Dispatches

If the political waters are safe, U.S. backstroker Lenny Krayzelburg, who won three golds in Sydney, will honor his Jewish heritage by competing at the Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem beginning in July. Krayzelburg, whose family emigrated from Odessa when he was 13 in part to escape anti-Semitism, would skip the world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, to make his first visit to Israel....

Romanian gymnast Andreea Raducan announced her retirement after she tested positive for a stimulant in her cold medicine in Sydney and was stripped of her all-around gold medal. Last month, however, she bounced back into action, placing second in the all-around at the Chunichi Cup in Japan. Raducan, 17, plans to compete at the 2004 Athens Games; the Romanian Olympic Committee has a pending suit against the IOC to reclaim her medal....

Australia's golden buy swimmer Ian Thorpe, who turned 18 in October, has been discussing possible admission offers with two Australian universities despite his having skipped his last two years of high school and his not having taken the national Higher School Certificate exam. The possible offers have drawn criticism in Australia, where they are viewed as favoritism. Thorpe, who is only now returning to training, says he may swim internationally for at least four more years before going to college and may attend a U.S. university (recruiters take note)....

As for America's good news-bad news couple: Marion Jones is hardly discouraged by her Sydney "failure" (only three golds and two bronzes), though she vows not to make any more predictions. Look for Jones, who returned to training in early November at North Carolina State, to debut outdoors in April. "I'm not going to commit to anything now," says Jones, who will peak for the worlds in Edmonton in August, "but I still haven't won a world championship in the long jump, the 200 or the four-by-four, so perhaps that will give a hint as to where I'm headed." Jones's husband, shot-putter C.J. Hunter, has appealed to USA Track & Field to clear himself of steroid charges that came to light during the Sydney Games. His lawyer, Johnnie Cochran, says the charges will be overturned so quickly that "it will be almost comical," but the 32-year-old Hunter is expected to retire no matter what the outcome of his case.