Olympics round-up

WELCOME MALTA: The ceremony welcoming the Maltese contingent to the Olympic Village for London 2012 will be held tomorrow at 12.30 p.m. (Malta time).The Maltese squad will be led by chef de mission Julian Pace Bonello at the symbolic ceremony during which the Maltese anthem will be played followed by the hoisting of the flag. Malta’s five Olympic athletes and MOC officials, led by president Lino Farrugia Sacco, will attend the ceremony.

FEDERER, AZARENKA TOP SEEDS: Wimbledon champion Roger Federer and Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka have been named as top seeds for the Olympic tennis event. Beijing Olympic bronze medallist Novak Djokovic is seeded two with home favourite Andy Murray at three in the competition, which starts tomorrow. Belarusian world number one Azarenka tops the women’s seeds, followed by 2012 Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska, of Poland.

BOA STILL AWAITING IDOWU FILES: British Olympic chiefs said they’d still to receive the medical records of injured triple jumper Phillips Idowu (picture). The 33-year-old Idowu failed to travel to a pre-Games training camp in Portugal on Monday. That led the British Olympic Association (BOA) to confirm they’d asked for Idowu’s medical records in a bid to clarify details of his injury. The BOA confirmed yesterday they were still waiting on the paperwork they had requested.

ZAGUNIS TO CARRY US FLAG: The United States named Olympic fencing champion Mariel Zagunis as their flag-bearer for tonight’s London 2012 opening ceremony. Two-time sabre gold-medallist Zagunis, 27, was chosen in a vote by the 529-strong American team, in what extended a tradition of surprise picks for the honour. “I’m extremely humbled by this incredible privilege,” said Zagunis. “As an athlete, I can’t imagine a higher honour than to lead Team USA into the Olympic Games.”

2022 VOTE IN KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur was chosen yesterday to host the International Olympic Committee Session in 2015 where the host of the 2022 Winter Olympics will be decided. With a motto of ‘By the family for the family’ Malaysian IOC member Prince Tunku Imran led the presentation which also featured a video message from the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak. Seven cities originally bid for the right to host the session.

DISCUS THROWER KICKED OUT: Zoltan Kovago became the second Hungarian discus thrower to be kicked out of the Olympics yesterday after he refused to undergo a drugs test. Kogavo, who was a silver medallist at the 2004 Athens Games, refused to provide a test sample, a move deemed as a positive test result, the domestic MASZ news agency reported, and he was suspended for two years. Fellow discus thrower Robert Fazekas was last week also kicked off the team for the London Games.

STARS HONOUR GREAT ALI: Stars of sport and screen gathered in London on Wednesday to honour legendary heavyweight boxer and Olympic champion Muhammad Ali. The 70-year-old boxer attended the gala event at the Victoria and Albert Museum in central London which was hosted by Hollywood A-list couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Others guests at the UK-themed Sports For Peace dinner included Live Aid creator Bob Geldof, Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton and actress Rosario Dawson.