Beijing Olympic Games

SWIMMER Francis Gailey has been recognised as the holder of Australia's largest haul of individual men's medals from a single Olympics, more than century after his successful campaign in the pool in St Louis in 1904.

IT would be easy to assume that the row over Adelaide's new central hospital is all about a name, a much respected one at that. Easy, but wrong. Marjorie Jackson-Nelson should take some comfort in knowing this.

SWIMMER Francis Gailey has been recognised as the holder of Australia's largest haul of individual men's medals from a single Olympics.

AUSTRALIA is claiming four new Olympic medals - 105 years after they were awarded to the United States.

MELBOURNE Victory skipper Kevin Muscat earned a reputation of being Australian soccer's delightful Prince Charming - off the park.

HE can't make it rain, but when it does Colin Pitman knows how to save every precious drop, and by doing so he could solve Adelaide's water crisis.

AUSTRALIA'S 21 million-strong population will be represented by 433 athletes at the Olympic Games in Beijing.

FOLLOWING is the full transcript of Premier Mike Rann's speech to Parliament today.

• Insufficient evidence under South Carolina state law
• Phelps considering pulling out of London 2012 Games

The American Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps will not be charged by police for drug use. Photos of the 14-time gold medallist smoking from a marijuana pipe at a student party in South Carolina were published in the British press last month, but local police were unable to find enough evidence to charge Phelps or anyone else at the party.

"Michael Phelps is truly an American hero ... but even with his star status, he is still obligated to obey the laws of our state," said Leon Lott, sheriff of Richmond County. Legal observers interviewed by The State newspaper said charges were unlikely because Phelps was not caught by authorities committing a crime and that credible witness would be difficult to find, making a court case difficult to prove under South Carolina law.

In addition, state law doesn't allow extradition of suspects charged with crimes carrying sentences of less than one year, including simple possession of marijuana, lawyers say. Phelps has admitted he is the man in the picture but has not specifically admitted to using marijuana. USA Swimming announced he was being suspended from competition for three months, and cereal maker Kellogg's said it would drop a lucrative endorsement deal with him.

Olympic officials said Phelps' behaviour wouldn't affect his gold-medal status because the November party incident occurred in the competition off-season. Phelps publicly said the ordeal is causing him to reconsider whether he will participate in the 2012 Olympics.

AUSTRALIAN swimming has forgiven Nick D'Arcy for the assault on Simon Cowley that ended the bad boy's Beijing campaign and destabilised the clean-cut team.