Dibaba aims for double,doping cases reported

France8217;s 5,000 metres runner Hassan Hirt failed a test for the banned blood booster EPO erythropoietin prior to competing in London,where he finished 11th in his first-round heat on Wednesday and failed to qualify.

Kenyan athletics officials also confirmed on Friday that distance runner Mathew Kisorio tested positive for a banned substance in June,but rejected his claim that doping was widespread in the country.

Earlier in the week Victor Conte,convicted owner of a now-defunct laboratory at the centre of a global steroid scandal,said it was easy to cheat at the Olympics by using drugs.

The International Olympic Committee dismissed his comments as being like a poacher criticising a gamekeeper.

JAMAICAN JOY

Jubilant Jamaicans at home and in London were nursing hangovers on Friday following the fireworks of Thursday,when Usain Bolt became the first man to defend both the 100 and 200 sprints and sealed his place in Olympic lore.

The Jamaican 1-2-3 in the 200,the highlight of the Thursday8217;s athletics,made it particularly sweet for the Caribbean island which has just celebrated the 50th anniversary of independence from Britain.

I made a goal to become a legend,Bolt said after his 19.32-second dash. Reflecting on what he might do next,the world8217;s fastest human added: I have made my goal,now I have to sit down and make another one.

Jamaica8217;s women try to keep their country8217;s Olympic sprint magic flowing in Friday8217;s 4215;100 relay.

Women8217;s double 100 champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and third-placed Veronica Campbell-Brown will lock horns with a U.S. quartet featuring 100 silver medallist Carmelita Jeter and 200 winner Allyson Felix.

The Jamaicans will be missing from the men8217;s 4215;400 after failing to qualify but the United States,seeking an eighth successive win in the event,are not as strong as usual and face a real battle to keep their streak alive.

They would have no chance at all but for Manteo Mitchell,who astonishingly secured a place in the final for his team by running through the pain of a broken fibula bone in his leg.

Friday also sees medals on offer in the women8217;s 1,500 metres,women8217;s hammer and men8217;s pole vault,while the heats of the men8217;s 4215;100 relay should give another sellout crowd of around 80,000 plenty of excitement.

MEDAL RUSH

Bolt8217;s triumph capped a remarkable Thursday when Kenya8217;s David Rudisha broke his own 800 world record,Britain8217;s Nicola Adams became the first woman to win an Olympic boxing title and the United States held off a Japanese fightback to win their third successive women8217;s soccer gold.

If she can win on Friday,Dibaba will be emulating the 5,000/10,000 double of Finnish man Lasse Viren in 1972/76.

Ashton Eaton took the unofficial title of the world8217;s greatest athlete late on Thursday when he won the decathlon,helping the United States to climb atop the overall medals table with 39 golds and overtake China which is on 37.

The two have been neck-and-neck throughout London 2012 in the race for Olympic bragging rights,but whoever wins,home nation Britain will certainly be celebrating its best medals haul since 1908 when London first hosted the Games.

Its 25 golds put it behind China in third place and easily surpasses the previous best in Beijing of 19.

The golden glow has helped fuel the popularity of the Games among a public that has packed many venues and lifted athletes with deafening cheers.

Travel delays have not been as severe as some predicted despite a surge in travellers. Transport for London said on Friday that in the first 12 days of the Games,47 million journeys were made on the underground,up 30 percent on a year ago.

There were disappointments for home fans on Friday though,including on the water where Australia won gold ahead of Britain in the men8217;s two-hander 470 sailing class. New Zealand repeated the trick in the women8217;s event.

Tunisia8217;s Oussama Mellouli won the men8217;s swimming marathon though the Serpentine lake in London8217;s Hyde Park to become the first swimmer to get medals in the pool and open water.

Attention turned to Sunday8217;s closing ceremony,when the Olympic Flame will be extinguished in the curtain call for a Games that has galvanished many Britons.

Before the baton is passed to Rio de Janeiro,which hosts the first South American Olympics in 2016,the world will witness a ceremony celebrating British music,with The Spice Girls,The Who and Brian May among those set to perform.