Drysdale’s Darby wins right to compete The Games begin

Alex de Vos
Drysdale’s Angie Darby was on her way to Beijing yesterday after beating a last-minute appeal against her inclusion in Australia’s Olympic Games team.
Darby was set to join her teammates in the Olympic Village today after a European Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected the Greek appeal against her place in the modern pentathlon.
Australia Olympic Committee sport director Fiona de Jong was rapt with the result.
“Bloody beauty,” de Jong said after hearing Darby had beaten the appeal.
“I’m so pleased for Angie. It is a feeling of relief and joy that the saga is finally over and Angie can
Two-time Tour De France runner-up Cadel Evans, who had a home at Barwon Heads, has also won his bid to compete at the games.
Evans has brushed off a knee injury to line up for Australia in the road race.
Seven other athletes from Geelong and the Surf Coast will also lead the region’s charge at Beijing.
Craig Mottram, rated one of the best middle-distance runners in the world, will compete in the 1500 and 5000-metre events. He will shoulder the region’s best hopes of coming home with a medal in track and field events after a hamstring injury forced Geelong champion walker Nathan Deakes out of the games.
Mr Mottram’s father, Brian, was looking forward to watching his son from the sidelines in Bejing
“We leave on the 14th and we’re getting very excited,” Mr Mottram said.
“As far as Craig is concerned, it’s going to be a tough gig against the Africans but he’ll give 120, 130 per cent.”
Little River will cheer year-12 student Mark Anthony, competing in the 81kg-and-under division for Australia’s 13-member judo squad.
Thirty-five-year-old Lee Troop will represent Australia in the men’s marathon after finishing 28th in Athens.
He said he was looking forward to competing in Beijing, but admitted he had yet to catch “Olympic fever”.
“We’re not on for another three weeks, so I haven’t really thought about how I feel,” Troop said. “I’m sure once I get on the plane on Sunday it will hit me.”
Winchelsea-raised siblings Natalia, 25, and Paul Raham, 23, will compete side by side in skeet shooting, a clay target discipline.
Natalia Raham narrowly missed selection for the Sydney and Athens Olympics but won gold medals at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games. Her 19-year-old brother was the youngest member of the shooting team at Athens but failed to make the final.
Jan Juc’s Adrian Leijer and North Geelong’s Matthew Spiranovic are representing Australia in soccer. Leijer, a senior member of the Olyroos squad, signed a three-year deal with Premier League club Fulham last year but did not play a match all season.
He is set to complete a rare treble in Beijing after representing Australia at junior World Cups in Finland in 2003 and the Netherlands in 2005.
Spiranovic is one of the Olyroos’ youngest squad members.
The 20-year-old defender suffered mild concussion from a head injury in the Olyroos’ qualifying match against China but bounced back to play out another loss to Korea last week.