U.S. judoka expelled from games for doping

American judo fighter Nick Delpopolo apologized after he was expelled from the Olympics for doping, blaming the disqualification on his unintentional consumption of something baked with marijuana.

Delpopolo is the first of the 10,500 London Games athletes to fail an in-competition doping test.

The International Olympic Committee said it disqualified him from the 73-kilogram class, in which he placed seventh. He beat opponents from Hong Kong and Belgium, then lost to fighters from South Korea and Mongolia. The IOC added that he tested positive for metabolites of cannabis after competing on July 30, the day of his event.

Defending Olympic 50K race walk champion Alex Schwazer also tested positive for doping, and the Italian Olympic Committee said he had been removed from the team. Schwazer was scheduled to compete on Saturday.

Algerian runner reinstated by IAAF

Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria is the 2011 African Games champion at 800 meters. So when he stopped running in his opening Olympic heat Monday, officials became suspicious.

Track and field’s world governing body, the IAAF, later expelled Makhloufi, 24, from the London Games. It accused him of violating the Olympic ideal by not giving an honest effort. Suggested in his dismissal was that Makhloufi was trying to preserve his endurance for today’s final of the 1,500 meters.

Algerian officials complained that the ejection was premature, saying that Makhloufi withdrew from the 800 because his knee was injured, not because he was tanking. If he regained his health, they said, he should remain eligible for the 1,500 final. After being examined by doctors, Makhloufi prevailed and was reinstated.

The IAAF first said in a statement that the race referee in Monday’s 800 heats determined Makhloufi “had not provided a bona fide effort and decided to exclude him from participation in all further events in the competition.”

Makhloufi fell far behind the other eight runners in his heat of the 800, stopped running after about 200 meters and walked off the track.

Fan pleads not guilty after bottle incident

An Olympic spectator accused of hurling a plastic bottle onto the stadium track seconds before the men’s 100-meter final pleaded not guilty Monday to creating a public nuisance.

Ashley Gill-Webb spoke only to deny the charge and confirm his personal details during a brief appearance at Stratford Magistrates Court. He was granted conditional bail with a trial scheduled for Sept. 3.

District Judge Angus Hamilton banned Gill-Webb, 34, of Leeds in northern England, from any Olympic venue and the entire Olympic Park for the duration of the games.

In addition to throwing the bottle, he was charged with using threatening words, disorderly behavior and harassment.

As he left the court, Gill-Webb — who wore a gray hooded jacket and had an asthma inhaler in his mouth — shouted abuse at waiting reporters.

Gill-Webb’s actions enraged Dutch judo bronze-medal winner Edith Bosch, who was inside the stadium near him. She told Dutch TV she intervened after the bottle was thrown and pushed Gill-Webb in the back, causing her to miss the race.

“I’m not suggesting vigilantism, but it was actually poetic justice that they happened to be sitting next to a judo player,” said Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London organizing committee.