Just weeks from the start of the Olympic Games in Beijing, a British lawyer has filed an appeal to stop another Australian pentathlete from competing in the Games.
The London legal firm of Bates, Wells and Braithwaite is arguing in favour of a Greek athlete to take the place of Australian modern pentathlete Angie Darby.
Only last week the firm had successfully argued to have Australia's Alex Parygin ruled out of the Games in favour of a British athlete. .. etc[/QUOTE
Australia selected only two Olympians for the swimming, running, shooting, fencing and riding sport of modern pentathlon.
Last week, that number was halved when Britain successfully appealed in the Court of Arbitration for Sport against Alex Parygin's qualification.
The lawyer for the British Modern Pentathlon Association, Mike Townley, has now gone out on his own and has Australia's female modern pentathlete Angie Darby in his sights
not sure I'm right here, but I think Alex Parygin lost out because he didn't have recent competition hours up - something to do with the Aus outbreak of equine influenza
Darby's case and that of Alex Parygin are now in the hands of lawyers.
But Fiona de Jong from the Australian Olympic Committee does have a back up plan.
FIONA DE JONG (AOC's Director of Sport) : With both of them, we have appealed to Jacques Rogge, the President of the IOC, to see if there is anything that the IOC is able to do to make available an additional place for Alex and maintain Angie's place in the case of the women’s.
So, we hope that if the legal process fails Angie, than the humanitarian process may help her and Alex.
KAREN BARLOW: It's hoped the cases will be resolved by the end of the week.