Olympic Newsdesk - Stolen Medals Returned; Medvedev Meets Rogge

Rogge says Russia One of Top Three Olympic Countries

IOC President Jacques Rogge said Russia is one of the three top Olympic countries in the world.

Rogge made the comments after meeting with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in the Swiss city of Berne on Tuesday. Medvedev was on a state visit to Switzerland.

According to a report in Russia Today, Rogge is optimistic about the success of Sochi’s Olympics, citing Russia’s sporting and economic performances, as confidence boosters.

“The Russian Federation is an economically very strong country” the Web site quoted Rogge.

“It has a great tradition in sport. You have organized perfectly the Moscow Games and many world championships. You have won more than one thousand Olympic medals in the whole history of your country. So that puts you at the very top together with the United States of America and China, you are the top three in the world for organizing the Games.”

Medvedev said the Olympics are a priority for Russia and that they will remain in constant contact with the IOC about preparations.

“The main thing for us now is the preparation for the Olympics of 2014, which will take place in Sochi,” Medevedev said.

Medvedev added he hoped Rogge would be reelected as president of the IOC.

Swimmer Medals Returned

Australian swimming legend John Konrads is reunited with 16 medals that were stolen from his home in 1984. The collection included one gold and two bronze medals that he won at the 1960 Rome Olympics.

Shortly after the medals were returned, Konrads decided he could live at least one more year without them and loaned them to the National Sports Museum at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The collection is estimated to be worth $100,000.

Police from the Victorian city of Geelong recovered his medals in May after one of the items —a commemorative medal from the 1964 Tokyo Games — was put up for sale on Ebay. An American saw the items who contacted Konrads. The swimmer then notified police. Police intercepted the medals before they were shipped overseas.

A woman said she had paid $200 at a garage sale 10 years ago for a shoebox with the medals. The woman told police that she believed the medals were fakes and the police do not plan on pressing charges against her, according to news reports.

The IOC did give Konrads replicas of the stolen medals that swimmer later sold.

Detective Nick Uebergang was quoted in Australia’s The Age newspaper that Konrads, 67, was "thrilled" the medals were returned.

"He believed he was never going to see them again," Uebergang said.

"He had given up all hope of ever getting them back, thinking they'd probably either been melted down or were with a collector and (that he) wasn't likely to see them again in his lifetime."

Konrads was a swimming prodigy, having set freestyle world records from 200m to 1,500m by 15. His 1960 gold medal came in the 1,500m.

Full IIHF Membership for Italian Federation

The International Ice Hockey Federation granted the Italian Ice Hockey Federation (IIHA) full membership with full voting rights during the IIHF Semi-Annual Congress in Tunis on Monday.

Previously, Italy was represented in the IIHF by the Italian Ice Sports Federation (FISG) as an associate member.

The IIHA received full membership after proving to the IIHF that it was an independent entity according to the IIHF’s statutes and bylaws.

“The Council made the judgment that the Italian Ice Hockey Association has a sufficient degree of independence and the Council proposes an upgrade to full membership,” IIHF council member Frederick Meredith said.

Baseball World Cup in Third Round

The United States and the Netherlands are the top ranked teams in their pools as the third round of the Baseball World Cup begins on Tuesday in Italy.

The U.S. is the top team in Pool G, while Australia is ranked second, Canada third and Chinese Taipei. The Netherlands lead Pool F, with Puerto Rico second, Cuba third and Venezuela fourth.

The four teams in each of the two pools will play three games against the other teams in their pool in third-round action through Friday. The top teams emerging from each pool will play for the championship in Nettuno, Italy on Sunday, while the second, third and fourth place teams from both pools face each other on Saturday.

Asian Games Unveils Torches

Two torches—Tide and Exploit—made the shortlist for next year's Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

The Tide's exterior features the reddish color of the flower of bombax ceiba. This flower is the emblem of Guangzhou and embodies the power and passion of life. Exploit has orange curves which symbolize the Pearl River flowing from inland areas to the seas and the world. This image highlights spirits of the Lingnan culture including inclusiveness, innovation and progressiveness.

The curves of both troches are sprayed with a luminescent material so the flame can easily be seen during a lighting ceremony.

The Guangdong Asian Games Organizing Committee will make the final decision based on poll results and opinions of Games’ experts. The public can vote for their favorite at www.gz2010.cn/en.

The 16th Asian Games will take place Nov. 12 – 20. More than 14,000 athletes, trainers and coaches representing 45 countries will participate.

Briefs…

… Peter Vint was named the new high performance director for the USOC on Tuesday. Vint was the senior sport technologist since 2005. He replaces Steve Roush.

Written by Ed Hula III, Greg Oshust and Sam Steinberg.

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