Yippeee, another celebrity wanna-be triathlete.

A quick look at the world's top triathletes heading to Beijing.

Kudos to UK Sport. These are the type of steps that each country should take to help restore confidence in the world's best athletes.

Not too many folks will lose sleep over the ban of Chinese race walker Song Hongjuan. The 24-year old former Olympian has been banned by Chinese Athletic Association officials for four years. Hongjuan placed 14th in the 20km race walk at the 2004 Olympic games in Athens, but did not attempt to qualify for this year's summer games.

Here's a look at today's starters and contenders at the IAAF Junior World Championships.

No matter which was you slice it, the swimmers competing at the US Olympic Trials are incredible athletes. The dedication and training that they each have endured over the years leading up to the trials is admirable and inspirational. The will to win and the match-ups of such greats like Phelps and Lochte are recipes for record making times. However, though a suit doesn't swim itself, how much of the record breaking is due to technology? As a sporting culture do we care?

Like many track and field fans, I have been following the exploits of South African runner Oscar Pistorious is his quest to qualify for the Olympic games. Pistorius runs on prosthetic limbs and stirred up the sporting world when he fought to compete with able bodied athletes.

The fact that this physically challenged athlete has the guts, the confidence and the talent to go for it at the international level is inspiring. I would argue that anything that he accomplishes or attempts is inspirational, for better or worse.

The most comprehensive testing for performance enhancing drugs to date will take place during the Olympic Games in Beijing. Cooperation between the International Olympic Committee, the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Beijing Organizing Committee promises athletes who test positive during the games will face greater

penalties including a ban from the 2012 Olympics.

Preliminary results released by the National Center for Drug Free Sport reveal two athletes tested positive for steriod during testing this past spring. Two dopers is too many, but not too bad when you consider over 10,000 Texas athletes were tested. Thankfully it appears high school athletes in the Lonestar state are staying away from the juice and true to sport.

Before watching the US Olympic Track & Field Trials last night I can't say I could have named any of our top javelin throwers. In fact, I don't think I could name a single javelin thrower from anywhere. Now I can name one, Breaux Greer. When Greer stepped up to heave his javelin last night, I commented that he looks like he should be an American Gladiator. Little did I know, Greer was recently named the newest American Gladiator, "Hurricane."

Sprinter Tim Montgomery, a former Olympian gold medalist and world record holder in the 100m has pled guilty to federal heroin distribution charges. Montgomery retired in 2005 after receiving a two year ban tied to the Balco steriod scandal.

Gymnast Morgan Hamm made a serious boo boo when he did not follow USADA procedures and file appropriate paperwork before receiving a prescribed anti-inflammatory shot for his ankle. Fortuneately Hamm, who received a warning and had his national championships results thrown out, is not in danger of losing his spot on the Olympic team.

The World Triathlon Corporation is looking to add a seventh stop on its North American Triathlon circuit. Rumors abound that Ironman Oregon might make Bend, Oregon its home sometime in the future. Other cities currently being considered include Forest Grove and the home of the 2008 US Olympic Track & Field trials, Eugene, OR.

Technology is always on the forefront of sport. This Olympic year the Speedo LZR racer swimsuit has been on the leading edge of a firestorm of records being burnt to a crisp and in the flames of controversy. Perhaps, the simple solution is to standardize the swimsuits for all competitors. Whether its a Speedo, TYR, Nike or whatever, it's time that the focus be put back on the athletes in the suits and not the suits that cover them. Of course standardizing the suits, won't do anything to answer questions of whether a swim record in a Speed ZLR of 2008 is equivalent to a lyra swimsuit from 1988. It doesn't seem fair that athletes wearing suits covering from their necks to their toes, should be able to have their performances compared with swimmers of yesteryear.

Andy Schmitz, the head coach of the 2008 National Collegiate Championship Cal Triathlon team, has been named coach to the US Olympic triathlon squad. I'm not sure how much actual coaching Schmitz will do, as each individual triathlete has their own personal coach that has helped guide them to their position on the Olympic team, but certainly this is a big honor for Schmitz.