Olympic Times – Sports Daily

Peter Ueberroth took a swipe at international officials critical of the money the U.S. Olympic Committee receives, setting up some possibly uncomfortable moments for the Chicago group trying to land the 2016 Games.
“Who pays the bill for the world Olympic movement?” Ueberroth said Saturday in his final speech as USOC chairman. “Make no mistake about it. Starting in 1988, U.S. corporations have paid 60 percent of all the money, period. Be sure you all understand that. The rest of the world pays 40 percent. It’s pretty simple math.”
It was Ueberroth’s first extensive response to comments made by European IOC members Denis Oswald and Hein Verbruggen, who said earlier this year that the amount of money the USOC received was not morally acceptable and called for the revenue-sharing deal to be revisited.
As part of a long-standing deal with the International Olympic Committee, the USOC receives about 13 percent of U.S. TV rights fees and 20 percent of global marketing revenues. That added up to about $300 million in the four-year period ending in 2008.

Read the rest of this entry…

A bubbling Lewis Hamilton was keen to keep his composure after claiming pole for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, knowing that he is close to becoming Formula One’s youngest champion.
The Briton — seven points ahead of nearest rival Felipe Massa with three races remaining — beamed with delight after grabbing his sixth pole position of the year and his second in succession at the Fuji Speedway.
And with Brazil’s Massa only able to qualify fifth, the 23-year-old who drives for McLaren Mercedes knew that he had taken a significant step towards his ultimate goal.
“I will try to take each race as it goes,” said Hamilton, who won here in torrential rain last year.
“We as a team have to put a really strong effort in to continue with the momentum we have.
“I am approaching the races exactly the same as I have this season. I don’t need to change anything, just keep the car on the road and score some good points.
“I had a good qualifying session, quite a bit different to Singapore. We didn’t have any problems through Q2, it was pretty straightforward. The first lap didn’t seem to be very good.

Read the rest of this entry…

Equestrian rider Rodrigo Pessoa has been stripped of his fifth-place finish at the Beijing Olympics and banned from competing for 4 1/2 months after a positive drug test on his horse.

The sport’s governing body Friday also fined the 36-year-old Brazilian $1,766. He is suspended until Jan. 10, 2009.

Pessoa’s horse Rufus tested positive Aug. 23 for nonivamide, a banned pain-relieving medication.

They placed fifth in the individual jumping final. Pessoa lost in a jump-off for the bronze medal won by Beezie Madden of the United States.

Pessoa was defending the individual title he won at Athens in 2004. He also won bronze medals for Brazil in team jumping at Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000.

from: ap.google.com

The selected host city for the 31st Olympic Games in 2016 will be announced tomorrow (Thursday) at an IOC meeting in Copenhagen. There are currently four cities competing to host what is one of the most prestigious sporting events in the world.

Chicago (USA) is the favourite to win the rights to host the 2016 Games, followed by Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Madrid (Spain) and Tokyo (Japan).

The other cities on the shortlist were Prague (Czech Republic), Baku (Azerbaijan), and Doha (Qatar), however they have now been eliminated.

Hosting the Olympic Games is likely to have a positive impact on the winning nation’s property market. Average property prices in the run-up the Olympic Games in the last five host cities – Beijing (China), Athens (Greece), Barcelona (Spain), Atlanta (USA) and Sydney (Australia) – appreciated at a significant pace, outstripping average national property price growth.

source: homesoverseas.co.uk

Oscar Pistorius completed his gold-medal haul at the Paralympics on Tuesday, winning the 400 meters to go with sprint victories in the 100 and 200.

The South African double amputee known as “The Blade Runner” finished in 47.49 seconds, a world record for his disability class.

Jim Bob Bizzell of the United States won the silver medal at the Bird’s Nest National Stadium, the venue for Olympic track and field. Ian Jones of Britain took the bronze.

Pistorius was cleared in May to run in the Beijing Olympics by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. This followed a decision by track and field’s governing body that said he was ineligible.

He then failed to make the Olympic qualifying standard in the 400. He needed to run 45.55, and his best time was 46.25 run against able-bodied athletes.

Pistorius’ next goal is to qualify for the world championships next year in Berlin, where he would face able-bodied runners. He also is looking toward the London 2012 Olympics.

“I’ve got a lot of work to do before that,” he said. “I have five or six able-bodied meets in Europe next year and those are all stepping stones to get to the bigger meets and perform there. I’m looking forward to next year’s calendar and next four years.”

Pistorius, who won gold in the 200 in the Athens Paralympics, runs on carbon-fiber blades. He was born without a fibula, a bone in the lower leg, and both legs were amputated below the knees when he was 11 months old.

Away from the Bird’s Nest, Ukraine defeated Russia 2-1 in seven-per-team soccer to win the gold medal. Volodymyr Antonyuk scored twice for Ukraine and Lasha Murvanadze had Russia’s only goal. Iran defeated Brazil 4-0 in the bronze-medal game.

In the wheelchair rugby final, the U.S. defeated Australia 53-44. Canada took the bronze-medal game, beating Britain 47-41.

In the men’s wheelchair basketball final, Australia beat Canada 72-60. Britain defeated the U.S. 85-77 for the bronze.

Speaking in Beijing on Tuesday, Sebastian Coe said London is ready to match — or surpass — the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics.

“It is a massive responsibility,” said Coe, chairman of the organizing committee for the 2012 London Games. “We don’t find it daunting. … Beijing has delivered a spectacular games and we will also deliver a spectacular games.”

.

.

from: ap.google.com

Oscar Pistorius, the South African “Blade Runner,” won his second gold medal of the Beijing Paralympics with a victory in the 200-meter sprint on Saturday, but the day was marked by controversy as the Iran wheelchair basketball team pulled out of the Games ahead of a possible matchup against Israel.

The Iran team was scheduled to play the United States on Saturday in a quarterfinal-round match but withdrew before the game. The winner would go on to meet the winner of the Canada-Israel game.

A spokesman for the Iranian delegation denied that Iran pulled out because of the possibility of playing Israel. The country has had a longstanding no-contact policy with Israel, and Iranian athletes have pulled out of events rather than meet Israelis in sports events.

The spokesman said that the Iran wheelchair basketball team withdrew because the Beijing organizers had swapped the starting times of the US-Iran and Canada-Israel matches. That swap had been made without explanation.

“Each match should be done one after another,” Iran deputy chef de mission Iran Doust said. “But unfortunately, concerning our match they didn’t observe the order and that’s the reason” for the pullout.

As it happened, Canada defeated Israel. The Canadians will face the Americans on Sunday.

TRACK AND FIELD: Pistorius won his second gold at the Bird’s Nest before a crowd of more than 50,000, taking the 200 meters by nearly a full second over the silver medalist, Jim Bob Bizzell of the U.S.

“This race is definitely going down as one of my best ever races,” Pistorius said. “I’ve never run in front of a crowd this big and just the crowd, the athletes, it was an awesome race and I couldn’t have hoped for anything better.”

He has one race to go, the 400 meters on Sunday.

China won five gold medals at the stadium on Saturday. Eighteen-year-old Yang Sen won the men’s 100-meter T35 in a world record 12.29 seconds, while Wang Fang retained her crown in women’s 200-meter T36. Yu Shiranwon the men’s 200-meter T53, and Xia Dong (men’s shot put) and Jimisu Menggen (women’s discus throw) won gold medals with world-record performances.

Xinhua’s wrapup of the day’s action is at this link.

The International Paralympic Committee’s “Sixty Seconds” YouTube show for Friday/Saturday (see window below) begins its highlights package with Friday’s Canadian sweep of the women’s 200-meter medley (SM13). Chelsey Gotell of Antigonish, N.S., finished first in a world record 2 minutes 28.15 seconds, followed by Winnipeg’s Kirby Cote of Winnipeg and Valerie Grand’Maison of Montreal. That’s followed by early Saturday road racing action, including American Oz Sanchez’s gold medal in the 12.7-kilometer hand-pedaled cycle time trial with an average of 23.35 mph, and the victory by Heinz Frei of Switzerland in another HC category. There’s also football seven-a-side (S9) action, with Russia taking on Brazil:
Universalsports.com’s re-stream of its coverage of Saturday’s track and field events is available at this link. The site’s one-hour-20-minute highlight package from Saturday’s early events are at this link.

SWIMMING: At the Water Cube, Erin Popovich finally didn’t win a gold medal — she won a silver. Popovich finished second to Huang Min of China in the women’s 50-meter butterfly (S7). “She took it out fast and had a better race than me,” Popovich said. “Hats off to her. China is having a phenomenal meet.”

Popovich, who has won 4 golds at these Games and 14 in her Paralympic career, has one more race in Beijing: the 50-meter freestyle on Sunday.

Justin Zook of the U.S. won gold in the men’s 100-meter backstroke (S10) after setting a world record in the preliminary heat of the event.

Countryman Jarrett Perry also set a world record during a preliminary heat of his event, the 100-meter backstroke (S9), but the final was won by Australian Matthew Cowdrey, his third of the Beijing Games to go along with two more from Athens 2004. Perry took the bronze.

WHEELCHAIR RUGBY: The American team had its hands full with a tough Japan team, winning by 44-37. Will Groulx led the U.S. with 12 goals and four steals, while Bryan Kirkland pitched in 11 goals and four assists.

The murderballers’ final group-stage game is Sunday against Canada, the team that beat the Amerks in the semifinal at Athens four years ago.
WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL: While the U.S. men’s advanced through forfeit, the women’s team advanced to the gold medal game by beating Australia, 60-47, in the semifinal.

With less than five minutes to go, the U.S. was clinging to a 46-45 lead after fighting back after trailing for most of the third quarter. But the Americans pulled away at the end.

Christina Ripp and Stephanie Wheeler led the U.S. with 18 and 15 points, respectively.

The Amerkas will play Germany for the gold medal on Monday.
WHEELCHAIR TENNIS: Nick Taylor and David Wagner won the quad doubles gold with a three-set victory over Boaz Kramer and Shraga Weinberg of Israel. Taylor and Wagner overpowered the Israelis in the first set, 6-0, lost the second by 4-6, but won the third, 6-2, to defend their gold from Athens four years ago.

TABLE TENNIS: The U.S. duo of Mitch Seidenfeld and Tahl Leibovitz lost, 3-2, to Ukraine’s Yuriy Shchepanskyy and Vadym Kubov in the Class 9-10 teams tournament to end American participation in the table tennis competition at the 2008 Paralympics.

Seidenfeld, who won a gold and bronze in the 1992 Games and a silver and bronze in 1996, lost his singles match while Leibovitz, of Ozone Park, won his. But the Ukranians won the doubles match to prevail over all.

source:olympics.blogs.nytimes.com

British rowers dominated the Beijing Paralympics by claiming two golds at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park on Thursday while China and Italy shared the remaining two golds.

Britain pulled off a gold double in the women’s and men’s single sculls.

Helene Raynsford made history by winning the first Paralympic Games gold medal ever awarded in the sport of rowing with a runaway 12-second edge over Luidmila Vauchok from Belarus and Laura Schwanger of the United States.

Reigning world champion Tom Aggar followed Raynsford’s victory moments later by taking the men’s single sculls.

“I was listening out at the start line, but I didn’t hear the result of (Raynsford) as I was focusing more on my own race. It’s a bit of a shame, maybe they could have swapped the order and put me on first,” joked Aggar after claiming his gold.

In attempting to claim the gold medal, Aggar found himself in the unfamiliar position of having a determined rival on his stern for the entire journey, Ukraine’s Oleksandr Petrenko.

Petrenko had a great regatta through the preliminary races and pushed Aggar all the way to claim the silver with a mere 3.94 seconds in arrears. Israel’s Eli Nawi took the bronze.

“It was a great race, I was happy to be pushed all the way,” said Aggar, who has compiled the Grand Slam, having won the world championships and the World Cup. “It’s been an amazing experience to be here competing. I started rowing one year and a half ago, to make it here is indescribable.”

“It’s a long way off (from the London 2012), but I’ll be sticking with rowing. I love rowing, I’m really passionate about it and I’ll be looking forward to competing on home soil.”

China’s Tan Yeteng finished fourth, with American Ron Harvey and Australia’s Dominic Moneypenny in fifth and sixth.

Home excitement then bubbled over when China held off a fast-finishing Australia to take the gold medal in the mixed double sculls.

Shan Zilong and Zhou Yangjing scored a hard-fought victory with only 0.89 seconds over Australia’s Kathryn Ross and John Maclean, early leaders and eventual bronze medallists Josiane Lima and Elton Santana from Brazil 7.67 seconds further behind.

“Indeed, our rivals are very strong, especially the Brazilian and Australian teams,” said Zhou. “They finished first and second in the world championships in 2007 and we were in the seventh place. And today’s result has proved that we have the potential and the ability to compete with them.”

Brazil started strongly, leading China and the rest of the field through the halfway mark by over two seconds, but that early pace seemed to take its toll as China noticeably lifted their stroke and work rates, an effort Brazil couldn’t match.

As the tempo of the race increased, the Chinese pair maintained their rhythm and by the 750 meters mark had enough fuel in the tank to hold off a fast-charging and increasingly-threatening Australian combination over the closing stage.

Italy then took its turn to step onto the top of the podium after their quartet scoring a hugely impressive all-the-way win in the mixed coxed fours.

Pontypridd swimming star David Roberts is celebrating a golden hat-trick. Triumphing in the 400m freestyle (S7) in a new world record, won his third gold medal at the Beijing Paralympic Games.

Roberts’s time of 4:52.35 broke the record held by New Zealander Dean Booth’s since 2000 by 1.40 seconds. Not that he was satisfied.

“I expected better from myself this evening. I was really nervous when I was coming out and that doesn’t normally happen to me.

“I wanted to perform better but this is amazing to have my tenth Paralympic gold medal.

“I don’t know why I was nervous. That will be something I will be discussing with my coach before Sunday.”

He has amassed his ten gold medals from Games in Sydney, Athens and Beijing. And his 2008 campaign is not over yet he returns to the starting blocks on Sunday for the 50m freestyle before he competes in the medley relay on Monday.

Philip Carling, Chair of the Sports Council for Wales, was quick said: “David is always striving to excel and to better his performances. Ten gold medals in a career is absolutely superb. His success is particularly impressive considering how the Paralympic movement has moved on since Athens. We have seen other countries catching up yet, David has still maintained dominance in his events.”

Roberts is coached at the Wales National Pool in Swansea which was built with more than 8m pounds of National Lottery funding by the Sports Council for Wales. He is coached by former miner Billy Pye:

“In Billy Pye, we have a world-class coach and he has cultivated the careers of many swimmers including David. We can be very proud of the fact that the pool in Swansea supports many of the Paralympic swimmers competing in Beijing.”

The Pye training stable also features gold medallists Eleanor Simmonds, Rob Welbourn and Graham Edmonds.

Newport’s Pippa Britton faced a difficult encounter in the archery when she came up against fellow Brit Mel Clarke in the quarter-final of the compound. She will return to action next week for the team competition.

On the track, Tracey Hinton of Cardiff and guide runner, Steffan Hughes, qualified for tomorrow’s 400m semi-final.

Wales’s London 2012 hopefuls also put in promising performances. Chepstow sprinter Jenny McLoughlin, who is just 16-years-old, finished seventh in the heats of the 100m.

Meanwhile, her training partner, Kate Arnold of Newport, who turned 20 last week, delivered a new personal best, finishing ninth in the 200m. Arnold, a former swimmer made the switch from pool to track relatively recently and was originally not expected to qualify for Beijing.

Brian Alldis, who is coached by Tanni Grey-Thompson, was unable to advance to the semi-final of the 800m. The Cardiff wheelchair racer finished seventh in his heat which was won by David Weir:

“I’m a bit disappointed. I couldn’t get on the back of the pack as they pulled away and I was about two seconds off my PB. It was good that Dave was in the heat but it probably made it harder for me.”

The shot putt saw two North Walians take season bests. Beverley Jones of Queensferry finished fifth while training partner Rebecca Chin, the youngest member of the Welsh contingent at 16-years-old, finished tenth. Chin will be using the experience from Beijing as she trains towards London 2012.

Rower James Roberts demonstrated his potential for London 2012. Together with Karen Cromie of Northern Ireland, the Prestatyn rower today finished in fifth place in the double sculls at Shun Yi, an event won by hosts, China.

Bridgend footballer Keryn Seal suffered a Spanish inquisition. Paralympic GB’s visually impaired five-a-side football team lost 3-1 to Spain in a dramatic game that saw Britain take an early lead before the European Champions dominated the second half.

Britain now lies fifth in the rankings after three matches with two to play. They take on Brazil on Saturday.

Fortune didn’t shine on the women’s wheelchair basketball team either. Losing 42-50 to Germany in the final group game, Clare Strange, from Newport, and Caroline Matthews of Cardiff will face Japan in tomorrow’s quarter-finals.

Racing has been delayed in Qingdao but sailor Steve Thomas and the Sonar crew lie seventh overall. Not yet halfway through the race schedule, there is still time for the Bridgend man to move into a medal spot.

ONES TO WATCH FRIDAY DAY 6

ATHLETICS Cardiff’s Tracey Hinton and guide runner Steffan Hughes of Aberaeron will be in the line-up for the 400m semi-final. Hinton won three medals at the Sydney Paralympics in 2000.

CYCLING After success on the track, hopes are now riding high for the ParalympicsGB road cyclists. Rachel Morris of Pembrokeshire is making her Paralympic debut in Beijing as she goes in the time trial. As a double world champion though, she will certainly not be fazed. Nor will Simon Richardson. He is also on time trial duty but confidence will be high after winning two gold medals in the Velodrome.

SWIMMING Gareth Duke produced an emotional performance four years ago in Athens but winning gold second time around will really be an achievement. Known as El Dulche to his team-mates, he was victorious over the 100m breaststroke in Athens and he is well remembered for his tearful medal presentation. Twelve months later, his went into the operating theatre to receive a new kidney donated by his father, Trevor. Newport’s Liz Johnson is also in the swim – she will be racing in the women’s 100m breaststroke.

SAILING Steve Thomas of Bridgend will be into races nine and ten in Qindao. They currently lie in seventh position overall.

WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL Clare Strange and Caroline Matthews are into the quarter finals and will face Japan.

WHEELCHAIR RUGBY The rugby tournament kicks off which will see Oswestry’s Jason Roberts and Abergavenny’s Josie Pearson. Pearson is the only female in the entire competition to be playing murderball, as it is fondly described by Paralympians.

from: newswales.co.uk

Taiwan‘s Paralympics javelin gold medalist Chiang Chih-chung has been barred from defending his title at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing this month, it was reported Wednesday.

The visually-impaired Chiang, a two-time Paralympics javelin gold medalist and world record holder, will not be attending the games that will be held between September 6 to 17 and attended by some 4,000 disabled athletes, the Taipei Times reported.

Chiang, 28, won gold at the Sydney and Athens Paralympics, setting a world record in Athens with a throw of 57.28 metres. He also won the gold medal at the 2007 International Sports World Games in Brazil.

In February, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) informed the Chinese Taipei Paralympic Committee (CTPC) that although Chiang met the minimum conditions for participation, he had not been accredited for the Games, the paper said. No reason was given.

Apart from Chiang, 2006 IPC Athletics World Championships javelin gold medal winner Chen Ming-tsai has also been excluded.

“We objected to the IPC and the Beijing Olympic Committee through various channels, but received no clear reply,” CTPC president Linda Chen was quoted as saying.

“For the IPC to make such a decision, China must be interfering behind the scenes,” said Lai Fu-huan of CTPC’s standing committee.

Chiang said he was disappointed at not being able to represent Taiwan at the Games. “I don’t understand why the rules of the game have been changed. Taiwan has been in a weak position and has been pushed around by China all along,” he said.

Taiwan’s Sports Minister Tai Shia-ling did not accuse China of political interference, but said there should be a standard procedure to decide the participation of athletes in sports events.

“If China has blocked Chiang from the games for no reason, then it might have political implications, but the matter needs to be probed,” the Taipei Times quoted her as saying.

Taiwan has sent 17 athletes to the Paralympics Games in Beijing to compete in six sports.

.

.

from: bangkokpost.com

Inspired by the golden exploits of their Olympic compatriots, Great Britain’s Paralympians are in bullish mood at their holding camps in Macau and Hong Kong ahead of the thirteenth Paralympic Games in Beijing, that opens on Saturday.
“The Olympics were an inspiration to us,” Phil Lane, the chief executive and chef de mission of the Britain Paralympic team, said. “We come just after so that is always likely, but this one has been so fantastic for us that it would be difficult not to be inspired. Everyone is so confident here.”
But rather than fighting to move up the medals table, Britain’s challenge is to repeat the success of finishing in second place in Sydney in 2000 and Athens four years later. For Lane, who has been a reassuringly strong leader since taking over in 2001, it has been about managing expectation. For much of this year UK Sport and the British Paralympic Association (BPA) have been in disagreement about what the medal target should be for Beijing.
UK Sport, after the increase in lottery funding for the BPA, said that it was 40 golds and 110 medals and finishing second in the table, while the BPA said that it was 35 golds, 95 medals and the top five. Part of the BPA’s caution is based on the result that one key injury, for example to David Roberts, the swimmer, could take away 10 per cent of their golds. UK Sport’s is partly because the team of 206 athletes contesting eighteen of the 20 sports are the best-prepared and best-funded to leave Britain.
“The difference between Athens and now is that, given the increase in lottery funding that the athletes have enjoyed over the last four years, they are preparing in an increasingly professional way and training alongside the Olympians in the same training environment,” Lane said.
The rise in Paralympic funding has not been as dramatic as the increase from £70 million to £235.1 million for the Olympic team, but it has more than doubled from £14.8million for the four-year cycles up to Athens to £29.5 million for Beijing.
Lane plays peacemaker and spread-better. “We are hoping for between 35 and 40 gold medals based on performances in the last 12 months,” he said. “You would hope that would get us in the top five, but we’re not going to be No1.
“I’ll have a wager that you will be able to come back whistling the Chinese national anthem.” The host nation are expected to be even more dominant in the Paralympics than they were in the Olympics.
The Paralympics have again expanded from 3,806 athletes from 136 countries at Athens in 2004 to 4,099 athletes from 145 nations in Beijing. China will be represented by 332 athletes. The hosts have the numbers and have prepared and targeted events backed by enormous funding. While many countries struggle to build Olympic high-performance centres, China constructed a £55 million National Paralympic centre in the Shunyi district of Beijing. Teams who have visited have been staggered by its size.
At Athens in 2004, China leapt ahead and were more dominant than any country in the modern era of the Paralympics since 1988. China won 63 golds and 141 medals. Britain were second with 35 and 94 respectively. In Beijing, China are expected to win between 70 and 75 golds.
“We all need targets, but I think everyone recognises what is feasible and they know it is no longer a case of just two or three countries dominating the medal table,” Lane said.
Lane is right that Paralympic Games are increasingly competitive as more nations take them more seriously and the United States Paralympic team are talking tough again after slipping down the table in Sydney and Athens. In Seoul in 1988, 49 countries won medals. In Athens in 2004, that increased to 75 countries, although 600 more medals were awarded that year.
“The number of medals being won, notwithstanding the Chinese, is gradually starting to even out,” Lane said. “We’re expecting big challenges from people from countries like the Ukraine, who I spoke to this week. They’ve been encamped in China for a month at one of their specialist high-performance Paralympic centres. We would hope to win more medals than them, but the issue is that they may well challenge in areas where traditionally we’ve been strong.
“Brazil were garnering medals at World Championships at a rate of knots. The Americans are very confident that they have put Athens behind them and are back where they should be.
“I think there is going to be a bigger spread of medals than ever before.”

from: timesonline.co.uk

It was an the end of a journey that started tragically when head coach Hugh McCuthceon’s father-in-law was stabbed to death prior to the start of the games.

The United States men’s indoor volleyball team beat Brazil in four sets Sunday to win the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

The Americans rallied back from an opening-set loss for a 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-23 victory and their first Olympic medal in men’s indoor volleyball since winning a silver at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

Brazil was trying for an indoor volleyball gold medal sweep after its women’s team defeated the U.S. in four sets on Saturday night.

Earlier on Sunday, Russia defeated Italy in straight sets for the men’s bronze.

The Americans won gold in men’s volleyball for the first time since back-to- back first-place finishes in 1984 and ’88.

They rallied together for a perfect 8-0 record after a family member of head coach Hugh McCutcheon was stabbed to death in downtown Beijing on the first day of competition.

McCutcheon, whose father-in-law was slain by a Chinese attacker, returned to the team for the last five games.

“I think when that kind of thing happens, the guys get a good taste of what’s important in life,” said American Sean Rooney. “We were crushed by that. I mean, when you go out on the court, it’s just a game of volleyball.”

But the U.S. team battled back from being crushed to win the gold medal for the first time in 20 years.

Along the way were five wins in nine days, including a five-set victory against Venezuela on Aug. 10 — two days after to tragic killing of Todd Bachman, father of former U.S. women’s team member Elisabeth Bachman, who is McCutcheon’s wife.

Then, three wins in the medal round, including victories against Serbia and tough Russia. And finally, Sunday’s comeback win over the Brazilians.

“For four years these guys have played for the common goal — to be here for this match,” said Rooney. “We put so much effort and energy into this thing and we spent so much time together.

“Now it has happened for us.”

source: wmtradio.com

The United States and China lead the medal count thus far in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, according to reports on Thursday.
The U.S. is second to China with 29 gold medals. The U.S. has also earned 34 silver medals and 32 bronze medals to bring their medal count to 82 overall, the highest of all nations.
The U.S. women’s soccer team won the gold medal against Brazil, while the U.S. women’s softball won silver after losing to Japan. Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor defended their gold medal in women’s beach volleyball.
The U.S. swept the men’s 400m in track and field as LaShawn Merritt outlasted rival Jeremy Wariner to win the gold.
On Sunday, Michael Phelps set the all-time Olympic record for eight gold medals in a single Olympics, breaking Mark Spitz’s record from the 1972 Olympics. Phelps extended his all-time record for most Olympic gold medals to 14.
Phelps set Olympic records in each event, but set seven, not eight, world records. Phelps missed the world record in the 100-meter freestyle (50.58), but set an Olympic record in the event.
Phelps set a world and Olympic record in the 200-meter individual medley (1:54.23), the 200-meter freestyle (1:42.96), 200-meter butterfly (1:52.03), 4×200 freestyle relay (6:58.56), the 4×100 medley relay (3:29.34), the 400m individual medley (4:03.84) and 4×100 freestyle relay (3:08.24).
Phelps won the exhilarating 4×100 freestyle relay, along with Cullen Jones, Garrett Weber-Gale and anchor Jason Lesak on last Sunday.
Nastia Luikin won the individual all-around final in women’s gymnastics as she totaled four medals during the Olympics. Shawn Johnson won the gold medal for the balance beam to add to her two silver medals. The women’s team won silver in the team final, while the men’s team won bronze.

Venus and Serena Williams won the gold medal in the women’s doubles final in tennis. In track and field, Angelo Taylor won the 400m hurdles, Dawn Harper won the 110m hurdles and Stephanie Brown Trafton won the women’s discus throw.

China leads all nations with 46 gold medals, winning 15 silver medals and 22 bronze medals to give them a medal count of 79 thus far.

Wei Yang continued China’s dominance in gymnastics by winning the gold in the men’s individual all-around final on Wednesday. He Kexin won the gold for the women’s uneven bars, while Zou Kai (floor exercise, horizontal bars), Li Xiaopeng (parallel bars), Xiao Qin (pommel horse) and Chen Yibing (rings) won gold medals for the men. The men’s and women’s team swept the team final in gymnastics.

Zhang Juan Juan won the gold for women’s individual archery and Liu Zige set a world and Olympic record as she won the gold in the women’s 200-meter butterfly in swimming.

China won five gold medals in synchronized diving: Tian Liang and Jinghui Yang (women’s 10m platform); Guo Jingjing and Wu Minxia (women’s 3m springboard); Lin Yue and Huo Liang (men’s 10m platform); and Feng Wang and Qin Kai (men’s 3m springboard)

The host nation won nine weightlifting gold medals: Long Qingquan (men’s 56kg), Zhang Xiangxiang (men’s 62kg), Chen Xiexia (women’s 48kg), Chen Yanqing (women’s 58kg), Liao Hui (men’s 69kg), Lu Yong (men’s 85kg), Cao Lei (women’s 78kg), Liu Chunhong (women’s 69kg) and Wang Jiao (women’s freestyle 72kg).

China also won three gold medals in women’s judo (Xian Dongmei, 52kg; Tong Wen, +78kg; Yang Xiuli, 78kg) and four in shooting: Pang Wei (men’s 10m air pistol), Guo Wenjun (women’s 10m air pistol), Chen Ying (women’s 25m pistol), and du Li (women’s 50m rifle 3 position).

Guo Wenjun, Liu Chunhong, Cao Lei, Chen Xiexia, Chen Yanqing and Liu Chunhong all set Olympic records. On Monday, Zhong Man won the fencing gold medal for China in the men’s individual saber.

China swept the trampoline event as Lu Chunlong won the men’s trampoline and He Wenna won the women’s trampoline.

Great Britain is third behind China and the U.S. in total number of gold medals with 17, while Australia and Germany have 11. Russia is third in total medals with 51 (16 gold), while Great Britain is fourth with 40.

Although Jamaica has just five gold medals and nine altogether, all of their medals have come in track and field. Usain Bolt became the first runner since Carl Lewis in 1984 to win the gold medal in the 100m and 200m, setting world and Olympic records in both. Bolt ran a 9.69 in the 100m and 19.30 in 200m.

Click here for more Sports News on YourFindit

About YourFindit

YourFindit Community is a music, business and social networking community. It caters to individuals providing them with a wealth of tools that enable them to create their own web site within YourFindit and display their content. Members can create free profiles that include an About Me, Background and Lifestyle, Videos, Music, Blogs, Photos, their unique URL and network with other members inside the community. YourFindit provides each member the opportunity to reserve an exclusive profile displaying only ads they upload on their pages. Members have the right to sell their advertising space to advertisers.

To create your profile sign up and within minutes you too can have your People profile running your ads and building your network with new members daily. Sign and create your YourFindit profile where Your space is really Your Space

from: transworldnews.com

The weather, dark and damp, did its best to diffuse beach volleyball’s explosive pair.
The home crowd, patriotic and persistent, did its best to push the ultimate underdog’s through to arguably its most unexpected gold medal to add to its immense collection.
None of it was enough of a factor to keep Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor from doing what they always do: win.
The American duo successfully defended its Athens gold medal, beating China’s pair of Jie Wang and Jia Tian in straight sets, 21-18, 21-18. Walsh and May-Treanor ripped through the Olympic tournament without dropping a set, just as they did in Athens four years ago.
The two haven’t lost a match on the beach since August 2007 in Boston. Since partnering up back in 2001, they quickly established themselves as the best team on the beach, and their Beijing gold only solidifies it. And with May-Treanor at 31 years old and Walsh just turning 30 this week, it very well could be their last Olympic Games.
If this was their last Games, it ended just how they would’ve liked. Despite the conditions and a very game Chinese team, the Americans fought through near the end of each set to claim the win.
Despite Walsh’s surgically repaired right shoulder covered in black Kinesio tape, which eases pain and increases circulation in the area, the Chinese stayed away from the 6 foot-3 inch Stanford product, choosing instead to serve May-Treanor and force her to terminate as often as possible.
Down the stretch of the opening set, the plan backfired on China, as May-Treanor got on a roll. With the set tied at 17-17, May-Treanor had three consecutive kills to give the U.S. a 3-0 scoring run. After China stemmed the tide with a point of its own, May-Treanor ended the set with another kill, putting the U.S. one set away from gold.
The second set starting much like the first, with Wang and Tian taking small leads throughout much of the set. But trailing 15-14, the U.S. pair went on another 3-0 run, this one also capped by a May-Treanor kill, to lead 17-15.
With the rain driving down and the players practically playing in mud, the Chinese fought back this time, tying the game at 18-18.
That’s when May-Treanor, wife of Florida Marlins catcher Matt Treanor, ran down a deep attempt by the Chinese and followed it with a powerful kill off the block. A hitting error by the Chinese gave the Americans a match point. May-Treanor and Walsh wasted no time ending the match, this time on a Walsh kill, sending the duo into each other’s arms and onto their knees in celebration.
After finding family members to hug, they grabbed American flags, danced around the Chaoyang Park volleyball complex and celebrated yet another victory, this one resulting in a second gold medal.
As she did after the semifinal, and after the medal rounds in Athens, May-Treanor scattered some of her mother Barbara’s ashes on the court. Barbara May died in 2002 after a long battle with cancer.
Before May-Treanor and Walsh won their rain-soaked match, the Chinese pairing of Xue and Zhang Xi won the bronze medal by defeating Brazil’s Renata Ribeiro and Talita Rocha 21-19, 21-17.

from: macon.com

Irish medal prospect Denis Lynch has withdrawn from the equestrian individual final at the Beijing Olympics today.

The reasons for the withdrawal are not yet known, but competitors from Germany, Brazil and Norway have also reportedly pulled out.

The 32-year-old was due to start competing at the equestrian venue in Hong Kong at 12:15pm Irish time.

A press conference has been scheduled for 11am.

from: belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Italy advanced to the semi-finals of Olympic men’s volleyball by overcoming a mid-match wobble to defeat upset-minded Poland in five sets on Wednesday.
Up 2-1, Italy failed to convert on several match points in game four and Poland tied the tense affair with a 28-26 win. Italy pulled out a 17-15 triumph in a dramatic tie-breaker.
Both teams engaged in a war of words and Italy felt the episode let Poland back into the match.
“If we were playing without speaking, we would have won 3-0, but they started to fight with words under the net and for us, some players got nervous,” said Italian setter Valerio Vermiglio.
“We wanted to fight, fight, fight and not to play volleyball. The coach told us to only play volleyball, and at the end we changed things.”
Italy, who won 25-19 25-22 18-25 26-28 17-15, are likely to face Olympic champions Brazil in the semi-finals. Home town underdogs China meet Brazil later on Wednesday.
Earlier, Russia had trouble waking up but the 2004 bronze medalists beat Bulgaria 4-1 after an eye-opening first-set loss.
“I think it was such an early start of the match, it’s impossible to play good volleyball at 10 o’clock in the morning,” Russian player Alexey Verbov said following the victory.
“After the first set it was better, both teams started to play better. I think we woke up.”
The Russians will have to stay awake in the semi-finals where they will face the winner of the United States-Serbia game later on Wednesday.

from: reuters.com

Defending champions Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego were knocked out of the Olympic beach volleyball on Wednesday, leaving fellow Brazilians Marcio Araujo and Fabio Luiz Magalhaes to play the U.S. favorites for gold.

Marcio and Fabio Luiz, the 2005 world champions, have been in sporadic form in Beijing but pulled it all together in the semi, winning 22-20 21-18. They will play reigning world champions Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser in the final.

“We had to give 100 percent, no, 120 percent, to get past them,” said Marcio, who fell on top of Fabio Luiz and rolled around on the sand when they won.

“We couldn’t allow ourselves to think it was Ricardo and Emanuel on the other side of the net — that would be too emotional. We just had to play a really excellent match.”

Ricardo and Emanuel, role models for many Brazilian players, fought back from big deficits in both sets but it was not enough.

The last point was particularly painful as a cross-court spike by Ricardo was called out. The Sydney silver medalist challenged it all the way back to the bench but was good-natured after the match.

While speaking to reporters, Ricardo threw his towel at Fabio, grinned cheekily and asked “Come on, was it in or out?”. Fabio shook his finger, finished his interview and leapt in to a bear hug with Ricardo, each slapping the other’s back.

Marcio and Fabio Luiz have won five of seven matches against Rogers and Dalhausser but have barely played since the U.S. team hit their winning stride last year.

The U.S. duo were in great form in their semi against Georgia — two Brazilians who took dual citizenship to make the Olympics.

“It hasn’t hit me yet that I’m going to be playing in a gold medal match,” said Dalhausser, who once resisted taking up volleyball because he thought it was for girls.

“Give me a few hours and it’ll smack me in the face.”

from: reuters.com

Ilchenko, who was often seen sitting behind the leaders and making a move in the last kilometer in world championships, repeated the “trick” at the Olympics and successfully took the gold away from British swimmers Cassandra Patten and Keri-Anne Payne.

The two British swimmers led the race shoulder to shoulder during most part of the race with Ilchenko following behind. But the Ilchenko speeded up in the last 400 meter and surpassed the two British to finish the race first in one hour 59 minutes and 27.7 seconds.

Payne finished second in 1:59.29.2 and world championships silver medalist Patten came third in 1:59:31.0.

Ilchenko has dominated open water swimming since 2004, winning five consecutive 5km world championships and three consecutive 10km races. She is known for her ability to win in all water conditions and temperatures.

“It was a tough race. I was trying to convince myself that it was a training test. It took a lot of willpower to convince myself. But I did it,” Ilchenko said after the race.

Questioned whether her tactic of coming behind is unfair to other swimmers, Ilchenko said “it doesn’t bother me in the least.”

“It’s a competition after all and the best athlete wins. How can I just stop and let somebody else win? How can I let other girls take my medal?” said she. “I actually worked as hard as anybody else and I don’t think it’s a question at all.”

British Payne was apparently elated with a silver medal. She was stung in the mouth by a jellyfish while leading the 10km open water event at the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. She was forced to stop for a gel drink and eventually finished 11th.

“It has not sunk in at all, but I’m so pleased to have a silver medal. I might have a little cry later,” she Payne.

But her teammate Patten was in tears when facing the media one hour after the race, seemingly still angry at the confrontation with Germany’s Angela Maurer at the conclusion of the race.

“Some things do happen in races and I think a lot of it is unsportsmanlike. But after races emotions can run high. That’s all I want to say about it. I don’t want to sit and slag anybody else off. At the end of the day I have the medal,” she said.

The open-water event is slated to the 2008 Olympic Games for the first time. It is also referred to as a “wrestling match in water” due to the aggressive techniques employed in competing in the sport. Competitors often knock into each other as they fight for position around the marker buoys and at the feeding stations.

“Ten kilometers is a long distance and there are a lot of girls in quite a short distance and in a short space. At the start, you have clashes on and when you are swimming you knock on each other. That does happen, that is the hard part of the race,” Patten said.

Ilchenko also complained about the clashes in the race. “It’s difficult. I myself had to clash on numerous occasions, especially with the swimmers from Brazil. The last stretch was particularly difficult. I had to via away all the time.”

Ilchenko was given a yellow card warning during the race. But she said she didn’t know it. “I didn’t see I was given a yellow card. Perhaps at the time when I was trying to break away from the two Brazilian swimmers who were quite aggressive, sometimes bordering on being unsportsmanlike. This is swimming after all, not boxing.”

The combative and aggressive nature of the open water event has failed quite some superfish in the pool. Australia’s “long distance king” Grant Hackett was disqualified when trying to get a berth in the race in Beijing at the 2008 World Championships.

“Even if you are a super star, it doesn’t mean anything when it comes to open water,” Ilchenko said.

South Africa’s Natalie du Toit, the first amputee qualified to swim the 10km open water race at the Olympics, ranked 16th.

“For me this is dream come true. I think I’m a bit upset as I wanted to come in the top five. But I even couldn’t get out of the water at the finish, so I’ve done everything I possible could. I’m glad it’s over,” she said.

“Hopefully I’ll be back for 2012 (London Olympics), where I’ll be hoping for a top five place,” she said.

source: mathaba.net

China praised injured national hero Liu Xiang on Tuesday, smothering disappointment that he limped away from his hurdles heat by stressing its dominance of the Olympics medals table.

China hoped for a repeat of Liu’s 110 meter win in Athens to show its sporting prowess could extend to the track and was not confined to traditional areas like table tennis.

But Liu’s forlorn exit on Monday put a serious dampener on those aspirations.

Soccer superpowers Argentina and Brazil face off in the men’s soccer semi-finals on Tuesday, while Britain and the United States grabbed another gold apiece in the sailing regatta at Qingdao.

Germany added to its gold tally when Jan Frodeno, a man who only took up triathlon because a girl he fancied did it, won the swim-bike-run endurance test on a hot day in Beijing.

Hurdler Liu could barely start his Monday heat, grimacing in pain from injury.

After a false start in the race he pulled out, shocking China where he has been a national idol since his 2004 success which gave the country its first Games male track and field victory.

“Everyone will understand why Liu Xiang had to abandon competition due to injury,” Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping said in a “get well” message carried by state media.

Liu himself promised to return, saying unbearable pain in his foot and the prospect of a long-term serious injury left him no choice but to pull out of the race.

China’s rulers have invested billions in staging a spectacular Games to demonstrate to audiences at home and abroad the country’s superpower status and the Communist Party’s sponsorship of sporting success and national pride.

In recent days state media have grown in confidence that China will topple the United States from the top rank in the medal spot it held in Athens. This demonstrates that China’s economic rise has brought it sporting glory, official media has explained.

“There is basically no worry about top spot on the gold medal table,” state news agency Xinhua said on Tuesday.

China already has 39 golds, seven more than in Athens, while the United States has won 23 and been relatively disappointing in the Bird’s Nest stadium, the athletics venue where it would normally do well.

ATHLETICS EXCITEMENT

China will expect to pick up more golds in diving and gymnastics on Tuesday but most attention will be on the football pitch and the athletics arena, which has already seen four days of action as magnificent as its architecture.

Jamaican sprinters have finally lived up to their promise on the world’s biggest stage, with Usain Bolt winning the 100 meters in spectacular style and world record time and compatriots taking the top three places in the women’s 100 meters.

The United States will try for revenge against another strong Jamaican team in the 100 meters hurdles. U.S. women ran the top three semi-final times, led by world numbers one and two Lolo Jones and Damu Cherry.

Bolt is back in action today in the semi-finals of the 200 meters in his quest to secure the first sprint double gold since Carl Lewis in 1984. The 21-year-old cantered through the first two rounds of the 200m competition in relaxed style.

Kenya hopes to add a win in the men’s 1500m to golds in the women’s 800 meters and the men’s 3,000m steeplechase, its seventh successive win in that event.

Kenyans Asbel Kiprop or Augustine Choge will battle it out for the top middle-distance running prize.

Outside the athletics arena, Germany’s Frodeno scored a surprise in the men’s triathlon, timing his late run well to leave pre-race favorites gasping at the Ming Tombs reservoir.

The soccer tournament bursts into life later with a semi-final between two of the sport’s fiercest rivals, Brazil and Argentina, in a contest enlivened by the genius of Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi on opposing sides.

Brazil want revenge for defeat in Athens to Argentina. Its has won five World Cups but never an Olympic gold.

Nigeria play Belgium in the other semi-final.

from: reuters.com