The Silver and Bronze Medalists in the Hammer Throw event at the Beijing Games have been stripped of their medals for testing positive for high levels of testosterone on August 17. Vadim Devyatovskiy and Ivan Tsikhan of Belraus will forfeit their medals and Devyatovskiy, for whom this was a second offense, was hit with a lifetime Olympic ban.

The silver will now go to Krisztian Pars of Hungary and the bronze to Koji Murofushi of Japan. Primoz Kozmus of Slovenia won the gold medal.

In total, nine athletes were found guilty of doping during the Beijing Games.

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Hammer Throw Olympians Stripped of Medals

Londoners turned out en masse today to celebrate Great Britain’s more than 500 Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Gold Medalists Chris Hoy (cycling), Rebecca Adlington (swimming), and Victoria Pendleton (track cycling) were among those featured on the 12 floats that snaked their way through the downtown streets.

Great Britain earned 47 Medals in the Olympic Games, including 12 Golds. It was their best showing more than 100 years. The GB team earned 102 medals at the Paralympic Games, finished second in the medal tally to host nation, China.

London is the site of the next Summer Olympic Games, which begin on August 29, 2012.

^{(photo of the British Olympic and Paralympic swim team © Newscom)}

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London Celebrates Olympians

New Zealand’s Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell, the Gold Medalists in the women’s double sculling event in both the Beijing and the Athens games, announced their retirement from the sport on Friday (New Zealand time), which happens to be their 30th birthday. The rowing twins are one of just a handful of New Zealand athletes to earn back-to-back Gold Medals. They gave no indication of what their next ventures will be, although the pair is active on the New Zealand and international speaking circuit.

^{(photo © Newscom)}

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Evers-Swindell Sisters Retire from Rowing

Michael Phelps returned to the University of Michigan over the weekend, the school he attended between 2004 and 2008 and where he trained leading up to the Beijing Olympics. Phelps was honored with other Michigan Olympians during halftime at the Michigan-Wisconsin Game on Saturday.

Phelps was also named the USA’s Swimming Athlete of the Year this weekend, to the surprise of few people, if any. Phelps’ coach, Bob Bowman won the swimming coach of the year award earlier in the month.

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Phelps Returns to Michigan

The controversy surrounding the ages of the Gold-Medal-winning Chinese womens gymnastic team is continuing. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) are examining whether He Kexin and Yang Yilin were truly the required 16 years required to compete at the Olympics. They have also expanded their inquiry to include the Chinese competitors at the 2000 Sydney Games, where China won a Bronze Medal. They are examining whether Yang Yun and Dong Fangxiao on that squad were old enough to compete.

A spokeswoman for the FIG, Emmanuelle Moreau told the Associated Press on Wednesday at the inquiry “is a work in progress. Until the work is completed, there is nothing we can say.” The minimum age for gymnasts was raised to 16 years in 1997.

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Probe into Chinese Gymnasts’ Ages Continues

The United States dressage team was stripped of its fourth place finish at the 2008 Beijing Olympics on September 7 after one team member’s horse, Courtney King’s “Mythilus,” tested positive for a banned substance used as a pain killer and anti-inflammatory. King also loses her 13th place individual finish at the Games. King was given a one-month suspension, which she has already served since she was suspended at the Beijing Games.

King’s dressage team mates are Steffen Peters (on Ravel) and Debbie McDonald (on Brentina). Germany won the event with the Netherlands and Denmark taking the Silver and Bronze Medals, respectively.

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US Olympic Dressage Finish Disqualified for Doping

^{(photo courtesy of NBC Universal)}

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Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony — The DVD

I’ve been awed by the accomplishments of the Paralympic athletes this past week as they have overcome physical challenges to achieve athletic goals most people would never have set for them. There is Oscar Pretorius and his “blades,” Natalie du Toit winning her five Gold Medals, and Barbara Buchan, who survived two months in a coma and five brain operations to win a Paralympic Gold Medal in cycling at age 52. The stories go on and on.

One of the most intriguing aspects of the Paralympic competition to me is the use of guides for the sight-impaired runners. These unsung athletes must be just as fast and just as fit as the competitor as they run alongside and steer the sightless runner. Above is Canada’s Jason Dunkerley with his guide as he competes in the 800m T12 competition last week.

^{(photo © Newscom)}

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Running with a Guide

South Africa’s Natalie du Toit continues to excel at the Beijing Paralympic Games. The 24-year-old, who lost her leg in a 2001 motorcycle accident, won her fourth Paralympic Gold Medal on Friday in the 400m freestyle event, setting a world record time of 4:43.81 for her disability class.

Du Toit has also won Gold in the 100m butterfly, 200m individual relay, and 100m freestyle events. She has one more event–the 50m freestyle–in which to compete.

^{(photo © Newscom)}

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Natalie du Toit Wins 4th Paralympic Gold

Olympian sighting continue around the United States. Friday, US Olympic swimmers, Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, and Ryan Lochte tour the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. They were guests of Warnaco, the parent company of Speedo, for whom the trio are spokespersons.

Phelps won a record eight Gold Medals at the Beijing Games in August. Coughlin won six Medals including one Gold, and Lochte won four Medals including two Gold.

^{(photo © Newscom)}

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US Olympic Swimmers at the NY Stock Exchange