McConneloug in, Haywood out

Sue Haywood’s effort to be restored to the U.S. Olympic women’s mountain biking team ended Friday in Denver, where a federal judge denied her request to have a second arbiter decide who should race in Athens.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Phillip S. Figa ends a month-long saga involving Haywood and Mary McConneloug, two of the top women’s mountain bikers in the world.

“In my mind I will always know that I was the one who won the points race,” Haywood said of the dispute with her friend. “I got the most points in one year and I should be going, but I will still give her a hug when I see her and I wish her the best in Athens.”

Haywood was USA Cycling’s original nominee to fill the lone spot on the women’s roster for the Olympics. But late last month, an arbiter overturned that decision and ruled McConneloug — the No. 2-ranked women’s rider in the world, one spot ahead of Haywood — was the rightful winner of a year-long points battle.

Record day for ticket sales

Ticket sales for the Olympics are up, but organizers still have a long way to go to reach their goal.

Organizers said they sold a record of 53,997 tickets Thursday.

“We’re working hard to keep this momentum with the Greek public,” said Michael Zacharatos, an Olympics spokesman.

A week before the games, more than 2.3 million tickets had been sold out of a total of 5.3 million. Organizers want to sell at least 3.4 million.

Belarus minister of sport banned

Belarus minister of sport Yuri Sivakov was banned from the Athens Olympics because of alleged human rights abuses, but he intends to try to attend anyway.

The Greek government said it would slap a visa ban on Sivakov to keep him out of the country even if he does have a credential for the games, which begin Friday.

“He will not come. It is over,” Greek Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Ioanna Efthimiadou said.

Sivakov doesn’t agree.

He denounced the Greek move as “clumsy political games” and said he plans to attend the Olympics despite it, his spokesman, Anatoly Artemyev, said.

Sivakov and Belarus’ president, Alexander Lukashenko, have been implicated in the disappearances of prominent opposition figures.

Officials say snags overcome

With the Summer Games just six days away, Greek officials say they have overcome snags in implementing the most elaborate security plan in Olympic history.

The first of three NATO surveillance planes arrived at a northern air base and will start patrols Tuesday, officials said.

Athens had faced delays in installing a massive U.S.-built surveillance system and coordinating health responses to a variety of potential terrorist threats. Some of those delays were blamed on construction setbacks at Olympic venues.

“Everything is going according to plan,” Public Order Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis said after a two-hour Olympic security meeting attended by 10 ministers, Athens’ mayor, police chiefs and top games organizers.

Voulgarakis did not elaborate on which difficulties were addressed.

Olympics boycotter dies

Milton Green, a former world-record hurdler who boycotted the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, has died. He was 92.

Green, of Boca Raton, Fla., died Wednesday.

Green was considered a lock for the U.S. Olympic team, but boycotted the Berlin games because of the Nazi regime.