The newest space race is on. A top Russian official revealed on Wednesday that the nation is thinking about sending the 2014 Olympic flame to the International Space Station.

There are no immediate plans to lift the flame into space, but the deputy head of Russia's Federal Space Agency said it's an "interesting" concept that requires further study. He said his agency is open to the idea if Olympic officials express a desire to become the first nation ever to send the flame into orbit.

"It is not a bad idea," Vitaly Davydov, deputy head of Russia's Federal Space Agency, said.

He's right. It's not a bad idea, it's a really, really bad idea.

Putting the flame into space would be undeniably cool and would garner worldwide attention to the Olympic torch relay, which usually takes a terrestrial trek throughout the globe. The cost, logistics and possibility for catastrophic error far outweigh any novelty.

I mean, it's a fire in space. If something goes wrong it's not like the astronauts

Ida Keeling may be 95 years old, but she looks, acts and runs like a woman 20 years her junior.

The Bronx native set a world record last week by running 60 meters in 29.86 seconds, the fastest time ever for a 95-year-old. Setting records is nothing new for Keeling. Three years ago she broke the mark for the fastest sprint ever by a runner over the age of 90.

Keeling started running in 1983 when she was a spry 67. Even then, she says she was the oldest person around. Her daughter convinced her to take up the sport after her two sons were killed in drug-related incidents and her husband died of a heart attack. Since then, she has been competing in meets across the globe.

When she's not running in the corridors of her apartment or on the track, Keeling said she eats well and lifts weights to maintain her healthy lifestyle.

"My secret is, feel good about yourself [and] have a good attitude about yourself," she told ABC News. "I just close my eyes and say count your blessings, Ida. Count

Greg Louganis won four Olympic golds and five world championships during his illustrious diving career. During the 1988 Olympic springboard competition he hit his head on the board and suffered a concussion but still returned to win gold, capping one of the most memorable comebacks in the history of the Games. In 1995, Louganis revealed he was HIV positive. The New York Times caught up with the diving great, who recently returned to the sport as a juniors coach. Some interesting tidbits from the piece:

1. Louganis accepted a job with SoCal divers four months ago only after being assured that he could implement his "building blocks mentality," which keeps a focus on mechanics. It's the first coaching he's done since 1976, when he helped out his high school team after returning from the Montreal Games.

2. The diver threw himself a "spectacular party" when he turned 33 because he expected it to be his last birthday. Eighteen years later he says his health is so good "you kind of forget

Like with any Olympic games that are three years away, there's a long list of concerns about the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

Will the Black Sea resort be able to handle the influx of international visitors? Can the power grid hold up? How will the nation deal with terrorism threats? And, the classic, will the venues be ready in time?

One thing Sochi organizers shouldn't have to worry about, however, is the weather. Heavy snows forced the postponement of the first Olympic test events at the newly built Rosa Khutor ski resort. A second-tier Europa Cup event was to serve as the inaugural test of the new venue, but a large winter storm delayed the start of races.

It's a big change from test events for the last Olympics in Vancouver, which were marred by cancellations due to warm weather. Rain and unseasonal temperatures had organizers scrambling in the days leading up those Games.

Though the weather is fickle, Sochi officials won't be worrying yet about high temperatures. Daytime

Has it really been two and a half years since Fourth-Place Medal solved the mystery of the hot Paraguayan? My, how time flies when you're out solving Olympic-based conundrums.

In case you've forgotten, while watching the Opening Ceremony to the Beijing Games, we caught a glimpse of a stunning athlete with the Paraguayan delegation and needed to know who it was. (Only to quench our thirst for knowledge, of course.) The crack Fourth-Place Medal investigative unit was assembled, we looked into it and discovered that the woman in question was Leryn Franco, a javelin thrower competing for her home country.

Franco didn't qualify for the javelin finals in Beijing, finishing second-to-last in qualifying, and thus breaking the collective hearts of the billions watching on television. But she didn't go away; no sir. Like the Bard said, "can't nobody hold [her] down." (Or was that Puff Daddy?)

It is with great pleasure that we announce that Leryn Franco is featured in the 2011 Sports Illustrated

China is once again under fire from the international sporting community after eight figure skaters were found to have different birthdates from the official ones given to the International Skating Union.

The Associated Press discovered discrepancies in the birthdates of eight athletes on the official website of the China Skating Association. In a twist, some of the doctored ages made athletes appear younger in order to get under the age limit at junior skating events. Previously, China had been caught altering ages of gymnasts to make them old enough to get past international age minimums.

It doesn't appear that the age issues will affect any Olympic medals, but a junior world championship could be in jeopardy if the allegations are proven to be true.

The Associated Press writes:

According to ISU rules, skaters must be 15 by the preceding July 1 to compete at an Olympics or senior world championships, and 14 for other senior-level international competitions, such as the Grand Prix

On Monday, three years from the start of the first Winter Olympics to ever be held in Russia, organizers announced the 11 characters that could become the mascot of the Sochi Games. There's a little something for everyone, from the Christmas lover to the follower of heliocentrism to fans of anthropomorphic animals adept at winter sports.

Russians will be able to vote for their favorite via text message with the winner getting announced at the end of the month. Fourth-Place Medal ranked the 11 candidates:

11. Santa Claus

This mascot is based on the beloved Russian children's literary character Papa Sergei, who is said to have formed during a Siberian blizzard and invented hockey.

I'm kidding. That's Santa. It would make more sense if the mascot was someone other than the guy who delivers gifts to good boys and girls on Christmas morning, but here we are. How would this work? Is Rudolph going to light the cauldron? Will the elves enter the bobseld competition under the North Pole

Arguing semantics is an awful way to show remorse for the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili at the Vancouver Games.

To Canadians burdened by — what's it called again? — a conscience, the way VANOC has engaged in futile damage control might be the most shameful part. One suspects that ultimate responsibility for the needless loss of life 12 months ago at the Whistler Sliding Centre will always fall primarily on the International Luge Federation (FIL). They're the experts; the old saw about any Olympiad that the only amateurs are the organizers. Plausible deniability, eh?

It was bad enough that blaming the victim was the Official Reason at the time. It is ten times worse, as a Canadian — no, that's not red face paint, it's all natural today — to learn how VANOC highers-up have tried to save face in the past 48 hours. Once they got wind of CBC News being set to report that VANOC CEO John Furlong ("Our legal guys should review at least") and colleagues did know the track's