Near Stunner: Phelps Barely Qualifies

Meanwhile, the Olympics gets its first doping scandal
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 28, 2012 9:48 AM CDT
Games Has First Gold, First Doping Scandal
Michael Phelps reacts after the 400-meter individual medley heat. He qualified, but barely.   (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Some milestones on day one of the London Olympics:

  • First near upset: Michael Phelps just barely qualified in his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, reports AP. "That one didn't feel too good," said Phelps, who squeaked into the eighth and final spot by seven-hundredths of a second.
  • First gold medal: Yi Siling of China won it in the 10-meter air rifle competition, reports the BBC.
  • First doping scandal: Albanian weightlifter Hysen Pulaku tested positive for steroids and got the boot, the first athlete so sanctioned at these Games, reports the Wall Street Journal.
  • Breach of Olympic spirit: (This one is not a first.) Lebanon's judo team refused to practice on the same mat as the Israeli team, forcing Olympic officials to erect a screen between them, reports the Jerusalem Post.
(More 2012 London Olympics stories.)

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