Morning links for breakfast (April 23rd)...

Here are a couple of links passed along by the readers this morning:

First is a link to a story from the Daily Evergreen on Washington State 800 meter runner Anna Layman (left/file photo by Paul Merca) who was an NCAA qualifier two years ago, and the personal travails she's endured over the last several months, including the passing of her mother last August...

Next is the USA Today story on world champion LaShawn Merritt's impending suspension for DHEA, a steroid, not because of anything related to athletic performance but because the drug is contained in an over-the-counter male enhancement product Merritt used after the 2009 season.

Pending a USADA hearing and outcome, Merritt agreed not to compete.

In a prepared statement, USATF CEO Doug Logan said, "Mr. Merritt has been an integral part of Team USA and the sport in this country. He has now put his entire career under a cloud and in the process made himself the object of jokes. In this day and age, a professional athlete should know better. Personally, I am disgusted by this entire episode."

Here's a link to the International Olympic Committee's web site on the funeral of former IOC head Juan Antonio Samaranch, who passed away on Tuesday at age 89 from heart failure. There are also tributes to Samaranch on the site.

Samaranch headed the IOC until 2000, and was responsible for the financial turnaround of the organization after three successive boycotts (Montreal 1976, Moscow 1980, and Los Angeles 1984).

Finally, here's a link from the University of Washington on the progress of some of their incoming freshmen this season, including hurdler Kayla Stueckle of Emerald Ridge, and distance runners Megan Morgan of Torrey Pines HS and Chloe Curtis of Redondo Union HS.