JESS VARNISH, the former Great Britain track cyclist, lost her landmark employment case against British Cycling and UK Sport which had "threatened to overhaul funding" for Olympic athletes. She began legal proceedings after claiming she was dropped from the British Cycling squad for the 2016 Rio Olympics in retaliation for criticizing her coaches (London GUARDIAN, 1/16). ... The Int'l Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation banned four Russian bobsledders, including Russian Bobsleigh Federation President ALEXANDER ZUBKOV, from the sport for two years for doping. Zubkov carried the Russian flag at the opening ceremony for the 2014 Sochi Winter Games and at age 39, became one of the oldest bobsleigh drivers to win a Gold Medal at the Olympics. The IBSF announced that its Anti-Doping Hearing Panel found that Zubkov, ALEXANDER KASYANOV, ALEKSEI PUSHAKAREV and ILVIR KHUZIN were "all part of the Russian scheme in Sochi that swapped steroid-tainted urine samples with clean ones" (AROUND THE RINGS, 1/16). ... Eight-time winner DAVID WEIR said that he will compete in the London Marathon wheelchair race for the 20th consecutive year in April. The six-time Paralympic champion was fifth in his debut in '00 at the age of 19. His first victory came in '02 and he followed that with wins in '06, '07, '08, '11, '12, '17 and '18. He said, "Every year I say to myself that even if I only do one race, it has got to be the London Marathon. It is such a special event for me (BBC, 1/17). ... League Championship side Nottingham Forest Manager MARTIN O'NEILL said that the timing is "finally right" for him to manage the club and hopes ROY KEANE will join as assistant boss. The club has not been a Premier League side since it was relegated in '99. But the 66-year-old said that his sole focus was to "rectify that" (BBC, 1/17). ... Three-time Formula 1 champion NIKI LAUDA was released from the Vienna General Hospital on Wednesday, after he was "treated for influenza following a lung transplant five months ago." Lauda, a 69-year-old Austrian, was holidaying in the Spanish island of Ibiza when he was flown to the hospital for treatment in early January (REUTERS, 1/16).
