Olympic Times - Sports Daily

Saturday’s announcement that the National Stadium has become fully functional marked the completion of all the Beijing Olympic Games’ 37 venues.
Nicknamed the “Bird’s Nest” because of its shape, the venue covers 258,000 sq m of the Olympic Green in the northern part of the capital.
In addition to hosting football and other sports events, it would be the site of the Games’ opening and closing ceremonies.

“We hope we can provide better services for the Olympic Games with better facilities,” National Stadium CEO Li Aiqing said at a ceremony celebrating the venue’s completion on Saturday.
Swiss firm Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, and China Architecture Design & Research Institute, won the international design competition in 2003, and construction began at the end of that year.
It has since become a Beijing icon, attracting photo-snapping crowds every day.
The design’s complexity challenged builders, but they were proud of overcoming all trials.
“The most outstanding feature of the stadium is its beam structure,” chief engineer Li Jiulin said. “The architects imagined several intertwining lines, which we translated into reality with steel and concrete.”
Time magazine earlier this year listed the building - the largest steel structure in the world - atop its “100 Most Influential Designs”.
Prior to its official completion, the 91,000-seat venue underwent two test events in April and May.

from: chinadaily.com.cn

Michael Phelps set a new world record of 4:05:25 on Sunday night at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials, breaking the previous 400-meter individual medley record he had previously set at the world championships in Australia.

Ryan Lochte also rendered an excellent performance, finishing second with a time of 4:06.08, which was also faster than Phelps’s former record of 4:06.22.

Robert Margalis finished third, more than seven seconds behind Phelps and Lochte.

from: beijing2008.cn

Visiting Greek President Karolos Papoulias said here Thursday he believed the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will be a monument in the Olympic history.
When visiting the eastern coastal city, Papoulias said the Greek people are overjoyed to see that the Chinese people can hold the Olympic Games.
Papoulias arrived at the Chinese economic hub Wednesday afternoon, the second leg of his state visit to China, after visiting Beijing.
He told Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng Wednesday that Shanghai is a dynamic city which represents the future of China and he hoped Greece and Shanghai can further strengthen cooperation in trade and economy, culture, education and tourism.
Papoulias also attended an economic seminar in Shanghai, and visited the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the tallest TV tower in Asia, and the Shanghai history museum. He will conclude his China tour on Friday morning.
Import and export volume from January to April between Shanghai and Greece has increased by 280 percent on a year-on-year basis, according to official statistics.

from: xinhuanet.com

Javier Gomez Noya fought a six-year battle with Spain’s sporting authorities over a heart condition and he is now favorite to win a triathlon gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.
“I have overcome a lot of obstacles. Some people have helped me, others haven’t. I can’t forget what has happened but I want to look forward, I don’t want wars with anyone,” the 25-year-old world champion told Reuters in an interview.
Gomez Noya’s problems started after a routine medical test by the Spanish Sports Council (CSD). In 2000 they withdrew his international licence due to what he describes as “an abnormal heart valve”.
With the help of independent consultants he won back his right to compete overseas in November 2003, just in time to win the world under-23 title in New Zealand.
He failed to make Spain’s 2004 Olympic squad and in 2005 the CSD decided to bar the Swiss-born athlete from competing at home and abroad until February 2006.
“I don’t think the Spanish Triathlon Federation and the CSD did well in my case. But we have got over our problems and I don’t think there is any point trawling through it all again,” Gomez Noya said.
“I have to have routine check-ups every three to six months. While the cardiologists think I can compete there is no problem.
“I didn’t consider quitting. Once the cardiologists said I could run, I decided to fight.”

Unbeatable
Since his return to competition, Gomez Noya has been all but unbeatable.
He won the triathlon World Cup series in 2006 and 2007, and leads the 2008 series after winning all four major races he entered, including the World Championships this month.
He was runner-up in the 2007 World Championships although he finished the year ranked No 1.
Gomez Noya was born in Basel, Switzerland, and was only months old when his parents returned to their native Galicia. He started out playing soccer and switched to swimming before getting into triathlon by chance when he was 15.
Friends at his local swimming club in Ferrol encouraged him to enter a competition.
“It caught my attention, the sport as much as the atmosphere. I saw I had a lot of room to improve but that it matched my characteristics well,” he said. “Although I come from the world of swimming … my strong point is the running race and it is the one I enjoy the most. It’s where I have had a slight edge over my rivals.”
Typical training sessions last between three and seven hours a day, depending on the proximity to a race, and need to exercise three different sets of muscle groups because of triathlon’s make-up of swimming, cycling and running.
The sport’s growing popularity - it is generally reckoned to have originated in the 1970s - won it acceptance into the Olympics for the first time in 2000 and Gomez Noya says people should not be put off by its reputation as a tough sport.
“I think it is made into something of a myth how hard the sport is. It’s not as tough as the marathon or cycling, where you have to spend six hours on a bike day after day.
“It’s more attractive than them because you do three different disciplines. It’s a young sport, and a clean one, and it’s doing well. We hope it carries on growing.”

Sporting idols
One of the problems holding back triathlon’s development, particularly in Gomez Noya’s home country, is the lack of media exposure.
“It’s difficult in this country … there isn’t a deep sporting culture,” he said. “The priority is given to football and in other sports to the ‘idols’ of the moment such as Fernando Alonso in Formula One or Rafa Nadal in tennis.
“People follow their idols rather than the sports themselves, which is bad for the rest of us.”
Gomez Noya, an admirer of cyclist Lance Armstrong and marathon king Haile Gebrselassie, would help to raise the profile of triathlon at home with a podium finish in Beijing.
“It’s an error to count on winning a medal in the triathlon. With one race every four years anything can happen, especially in a sport as tactical as this where it isn’t always the strongest who wins,” he said.
“The pressure could translate into a positive thing. They are my first Games and I just hope my novice status doesn’t work against me.”

from: chinadaily.com.cn

The Beijing Olympic Games organizers (BOCOG) on Wednesday dropped the overseas leg of the Paralympic torch relay because of the devastating Sichuan earthquake.

The torch was to travel through the Summer and Winter Olympic host cities of London, Vancouver and Sochi, as well as Hong Kong before the Sept 6-17 Paralympic Games in Beijing.

But now its relay will be restricted to the Chinese mainland.

Zhang Qiuping, director of BOCOG’s Paralympics department, said the May 12 quake had necessitated the changes.

“The main reason is the devastating earthquake in Sichuan. Now we want to focus on relief and reconstruction work and preparations for the Paralympics.”

But, he said, overseas torchbearers for the Paralympics are still welcome to participate in the adomestic relay.

The 16-stop domestic relay route has been changed too, and the torch will not travel to Chengdu, Chongqing, Urumqi and Tianjin.

The original Paralympic torch relay plan was released last September when its one-year countdown began.

The BOCOG Torch Relay Center will announce the new Paralymic torch relay plan soon.

from: chinadaily.com.cn

A Russian sports official said on Wednesday that the country is to increase prize money for its medal winners at the upcoming Summer Olympics in Beijing.

“We would like to introduce amendments to this order” as the current bonuses are “outdated,” RIA Novosti news agency cited Vitaly Mutko, minister of sports, tourism and youth policy.

The current rate for Russian athletes, who win Olympic medals, was set by a presidential order in 1996 and stands at 50,000 US dollars for the gold, 20,000 dollars for silver and 10,000 dollars for bronze.

Some 500 Russian athletes are to attend the Games in China which will be held in the Chinese capital from August 8 to 24. The Russian delegation at the sporting event will total some 900 representatives, he said.

A total of 474 Russian athletes had been accredited as members of the Olympic team and 148 for the following Paralympics.

“We are pinning our hopes on sporting events such as boxing, wrestling, swimming, gymnastics, synchronized swimming, field and track, weightlifting, shooting and fencing,” Mutko expressed hope for medals.

from: chinadaily.com.cn

Ronaldinho could have a great Olympics if he plays for the national side, says the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation.

The former world footballer of the year, recovering from injury, said this week he expects to be in Beijing with Brazil.

Confederation president Ricardo Teixeira hopes so.

“He’s a player who has the possibility of having a great Olympics,” Teixeira told Globo television station on Thursday. “I ask the fans to support Ronaldinho, who is very important to the team.”

Ronaldinho attended Brazil’s scoreless draw with Argentina on Wednesday and said the Olympics were on his mind.

“I’m sure I’ll be in Beijing,” he told SporTV. “God willing I’ll return. I’m recovering from my injury and I want to return healthy as soon as possible to the national team.”

Ronaldinho lost his status as the world’s best player during a poor season with FC Barcelona beset by injuries _ he missed the last six weeks of the Spanish season with torn adductor muscles and wasn’t available when Barcelona reached the Champions League semifinals. Even when fit he was benched, and the Spanish media repeatedly questioned his attitude and social habits.

Barcelona is trying to offload Ronaldinho with two years left on his contract, and Manchester City is one option.

from: chinadaily.com.cn

The Tibet Autonomous Regional Government was confident to have a safe and successful Olympic torch relay on Saturday, said Palma Trily, executive vice chairman of Tibet, here on Friday.
He made the remarks while meeting a 50-strong delegation of journalists, including staff from 29 overseas news organizations.

“We believe activities against the people’s will and against the historical trend doom to fail,” said the official when he was asked whether the Dalai Lama clique would sabotage the torch relay.

He said police have been deployed to ensure security during the relay, but there was none from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), as “the duty of the PLA is to guard the frontier and protect the territory.”

He said sabotage activities would exist as long as the clique existed, even after the torch relay concluded in Tibet.

Five organization including “Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC)”, “Tibetan Women’s Association (TWA)” had threatened to sabotage the torch relay.

Also at the press conference, Dekyi Drolkar, director of Tibet’s sports bureau, said the Olympic torch relay in Tibet would have 156 torch bearers including 75 Tibetans. The Lhasa leg would start from Norbu Lingka Square and end in Potala Palace, covering 9.3 kilometers.

The Beijing Organizing Committee of the Games of the 29th Olympiad (BOCOG) announced the torch relay schedule in Tibet was cut to one day on June 21 from the original three days of June 19 to 21.

In the one-day Lhasa leg, the flame kindled on the top of Mount Qomolangma on May 8 will join the main torch, which would be the first time in the history of Olympic Games.

Tibet has released 1,157 people involved in the March Lhasa riot, who were charged with minor offences, said Palma Trily. Police detained and arrested 953 people after the riot, while 362 others surrendered to police, he said.

The Tibet courts handed down punishments to 12 people on Thursday and Friday and 30 on April 29, convicting them of arson, robbery, the crime of gathering to assault state organs, and other crimes. Another 116 in custody were awaiting trial.

The punishments for 29 of the convicts have gone effective.

Defendants from minority ethnic groups were provided with interpreters at court sessions, which ensured their rights, Palma Trily said.

He said judicial authorities followed the policy of combining punishment with leniency in handling the cases, which means leniency for those with minor offences.

The riot, which was believed to have been organized, premeditated and masterminded by the backers of the Dalai Lama, erupted in downtown Lhasa on March 14, leaving seven schools, five hospitals and 120 homes torched and 908 shops looted. Total damage was more than 244 million yuan.

The riot also left 18 innocent civilians and one police officer dead, and 382 civilians and 241 policemen were injured.

Four cities have recently submitted applications to host the first ever 2012 Youth Winter Olympic Games: Harbin, China; Innsbruck, Austria; Kuopio, Finland; and Lillehammer, Norway.

Jacque Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, expressed his pleasure of having four candidates eager to host the historic event.

According to IOC regulations, cities that hope to host the Games must answer 99 questions in detail on the formal applications. After these are submitted, the IOC appoints to a group of experts to analyze the applications; they in turn generate a report of what they have read. The IOC executive board then uses these reports to select finalists. In November, a voting process will take place to determine the city that most experts believe is best suited to host the Games. In December, the winner will be publicly announced.

About 1,000 youth between 14 and 18 years of age will be competing in seven Olympic events: skiing, ice hockey, biathlon, curling, bobsled, luge and figure skating.

A cultural program is also planned for the participants, which will promote the Olympic ideals of excellence, friendship, and respect.

from: beijing2008.cn

The Brazilian national teams of men’s and women’s handball on Tuesday intensified their training for the 2008 Olympics.

On Monday, the brackets were selected by the International Olympic Committee. The Brazilian teams are expecting a tough first round in the Beijing Games.

Brazil’s women will play in group B against Russia, Germany, Hungary, South Korea and Sweden.

Juan Oliveira, coach of the women’s team, believes that group Ais weaker. “In theory, group A is weaker. Group B, where we are, is strong. Russia is the world ranked No. 1. Germany is currently ranked 3rd in the world. South Korea is the reigning Olympic runner-up.”

Oliveira will take his team to Santa Catarina to continue its preparation for the Olympics.

The Brazilian men’s handball team was drafted in group A for the Beijing Olympics, against Poland, France, Croatia, China and Spain.

According to the team’s head coach Jordi Ribera, “it is a very difficult group. There are teams that are European powerhouses as well as world contenders.”

Renato Tupan, the Brazilian men’s player who currently plays for the German team of Wilhelmshavener H. Verein, agrees “we are in a difficult group. I think our toughest game will be against China. However, we have to enter into every game with confidence and concentration.”

from: xinhuanet.com

Tibet is to greet the Olympic torch with flowers and distinctive folk dances, when it arrives in the regional capital of Lhasa on Saturday.

The images of five Fuwas, mascots of the Beijing Olympics, are displayed in flowers in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa.

The city’s main streets are decorated with signboards carrying slogans, such as “Light the Passion, Share the Dream,” “Bless the Motherland, Joyfully Greet the Olympics,” “Great Ethnic Unity” and “Welcome to Lhasa.”

The national five-star red flags are flying on houses and cars with “Go Beijing” signs pasted on their window panes can be seen almost everywhere.

“I’m very excited that I’ve been chosen to be a torch bearer, which gives me a feeling almost the same as that in 1960 when I reached the top of Mt. Qomolangma,” said Gonpo, a 75-year-old Tibetan mountaineering hero.

Gonpo was among the first Chinese to climb to the top of Mt. Qomolangma, the peak of the earth. Gonpo, Wang Fuzhou and Qu Yinhua were also the first to make the successful attempt via the North Ridge.

“I’ve long wished the Olympics could be held in Beijing, and I felt proud that the Olympic flame reached the top of Mt. Qomolangma on May 8,” he said.

“Now, my physical condition is not as good as before, but I’ll show my best while relaying the torch — if I cannot run, I’ll walk,” he said.

To greet the Olympic torch, 67-year-old Drolkar is busy rehearsing folk dances with a group of retirees.

“Everybody is active and ardent. We hope we can bring more vitality to the Olympics,” she said.

The arrival of the torch is also being heatedly discussed in a small village of Douyu on the China-India border, where people of the Lhoba ethnic group live, said Xiaojiayou, the village’s Communist Party secretary.

“We learned of the Olympic torch relay via radio and TV. Some of the villagers even plan to go to Lhasa to see the event,” she said.

Xiaojiayou, aged 54, is also a member of the Lhoba ethnic group, a small branch of Tibetans with only 2,000 people.

“In the past, villagers here lived an almost isolated life due to poor transport and communications. They didn’t even know what an Olympics was,” she said.

PEACE RETURNS AFTER RIOT

Three months after the March 14 riot, 36-year-old Tibetan doctor Losang Cering still has a heavy heart. He was seriously injured in the face by rioters wielding knives and clubs when he tried to protect a man of Han nationality and his six-year-old son.

“Being a torch bearer gives me pleasure and relieves my mental pressure. I feel happy that I can be part of the sporting event,” said Losang Cering, a surgeon with the Tibet People’s Hospital.

The doctor was hailed as a hero for his bravery in the riot, which was organized, premeditated and masterminded by the Dalai Lama clique.

The riot, involving violent crimes against people and property, led to the deaths of at least 18 civilians and one policeman. It also left 382 civilians and 241 police officers injured, businesses looted, and residences, shops and vehicles torched.

Peace has gradually returned, with the resumption of schools, businesses and religious activities, as well as the re-opening of leading monasteries such as Jokhang, Ramoche, Sera and Drepung.

“We’re praying for a successful Games, a stronger China and peace in the world,” said 75-year-old Tibetan lama Losang Chosphelat the Sera Monastery.

Tibet has also re-opened to tour groups from the mainland, HongKong and Macao, Chen Zhichang, executive vice mayor of Lhasa, told reporters in Beijing on Wednesday.

The re-opening date to foreign travelers would be officially announced when the Tibet leg of the relay ended, Lhasa Tourism Bureau Director Gyangkar said.

The one-day relay will be held in Lhasa on Saturday. The initial plan was for a three-day event from June 19-21, but it was scaled back after the May 12 quake in Sichuan that has left more than 69,000 people dead and more than 17,000 others missing.

The Beijing Olympic torch relay is the longest and most ambitious one, traveling 137,000 km across five continents in 130 days. The torch returned to the Chinese mainland at the beginning of May and was touring Shihezi and Changji in northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Thursday.

Though the torch relay was disturbed in a few overseas cities by Tibetan secessionists, Qin Zheng, of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Sports Bureau, said he believes any attempt to disrupt the event in Lhasa will go nowhere, because people of all ethnic groups are looking forward to the torch and the Olympics.

Phurbu Cering, 52, a famous Tibetan javelin athlete, echoed Qin’s opinion.

“The more the hostile forces attempt to sabotage our ethnic unity, the more we should consolidate the relationship,” he said.

from: xinhuanet.com

New Zealand tennis number one Marina Erakovic played her way into the Olympic team for Beijing, the New Zealand Olympic Committee announced on Monday.
New Zealand will send its youngest-ever Top 100 tennis player to Beijing 2008 after Olympic selectors named her to the Olympic team on Monday.
Erakovic, 20, is a rising star on the international tennis circuit and has moved from a world ranking of 160 to 64 in just months.
New Zealand top 16 selection criteria is tough and while Erakovic has not yet met this standard, Olympic selectors believedher rapid improvements will continue and a favorable draw at Beijing could see her finish within the top 16.
As Erakovic has rocketed up the rankings, she’s recorded some significant wins, including beating world number 13, Vera Zvonareva, in January 2008. With Wimbledon this week, her place inthe ranking could rise.
The selectors made a recommendation to the New Zealand Olympic Committee board that the selection be considered favorably. The board decision to select Erakovic was unanimous.
Only four other tennis players have competed for New Zealand at Olympic level, including Anthony Wilding who won bronze at Stockholm in 1912.
Final selections to the New Zealand Olympic Team will be made in the next three weeks with nominations expected for rowing, cycling, shooting and equestrian.
Beach Volleyball continue to seek IF qualification and Men’s basketball will have their final qualification event on July 20. Squads for Men’s and Women’s Hockey, Football and Women’s Basketball will be named by June 30.

from: xinhuanet.com

Brazilian men’s judo team did not have any difficulty in defeating Japanese rivals on Sunday at a challenge in Sao Paulo.
The Brazilians won five out of seven matches in their last home tournament before heading for Japan to start final preparations for August’s Beijing Olympics.
Sunday’s victory boosted the Brazilians’ confidence that they will be able to bring home an Olympic medal in Beijing.
However, two-time world champion Derly remained sober-minded.
“Although we pulled off a relatively easy win, the mistakes we made and the troubles we had proved that we are not quite in top shape for the Olympics,” said Derly.
“We all have to improve in order to perform well in Beijing. The time is now in order to make the little, but necessary improvements,” he added.

from: xinhuanet

Jenny Bowen, executive president of Half the Sky Foundation, said on Sunday she was running a leg of torch relay in Wanzhou, Chongqing municipality, for the 50 children in Sichuan orphaned by the Wenchuan earthquake.
“My only reason for doing it is running for children, especially for the newly orphaned 50 children from Wenchuan earthquake on May 12. I want them to be part of celebration with all of China. Children who lost their family were not forgotten,” said 63-year-old Jenny Bowen, who established the Half the Sky Foundation in 1998 helping Chinese orphans.
“They do not have a mother telling them to stay at school and study hard. For everything they accomplish, they have to do on their own. To make them one of this (torch relay), to be part of China’s big celebration is just a wonderful opportunity. It’s important for me to be here, to be their voice.”
Bowen was selected last year by the torch relay presenting partner Lenovo through internet ballot and selection committee confirmation for special contribution for promoting China and foreign relations.
“When I went to the competition, I don’t know the terrible quake in Sichuan. Now, I am running for children in Sichuan who lost their parents. The “Half the Sky Foundation has been working in Sichuan since May 12th with the children. I come now to run for them.
“In the beginning, we provide relief for the children who needed places, food and tents. We spread 30 tons of goods for children all of the province with the help of helicopters from the army and administration of civil affairs,” said Bowen.
In the latest 10 years, Bowen and her Foundation have helped 13,000 orphans all over China. The Foundation has been carrying out work in 36 charity institutions in 28 cities in mainland of China, touching upon 4,000 orphans.
The Foundation gets mainly involved in teacher training, teaching apparatus, medical guarantee, cares and concerns delivering.
“In the last two weeks, we started a program to have emotional help for children recovery from earthquake trauma. We just started a five year program. We work in shelters. They are building temporary camps. In each of the camps, there will be a large children activity center provided in big tents. Classes for the children were given in the camp to help them to recover in long term from the trauma,” added Bowen.
According to Bowen, They have been working here from 1998, for the tenth anniversary. She and her husband started the Foundation from a small program, a care training for care-givers, let the trainees give the children basic care from food to shelter.
“The government was open to allow us to introduce their program about nurturing and education for the children. Over the years, they are more and more accepting the program. In 2007, the administration of civil affairs invited us a partner with them of the new blue-sky program. We are the first partner of the government to orphaned children,” said Bowen.
To the torch relay on Sunday, Bowen brought the 50 children from Sichuan quake region to share the moment.
“I’m really excited, you know we brought children from our program in Sichuan and Chongqing, 50 kids, little kids, to cheer and because I’m running for the children. So I want them to be part of the party. For all of the children, they will stand along the sidelines with their little T-shirts and their banners, be there, 50 pre-schoolers.”
Bowen lives in Beijing. She has an office in California and an office in Hong Kong. All of her work is in mainland of China.
“For healthy baby girls, they are probably abandoned, and they are easily adopted. For children of migrant worker, you know they (migrant workers) sometimes have no time to take care of the children and children of disability. We adapted our program so we can provide a wide range of help.
“We added our program and one of our program we added in 2005, the family village program. We recruited parents from the community to raise the children for special needs who have disabilities, we guarantee we will support the children to adopthood if the family commit to raise the children,” introduced Bowen.
“we give them classes to care for the children. They are wonderful parents, they usually bring their one child and want to have a larger family. They live just as a family. For those do not considered adoptable you stay in institution and receive therapy from local government.”

from: xinhuanet.com

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said here on Tuesday that sporting events should not be exploited for political ends.
Speaking at a joint press conference with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Frattini said the Olympics “are and will be a major sporting event which should not be mingled with politics.”
“A boycott is unacceptable because sports must be kept separate from politics,” he said.
Yang Jiechi, who is on a three-nation tour to Europe, held talks with his Italian counterpart before the press conference.
Both sides agreed to maintain high-level contacts between the two countries, enhance cooperation in dealing with international affairs, further strategic consultation, promote economic and trade ties and strengthen judicial cooperation.

from: xinhuanet.com