Athens group winning race to finish

ATHENS, Greece — The unfinished construction of dust-choked venues stood as a symbol of Athens’ troubling Olympic delays a few months ago.

Now the last touches are being made on the main Olympic complex. The stadium roof rises like a giant oyster shell. The grounds feature pools of water that shimmer in the night.

At the end of a three-year construction blitz, Olympic organizers are finally silencing the critics. Nearly all venues are ready for the Aug. 13 opening ceremony or very close to completion.

Athens, it appears, has beaten the clock.

But at a price.

Delays have left almost no time to test and troubleshoot vital security equipment. Projects to spruce up the city have been scaled back or cut. The unfinished work will be hidden behind huge banners. Ribbons and flags will be used to try to divert attention from the sidewalks that were never smoothed out or the dreary concrete buildings that didn’t get fresh paint.

Edwards may get reprieve

U.S. sprinter Torri Edwards was found guilty of using a banned stimulant but may be able to avoid a suspension — and keep her spot in the Olympics — because of “exceptional circumstances.”

A three-member arbitration panel, which heard Edwards’ case last week, determined that “exceptional circumstances” may exist in her case, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced Friday.

The arbitrators referred the case to a doping review board of the International Association of Athletics Federations, which will decide whether to impose a suspension of up to two years.

Edwards, an outspoken supporter of U.S. anti-drug efforts in track and field, blamed her positive test on a glucose supplement and said she did not know it contained the stimulant nikethamide.

She flunked the drug test at a meet in Fort-de-France, Martinique, on April 24. Her physician bought the glucose at a store there, Edwards said. Edwards finished second in the 100 and third in the 200 at the U.S. Olympic trials earlier this month.

WNBA’s Riley added to roster

Detroit Shock center Ruth Riley will replace the injured DeLisha Milton-Jones of the Los Angeles Sparks on the U.S. women’s team at the Athens Olympics.