IN BRIEF (Page 23)

Doping

Coach defends Jamaican sprinters

The coach of Jamaican sprinters Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson said on Tuesday they were not to blame after the Olympic medalists failed dope tests. "It came as a big surprise, I think, to them," Stephen Francis said. "Asafa has been somebody who doesn't use that kind of stuff. Over the 10 years I have coached him we have had great difficulty getting him to take basic stuff like protein, like vitamins."