Olympics: Togo team go missing

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

Togo's Olympic team have disappeared off the face of the earth.

The tiny West African nation was to have sent a two-athlete, four-official team to the Games - but Australian officials became concerned when the contingent failed to turn up for training in Adelaide.

Five other African teams fronted for their Olympic warm-up camp, but the Togo team can't be tracked down - despite the efforts of the Australian Olympic Committee.

But the newest addition to the Olympic family - Palau - have arrived in Adelaide with their team of two, despite the disapproval of half the Micronesian island population.

Konrad Rdechor, a 400m runner, and Peoria Koshiba, Palau's top female sprinter, know they won't make any Olympic finals - the reason why some countrymen think it's a waste of time sending them.

Palau is the 199th, and most recent, country welcomed into the International Olympic Committee.

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