Olympic Notes: Parents Of Marathon Gold Medal Winner Kiprotich Get A New House

Recently-crowned Olympic marathon champion Stephen Kiprotich returned home Wednesday to "a rapturous welcome in Uganda, an $80,000 cheque and a pledge that his parents will get a new house." Kiprotich, who beat the heavily-fancied Kenyan team to claim Uganda's first Gold Medal in 40 years at the London Games, "was welcomed by cheering fans before being whisked to a breakfast meeting with President Yoweri Museveni" (AFP, 8/16).

BACK TO THE GLORY: Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan "has ordered an overhaul of the sports sector" after the country's failure to win a medal at the Olympics. Minister of Information Labaran Maku said the president wanted a "total and comprehensive" overhaul to restore Nigerian sports to its "past glory" (BBC, 8/16).