American judo fighter expelled; claims pot brownies to blame

(AP) LONDON
Five things to know about Monday, Day 10 of the London Olympics:

_ American judo fighter Nick Delpopolo expelled from the Olympics for doping; he says he unintentionally ate something before the games baked with marijuana.

_ Gabby Douglas finishes eighth in uneven bars, missing an attempt to add third medal to her two golds.

_ Matt Emmons of the United States finally wins medal in men’s 50-meter rifle three positions.

_ Zero tolerance: Man charged in Olympic bottle throwing incident before 100-meter men’s final.

_ A year ago, London was in flames and now basking in the glow of the Olympic cauldron.

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American judo fighter Nick Delpopolo became the first of the 10,500 athletes at London Games to fail an in-competition doping test, and his explanation certainly is eye-catching. He says he unintentionally ate something before the games that had been baked with marijuana.

Delpopolo was expelled from the Olympics on Monday for doping as the fifth positive test for a banned substance reported by the IOC since the Olympic body started its London testing program in mid-July. The other four were caught before competing.

The 23-year-old judoka from Westfield, N.J., said his positive test was “caused by my inadvertent consumption of food that I did not realize had been baked with marijuana” before he left for the Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee said it disqualified him from the 73-kilogram class, where he placed seventh. The IOC added that he tested positive for metabolites of cannabis after competing on July 30.

The IOC said it will strip him of his accreditation immediately and will ask the International Judo Federation to alter the standings in Delpopolo’s event. The IOC also requested that judo’s governing body “consider any further action within its own competence.”

U.S. Olympic Committee spokesman Patrick Sandusky said in a statement that his group is “absolutely committed to clean competition and stringent anti-doping penalties. Any positive test, for any banned substance, comes with the appropriate consequences and we absolutely support the disqualification.”

Delpopolo, according to his official Olympic biography, was born Petra Perovic in the former Yugoslavia. He was adopted by an American family who changed his name.

A total of 18 medals were on the line Monday from sailing and equestrian jumping to individual gymnastics events and in track and field.

Olympic officials sharply criticized a man arrested for allegedly throwing a plastic bottle onto the track before the men’s 100-meter final Sunday night, although the showcase event was not affected.

Sebastian Coe, head of the London organizing committee, said there would be “zero tolerance” for anti-social behavior. Coe said there was some “poetic justice” involved because the suspect had been sitting next to a judo star who hit him after the bottle was thrown, although he said he was not condoning a vigilante response.

The man, identified as Ashley Gill-Webb, 34, was charged Monday with a public order offense and was to appear later in custody at Stratford Magistrates Court. He was charged with intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress, police said.

Also on Monday, London paused from the games to reflect on riots that erupted in a neighborhood on Aug. 6, 2011, and sparked four nights of looting, arson and mayhem across England.

Britain’s worst street violence for decades left five people dead, several thousand arrested, a nation shocked _ and raised questions about whether London would be able to successfully host the Olympic games.

A year later, that question has been answered. The city is celebrating a games that have, so far, gone more smoothly than organizers dared hope. Coe said that last August, the world “saw a London I didn’t recognize.”

SHOOTING

Matt Emmons of the United States took the bronze for his first medal in the men’s 50-meter rifle three positions after missing out due in both 2004 and 2008.

Emmons had a big lead going into the final shot of 50-meter, three-position rifle in Athens in 2004 in an event where competitors shoot from kneeling, standing and prone positions. But he accidentally fired at the wrong person’s target on his last attempt, earning no points and falling out of medal contention completely.

At the Beijing Games, Emmons was ahead going into the final shot when his gun accidentally went off while he was still lining it up. He finished fourth, although he did take silver in the 50-meter prone rifle.

GYMNASTICS

Aliya Mustafina finally got Russia a gold in gymnastics. Beth Tweddle was thrilled to finally get an Olympic medal, and Gabby Douglas of the United States will get another chance at a medal in the balance beam later after finishing last out of eight competitors.

Just 18 months after blowing out her knee and putting her chances for London in doubt, Mustafina won the title on uneven bars Monday. It gave the 2010 world champion a full set of medals, following her silver in the team competition and bronze in the all-around. Mustafina couldn’t take her eyes off the scoreboard after the final results were posted, staring at it with pride.