Olympic Newsdesk - Phelps Nominated for ESPYs; China Vows to Help in Underage Gymnast Case

Michael Phelps is up for four ESPY Awards (Getty Images) Phelps Nominated for Four ESPYs

More awards for Michael Phelps may be on the way after the Olympic gold medal swimmer was nominated in four categories for ESPN’s ESPY Awards.

Phelps was nominated for male athlete, championship performance, record-breaking performance and U.S. male Olympians.

The ESPYs could be the latest honors for Phelps as a result of his eight gold medal-winning performance at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

The awards honor the best achievements, moments and top athletes from the previous year and includes 37 categories.

Winners will be determined by voting from fans on the internet and cell phones.

The ESPY Awards ceremony will be held on July 15 at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. It will be televised on tape July 19 on ESPN.

China to Cooperate With Gymnast Investigation

China will cooperate with FIG’s probe into the ages of Chinese gymnasts Yang Yun and Dong Fangxiao (pictured) at the Sydney Games in 2000 (Getty Images)China has stated its intention to cooperate with the International Gymnastics Federation’s investigation into the participation of two allegedly underage Chinese gymnasts at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

The FIG said on Tuesday it would launch a probe into whether Sydney bronze medalists Yang Yun and Dong Fangxiao were younger than the minimum Olympic age limit of 16 during the 2000 Games.

Chinese women’s gymnastics team coach Lu Shanzhen asserts Yang and Dong’s innocence, but adds that they will cooperate with the FIG.

“Yang and Dong were registered under the FIG’s Olympic entry procedure and their ages were eligible,” said Lu to Beijing Youth Daily. “We will positively communicate with FIG and cooperate on their investigation in our authority. The FIG might have some information, but we don’t know what they’ve got until we talk to them.”

Briefs..

…Richard Worth is stepping down as chief executive of Olympic sports marketing agency Sportfive at the end of the month. Worth’s departure from the Zurich-based organization is part of a company-wide reorganization, according to spokeswoman Caroline Goetz. In February, Sportfive signed a $316 million deal with the IOC for the European broadcast rights to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia and the 2016 Summer Games.

Olympic gold medal swimmer Britta Steffen of Germany set a new world record in the 100-meter freestyle (Getty Images)…Britta Steffen of Germany set a new world record in the 100-meter freestyle at a meet in Berlin on Thursday. The 25-year Steffen, a gold medalist in the 50 and 100-meter freestyle at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, recorded a time of 52.85, breaking the old record of 52.88 set by Libby Trickett of Australia in March, 2008.

…The LA84 Foundation will donate nearly $700,000 in surplus funds from the 1984 Summer Olympics to Los Angeles area youth sports programs this year. The foundation, which was established in 1984 to manage Southern California’s share of the surplus from the Olympics, received $93 million since its inception and has invested $185 million in programs benefiting more than 2 million children throughout Southern California.

…Cross Country skier Roseanne Allen, who was one of the first aboriginal women to represent Canada at the Winter Olympics, died of undetermined causes in Sault Ste, Marie, Ont. on Saturday. She was 55. Allen competed for Canada in Nordic skiing at the 1972 Games in Sapporo, Japan.

...Former U.S. Olympic Judo coach Sachio Ashida died Monday after suffering a stroke and massive heart attack. He was 85 years old. Ashida wasthe coach for the U.S. judo teamat the 1976 Montreal Olympics. He alsoserved as thechairman of the USA Judo rank and certification committee.

Written by Greg Oshust and Isia Reaves