Mr Tannock said he hoped negotiations would be able to start in June, adding that Montenegro was a "champion of regional co-operation" such as resolving a border dispute with Croatia and fighting organised crime.

BBC: Montenegro EU membership report

Heidi Krieger, the 1986 European women's shot-put champion, became Andreas Krieger after a sex-change operation in 1997.

CNN: Athlete says sports steroids changed him from woman to man

Even triple world champion Cooper, who watched on television from a Melbourne hospital hours before undergoing an operation to reconstruct her shattered knee, managed a smile.

BBC: Aussie, Aussie, Aussie