OLYMPIC REVIEW21 The World Anti- Doping Agency ( WADA) approved the accredi-tation of a new anti-doping laboratory in Bucharest ( Romania), which becomes the 35th currently accred-ited by WADA. WADA has also concluded an agreement with Chooseco, the publish-er of children's books, to publish two " choose your own adventure" books focusing on good decision- making and sports values. Jamaica's Usain Bolt was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year after his remarkable sprint treble in Beijing, Russian pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva has won the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award for the second time in three years, Britain's double gold medal swimmer Rebecca Adlington has been presented with the Laureus Breakthrough of the Year Award, while the China Olympic Team has won the Laureus World Team of the Year after topping the Beijing medals table. The prestigious Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award went to Brazilian swimmer Daniel Dias who won nine medals in the pool at the Paralympic Games in Beijing in September. Bolt received the world's most prestigious sports Award from Johnson and Laureus World Sports Academy Chairman Edwin Moses on the eve of the Festival of Excellence track and field meet in Toronto, Canada. After he received the Award, Bolt performed his trademark celebration, a lightning- like gesture with his arms, and said: " I am delighted to win this prestigious Award and would like to thank everyone who voted for me. It is an honour to succeed such greats as multiple winner Roger Federer, Michael Schumacher, Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods." Russia's Isinbayeva received the Sportswoman of the Year Award from Laureus World Sports Academy members Bobby Charlton, the England football legend, Marcel Desailly, the former French football captain, and Italian ski maestro Alberto Tomba, at a presentation event in Rome. Not only is it her second Laureus Award - she also won in 2007 - but it is the fifth straight year that the Russian pole vault super star has been nominated. Isinbayeva, who created her 24th world record to win her second Olympic gold medal in Beijing, said: " It was a real thrill to win this Award two years ago, but to have won it again is unbelievable." Chinese sport celebrated after its world-beating Olympic champions were honoured with the Laureus World Team of the Year Award at a special presentation ceremony in Beijing. In August 2008, the Chinese athletes delighted the home nation by producing its best ever Olympic results, with 51 gold, 21 silver and 28 bronze, and sparking a country- wide eruption of pride and joy. British swimmer Rebecca Adlington, who won two gold medals in Beijing at the age of 19 is the winner of the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award. Adlington received the Award in London from Laureus World Sports Academy member Sebastian Coe and Laureus Friend & Ambassador Kelly Holmes, herself a double Olympic gold medallist in 2004 in Athens. Adlington said: " It is a real honour to win this Award, made even more flattering when you look at the names of the other sportsmen and women who were nominated." Also in London to receive his Award was brilliant young Brazilian swimmer Daniel Dias, winner of the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award. Dias, 20, set he pool on fire in the 2008 Paralympic Games, becoming the leading medal winner in Beijing with four gold, four silver and one bronze. He began swimming only when he was 16, and learned all four swimming styles in just two months. AboveRebecca Adlington competing in Beijing LeftBeijing's Bird's Nest wins gold medal OLYMPICSTARSTAKE LAUREUS AWARDS BIRD'SNEST WINSAWARDS The International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities ( IAKS), the IOC and the IPC announced this year's winners of their international architectural award for sports and leisure facilities. The judging panel honoured seven projects with gold, nine with silver, eight with bronze and awarded four Special Distinctions. Ten participants were awarded with an IPC/ IAKS Distinction. The overall winner was China with two gold, two silver and one bronze medal as well as with two IPC/ IAKS Distinctions. The Olympic Stadium ( Bird's Nest) in Beijing won the gold medal in the ' Stadia' category and also the IPC/ IAKS Distinction for Accessibility for its outstanding services for athletes and spectators with disabilities. The IOC/ IAKS Award is the only international architecture competition for sports and leisure facilities. This year a record 117 teams of operators and designers from 26 countries took part. WADA ROUND- UP

22OLYMPIC REVIEW From the end of May to mid- September, a selection of curious sand sculptures defied the elements to earn the admiration of summer visitors to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. These large- scale works were created to coincide with the Heroes exhibition which ran at the Museum until mid- September. But why sand statues? While the artists of antiquity tried to immortalise the exploits of their athletes by depicting them in marble, the museum adopted a different approach and focused on how the fame of modern heroes is sometimes very short- lived. It required 75 tonnes of sand, taken from two different locations to ensure a difference in texture, to create the statues. They were sculpted by two world- famous Dutch artists who specialise in creating similar works on beaches and in supermarkets. First of all, the sand had to be compressed into wooden moulds using a mechanical tamper of the type used in road building. The surface was regularly moistened to ensure the sand achieved the required degree of cohesion. The finished sculptures were sprayed with a mixture of water and glue to hold them together. The first of the two statues was 2.5 metres high and represented the incredible Michael Phelps whose eight gold medal wins in Beijing last year staggered the entire world. The second, five metres high, paid homage to sporting heroes of other eras. Among them was Leonidas of Rhodes who, at the Olympic Games of 164 BCE, was victorious in all three running races: the stadion, the diaulos, and the hoplitodromos. He went on to make history by repeating his earlier triumphs at the three subsequent Games, thereby securing at least 12 Olympic crowns. He was practically regarded as a god! Also sculpted in sand were the Greek athlete Spyridon Louis who took gold in the marathon at the first ever Games in Athens in 1896, the US boxer Muhammad Ali, the German figure skater Katarina Witt, famed for her unforgettable performance to Bizet's Carmen, and finally the man now recognised as the greatest tennis player of all time, Switzerland's Roger Federer. The statues withstood the weather until 13 September, the closing day of the Heroes exhibition. That Sunday, the public was invited to destroy this magnificent - but appropriately ephemeral - work of art. Above Preparing the unique sculptures at the Museum Left One of the tributes to the fleeting glory of heroes When the XXI Olympic Winter Games open in Vancouver, clocks at the Olympic Museum will be adjusted to Canadian time. At a series of exhibitions spread over the museum's three exhibition spaces, visitors will discover the art of Canada's First Nations as it focuses on the environment and the traditional Olympic icons, such as the Olympic logo, as well as the torch, medals and pictograms. The exhibition organisers have also devised an educational and cultural programme devoted to sustainable development, supported by guided tours and workshops. The programme will be launched at the preview on 14 October which will see the creation and completion of a traditional totem pole by the well- known artist Jim Hart, a member of the Haida community. Over the Christmas period, there will be screenings of fascinating documentaries made by young film- makers from the indigenous communities of Quebec. Sustainable Art & Sport workshops will be organised during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, where participants can create works of art from recycled objects. A special programme is also organised at the Museum for the opening day of the Winter Games and during the fortnight that the Games last, visitors can enjoy Canadian specialities at the Museum's restaurant. Above The countdown to Vancouver is on SAND SCULPTURES CELEBRATEHEROES THEOLYMPIC MUSEUMON VANCOUVER TIME