BEIJING • Two U.S. boxers have had “life-threatening medical problems” and three others have had “major” operations since the formation of a residency program at the Olympic Training Center last year, American coach Dan Campbell said.

Campbell maintains the uncovering of the health issues is evidence the revamped program, the first for boxers at the Colorado Springs complex in more than a decade, should continue after the Beijing Games.

“There are two kids who, if they had not been there, may have stepped in the ring and been killed,” said Campbell, who declined to identify the boxers but revealed one had an enlarged spleen and the other had post-concussion symptoms.

Eleven OTC boxers – Fort Carson soldier Christopher Downs and Michael Hunter didn’t qualify for Beijing, and Gary Russell Jr. withdrew from the Olympics because he couldn’t make weight – have received free room and board, $2,000 monthly stipends and regular medical checkups since September.

USA Boxing officials will meet with the U.S. Olympic Committee after Beijing, hoping to secure funding through the 2012 London Games and expand the program to as many as 20 fighters.

“We needed to start with a medical profile, a dental profile,” Campbell said. “We have imagery of these guys’ shoulders when they’re healthy, so if anything happens here, we can compare. We’ve been able to do a lot of things in Colorado Springs.”Asked about the future of the OTC program, Campbell said, “There are no plans to shut it down. We have to look at what we learned and where we go from here.”

Postage necessary

Former Air Force fencer Seth Kelsey has his own postage stamp.

A commemorative stamp produced by the African republic of Benin features four athletes from the 2004 Athens Games, including Kelsey, a member of the Air Force World Class Athlete Program.

“It’s kind of a unique thing,” said Kelsey, who lost Sunday in the individual epee preliminaries. “You probably got to die to go on a stamp in the U.S.”

Lomong supported

Taekwondo star Mark Lopez dismissed the notion that the USOC made a political statement by having Colorado Springs runner Lopez Lomong, one of the “Lost Boys of the Sudan,” serve as its flag bearer Friday at the Opening Ceremony.

“Not for one second did it cross my mind that it was a political statement,” he said. “The United States is a country of diverse cultures. It’s a melting pot, a place of different people, different cultures, a place where anybody can come for a better life, a better opportunity. I couldn’t think of a better person to lead the American delegation.”

From left, Serenity Puglis, Samuel thompson, and Brandalynn Boneta, all 7, played in a fountain during the farmers market in downtown Fountain. Photo by