The IAAF says that athletes and officials who take part in illegal betting at the Olympic Games and other athletics events will face bans of up to four years.

Qatar says it will send women athletes to the Olympics for the first time at this year's London Games. Sheik Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the general secretary of the Qatar Olympic Committee, says the IOC has offered Qatar wildcard invitations for two female athletes to compete in London - swimmer Nada Arkaji and sprinter Noor al-Malki.

The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport has handed a five-year ban to Jimmy Gariépy after the trainer admitted he provided a diuretic to taekwondo athlete Caroline Pyzik, who was 16 at the time.

We're in an Olympic year, and already the rush is on to the London 2012 Games. Canadian summer athletes are facing the inevitable "do or die" scenarios right out of the gate, even as winter deepens in the land of ice and snow, writes Scott Russell.