Olympic triathlon champion loses appeal

Defending Olympic triathlon champion Emma Snowsill has lost her appeal for inclusion in the Australian team for next month's London Games. The three-member Independent Olympic Appeals Tribunal late Monday dismissed all grounds of appeal after she questioned the selection process. Chair David Grace said he recognised the difficulty of the selection decision and given the closeness between three athletes vying for two places on the Australia team, there was always going to be one exceptional athlete left disappointed. "Whilst I am upset with the outcome, I have to respect the decision of the tribunal and will not be pursuing the matter further," Snowsill said in a statement. "It has been a difficult time and one I am glad to have resolved." She stressed the appeal was "never a criticism" of the other athletes' abilities but was about the selection process. Snowsill missed out on the three-strong women's team after Emma Jackson and Erin Densham were chosen by Triathlon Australia to join early nomination Emma Moffatt in London. Snowsill, who won Australia's only Olympic triathlon gold medal in Beijing in 2008, has been hampered by illness and injury. She has hardly raced over the past two years but had still looked likely to go to London early this year until Densham hit form.