Sports

LONDON: London Olympics organizers say 3,800 tickets were reclaimed and put on sale to the British public for Tuesday events. Criticism of blocks of empty seats has led organizers to try to recover tickets given to national Olympic committees and sport federations that will not be used. Organizers then put the excess tickets for sale online to the British public. …

KINGSTON, Jamaica: Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake sauntered through their 200 metres semi-finals on Saturday to set up another rematch and an explosive finish to the Jamaican Olympic trials. The men’s 200m on Sunday will provide the grand-finale to the four-day meeting that could prove even more dramatic than their 100m showdown won by Blake, as the two fastest men …

DES MOINES: U.S. wrestler Stephany Lee has been suspended for a year and must give her up spot on the Olympic team after testing positive for marijuana. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on Thursday says Lee tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol acid, a marijuana metabolite, at the Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City on April 21. Lee, who also tested positive for …

REUTERS: While South African athlete Oscar Pistorius attempts to become the first amputee runner to compete at the Olympic Games, scientists are still arguing whether his artificial limbs give him a critical advantage or not. Pistorius, born without fibulas and who had his lower legs amputated when a baby, uses carbon fiber prosthetic running blades and is hoping to qualify …

ATHENS: Amid the gloom of a political and economic crisis, Greece’s gutsy 1-0 win over heavily-favored Russia to advance to the Euro 2012 quarterfinals has at last given the country’s crisis-weary citizens something to cheer about. Thousands poured into Athens’ central Omonia Square on Saturday waving Greek flags, lighting green and red flares and setting off firecrackers amid the din …

DUBLIN: The Olympic flame arrived in Dublin on a cross-border peace mission Wednesday to celebrate Northern Ireland reconciliation and strong British-Irish ties. A high-speed convoy sped the symbol of the London Games to the Irish capital after a dawn ceremony at the border between the Republic of Ireland and the British territory of Northern Ireland. There, two Olympic medal-winning boxers …

BOLU, Turkey: So excited was Goksu Uctas at the thought of becoming Turkey’s first Olympic gymnast, she wanted the five Olympic rings tattooed on her arm. For now, though, the London-bound athlete has settled for a silver necklace of the famous symbol, which she twirls excitedly in her fingers. While Turkey excels at wrestling and weightlifting — the nation’s men …

CARACAS, Venezuela: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez jokingly raised the possibility of teaming up with President Barack Obama to lobby for baseball and softball to be brought back to the Olympics. Chavez made the remark during a televised speech Tuesday night, saying he’s sorry that the two sports won’t be played at the London Games. Baseball and softball were last played …