Beijing Olympic Games 2008

He’s the hero of the Beijing Olympics — but Michael Phelps has become the bane of bookmakers.
Gamblers have joined Phelps’s winning streak with online betting sites reporting a spike in money riding on the U.S. swimmer and higher interest overall from gamblers in the Games.
Phelps has been the favourite in all of his races in the Aug. 8-24 Games on various online betting sites, with odds for his victories down to about 5/2 on — paying out about $40 on a $100 bet.
“Although he has been at short odds to win he has being doing the right thing by the punters who are getting back more than they get on bank interest,” said Phil Hannah, general manager at Australia-based online betting site SportsBet.
“He really has become a thorn in the bookmakers’ side.”
Most gamblers are betting Phelps will beat compatriot Mark Spitz’s record of winning seven gold medals at one Olympics, with the 23-year-old already snapping up five golds from Beijing, making him the most decorated Olympian of all time with 11 golds.
He is due to swim the 200 metre individual medley on Friday, the 100 metre butterfly on Saturday and the 4×100 metre medley relay on Sunday.
Online site Sky Bet is also paying 5/2 on for Phelps to beat Spitz’s record.
The Olympics is not traditionally a major sports event for gamblers but Hannah said the interest had picked up for the 2008 Games particularly in Asia as the events were televised during the day.
Swimming is the sport attracting the most bets but weightlifting, table tennis, judo and soccer are also getting some interest.
U.S-based Betsonline.com has also experienced an increase in Olympic wagers although spokesman Tommy Allen said the Olympics still lagged far behind sports such as basketball and baseball.
U.S. television network NBC, which paid almost $900 million for the exclusive broadcasting rights to the Olympics, has been delaying showing the Games to hit prime-time viewers in the United States which could impact gambling interest.
“But Phelps is such a phenomenon we have seen interest in him,” said Allen.
He said the odds for Phelps winning the 100 metre butterfly on Saturday were set at minus 255 which means a win would pay out $39 on a $100 bet.
“He’s the clear favourite of the Games,” said Allen.
Horse racing reappeared in mainland China in the early 1990s as jockey clubs were set up but gambling remains illegal, except for state lotteries.

from: guardian.co.uk

Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima established a place for himself among swimming’s all-time greats with a victory Thursday at the Beijing Olympics.

Kitajima cruised to victory in the men’s 200-meter breaststroke in 2 minutes, 07.64 seconds to become the fifth swimmer in Olympic history to complete a golden double in successive Games.

Australia’s Brenton Rickard placed second in 2:08.88, with Hugues Duboscq of France third in 2:08.94 at the National Aquatics Center.

Kitajima, a double gold medalist four years ago in Athens who captured the 100 breaststroke gold Monday, finished just .13 off the world record he set in June.

Unlike in the 100, Kitajima came into the 200 as the firm favorite, not only as the world record-holder but because he didn’t have to deal with former record-holder and main rival, American Brendan Hansen, who failed to make the U.S. team in the event.

Kitajima joined American star Michael Phelps in the elite group of swimmers who have doubled in back-to-back Olympics.

The others were Germany’s Roland Matthes (100-200 backstroke, 1968-72), Hungary’s Tomas Darnyi (200-400 individual medley, 1988-92) and Russia’s Alexander Popov (50-100 freestyle, 1992-96).

The last swimmer to win back to back gold in the men’s 200 breaststroke was also a Japanese, Yoshiyuki Tsuruta way back in 1928 and 1932.

from: yomiuri.co.jp

Of all the swimming sessions in Beijing, this is the one Michael Phelps had to worry about the least. In fact, his worrying days might be over.

One record down, several more to go.

Phelps became the Olympics’ all-time gold medal leader Wednesday with two more wins at the National Aquatics Center — one by himself in the 200-meter butterfly and one as part of the United States’ winning 800-meter freestyle relay team.

It gave the 23-year-old American 11 career gold medals, two more than any other athlete in history, and put him more than halfway to breaking Mark Spitz’s 36-year-old record of seven gold medals in one Olympics.

“The end is close,” Phelps said. “I love it.”

He now has now five gold medals in Beijing. The last two were all but guaranteed.

Phelps lowered his own world record in the 200 butterfly by .06 seconds despite having trouble seeing the last two walls through the water that filled his goggles.

He may not have been able to see the swimmers on either side of him pushing their way into contention, but it didn’t matter. Also the 2004 gold medalist in this distance, Phelps touched at 1 minute, 52.03 seconds.

His 10th gold medal moved him out of a tie with Spitz, American track and field star Carl Lewis, former Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina and Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi for the all-time Olympic gold medal record.

“I couldn’t see anything for the last 100 (meters),” Phelps said of the race. “My goggles pretty much filled with water and it kept getting worse and worse through the race and I was having trouble seeing the walls, to be honest.

“But I wanted to break the record. I wanted to 1:51 or better, but for the circumstances I guess it’s not too bad.”

Cseh won silver behind Phelps for the second time here after also finishing second to the American’s first gold medal swim in the 400 IM on Sunday. He touched in 1:52.70 — .67 seconds behind Phelps — for a new European record.

Matsuda took the bronze and set a new Asian record at 1:52.97.

Less than an hour later, Phelps was in the pool again for the 800 freestyle relay, a race the Americans were an overwhelming favorite to win. Swimming the first leg, he gave his team nearly a two-body-lengths lead over the first 200 meters while putting them more than two seconds ahead of their own world record pace.

Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens and Peter Vanderkaay swam further under the world record pace over the next 600 meters until Vanderkaay touched to finish his anchor leg and secure the U.S. the first sub-seven minute time ever in the event.

The foursome broke the world record Phelps, Lochte and Vanderkaay set with Klete Keller last year by 4.68 seconds, finishing at 6:58.56 to successfully defend the gold the U.S. won in Athens four years ago.

“We talked about breaking seven minutes,” said Phelps, “and we did it.”

Said Lochte: “It was just a matter of time.”

Russia’s European-record swim of 7:03.70 wasn’t nearly good enough, as the country finished more than five seconds behind the U.S. at 7:03.70. Australia won bronze at 7:04.98.

Phelps has now been part of a world record in each of his gold medal swims here, also winning the 400-meter medley and 200-meter freestyle as individual events. He was part of the thrilling, record-setting 400-meter freestyle relay the U.S. ran Monday.

He only has three events remaining, and he’s won gold in all three before: the 200-meter individual medley, the 100-meter butterfly and the 400-meter medley relay (though he didn’t swim the final of that event in Athens).

If Phelps goes on to break Spitz’s Holy Grail record for gold medals in one Olympics — or even if he wins eight medals of any kind here — Phelps would be the all-time winningest medal winner among male Olympians with 16.

Said Phelps: “From now on it’s just a downward slope” — in momentum, that is.

Also on Wednesday, Federica Pellegrini of Italy won the gold medal and broke her own world record in the women’s 200-meter freestyle. Pellegrini, who had set the old mark on Monday, lowered it by .63 seconds to 1 minute, 54.82 seconds to win by just less than one-tenth of a second.

“I have been expecting to win for the last four years,” said Pellegrini, the 2004 silver medalist. So I have been avenged.”

Slovenia’s Sara Isakovic won the silver medal, her country’s first in swimming, at 2:06.34 while China’s Pang Jiaying took bronze in 2:06.42.

American Katie Hoff failed to win her third medal of the Beijing Olympics, finishing .73 seconds out of contention for the bronze with a new American record in the event of 1:55.78.

Hoff also finished fourth in the day’s other final, the 200-meter individual medley, where U.S. teammate Natalie Coughlin won the bronze to go along with the backstroke gold she won Tuesday.

Stephanie Rice of Australia lowered her own world record in the 200 IM by .47 seconds to 2 minutes, 8.45 seconds, claiming her second gold medal of the Beijing Olympics. Rice also won the women’s 400 IM on Sunday.

Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry has finished second behind Rice in both races, claiming silver again on Wednesday with a time of 2:08.59 — .14 seconds behind the winner. It was Coventry’s third silver medal here.

Coughlin finished a distant third, touching 1.89 seconds after Coventry at 2:10.34 for her bronze.

Rice said the two other swimmers pushed her to go faster.

“It’s really good being next to Natalie. She pushed me the first 100 meters,” said Rice. “And Kirsty swam amazing as always.”

from: canada.com

Michael Phelps spent less than 24 hours in the exclusive group of Olympians with nine gold medals. On Wednesday he proved he didn’t like crowds as he won his 10th gold medal in the 200m butterfly and then came back less than an hour later and swam the opening leg of the men’s 4 x 200m freestyle relay en route to his 11th gold as the Americans shattered the world record and became the first team to break the seven minute mark, touching the wall in 6:58.56.

The Americans dominated the pool with their nearest competitor, Russia, coming in at 7:03.70 to claim silver.

Australia finished in third to claim bronze.
Phelps quest for eight gold medals now appears all the more attainable having already collected five at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

from: transworldnews.com

Federica Pellegrini of Italy has won the 200-meter freestyle at the Beijing Olympics, lowering her own world record set a day earlier.

She won in 1 minute, 54.82 seconds, erasing her previous time of 1:55.45.

Sara Isakovic of Slovenia took the silver in 1:54.97. Pang Jiaying of China earned the bronze in 1:55.05, giving the Chinese women their first swimming medal of these games.

American Katie Hoff finished fourth in 1:55.78, the first time in three events she failed to medal.

from: ap.google.com

Leisel Jones claimed her first individual Olympic gold medal and Australia’s third in Beijing with a thumping victory in the women’s 100 metres breaststroke final at the Water Cube.

Jones went into the final as a red-hot favourite after swimming more than a second faster than her nearest rival in the semi-final, and comfortably took gold in an Olympic record time of 1:05.17.

Leisel Jones says all that mattered today was to hit the wall first, something she could not manage as an individual in an Olympic event at either the Sydney or Athens Games.

“A little bit of shock, and probably more relief I guess,” she said.

“It has been a long journey. It’s been a long eight years.

“And I think just a lot of relief that the training was definitely worth it. I couldn’t care less about the time.

“An Olympic gold is an Olympic gold. It really didn’t matter how it went, how I raced I couldn’t care less.”

Jones says she was excited before the race.

“I had a pretty bad sleep last night,” she said.

“I woke up and I was just so excited. I think I was excited about racing.

“I was almost skipping out there I was so excited. I really enjoyed it.”

Aiming for London

Jones suggested she would keep swimming with London in 2012 in mind.

“I think I’ve enjoyed it so much, I think I would hate to finish and know there was still a flame burning inside,” she said.

“I think I’ve still got so much more growing to do, and so much more learning.

“Amanda Beard’s on her fourth Olympics, so it’s certainly not out of the question.”

Jones emerged from the blocks at the head of the field slightly in front of compatriot Tarnee White, and split the 50m inside world record time.

She powered away in the final 50m to finish well ahead of American Rebecca Soni (1:06.73) and Austrian Mirna Jukic (1:07.34).

White faded towards the back end of the race to finish in sixth position in a time of 1:07.63.

While she was happy with the gold, Jones says it was her win at the World Championships in Canada in 2005 that remains her proudest achievement.

“Olympic golds are important, but in terms of personal experience and in terms of personal growth I think that was my most important swim.

“Olympic gold is really nice, it’s what we all come here for.

“But certainly Montreal was more about my personal experience.

“And I think that will still reign over this Olympic gold, because I found out so much of myself.

“After Athens I learned so much. And that was my first individual World Championship [gold].

“I think that one probably still is more important to me than this.”

Jones says she managed to stay composed after the race until she saw her coach Rohan Taylor.

“I certainly wasn’t composed once I got through the media and I pretty much lost it when I saw Rohan and then when I saw my mum I just lost it,” she said.

After bursting onto the scene with a silver medal in the 100m in Sydney as a 14-year-old, Jones could not crack gold in the 100m or 200m in Athens, but she says that experience has helped her enjoy her time in Beijing.

“It’s hard at the time to deal with criticism, and I copped a lot of it in Athens,” she said.

“It’s really difficult but it’s made me a much stronger person and has made this performance much sweeter.”

Jones swam 1:05.80 to comfortably win the second semi, ahead of second-fastest qualifier Soni. Jukic started from lane three after recording 1:07.27 in the semis.

from: abc.net.au

Aaron Peirsol set a new Olympic and world record in the 100m backstroke, touching the wall in 52.54 to win gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Peirsol finished more than half a second ahead of fellow American Matt Grevers who claimed silver in 53.11.
The bronze went to Arkady Vyatchanin of Russia and Hayden Stoeckel of Australia, both finished in 53.18.

source: transworldnews.com

US swimmer Michael Phelps joined an elite list of Olympic greats Tuesday becoming only the fifth competitor in history to win nine gold medals.

Phelps added his name to the prestigious group of Paavo Nurmi, Carl Lewis, Mark Spitz and Larysa Latynina when he won the men’s 200m freestyle with a world record swim for his third Gold medal in Beijing.

He appears destined to become the greatest Olympian as he continues his quest for an unequalled eight gold medals in one Games here and he said the toughest three races were behind him.

Phelps won six gold medals in Athens four years ago and has already won gold in the 400m individual medley and 4×100m freestyle relay, both in world record time, at Beijing’s futuristic Water Cube pool.

Ahead lie the 200m individual medley, 200m butterfly, 100m butterfly, 4×200m free relay and 4×100m medley relay.

“That’s great,” said Phelps as he emerged from the water after leading all the way in the 200m freestyle final to post a new world record of one minute 42.96.

“I just wanted to be out on my own which I had done by the 100 metres mark, that was my goal,” Phelps said.

“I was out in open water and I was in the middle, which makes it difficult for the other guys to see me.”

Phelps freestyle victory launched a dominant morning for the United States in the pool.

Aaron Peirsol lowered his own world record in winning the men’s 100m backstroke, setting a new mark of 52.54sec, and Natalie Coughlin defended her women’s 100m backstroke crown.

Australian Liesel Jones broke the US stranglehold when she won the women’s 100m breaststroke title.

There are 15 other gold medals on offer Tuesday, and hosts China will be looking to strengthen their grip at the head of the table.

They have nine golds, ahead of the US on six, and are leading contenders in the women’s synchronised 10m diving where Chen Ruolin and Wang Xin start as clear favourites in a sport dominated by China.

China added to its haul Tuesday with the hosts winning the men’s team gymnastics title, and there was joy for shooter Tan Zongliang who grabbed bronze after 12 years of trying.

China bounced back with their gymnasts snuffing out challenges from defending champions Japan and the United States to spark wild celebrations among the cheering home crowd.

It was their second Olympic title following victory in Sydney in 2000 and made amends for a disappointing fifth place in Athens.

China finished on 286.125 points, 7.25 points ahead of Japan on 278.875, while an injury-weakened US team put in a gutsy effort to take bronze.

On the ranges Tan settled for third in the men’s 50m Pistol despite starting the 10-shot final with a seemingly comfortable two-point lead.

But he blew his chance, opening the door to Jin Jong-Oh of South Korea who survived a last-minute scare to win by just 0.2 points ahead of second-placed North Korean Kim Jong-Su.

Nevertheless, it was Tan’s first medal in four Olympics, and coach Wang Yifu was content.

“I think he performed well today, though he didn’t get a gold medal,” said Wang. “Since he has participated in four Games a bronze medal is an historical breakthrough for him.”

South Korea were third in the medals table, picking up a fifth gold Tuesday with Jin’s win.

Germany are vying for their first gold at the Games in Hong Kong where they are leading contenders on the closing day of the team and individual sections of the three-day eventing competition.

Neither Brazil nor France have gold yet either but that could change on Tuesday.

France’s Lucie Decosse is a leading contender in the women’s -63kg as is Brazil’s Tiago Camilo in the men’s -81kg division.

Meanwhile celebrations continued in India after Abhinav Bindra won their first ever individual gold medal on Monday in the men’s 10m Air Rifle event, a performance being rated by cricket legend Kapil Dev as arguably India’s finest sporting achievement.

“This is much, much bigger than the World Cup,” said Dev who captained India to their lone World Cup win in 1983.

Further overnight rain improved conditions for outdoor Olympians, easing the smog over Beijing, patches of blue sky were visible and the midday temperature was an acceptable 27 degrees Celsius (81 Farenheit).

At the tennis venue, Serena Williams took just 44 minutes to dispatch Australia’s Samantha Stosur in her second round singles match with an impressive display that shortened the odds on her making the final.

Incoming men’s number one Rafael Nadal will later face Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt, who last occupied the top ranking in June 2003.

Kobe Bryant and the US all-star basketballers are back in action as well hoping to follow up their big win over China with a victory over Angola.

source: afp.google.com

Italy’s Federica Pellegrini vented her frustration at failing to medal in her favorite race by breaking the world record in a different event during the heats at the Beijing Olympics on Monday.

Pellegrini was inconsolable after finishing fifth in the final of the women’s 400 meters freestyle in the morning but erased some of her angst by smashing the 200 world record in the evening to qualify for Tuesday’s semi-finals.

The finals will be held on Wednesday.

Her performance took the spotlight away, albeit briefly, from Michael Phelps, who eased off but still topped the qualifiers in the 200 butterfly.

Phelps won his second gold medal earlier when he helped the U.S. demolish the 4×100 freestyle relay world record and coasted through his heat in one minute 53.70 seconds, more than a full second outside his world record.

Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh, silver medalist behind Phelps in the 400 individual medley, qualified second fastest with Brazilian Kaio Almeida third.

“I just went out, I won’t say I cruised it. I just swam it and tried to get into the semi-final,” Phelps said.

Australia’s Alicia Coutts led the qualifiers in the women’s 200 individual medley after winning her heat in 2:11.55 ahead of Americans Katie Hoff and Natalie Coughlin, who were both taking it easy to save their energy for their hectic schedules.

Australia’s Stephanie Rice, gold medalist in the 400 individual medley, was also in cruise control to qualify sixth with Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry seventh after she broke Coughlin’s 100 backstroke record during the morning semi-finals.

Pellegrini unleashed a devastating sprint on her last lap to win her heat in 1:55.45 seconds, clipping 0.07 off the previous record set by France’s Laure Manaudou at last year’s world championships in Melbourne.

Slovenia’s European champion Sara Isakovic qualified second fastest with Britain’s Caitlin McClatchey third.

Pellegrini also holds the world record for the 400 freestyle but suffered a surprise loss behind British gold medalist Rebecca Adlington, whose winning time was more than a second outside Pellegrini’s heat time on Sunday.

“I didn’t want to break the world record in the heats,” Pellegrini said. “(But) It made amends for what happened this morning. It shows I’m still able to do it.”

from: reuters.com

Spectators at the Water Cube witnessed the birth of four more gold medals and five new world records on Monday, August 11.

In one of the all-time great relay swims, the United States overhauled the French team in the shadows of the finish line to complete a stunning Men’s 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay win on Monday, smashing their own world record set on Sunday by nearly four seconds in the process.

Another world record was broken in this event when Australia’s Eamon Sullivan shaved 0.26 seconds off French Alain Bernard’s old record for the Men’s 100m with a stunning lead-off leg of 47.24.

Briton Rebecca Adlington breathtakingly overtook Katie Hoff of the United States in the last meter to grab gold, becoming the first British woman in 48 years to win an Olympic Swimming event.

Earlier in the morning, Kitajima Kosuke of Japan managed to defend his Olympic title and rewrote his own WR in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke final, stopping the clock at 58.91.

The Women’s 100m Butterfly final went on more as expected. World champion Lisbeth Trickett of Australia took gold with a time of 56.73, though with some challenge from Christine Magnuson of the United States in the final 15 meters.

In the second semifinal of the Women’s 100m Backstroke in the morning, Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry touched the wall a full shoulder length ahead of the competition to smash the world record with a time of 58.77.

Federica Pellegrini of Italy set a new world record of 1:55.4 in the Women’s 200m Freestyle prelims on Monday evening, slicing 0.07 seconds off the previous record set by Laure Manaudou of France at Melbourne, Australia, in March.

Pellegrini’s stunning performance came after placing fifth in the morning’s Women’s 400m Freestyle final. “I just couldn’t get myself into shape. We Italians haven’t got used to competition in the morning,” said Pellegrini after the morning’s final.

source: beijing2008.cn