednesday with the host country on top of the medal podium.

South Korea took first with won four golds and three silvers. Russia placed second with two golds, a silver and a bronze followed by the United States with two golds.

The championships concluded with Korean archers sweeping the individual recurve competitions with Bejing gold medalist Lee Chang-hwan and Joo Hyun-jung taking gold in the men's and women's competitions, respectfully. Korea took four of the six medals in the recurve.

More than 730 archers from about 80 countries participated in the 11-day competition at Ulsan Munsoo International Archery Field. The field has hosted the 2005 International Korean Archery Tournament and a 2007 World Archery Cup stage.

Some of the competitors almost did not make it to the event. On Aug. 27, Turkish Airlines - the official airlines of FITA overbooked the Istanbul to Seoul flight that had about 70 archers and officials on it. The airline fixed the problem by swapping the original Airbus A340-300 with a bigger Boeing 777-300ER. All the archers and their bows arrived in time for the championships.

ESPN Aims for Olympics

ESPN is looking to unseat NBC as the official U.S. Olympic network as the cable sports giant expressed its intention to bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2016 Games, according to a report in USA Today.

It would be the second time that ESPN bids for the Olympics. The network made an attempt to acquire the rights to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the 2012 Summer Games in London, but was outbid by NBC.

“There’s no question the Olympics would continue the process of establishing ESPN as the home of championship sports and great sports,” ESPN executive vice president of content John Skipper told USA Today.

Speedo Extends Deal with Phelps

Michael Phelps will be wearing Speedo swimwear for four more years.

The swimwear giant has extended its deal with Phelps through 2013, ensuring that the eight gold-medal winning swimmer at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing will be wearing Speedo gear at the London Games in 2012 .

Phelps has been affiliated with Speedo since 2001.

“Speedo’s support both in and out of the pool has helped me grow into the swimmer I am today,” said Phelps in a statement. “I am grateful for the brand’s commitment to help realize our shared vision to grow the sport of swimming both in the U.S. and around the world.”

As part of his agreement, Phelps will continue to serve as part of an athlete advisory group to the Speedo Aqualab, a research and development center that creates new swimwear and accessories.

Phelps will be part of Speedo’s efforts to develop new swimwear in the wake of FINA’s new regulations that ban the use of hi-tech suits that have been responsible for the spate of world records in the last couple of years.

Semenya Tests Due Soon

The IAAF is expected to receive the results of the gender tests for women’s 800-meter world champion Caster Semenya in the next few days.

The 18-year old South African underwent the tests to determine if she has a medical condition that distorts her gender and gives her an unfair advantage over other female competitors. Questions about Semenya’s gender came after she dramatically lowered her times in recent competitions and won the women’s 800 by a commanding margin at the world championships in Berlin in July.

IAAF spokesman Nick Davies told The Associated Press on Tuesday that a group of medics and anti-doping experts would analyze the results. He said the process would be completed in about two weeks.

“We will get the results any day now of the Berlin investigation, then they need to be checked –it’s not something where you have a yes or a no,” Davies told AP.

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Written by Greg Oshust and Sam Steinberg .