Morning finals proposed for Beijing Olympics

US broadcasters NBC want the finals of the swimming competitions at the 2008 Beijing Games to be switched to the morning, according to a report on website swimnews.com.

The report said NBC wanted the heats to take place in the evening with finals taking over the morning slot, a move that would better suit North American TV audiences.

"The IOC is aware that there have been requests to change the timings for the swimming events," IOC director of communications Giselle Davies told Reuters.

"The executive board meet later this month and will consider all proposals before the ultimate decision is made."

NBC owns the exclusive US media rights to the Olympics, having paid $3.55 billion to cover the Games from 2000-2008. The company recently secured the rights to the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and 2012 Summer Games in London for a further $2.201 billion.

Swimming is likely to be one of their biggest ratings winners at the 2008 Games with Michael Phelps, who won a record eight medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics, expected to lead the American charge for gold.

¤ Russia's Gulfiya Khanafeyeva set a world record in the women's hammer with a throw of 77.26 metres at the Russian national championships in Tula on Monday. She bettered the previous mark of 77.06 set by compatriot Tatiana Lysenko in Moscow last July.