My Twelve Year Wait for Olympic Gold

Sportshour

Adam Nelson won the shot put at the Athens Olympics in 2004, but only received his gold medal a few weeks ago. Why? Because of the advancements in drug testing it was recently proved that the original gold medallist, Yuriy Bilonog of Ukraine had taken performance enhancing drugs. So did the recent ceremony in which Adam was presented gold represent justice, or can nothing make up for being robbed of his moment in Athens twelve years ago?

Premier League Problems: With 2 of every 5 Premier League players facing bankruptcy within 5 years of retiring, we look at some of the difficulties they face in adapting to a new life without football. We speak to Brede Hangeland about his hopes and fears for his future. He decided to hang up his boots in the summer having played for Fulham and Crystal Palace in the Premier League. Alan Gernon author of "Retired: What Happens to Footballers When the Game's Up" also joins us.

Olympics: Are They Worth It? Twelve years ago the Olympic Games came home to Greece. They took place at a time of unprecedented prosperity for the country and were seen as a chance to showcase modern Athens as a place to do business and boost growth. Five years later the Greek economy crashed. The Games cost an estimated nine billion Euros. We went to see if the Greeks feel it was worth it.

Budapest 2024? When Athens won the right to host the 2004 Summer Olympics they had to fight off 11 other bid cities. For the 2024 summer Games, there are only four cities in the running. Potential hosts have decided the politics and financial commitments are not worth the potential rewards. So do the Olympics have a problem? We hear from Olympic historian Jules Boycoff on why any city would want to host the Olympic Games.

Sporting Witness… At the 1924 Olympics, Scottish runner Eric Liddell famously won a gold medal despite refusing to run on a Sunday because of his Christian faith. After the games, the athlete immortalised in “Chariots of Fire” became a missionary in China and died in an internment camp during World War II.

Photo: Adam Nelson cries as he celebrates after winning the men's shot put finals at the 10th IAAF World Athletics Championships in Helsinki 2005. (CREDIT: ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images)