Winds raise the roof in Olympic stadium

Gusting winds blew a piece of aluminium cladding off the roof of the showcase venue for the Sydney Olympics, officials said on Monday.

No one was hurt when a 3.6 metres (12 ft) by 40 centimetres (16 inches) section of Stadium Australia's roof crashed to the ground on Sunday amid the unseasonal conditions of heavy rain and winds at the Olympic complex in western Sydney, they said.

An early examination of the stadium's roof did not show up any other loose sections, but workers were ordered to carry out more inspections.

Nature has not been wholly cooperative with the Sydney Games. An early migration of big, fat, hairy moths has had workers rushing around the Olympic Park at dawn to vacuum up their dead corpses, with wind and rain following closely behind.

A sudden downpour washed away the gold medal hopes of most of the major contenders on Sunday in the third day of athletics competition, with gusting winds and rain-slicked surfaces marring competition in the men's high jump, women's triple jump and making the men's 110 metres hurdles potentially dangerous.

"This is the Winter Olympics," griped American high hurdler Mark Crear. "It doesn't seem like summer."

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