Bush will be Beijing bound

President to attend opening ceremony

President Bush will attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing, the White House said Thursday.

The announcement quashed any talk of a presidential boycott over China's violent crackdown after anti-government riots and protests in Tibet.

The White House had been reluctant to confirm Bush's plans for the opening event, although there was no doubt he would attend the Olympic Games. While other world leaders have talked of boycotting the Aug. 8 opening ceremony, Bush's aides have signaled for weeks he was unlikely to do so.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said Bush will travel in August to South Korea, Thailand and China and will attend the opening ceremony of the Games with first lady Laura Bush. The specific dates of travel were not released.

Bush's trip is built around the Olympics, which the White House long has said Bush plans to attend as a celebration of sports.

Bush also will be dealing with the tense matters of U.S. beef imports in South Korea and the six-country effort to rid North Korea of nuclear weapons.

Any Olympic protest by the United States would have deeply offended a proud Beijing leadership that hopes the Games will show China's emergence as a new world power.

It also would run the risk of hindering a host of international efforts the Bush administration needs China's help to solve, including efforts to confront Myanmar's military junta and nuclear efforts in North Korea and Iran.

HAMM GETS WARNING: Gymnast Morgan Hamm, who was selected for his third Olympic team last month, received a warning Thursday for getting a prescribed anti-inflammatory shot without the proper clearance from anti-doping authorities.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Hamm tested positive May 24 at the U.S. gymnastics championships for a glucocorticosteroid, a cortisone-like drug that is only allowed during competitions with an exemption. Hamm said he received the shot May 2 for pain and inflammation in his left ankle, which he initially injured last August.

"It was an innocent mistake," Hamm said. "You always need to get the forms, that's the most important thing, and that's my failure."

Hamm accepted the warning for his first doping violation, and his results from the May 24 competition at nationals were thrown out. Results from that day, as well as the first day of nationals and two days of Olympic trials, were used to help determine the U.S. team for Beijing.

CHAMBERS FIGHTING BACK: Dwain Chambers' lawyers launched a court appeal Thursday to overturn the British sprinter's lifetime ban from the Olympics so he can compete in Beijing.

Chambers' legal team filed court papers against the British Olympic Association, saying its bylaw that bans drug cheats from the British team is unreasonable.

BRIEFLY: Amelie Mauresmo withdrew from the Olympic tennis tournament Thursday because she was not chosen to compete in singles. The former top-ranked Frenchwoman, who won the silver medal in singles at the 2004 Olympics, was only selected to compete in doubles in Beijing.

* The U.S. Olympic baseball team is adding Davidson coach Dick Cooke to manager Davey Johnson's staff. Team USA announced Thursday that Cooke has been named an auxiliary coach for next month's Beijing Games.

* Rhythmic gymnastics judge Irina Deriugina will miss the next two Olympics despite having her eight-year ban from official duty cut in half Thursday.

* Former Olympic champion triple jumper Tereza Marinova of Bulgaria retired weeks before the Olympics because of an Achilles' tendon injury.