Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Press conference on Beijing Olympics and Beijing Economy to be held on Aug. 21
Bolt toys with 200m heat
His relaxed stride carried him across the line in 20.09 seconds as he watched himself on the giant TV screen in the National Stadium. His dash and pose puts him just ahead of the 100m fourth place getter Churandy Martina of Netherlands Antilles who won the first semifinal heat in 20.11s. The United States' Shawn Crawford ran just behind Bolt in the second heat in 20.12s.
Jamaican giant Bolt goes into the final of the Men's 200m as favorite after leaving the world in awe after his phenomenal 9.69s world record triumph in the Men's 100m on Saturday,.
Predominantly renowned for his 200m talent, Bolt made headlines earlier this year when he stormed into the 100m scene, clocking 9.72s to break the world record in New York in May. Initially, Bolt was using the 100m for "speed work" to improve on his more favored 200m.
Bolt has run the three fastest 200m times in the world this year - 19.67s (Athens), 19.76s (London) and 19.83s (Ostrava). His winning 19.67s at the Athens Grand Prix in July was the fifth-fastest ever.
The US trio of Walter Dix, Shawn Crawford and Wallace Spearmon will all be breathing down Bolt's neck. The three sprinters proved at the 2008 USA Olympic Trials that they are capable of producing a sub-20 second time in the 200m. Both registering 19.86s, Dix just pipped Crawford, the finish line camera separating the two on the line by 0.005s. Spearmon was not far behind in 19.90s.
Crawford is the reigning Olympic champion, and despite a couple of quiet years, remerged in 2008 as a contender for a medal. The 2001 World Championships bronze medalist has a personal best of 19.79s.
At the 2008 USA Olympic Trials, reigning 200m world champion Tyson Gay of the United States broke down mid-race with a hamstring strain, and was not selected to compete in the Men's 200m in Beijing.
Carl Lewis was the last man to complete the 100m-200m sprint double at the Olympic Games, in Los Angeles in 1984. Usain Bolt will have something to say about that.
Kanter lands Men's Discus gold
Ohuruogu wins Women's 400m title
Ohuruogu recorded a season's best of 49.62 seconds to add the Olympic gold medal to the World Championships title she won in Osaka in 2007.
"I am just so proud of myself," Ohuruogu said.
"You always have all these dreams about winning, but you never think your dreams will be reality. I just ran across the line, thinking, 'I won!'," she added.
Silver medalist Shericka Williams of Jamaica ran 49.69s for a personal best, ahead of Sanya Richards of the United States who settled for bronze with a time of 49.93s.
China has new Diving He-man
Alexandre Despatie of Canada continued a streak of his own, winning silver in the event for the second straight Olympic Games. He Chong's compatriot, Qin Kai, won bronze.
He Chong finished on top of the field in the preliminary round and semifinal, showing from start to finish why he is ranked No. 1 in the world. He punctuated his performances with a final dive -- a 5156B -- that earned him a 100.70, the highest individual score of the final.
Three-time Olympian Alexandre Despatie won his second Olympic silver with a consistent performance in the final, following closely behind He Chong from the second dive to the end.
Qin Kai, who, like He, was also making his Olympic debut, won his second medal of the Games. He won gold with partner Wang Feng in the Synchronized Springboard event.
Legendary diver Dmitry Sautin of Russia, an eight time Olympic medalist, finished in fourth -- falling short of the podium despite a spectacular 99.75-point final dive. Sautin won silver in the Synchronized Springboard last week.
Men's 3m Springboard, final standings:
1. China -- He Chong, 572.90 points
2. Canada -- Alexandre Despatie, 536.65
3. China – Qin Kai, 530.10
4. Russia -- Dmitry Sautin, 512.65
5. Germany -- Pavlo Rozenberg, 485.60
6. United States -- Troy Dumais, 472.50
7. Mexico – Yahel Castillo, 462.10
8. Germany -- Patrick Hausding, 462.05
9. Australia – Robert Newberry , 461.05
10. Columbia -- Juan Guillermo Uran, 454.50
11. Japan -- Ken Terauchi, 442.50
12. US -– Chris Colwill, 425.90
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Vijender warms up for Thai revenge
Vijender Kumar, the tall, goodlooking middleweight (75kg) boxer from Bhiwani walked into this
set-up at 8.30 pm to the soothing voice of Harry Belafonte. Strange music for a sport like boxing; you would rather expect Survivor’s ‘Eye of Tiger’ to be blaring from the speakers. The music stopped and then came the dramatic introduction, almost in WWF style.
Vijender got down to business after and walked away from the ring after 10 minutes, raising his right arm in salute and tapping his chest twice __ the magical right that pulverized his first round opponent from Gambia, Jack Badou.Vijender flowed in the fight, dancing, ducking and punching with ferocity.
He took time to warm up, which made the Gambian look good for a while. After that the 23-year-old Indian took control. He raced to a 6-1 lead in the second round, went ahead 9-2 in the third and wrapped it up at 13-2.
‘‘Mazaa aaya (I enjoyed the fight),’’ he said later. ‘‘It’s always good to get going in the first round. I had never played him before. It felt good out there. Yes, the right worked well. I’m ready for a tougher bout,’’ he added.
Well, that’s just coming up. Vijender now runs into Thai boxer Chompuphuang Angkha, an outright showman who outclassed his Korean opponent. ‘‘Yes, I know him. I have boxed with him earlier in the President’s Cup. He beat me by four points then. Abhi badle ka time hai (it’s time for revenge now),’’ Vijender said, clenching his fist.
The other bout featuring an Indian was an anti-climax. Light heavyweight (81kg) boxer Dinesh Kumar was put through the wringer by Algerian boxer Benchabla Abdulhafid.
After the first 30 seconds, with Dinesh keeping it level at 2-2, the Algerian southpaw opened up. Dinesh, an aggressive boxer who plays with an open style, soon walked into trouble and took a severe beating before referee stopped contest in the third round with the score at 23-3. Three other boxers are yet to feature here at the Games Akhil Kumar, Jitender and AL Lakra.
Guo claims Olympic record and gold in Women's 10m Air Pistol
The silver medal was won by Natalia Paderina of Russia (489.1 points) and the bronze medal was won by Nino Salukvadze of Georgia (487.4 points).
To win the gold medal, World No. 1 Guo needed to beat Paderina, who shot an Olympic record 391 in the qualification round. The previous qualification Olympic record was 390, set by Russian Marina Logvinenko at Atlanta 1996.
However, Guo, who equaled the previous Olympic record with 390 in the qualification round, shot incredibly well in the final. Paderina gave her Chinese opponent a helping hand by shooting poorly on her second shot, scoring 8.5.
Eight of Guo's ten shots were above 10 points, with the highest score, 10.8, coming on her ninth shot. Paderina's performance flailed and she shot below 10 points on her last three shots.
Salukvadze comfortably won the bronze over Belarusian Viktoria Chaika, who shot a total of 482.0 points.
With 387 in the qualification round, Mongolia's Munkzul Tsogbadrah had a great opportunity to win the bronze medal. However, the 27-year-old Mongolian's game fell apart in the final with a series of poor shots.
Republic of Korea wins Archery Women's Team gold medal match
The
The ROK team scored 224 out of a possible 240 points. The Chinese team of Zhang Juanjuan, Chen Ling and Guo Dan took the silver medal with 215 points.
The French team of Virginie Arnold, Sophie Dodemont and Berengere Schuh took third place after a close 202-201 victory over
Earlier in the quarterfinal round, the ROK women's team set a 24-arrow world record with a combined score of 231 out of a possible 240 points.
The team's score of 231 also establishes the Olympic record as the 24-arrow format is being featured for the first time in the Beijing Olympic Games.
Flash: Xian Dongmei thrills crowd with second Judo gold
Overall Medal Standings
| Rank | NOC Name | Men | Women | Open/Mixed | Total | Rank by Total | ||||||||||||
| G | S | B | T | G | S | B | T | G | S | B | T | G | S | B | T | |||
| 1 |  CHN - China | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 2 | |||||||
| 2 |  KOR - Korea | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3 | |||||||
| 3 |  USA - United States | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 1 | |||||
| 4 |  CZE - Czech Republic | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | =8 | ||||||||||
| 5 |  JPN - Japan | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | =5 | |||||||||
| 6 |  AUS - Australia | | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | =8 | |||||||||
| 6 |  NED - Netherlands | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | =8 | ||||||||
| 8 |  ESP - Spain | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | =13 | ||||||||||||
| 8 |  GBR - Great Britain | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | =13 | |||||||||||
| 8 |  ROU - Romania | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | =13 | |||||||||||
| 8 |  THA - Thailand | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | =13 | |||||||||||
| 12 |  RUS - Russian Fed. | | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | ||||||||
| 13 |  ITA - Italy | | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | =5 | ||||||||
| 14 |  PRK - DPR Korea | | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | =5 | ||||||||
| 15 |  CUB - Cuba | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | =8 | ||||||||
| 15 |  FRA - France | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | =8 | ||||||||
| 17 |  AUT - Austria | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | =13 | |||||||||||
| 17 |  HUN - Hungary | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | =13 | |||||||||||
| 17 |  SWE - Sweden | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | =13 | |||||||||||
| 17 |  TUR - Turkey | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | =13 | |||||||||||
| 17 |  ZIM - Zimbabwe | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | =13 | |||||||||||
| 22 |  ALG - Algeria | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | =13 | |||||||||||
| 22 |  ARG - Argentina | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | =13 | |||||||||||
| 22 |  BLR - Belarus | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | =13 | |||||||||||
| 22 |  CRO - Croatia | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | =13 | |||||||||||
| 22 |  GEO - Georgia | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | =13 | |||||||||||
| 22 |  GER - Germany | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | =13 | |||||||||||
| 22 |  SUI - Switzerland | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | =13 | |||||||||||
| 22 |  TPE - Chinese Taipei | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | =13 | |||||||||||
| 22 |  UZB - Uzbekistan | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | =13 | |||||||||||
| Total: | 7 | 7 | 9 | 23 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 38 | 19 | 19 | 23 | 61 | ||||||
Friday, August 8, 2008
Beijing Olympics tickets almost 'sold out'
A foreign lady shows her Olympic ticket just bought at the main box office on Beitucheng Road near the National Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, July 25, 2008.
Olympic Medal Count
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | ||||
| 1. |  | Czech Republic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2. |  | Russian Fed | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 3. |  | Croatia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Emmons wins first gold medal of the Games
Emmons, 24, was in scintillating form, breaking Olympic records in both the qualification and final rounds.
In the qualification round, Emmons shot a perfect 400, which equaled the World Record and set a new Olympic Record. The previous Olympic Record was 399.
In the final round, Emmons shot 103.5, giving her a final score of 503.5, which eclipsed the previous record of 502.0 set by China's Du Li at Athens 2004.
Katerina Emmons wins the first gold of the Beijing Olympics .
The gold medal is Emmons' second Olympic medal, following her bronze at Athens 2004 in the same event.
Emmons never looked threatened throughout the event, despite solid shooting performances by silver medalist Lioubov Galkina of Russia and bronze medalist Snjezana Pejcic of Croatia, who shot final scores of 502.1 and 500.9 respectively.
The day was full of disappointment for Athens 2004 gold medalist Du Li of China and World No. 1 Sonja Pfeilschifter of Germany. Du finished fifth after shooting poorly in the final, finishing with a total score of 499.6. Pfeilschifter just missed out on making the final round.
The United States' Jamie Beyerle finished fourth after performing well in the final, shooting a total score of 499.8.
National Stadium
Bird's Nest
National Stadium welcomes guests
On the morning of June 28, China's National Stadium resonated with cheers. After years of hard work, the "Bird's Nest" is now completed.
BEIJING 2008: BUSH OPENS U. S. EMBASSY, SPEAKS FRANKLY
2008 Beijing Olympics: Let the Games begin
On Wednesday night, in Shenyang, an hour's flight north of Beijing, the women's football competition kicked off. An undistinguished goalless draw between Brazil and Germany was watched by a crowd of 20,000. Meanwhile more than 23,000 people turned out to watch Argentina lose to Canada in Tianjin. These, remember, were women's football matches, events that normally stir the public interest about as much as pro-celebrity paint drying. Yet they drew crowds unprecedented in Olympic history.
We should not be surprised. In 112 years no Games have been so eagerly anticipated by the hosts, no tickets so voraciously snapped up. For the past seven years, ever since it was revealed that Beijing were to take charge of 2008, the Chinese have been told that this would be the most important moment in their history – far more significant to a modern, commercial country than revolutions both proletarian and cultural.
Through tableaux, firecrackers and human pyramids of spangly clad acrobats, tonight's opening ceremony will make enormous play of the nation's past. But there will be no mention of anything from the last 100 years; no hint of a five-year plan or little red book. The name Mao will be conspicuous by its absence, a haunting gap at the heart of the proceedings. It is as if none of that ever happened. For the consumption of a global television audience of billions, the Games are to be presented as the apex of 4,000 years of civilisation. Nothing else now matters.
Whipped up for nearly a decade by such insistence, the locals here are, in the words of Liam Gallagher, mad for it. A nation that less than 20 years ago was gripped by post-Tiananmen paranoia, treating foreigners with suspicion and scowls, has been sent to collective charm school. Smiles swathe the place. No one can do enough for the visiting thousands.
I have been asked about 40 times by volunteers working at the Olympic Park if I have a ticket for the opening ceremony, an event generally regarded in the west as a comical, yawn-inducing adjunct to the real thing. When I say that I have, I am treated as if I am in possession of tablets of stone.
All this week, at every press conference involving athletes and coaches, amid the usual queries about hamstrings and training preparation, a local journalist is guaranteed to pipe up: "What do you think of our Beijing Olympics?" So far, the answer has been the one they want to hear.
"You go to most venues and you usually find something wrong," said Dave Brailsford, the performance director for British cycling. "But there is nothing wrong here. It makes you want to race. It is very, very exciting."
Michael Phelps, the swimmer who will probably be the star of the Games, was equally effusive. "These are the best facilities I've competed in and the nicest dorms, definitely," he said. "The [athletes] village is cool. There's grass and sculptures everywhere. It's a really nice environment."
The veteran American swimmer Dara Torres made the local smile stretch so far it was in danger of requiring surgery. "I've been going to the Olympics for 24 years," she said, "and I think China's done an awesome job – the best. I brought my own sheets and towels and stuff because I've been in villages before. But they went straight in the closet. It's like you're in a Marriott. The facilities are fantastic. I'm really excited to be part of it."
Not even the most determined professional grouch (and there are plenty of them in the press corps) can find cause for complaint. Everything from the condition of the velodrome floor to the landscaping beside the white-water canoeing course has been designed to thrill. And there is a purpose behind this perfection. This is sport as a commercial statement. The message is, 'If you want the best place to do business, come to China, after all, look at how we staged our Games.'
For those watching on television around the globe, the happy consequence will be that, over the next 16 days, in wonderful venues, before huge crowds, relaxed and content athletes will perform as never before. From first gun to last ring of the bell we are in for a treat. That, at least, is the plan. Nothing can go wrong now. Can it?
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Beijing Olympic Venue Distributioni
* 1National Stadium
* 2National Aquatics Center
* 3National Indoor Stadium
* 4Beijing Shooting Range Hall
* 5Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium
* 6Laoshan Velodrome
* 7Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park
* 8China Agricultural University Gymnasium
* 9Peking University Gymnasium
* 10Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium
* 11Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium
* 26Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Court
Existing Venues in Beijing
* 12Olympic Sports Center Stadium
* 13Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium
* 14Beijing Workers' Stadium
* 15Beijing Workers' Gymnasium
* 16Capital Indoor Stadium
* 17Fengtai Sports Center Softball Field
* 18Yingdong Natatorium of National Olympic Sports Center
* 19Laoshan Mountain Bike Course
* 20Beijing Shooting Range CTF
* 21Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium
* 22Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics Gymnasium
Temporary Venues in Beijing
* 23Fencing Hall of National Convention Center
* 24Beijing Olympic Green Hockey Stadium
* 25Beijing Olympic Green Archery Field
* 27Beijing Wukesong Sports Center Baseball Field
* 28Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground
* 29Laoshan Bicycle Moto Cross (BMX) Venue
* 30Triathlon Venue
* 31Road Cycling Course