Olympic Shorts: Racist? My boyfriend left the Nazi Party three months ago
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Your support makes all the difference.The German rower Nadja Drygalla, who departed the Olympic Village on Friday amid allegations that her boyfriend, Michael Fischer, is a neo-Nazi, has said her partner is not a racist. At least not at the moment. "My boyfriend hasn't been a member of the NPD [National Democratic Party] since May," she told a German news agency. Fischer had stood in the local elections as a candidate for the anti-semitic NPD last year in Rostock. Olympic chiefs said Drygalla had done nothing wrong, and she left to avoid distracting the other rowers.
Big girls do cry
It's prudent to act in a sportsmanlike manner when millions are watching your performance, but there were no such concerns for Jamaican medal hope Brigitte Foster-Hylton yesterday as she crashed out of the 100m hurdles. After racing to an early lead, Hylton caught the fifth hurdle. Her expressions showed her woe before she had even crossed the line, then she threw herself on the ground and let out a huge wail. This, from a 37-year-old woman.
Gold-medal madness
Everyone wants an Olympic medal, but it might be best to avoid Andy Murray's gold and silver gongs – for risk of fleas! A cute picture posted to his dogs' Twitter account showed his border terriers Maggie May and Rusty wearing the medals. Michael Phelps, meanwhile, took three of his gold medals out in Soho – and went home with a mystery blonde, it was reported. Let's hope she's unaware of one of his less appealing habits: peeing in the pool. "When we're in the water for two hours, we don't really get out to pee," he told the Wall Street Journal.
Must try harder
Following the women's badminton farce that saw eight athletes expelled from the Games for trying to lose, Algeria's middle-distance runner Taoufik Makhloufi has been disqualified for not trying. As he easily won his semi-final of the 1500m, it was surprising to see him saunter off the track in the 800m heats. The International Association of Athletics Federations said Makhloufi had "not provided a bona-fide effort".
Country of the day: Aruba
With a population of around 100,000, Aruba in the southern Caribbean has done well to field four competitors. Weightlifter Carl Henriquez goes in the men's 105kg and over category today. "I'm not going to bother with wondering whether I can win a medal," he told the Chinese press. "In Aruba, the life is too good to concentrate totally on weightlifting." He works as a manager at a swimming pool, and is just here to enjoy himself.
Stat of the day: £2,012
Cost of the "golden cocktail" the 200m butterfly gold medallist Chad le Clos was apparently swigging at Chinawhite on Sunday.
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