IOC Mulls Softball, Baseball Pitch; Semenya Qualifies; Bogut Out for Olympics

IOC Mulls Softball, Baseball Pitch

International Baseball Federation president Riccardo Fraccari tells Around the Rings he’s "confident" and "encouraged" a joint Olympics pitch with softball will come together following discussions with the IOC.

Fraccari and softball counterpart Don Porter met Thursday at IOC headquarters in Lausanne with sport director Christophe Dubi and Olympic Games executive director Gilbert Felli, among others.

"We were very pleased with the meeting and especially appreciated the IOC's diligence and cooperation in helping us explore a joint bid," Fraccari tells ATR.

"The meeting also gave us the opportunity to reassure the IOC on the progress we are making in the discussions with all the professional leagues in order to ensure the best players participate in the Games."

Assurance that Major League Baseball stars will be made available for the Olympics – an issue of importance for the IOC – is among the requirements for both federations laid out in a draft Memorandum of Understanding between the two.

The question now is whether the IOC will sanction a joint bid to begin with, a decision on the agenda for next month’s IOC Executive Board meeting in Quebec City.

"We are hopeful and optimistic that we will be given the green light to move forward as one," he says. "We have been working in very positive spirit with our friends from the International Softball Federation on an MoU, and from our point of view have more or less reached agreement on the main points."

According to an ISF spokesman, winning IOC approval is no shoo-in, and neither is a joint pitch – even with the EB’s blessing.

"There is always the possibility that the IOC won’t allow a combined bid, and there’s a possibility that there won’t be a joint bid," he tells ATR.

In 2005, the IOC voted to kick baseball and softball off the program. The two sports failed with separate bids to regain their Olympic berths for Rio 2016 when golf and rugby were voted on as new sports.

Both are now vying with karate, roller sports, sports climbing, squash, wakeboard and wushu to secure the one place available on the 2020 Olympic program. The IOC will vote at the IOC Session in Buenos Aires.

Semenya Qualifies for London

South African sprinter Caster Semenya will compete in her first Olympics after booking a berth Friday at the Yellow Pages Series III meet in Pretoria.

The reigning 800m runner-up from the 2011 World Athletics Championships ran 1:59.60 this time around, her second race under 1:59:90.

"It is a huge relief to attain the London Olympic A qualifying standard early in the year," she was quoted by The Namibian.

Controversy followed Semenya around the track three years ago in Berlin when she won the world title with a time of 1:55.45. Amid inquiries about her gender, Semenya was suspended by the IAAF until July 2010.

Since her return, she has looked invincible in some races but not up to speed in others. Either way, she’ll be among the 800m favorites for London.

Teens Star at Table Tennis Trials

A trio of California teenagers will represent USA in the women’s team table tennis competition at London 2012.

Ariel Hsing, 16, as well as Lily Zhang and Erica Wu, both 15, qualified over the weekend at the North American Olympic Table Tennis Trials in Cary, North Carolina. Hsing and Zhang will also participate in women’s singles and former national champion Timothy Wang, 20, in men’s singles.

From Canada, men’s teammates Andre Ho, Pierre-Luc Hinse and Eugene Wang are bound for London alongside lone women’s paddler Zhang Mo.

Bogut Out for Olympics

Australia is the latest country to lose some of its top basketball talent ahead of London 2012.

Days after Team USA candidates Dwight Howard (injury) and Brittney Griner (family illness) each took themselves out of contention, Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut was sidelined from national team duty for the fourth straight summer.

"Scans of his rehabilitating ankle, which he injured in the current NBA season after landing awkwardly on an opponent’s foot, revealed that additional arthroscopic surgery will be required for the injury to heal properly, and therefore, there will be insufficient time prior to the Olympic Games for him to become fully fit," says a Sunday statement from Basketball Australia.

Bogut averaged 14.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.2 blocked shots per game in Athens and also started for the Boomers in Beijing.

His injury update comes just weeks after 2006 FIBA World Championship MVP Penny Taylor suffered a season-ending ACL tear, removing her from consideration for the Aussie women’s Olympic team.

Boxing Stays Busy

Olympic boxing berths are on short supply following the end of Europe’s continental qualifier.

A total of 26 boxers from 10 weight categories were added to the men’s field for London 2012 thanks to their performances last week in Trabzon, Turkey. That includes six from Turkey, two a piece from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, France and Ireland as well as one each from Denmark, England, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Russia, Scotland, Sweden and Ukraine.

Africa’s continental qualifier kicks off Friday and runs through May 6 in Casablanca, Morocco with the Americas to follow May 4 through 13 in Rio de Janeiro.

Also ahead are the women’s world championships May 9 to 20 in Qinhuangdao, China, the only opportunity for athletes to qualify in advance of women’s boxing’s Olympic debut.

Vietnamese, Brazilian Fencers Qualify

Nguyen Tien Nhat is Vietnam’s 10th athlete – and first fencer – to qualify for London 2012.

The reigning Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist won silver in men’s epee Saturday at a continental qualifier in Wakayama, Japan.

Also over the weekend, Brazilian teammates Athos Schwantes (men’s epee) and Guilherme Toldo (men’s foil) booked Olympic berths at a qualifying event in Santiago, Chile. Renzo Agresta is already guaranteed a spot in men’s sabre at the Games due to his world ranking.

Written by Matthew Grayson

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