American Kayla Williams probably ruins the curve in her classes at school, too.

Williams, 16, who was still competing at the level below elite five months ago, looked like an old pro yesterday in winning the vault title at the world gymnastics championships in London. Only when she stood atop the podium did she seem overwhelmed, taking several deep breaths as she waited for the gold medal to be put around her neck and fighting back tears as the national anthem played.

"This past five months, or however long it's been, has been the most hectic and crazy," Williams said, wide-eyed. "But I've learned a lot and I finished it off as best I could."

China, meanwhile, finished things off in its usual fashion, winning three of the five titles yesterday. He Kexin added a world title to her Olympic gold on uneven bars, Zhang Hongtao won pommel horse and Yan Mingyong closed the day with a win on still rings.

Romania's Marian Dragulescu won his fourth world floor title -- not bad for a guy who retired after the Beijing Olympics.

Neither Olympic silver medalist Oksana Chusovitina nor bronze medalist Cheng Fei was at the worlds, but this was hardly a slouch field. Williams beat the Olympic champion, Hong Un-jong, who fell on both her vaults, as well as Europe's vault champion, Ariella Kaeslin of Switzerland.

Three cities -- two from Europe and one from Asia -- applied to be the host of the 2018 Winter Olympics, the smallest bidding field in three decades. The German city of Munich, the French lakeside town of Annecy and the South Korean resort of Pyeongchang submitted their preliminary bids to the IOC in Lausanne, Switzerland, by the deadline.

China had considered bidding but announced earlier this week that it had decided against submitting an application from Harbin or Changchun.

Canadians will not be vaccinated against the swine flu until November, and the federal government has released a priority list for who should receive the shots first.

Another suggestion for the list -- to move Team Canada near the front of the line in preparation for the Vancouver Olympics this winter -- has generated swift and strong reaction from the public. The federal government has so far resisted the idea.

Don't bother hiring an executive search firm to help select the U.S. Olympic Committee's next CEO, Dick Ebersol admonishes. The only qualified candidates should be obvious.

As NBC Universal Sports and Olympics chairman, Ebersol knows he has a pulpit to speak out about his disappointment with the USOC -- because his employer has poured billions of dollars into the games. He has been one of the most outspoken critics after the embarrassing failure of Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics.

The USOC plans to hire a national recruiting firm to find a replacement for embattled acting CEO Stephanie Streeter, who announced last week she's stepping down. Ebersol believes that's a waste of money that would otherwise go to athletes.

Ebersol insisted the only viable candidates are leaders of national governing bodies of the major American sports. They're familiar with top-level sponsors, knowledgeable about developing athletes and already well-respected by their peers around the world.

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