Testimony Ahead for Disgraced Greek Sprinter; Olympic Park Airspace Restrictions

Kenteris Absent as Thanou Appears in Court

Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou is expected to testify next week after making a rare court appearance on Tuesday.

Thanou, 36, and fellow Greek sprinter Kostas Kenteris are on trial for allegedly faking a motorcycle crash that caused the pair to miss a drug test on the eve of the 2004 Athens Olympics.

They are also accused of encouraging medical professionals to issue phony documents to back up their claim. Both athletes deny any wrongdoing.

Tuesday was the first time either sprinter appeared before magistrates since the long-delayed trial kicked off in January.

Only Thanou showed up Tuesday in Athens. She didn’t testify but is expected to do so next Monday.

Thanou was a silver medalist in the 100m in Sydney, and her then-training-partner Kenteris was the men’s 200m champion.

Airspace Restrictions Ahead for London Olympic Park

London 2012 security measures will cover both the ground and the air.

The Associated Press reported Monday that flights over Olympic Park will be restricted throughout next summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Only commercial flights subjected to rigorous security protocol will be allowed to enter designated airspace in east London, British transport minister Theresa Villiers told the news agency.

She added that these restrictions are expected to last from July 13 to Sept. 12 but that all London-area airports will remain open throughout that two-month span.

Pan Arab Games Postponed

The 2011 Pan Arab Games will now take place Dec. 9-23 inDoha.

Originally scheduled for November, the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees made the decision to move the event at its General Assembly in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Accordingto reports, the move comes to avoid clashing with qualification matches for the 2014 World Cup and preparations for the 2012 Olympics.

Nawaf bin Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz was elected president of the UANOC over the weekend. He is president of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee and succeeds Sultan bin Fahad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

European Youth Olympic Festival Agreement

Georgia is now the official host of the 2015 European Youth Olympic Festival.

The Georgian National Olympic Committee signed the contract to organize the Festival at the Italian Olympic Committee headquarters in Rome, where the EOC Secretariat is located, on Monday.

EOC President Patrick Hickey, EOC Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi, Gia Natsvlishvili, GNOC president, and George Ugulava, Mayor of Tbilisi, were the signatories of the Host City Contract.

The Festival will take place July 19-24 of 2015. More than 3,000 athletes are expected to compete in nine sports.

Media Watch

The March cover story of African Business Review discusses if Durban can build on its World Cup success for the Olympics.

Tuesday’s New York Times has an article featuring Russia’s efforts to secure Sochi ahead of the 2014 Olympics.

"Unbroken", the book about Olympian Louie Zamperini who spent several years in a Japanese prisoner of war camp during World War II, topped The New York Times’ Bestseller List for nonfiction E-books for the fourth straight week last week. The list was first published on Feb. 13. For combined print and e-book sales, the book, written by Laura Hillenbrand, was the best seller. "Unbroken" was also number one for hardcover nonfiction last week and has spent 10 weeks on that list.

Written by Matthew Grayson and Ed Hula III.