Sport in brief: Britain's Priestley suspended after drugs charge
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Your support makes all the difference.Athletics: British hurdler Callum Priestley, 21, has been provisionally suspended by UK Athletics after testing positive for the banned drug clenbuterol.
Priestley, winner of the UK indoor 60m hurdles title in Sheffield last month, has been charged with a doping violation, which carries a two-year suspension after the results of tests carried out on a sample at a training camp in South Africa in January. Clenbuterol is commonly found in anti-asthma inhalers but is also used by body-builders. It was the drug taken by German sprinters Katrin Krabbe and Grit Breuer when they were banned in the 1990s. Niels De Vos, the chief executive of UK Athletics, said: "I am hugely disappointed there's has been a failed test. UK Athletics continues to give 100 per cent support to the work of UK Anti-Doping and we maintain our full commitment to drug-free sport." Simon Turnbull
MCC abandon plans to buy into IPL franchise
Cricket: The MCC have decided against bidding for either of the two new Indian Premier League franchises, it was disclosed yesterday. An MCC statement read: "MCC has confirmed that it was not part of the bids that were lodged in Mumbai for the two new Indian Premier League franchises. The MCC committee had met this week at Lord's to discuss its potential involvement with an IPL franchise. The MCC committee has further decided that its best position lies in a broader relationship with the IPL as a whole." The owners of future franchises are expected to be announced tomorrow.
Armstong's boss plays down Contador rivalry
Cycling: Team RadioShack chief Johan Bruyneel is keen to play down Lance Armstrong's rivalry with Alberto Contador in the Tour de France – for fear of giving the American's challengers a helping hand. Both raced for Astana last season, with Armstrong losing out to his Spanish team-mate, but Bruyneel believes such tactics would hand his rivals – in particular Britain's Bradley Wiggins – "an advantage" for the Tour de France.
Putin berates Russia's Vancouver failures
Olympics: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin yesterday took his country's sports officials to task over the nation's dismal showing at the Vancouver Games, despite what he described as generous state funding. Putin said that Russian sports federations must get broader powers and specific responsibilities, more facilities need to be built and wages of coaches must be increased to prevent a humiliation when Russia hosts the Winter Games in Sochi in 2014. He told officials that: "You have to go into the games not just to sweat, but to win". The Russians won only 15 medals in Canada.
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