Doping Ban for Olympic Champion; No Olympic Radio Station

Olympic Champion Sprinter Slapped With Doping Ban

Olympic champion sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser will be sidelined for six months after failing a doping test.

The International Association of Athletics Federations announced the ban in its recently published list of sanctioned athletes.

Fraser tested positive for oxycodone May 23 at the Shanghai Diamond League meeting.

Her management told Jamaican media earlier this month that Fraser took the painkiller to soothe a toothache.

Oxycodone is the active ingredient in OxyContin and is not a performance-enhancing drug.

The AFP reported Wednesday that the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association lobbied the IAAF to decrease the ban to six months rather than the two-year standard.

For the complete list of sanctioned athletes, click here.

Olympic Radio Station Canned

A proposed radio station exclusively broadcasting Olympic content during the London Games will not go on the air.

British radio regulator Ofcom said a "lack of compelling evidence of demand, coupled with the not insignificant process involved (including the drafting of primary legislation) in licensing any such services, has led Ofcom to decide not to proceed with the possible licensing of digital radio services for the period during and around the London 2012 Games."

It added "in total we received ten responses, although a number of these did not relate to providing short-term services on a digital broadcasting platform as requested by our invitation."

The station would have only been available on digital radio, not AM or FM.

Airport IOC’s Biggest Rio Concern

Rio 2016 president Carlos Arthur Nuzman said the IOC’s biggest concern ahead of the Olympics is if the city can improve its airports before the Games.

Nuzman said at a business forum Tuesday night in Rio de Janeiro. According to a report on the O Globo sports website, Nuzman said in the IOC’s eyes, "nothing is more clear and obvious as to what needs to be done".

Rio is served by the Galeao International Airport and Santos Dumont Airport, which handles domestic traffic. Both are in need of expansion and upgrades. Santos Dumont received extensive renovation ahead of the 2007 Pan American Games.

Ukraine Budgeting for 2022 Winter Olympics

Ukraine 2022 has governmental support, and now the funds are coming too.

The country’s draft budget for 2011 will set aside nearly $500 million for Games-related infrastructure. Ravil Safiullin, Ukrainian sports minister, made the announcement Wednesday.

He said the amount will double in 2012.

"By 2015, we must build 50% of the necessary sports facilities and infrastructure that will be presented to the International Olympic Committee in the year to determine the host country of the Olympic Games in 2022," he said in a statement.

Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych said in May he wants to bring the Winter Games to his country’s Carpathian Mountains.

The two cities most likely to try and bid for the Games are Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv.

Ukraine staged some football matches during the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. It will also stage the UEFA tournament in 2012 with Poland.

The IOC will vote on the host at the 2015 IOC Session.

London Olympic-Style School Sports Competition

Children in nine communities will be the first to take part in a national competition between schoolchildren in Olympic sports, UK culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said today at the launch of the new initiative.

Youngsters will compete within their own schools and against other local schools in a wide range of sports, including Olympic and Paralympic disciplines.

The scheme will culminate in a national competition in spring 2012 at the Olympic Park in east London, with formal opening and closing ceremonies and medals.

"Win or lose - competitive sport teaches children important life lessons - in commitment, discipline and teamwork," Hunt said. "Our new Olympic-style school sports competition will spark a revolution in school sport, and leave a lasting legacy from London's Games."

Media Watch

NPR health policy correspondent and horse lover Julie Rovner tells "Talk of the Nation" about her weekend at the World Equestrian Games.

Written by Ed Hula III and Matthew Grayson.