Ryan Carneli

AUSTRALIAN equestrian legend Andrew Hoy has been caught up in a horse cruelty case that may affect his bid to go to Beijing to compete in his seventh Olympic Games.

Hoy, 49, and Dutch rider Madeleine Brugman, whom he trains, this week faced a disciplinary tribunal in Lausanne, Switzerland, to answer allegations of abusing a horse.

Brugman is accused of fitting her horse Sundancer 6 with spiked boots in the warm-up to the showjumping phase of a three-day event at Barroca d'Alva, Portugal, in March. Both deny the charges. The hearing will resume next week.

■Australian discus thrower Benn Harradine set the second national record of his training and competition tour of the west coast of the US when he threw 66.37 metres at Salinas, California, on Thursday.

His performance came a day after a competition in Salinas in which he threw an Olympic qualifying distance of 65.27.

Harradine has been based at the US Olympic Training centre in Chula Vista, California, with some of the world's top throwers.

He first broke the Australian record three weeks ago. If the latest result is validated, he has bettered the Olympic standard in four competitions.

■World marathon record-holder Paula Radcliffe is in danger of missing the Olympics because of a stress fracture in her left femur.

Radcliffe described learning about the injury, which has also affected her hip, as a bombshell.

"It's been a nightmare last three weeks but I'm trying to stay calm about it," Radcliffe said. "I'm thinking positive."

■The Australian women's water polo team continued its winning streak when it defeated Japan 17-4 in the first round of the FINA World League.

The win marks the third in the series for the Aussie Stingers, who beat China A and China B earlier in the week in the Asia-Oceania zone of the women's water polo competition.

"Our defence was quite good but our attack certainly needs lots of work if we are going to be a serious threat in Beijing (Olympics)," head coach Greg McFadden said.

"Today was very frustrating as we never settled into the game we wanted to play and were continually chasing our tail.

"Full credit to the Japanese, who are continually improving, and I think lady luck was on our side today and not theirs."

Australia will again play China teams A and B and Japan in the second round to cement a berth for the finals in Spain next month.

■Australia's taekwondo Olympics team is in a good position to win gold at the Beijing Games in August, according to coach Daniel Trenton.

The team of four was named yesterday at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.

Queenslander Tina Morgan, an Athens Olympian, has been joined by Carmon Marton, Ryan Carneli and Burak Hasan, all from Victoria.

Trenton, two-time Olympian and Sydney silver medallist, is confident about the chances of his charges.

"Tina Morgan won the World Cup in 2006, Ryan Carneli had a silver from that competition and Burak Hasan has been placed in the top three to qualify for the Games," he said.

"Carmen has defeated one of two world champions in her preparation towards Beijing."