Olympic Newsdesk - Women Ski Jumpers Appeal; Rafer Johnson Enshrined

Women Ski Jumpers File Appeal

(ATR) The group of women ski jumpers attempting to gain entry into the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver on Tuesday appealed an earlier court decision that rejected their bid.

The athletes presented their case in the B.C. Court of Appeal in an attempt to reverse a decision by the B.C. Supreme Court. The court said at that time that it did not have the power to overrule the IOC’s authority.

The women claim that VANOC must adhere to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“We are not asking the court to determine which sports are to be included in the Olympics. That is not its role,” Ross Clark, the lawyer for the ski jumpers said in a statement. “It is for the court to see that the hosting of the Games and in particular, the ski jumping events, complies with the charter.”

Johnson Named to California Hall of Fame

Rafer Johnson, who won gold in the decathlon at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, has been selected to the California Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

Johnson will be honored with the other inductees at a ceremony in Sacramento on Dec. 1.

Other inductees joining Johnson in the California Hall of Fame are filmmaker George Lucas, entertainer Carol Burnett, former Intel CEO Andrew Grove, football commentator John Madden, gay rights advocate Harvey Milk, former California governor and U.S. senator Hiram Johnson, author Danielle Steel, fitness and bodybuilding magazine publisher Joe Weider and Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager.

Briefs…

…Four Ethiopian track and field athletes were reported missing after leaving their hotel before a meet in Falkirk, Scotland. The four athletes – Betelhem Shewatatek (women’s 200 meters), Feleke Bekele (women’s 400 hurdles), Hagos Tadesse (men’s 400 meters) and Tirehas Haileselassie (men’s hurdles) – were in Scotland to compete for Ethiopia in the Falkirk Cup, a meet that also features England, Ireland and Scotland.

…Finnish Olympic hockey player Erkki Laine drowned in a lake near Lahti, Finland, on Wednesday. He was 51. Laine played for the Finnish hockey team at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo and the ’88 Games in Calgary, where he helped lead the Finns to the silver medal.

…Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation president Ferenc Studniczky received the Order of Merit of the Hungarian Republic from Hungary’s president Laszlo Solyom on Tuesday. Studniczky received the award for helping make hockey more popular in Hungary.

…The International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles has suspended the national wrestling federations of Argentina and Uruguay for non-payment of FILA fees.

Written by Greg Oshust.