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Controversy puts Nool's Olympic gold medal hopes in a spin
SYDNEY, Sept 28 (AFP) - Erki Nool, one of the favourites for the Olympic decathlon gold medal, had his hopes dashed Thursday when he was judged to have three no throws in the discus, the seventh of the 10 disciplines. Nool, competing in Sydney accompanied by his own fan club that has travelled to Australia from Estonia, managed to send the discus well over 40 metres with his third and final attempt. But the judges raised a red flag after determining that Nool's foot had touched the outside of the throwing circle. Nool immediately launched an appeal against the decision. With no points from the discus the Estonian would have no hopes of catching the event's overall leader, American Chris Huffins. It could mark the effective elimination of another of the pre-Games favourites, since Tomas Dvorak, the world record-holder, has struggled down the field because of an injury and is out of medal contention. Huffins, aged 30 and from Brooklyn, ran the second fastest 110m hurdles of the day and then out-threw his two closest rivals for gold in the discus to extend his overnight lead on the provisional standings after seven of the decathlon's 10 events. Huffins' score was 6401 points, nearly 200 clear of the Czech, Roman Sebrle (6205), who moved into the silver medal slot ahead of Britain's Dean Macey (6186). Fourth placed after the discus was Tom Pappas, also of the United States, with 6124pts. The decathlon continues through Thursday, with the pole vault, javelin and 1500m run.
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