The International Olympic Committee is no stranger to tough decisions. It took the risk of sending the games to Beijing and said “No” to New York in the aftermath of 9/11. Yet, despite all of that accumulated experience, some IOC members are struggling with their latest conundrum: choosing the Olympic host for 2016.
Just two days ahead of the vote, many were undecided.
And that means two things—it’s still too close to call between Rio de Janeiro, Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid and, for the next couple of days, IOC members are going to feel that they are the most popular people on the planet. Everyone in Copenhagen, where they are gathered, seemingly wants to be their new best friend.
Want to meet Michelle Obama? Not a problem if you’re an IOC member who needs a little pointer on which way to vote. The first lady, beating her husband to the Danish capital, has a two-room suite in the IOC hotel, with homely white leather furniture and an interactive table that, at the touch of a hand, gives bird’s eye views of how a Chicago Olympics might look.
Mrs Obama arrived Wednesday, two days ahead of the U.S. leader, and got straight to work on impressing IOC members.
“We’re not taking anything for granted, so I’m going to go talk to some voters,” she said.
IOC members who have been through this selection process repeatedly, previously sending the games to London, Beijing, Athens and Sydney, told The Associated Press that they could not remember a tougher choice. The AP canvassed the opinions of a dozen IOC members. With all four cities seen as amply capable, technically at least, of holding the Olympics, they said much will ride on how well or badly the cities make their case in final 45-minute presentations to the IOC on Friday before the successive rounds of secret balloting.
“I have two favorites,” IOC member Nicole Hoevertsz said. “It’s going to come down to the last, last presentation. It’s going to come down to the last minute.”
As tension mounted, so did tempers. Despite fresh IOC warnings that the cities should avoid criticizing their rivals, the Spanish Olympic Committee’s vice president, Jose Maria Odriozola, told the national Efe news agency that “Rio is the worst bid.”
Rio bid organizers said the criticism was “totally unacceptable” and formally complained to the IOC.
The outcome Friday could hinge on which cities are eliminated first and, if and when their favorites are knocked out, how IOC members subsequently line up behind the other candidates. That makes predicting a winner perilous and means that even members who say they already have made their choice are still worth lobbying.
“It is difficult enough to know where the first-round votes are going to go, so trying to imagine where the swinging votes are going to go is impossible,” said Spanish IOC member Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr, whose father served as IOC president for 21 years.
“Events in the next 48 hours will decide the winner, because they will have a significant influence on the second- and third-round votes,” he said.
Samaranch said he believes nearly all the IOC’s 106 members already have a favorite. But IOC vice president Chiharu Igaya said “many” members are undecided.
Added British IOC member Craig Reedie: “This is really close. The closer it gets the more people will say, let me think about it. We all want to see the presentations. It’s what people see that will count. Decided? No, I haven’t actually. I’m getting close.”
Late, high-powered lobbying can be important—as then-Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife, Cherie, proved when London campaigned successfully for the 2012 Olympics. Blair traveled to Singapore ahead of the vote and spent two days lobbying members, inviting them to his hotel suite for one-on-one meetings.
Chicago tore a leaf from Blair’s playbook: Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett met with him last week to solicit his advice and get tips on navigating the IOC voting process.
But for the first time, there are no IOC executive board meetings in the days leading up to the vote. That means less opportunity for schmoozing.
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England must score 167 to win the Women’s World Cup after bowling New Zealand out for 166 in the final in Sydney.
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SYDNEY (Reuters) – Tiger Woods will make his first appearance Down Under in over a decade after the world number one agreed to play at this year’s Australian Masters.

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IOC president Jacques Rogge foresees no immediate threat to the Olympics from the global financial crisis and says the fight against doping will be a key priority for a second term in office.

Rogge, a 66-year-old Belgian who has led the International Olympic Committee since 2001, notified members last Friday that he will seek re-election next October for a final four-year term that will take him to 2013.

He spoke in a telephone interview with The Associated Press ahead of a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday where he publicly announced his candidacy for another term at the helm of the IOC.

No challengers are expected and Rogge’s re-election is considered a formality at the October 2009 assembly in Copenhagen, Denmark.

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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 International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG) have concluded their five week investigation into the scrutinised ages of the Chinese gold medal-winning gymnastics team at the Beijing Games, however doubts continue to shroud their participation at Sydney in 2000.

Due to concerns about the wellbeing of young gymnasts, whose bodies are under huge stress when they reach the elite level, the FIG introduced a ruling in 1997 stating that athletes had to turn 16 during an Olympic year in order to compete at the Games.

Questions were raised throughout the Games about China’s squad of gymnasts with many critics suggesting some of the girls were as young as 14.

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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

The London Olympic Games budget will break through the 10 billion ($A22 billion) barrier, largely because officials have ”vastly underestimated” the cost of protecting the event from terrorists, The Independent on Sunday has revealed.

Security costs for the 2012 Games were now likely to reach $A3.3 billion nearly three times the original estimate, a senior official involved in planning the event said.

The army was to be drafted to help protect athletes and spectators from an atrocity, the official revealed. Military helicopters would patrol overhead and jets would be on standby to intercept any suspect private plane heading for the main Olympic stadium in east London. Under Treasury rules, the Ministry of Defence would charge the Olympic authorities for such a deployment.

The security operation is expected to be the largest in peacetime Britain, with the two-week event classed in Whitehall as a major terrorist target. Yet detailed planning for policing and security has barely started.

Insiders said a price could not be put on preventing a large-scale terrorist attack on the main Olympic site or in London’s parks, where thousands will watch the events on giant TV screens.

The London bombings of July 7, 2005, took place the day after the capital celebrated winning the 2012 bid.

”It will cost whatever it takes to ensure terrorism does not once again try to rob London of celebrating the 2012 Games,” a source said.

The insider said security planning was ”basically starting from scratch. There are no detailed plans yet but of course it will cost far more, around 1.5 billion [$A3.3billion].”

Balancing security concerns with ensuring spectators can enjoy a friendly and open atmosphere in contrast to Beijing’s rigid controls is proving to be the greatest headache for organisers, alongside transport.

Officials want the experience of 2012 to be open and shared by all Londoners, with street parties similar to those in Sydney at the turn of the millennium. Giant video screens will be placed in Hyde Park and at other sites where events will take place.

In addition to police officers from Scotland Yard and other forces, tens of thousands of volunteers will be needed to check bags and tickets. Unmanned military planes, as used to monitor the Taliban in Afghanistan, could be deployed to monitor suspected terrorist aircraft.

The transport network is likely to carry 240,000 passengers an hour during the Games. Extra officers will be needed to identify suspected bombers, and stadiums will be built with special blast-proof material, including shatter-proof glass.

Officials from the Cabinet Office and the Home Office have been meeting regularly to discuss the operation.

If organisers are to keep to budget promises, cuts will have to be made elsewhere, such as in the construction of stadiums and the Olympic village to house 17,000 athletes, and in the funding of the 2012 ”legacy”, intended to promote sport in the community.

source: canberratimes.com.au

China’s gold medal gymnasts aren’t the only ones whose ages are getting a closer look.
The investigation into the eligibility of the Chinese women’s team in Beijing has been expanded to include members of the 2000 squad, which won the bronze medal in Sydney, The Associated Press has learned.
International gymnastics officials are examining whether Yang Yun and Dong Fangxiao, in particular, were old enough to compete.
“If we had a look at all the articles that came before, during and after the games, there were always rumors about the ages of China’s athletes in Sydney,” Andre Gueisbuhler, secretary general of the International Gymnastics Federation, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
“We did not have another choice,” he said. “If we want to remain credible, then we have to look into things.”
No other Chinese teams are being looked at, Gueisbuhler said.
“At this moment in time, we just have concerns about 2000 and 2008,” he said.
The investigation is ongoing, a month after the Beijing Games ended, and there is no timetable for when it will be finished.
“It’s a work in progress,” said Emmanuelle Moreau, spokeswoman for the International Olympic Committee. “Until the work has been completed, there is nothing we can say.”
Yang’s age has long been an issue for debate.
In a June 2007 interview that aired on state broadcaster China Central Television, Yang said she was 14 at the Sydney Games.
Gymnastics rules require athletes to be 16 during an Olympic year in order to compete.
“At the time I was only 14,” she said in the interview, done in Chinese. “I thought that if I failed this time, I’ll do it again next time. There’s still hope.”
That interview, which has been widely reported, contradicts her official birthdate, which is listed as Dec. 2, 1984 and made her eligible for Sydney.
Dong’s birthdate is listed as Jan. 20, 1983, making her 17 at the time of the Sydney Games. Her blog, however, includes a reference to being born in 1985.
Yang is now engaged to Olympic all-around champion Yang Wei. Dong was a national technical official at the Beijing Olympics, serving as the secretary on vault. She was not part of any judging panel.
Kui Yuanyuan, Ling Jie, Liu Xuan and Huang Mandan were the other members of China’s 2000 squad.
Age falsification has been a problem in gymnastics since the 1980s, after the minimum age was raised from 14 to 15 in an effort to protect young athletes, whose bodies are still developing, from serious injuries. Younger gymnasts are also thought to have an advantage because they are more flexible and are likely to have an easier time doing the tough skills the sport requires. They also aren’t as likely to have a fear of failure.
The minimum age was raised to its current 16 in 1997.
There were questions about the ages of China’s Beijing squad months before the games, with media reports and online records suggesting several of the gymnasts on the six-woman squad might be as young as 14.
In August, The Associated Press found registration lists previously posted on the Web site of the General Administration of Sport of China that showed He Kexin and Yang Yilin were too young to compete. A Nov. 3 story by the Chinese government’s news agency, Xinhua, suggested He was only 14.
But Chinese officials insisted — repeatedly and heatedly — that all of its gymnasts were old enough, and they had not cheated their way to their first Olympic team gold. The FIG and IOC hoped the matter had been put to rest before the games, when the IOC said it had checked all of the girls’ passports and found them to be valid.
The controversy never went away, though, and the IOC announced three days before the games ended that it had asked the FIG to investigate one more time.
China turned over birth certificates, passports, ID cards and family residence permits for He, Yang, Jiang Yuyuan, Deng Linlin and Li Shanshan.
“The international federation has required the delivery of birth certificates and all the documents like family books, entries in schools and things like that,” IOC president Jacques Rogge said on the final day of the games. “They have received the documents, and at first sight it seems to be OK.”
If evidence of cheating is found, it could affect as many as four of the six medals the Chinese women won in Beijing. In addition to the team gold, He won gold on uneven bars and Yang got bronze medals on bars and in the all-around.
“We are waiting to hear the outcome of the IOC investigation just like everyone else,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics.

from: ap.google.com

There has never been a Paralympics that has not been hailed the best ever.

The first time I heard the phrase delivered “live” in the stadium was at Atlanta, which was almost certainly the worst ever.
On Wednesday evening in Beijing, President of the International Paralympic Committee Sir Phillip Craven did not let me down, delivering the mantra word for word.
So how does it stand up to the claim?
Let us do the pluses first, and there are plenty of them.
My own personal abiding memory of the Beijing games, the fourth I have attended, was the crowds.
Disabled athletes over the years have been used to performing at most of their meets to sparse crowds made of friends, family and other team members.
Even at the best of the games – Sydney – there was still an element of “rent-a-crowd” about the attendances.
Many of the audiences were almost entirely made up of children, allocated tickets en bloc as an educational exercise.
They were reminiscent of those schoolboy and schoolgirl hockey internationals that used to be staged at Wembley, where the pitch and decibel level of the cheering were excruciating.
Nothing like that in Beijing but many of the events were total, or almost total, sell-outs.
The Bird’s Nest stadium several times had its full complement of 91,000 spectators. The swimming events were full every night. Great attendances too at the basketball.
And when GB quadriplegic wheelchair tennis star Peter Norfolk was winning his gold in the singles, there were more people watching him than turned up to see Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the Olympics.
Perhaps people were benefiting from the fact that the Paralympic tickets were considerably cheaper than at the Olympics, and also yielding to a huge curiosity to get inside stadiums like the Bird’s Nest?
Another major plus was access. I am guided by the athletes here. I talked to many of them, and they all said the same – that facilities in the village, the stadiums and around the Olympic complex were second to none.
Libby Kosmala, a Paralympian attending her 11th games, said she thought that Beijing’s access was “faultless”.

Avoidable glitches
Now for a couple of minuses. These reflect as much on the nature of the games themselves, and their management by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), as they do on Beijing.
There were a number of foul-ups in the running of events trackside and poolside.
It has been hard to get to the bottom of what led to them, but they need to be sorted if the Paralympics is to take its place as a major sporting event.
For instance, two events were ordered to be re-run. One actually took place, the other re-run was cancelled after the objection was withdrawn.
But the re-run is an odd concept in all but the most extreme cases. To be honest, it smacks of patronising attitudes. Olympic gold medallist Steve Cram said he could not remember a re-run ever being ordered.
In one case a re-run was deemed necessary because of a crash, which led to a disqualification.
The disqualification was fair enough, but ordering a re-run because someone screws up smacks too much of the sports day “oh give them another go” attitude, which has no place in the Paralympics.
The other was caused by an administrative error, a wrong lane allocation. The protest about that should have happened before the race was ever run.
Both of these re-run decisions were reached after the medal ceremonies had taken place – so that athletes who had publicly been cheered suddenly found themselves deprived of that medal.
Whether it was miscommunication between the IPC and local organisers is not clear.
What is clear is that in terms of rigorous organisation, these games must look as professional as the Olympic counterparts they seek to be compared to.
Which leads me to the other matter that must be sorted out before London 2012 – classification.

A job well done
There has to be classification in Paralympic sport. The principle of grading people on the basis of their severity of disability, so that like competes with like, is essential. But classification must be managed better.
In these games, there were a number of examples of people being thrown out of events because they were felt to be less disabled than their classification allowed.
Clearly, if there is a blatant example of cheating, it must be dealt with. But the answer to that is not expulsion during the games, but a proper, independent and transparent programme of classification before the games ever begin.
If a competitor performs above the level which appears to be consistent with their disability, it should be dealt with after the games.
We cannot have a situation where doing particularly well, is regarded as a reason for re-classification within the games.
Classification is confusing enough for spectators, and I think in London there should be more attempts to explain it to crowds.
What happened here is likely to lower the reputation of the games, which on the whole is rising exponentially.
The Beijing games have done plenty to continue that process, and they should be congratulated on that.
They should also be congratulated on changes to the environment which will provide a permanent legacy for disabled Beijingers for the future.
It seems impossible to think that the exposure of huge numbers of people to disabled athletes performing extraordinary feats would not change the perception of disability in China.
Though whether change will be sustained at the rate achieved by the needs of staging the Paralympics remains to be seen.
Was it the best ever? It is a subjective judgment, but I would say yes. I would put it on a par with Sydney, but with the added dimension of genuine, deeply enthusiastic crowds. Well done, Beijing!

source: bbc.co.uk

Australia’s Paralympic swim team produced a memorable night at the National Aquatic Centre on day five of the Beijing Paralympics last night when Peter Leek, Matthew Cowdrey and Rick Pendleton grabbed an historic triple gold medal haul – all in world record time.
The Australians dominated their respective 200 metre individual medley events with Leek (S8), Cowdrey (S9) and Pendleton (S10) in a memorable night at the Water Cube.
One of the rising stars of the sport, Leek kicked off the golden run with the teenage cerebral palsy sufferer from Sydney clocking his second win of the Games in a new world time of 2:20.92, blitzing his nearest rival, Wang Jiachao of China (2:29.71) by almost nine seconds.
Leek is set to return home a star with his medal tally now standing at two gold, two silver and one bronze.
Leek said the only secret to his “awesome” results in Beijing was 18 years of hard work.
“And every minute of that hard work has been worth it to get results like these,” he said.
“I knew I had to go out hard to win a race like this. So I just went for it and I can’t believe how fast the time is. I’m just stoked that time belongs to me because I think it’s going to be a long time before anyone beats it.”
South Australian teen sensation and two-time Paralympian, Cowdrey also grabbed his second gold of the Games and the fourth of his career with an amazing world record display in his 200 medley final, slashing nearly three seconds off his previous world mark to take the victory in an unbelievable S9 category time of 2:13.60.
Cowdrey who has a congenital amputation of his left arm to the elbow flew home over the final stages of the race to grab gold ahead of Ukrainian, Andriy Kalyna (2:17.21) with the South Australian having a running tally in Beijing of two gold and two silver.
“I knew I’d be close to going under 2:15 but I didn’t think a 2:13 was quite possible, so hey, I definitely came out, enjoyed the night and swam fast,” Cowdrey said.
“That was probably the biggest race of the meet for me, so now I’ve defended both titles from Athens I’m ecstatic. And that time was really, really quick so I don’t think I could have had a better night than tonight.”
Cowdrey, who trains with Peter Bishop and alongside Olympic silver and bronze medallist, Hayden Stoeckel at Adelaide’s Norwood Swim Club,believes confidence helped him more than anything else.
“In the marshalling area I was the only one really talking and just enjoying the time, and confidence is a good thing,” he said.
“Tonight’s the first night we’ve got more than one Aussie gold in the pool and I don’t think that even happened in Athens so it’s a good night. ”
A devastating breaststroke leg capped an unforgettable come from behind victory to John Shaw coached Coogee boy, Rick Pendleton who claimed his maiden Olympic gold four years after missing a medal in Athens by just 0.07 of a second.
Pendleton came from third place at the half way mark of the race to power home in the breaststroke and freestyle legs to a new world record time of 2:12.78 and upset Brazilian, Andre Brasil (2:14.20) and former world record holder of Canada, Benoit Huot (2:15.22).
“I’m glad to be the third one in the same category or same event to smash the world record – it’s a good trifecta,” he said.
“I’m just over the moon with that..wow! What a big swim and a big race and I’m glad to be on top at the moment.”
Pendleton, who was born without a left hand, said he was shocked with his time.
“I was expecting maybe a 2.14, so four seconds off my personal best, that’s a massive swim.
“I always knew that I’d be behind in the fly and backstroke so once I got to the breast stroke I knew I just had to drop the hammer and go for it.
“Just everything came together at the same time – everything falls into line properly for you, that’s the reason you go so fast.”
Adelaide 18-year-old, Jay Dohnt who lost both his legs and one hand to meningococcal disease at age 13 picked up Australia’s final medal of the night, a bronze in the S7 400 metres freestyle in a time of 4:59.47 to take their overall tally after five days to six gold, five silver and four bronze.
“I came here to get a medal and didn’t care what colour it was. This is the best. I am so relieved and happy,” he said.
In other news Australian team officials have taken responsibility for a mix up that witnessed female swimmer, Ellie Cole miss her final in the S9 200 metre individual medley on day five. Cole claimed a silver medal earlier this week in the S9 100 metres backstroke.
“For the team I take full responsibility. We probably didn’t warm her up enough. She’s a bit upset but we’re working through it,” he said.

source: hansonmediagroup.com.au

The Montreal Canadiens will roll out the red carpet to welcome goaltending great Patrick Roy back to the club.

The NHL team announced Thursday that it will retire Roy’s jersey No. 33 at a Bell Centre ceremony before a game against the Boston Bruins on Nov. 22.

BEIJING – Canada’s Michelle Stilwell captured her second Paralympic Games gold medal Thursday, but her first as a wheelchair racer.

Stilwell, from Nanoose Bay, B.C., a gold medallist in wheelchair basketball in 2000 in Sydney, raced to gold in the 200-metre T52 classification race in a Paralympic record time of 36.18 seconds.

MILAN, Italy – Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa resume their tight title chase at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, the last European race of the Formula One season.

Hamilton’s lead over Massa in the overall standings dwindled to two points after a time penalty cost the McLaren driver a dramatic victory at the Belgian GP last weekend.

SUANCES, Spain – Italian rider Paolo Bettini won the 12th stage of the Spanish Vuelta on Thursday while Egoi Martinez of Spain retained the overall lead.

Bettini, a Quick Step rider who also won the sixth stage, completed the 186 kilometre trek from Burgos to Suances with two major mountain climbs in four hours 42 minutes 44 seconds.

CONOVER, N.C. – Jay Haas has a chance to widen his lead over Bernhard Langer in the Charles Schwab Cup standings with a good finish in the Greater Hickory Classic.

The Champions Tour event begins Friday at Rock Barn Golf and Spa’s Robert Trent Jones course and features five of the top 10 players in the standings.

ROLLA, Mo. – Canadian Michael Barry pulled away from a group of four riders to win the fourth stage of the Tour of Missouri on Thursday while Christian Vande Velde maintained his overall lead.

Barry, riding for Team Columbia, emerged alone approaching the three 2.1-mile finishing circuits. The Toronto native completed the 152.95-kilometre race from Lebanon to Rolla with a 46-second margin in three hours, 16 minutes, three seconds.

The new leader of USA Track and Field analyzed the team’s underwhelming performance at the Beijing Olympics – including dropped batons and a record-low men’s gold medal count – and judged the federation’s overall performance to be “seriously deficient.” After watching both U.S. relay teams drop the baton in the 400-metre preliminaries and seeing the U.S. men win only four gold medals, CEO Doug Logan has decided to form a panel of former athletes and coaches to analyze USATF’s high performance programs. “This will probably be an uncomfortable exercise,” Logan wrote Tuesday in his blog on the USATF website. “But, this is not a ‘knee jerk’ reaction, or a ‘witch hunt,’ or an attempt to castigate anyone. Indeed, this panel may determine that the factors leading to less-than-optimal performance were beyond anyone’s control.”

The Americans took home 23 medals from Beijing – most of any country – but the results were still disappointing on many levels.

Everyone is chasing Usain Bolt.

The world’s fastest man is in high demand, the latest invitations coming from David Letterman and the Real Madrid soccer team.

STUTTGART, Germany – Asafa Powell will get another shot at regaining the world record in the 100 metres at the World Athletics Final this weekend.

After five races in eight days, however, Powell may not have enough left to challenge his Jamaican countryman Usain Bolt’s 9.69-second mark set at the Beijing Olympics.

BEIJING – For 14 years Steven Daniel viewed life through a soldier’s eyes.

The Sudbury, Ont., native sees things a lot differently since a parachuting accident left him in a wheelchair and rearranged his priorities.

BEIJING – Canadian swimmer Stephanie Dixon won her second medal at the Paralympic Games on Thursday, finishing runner-up to Natalie du Toit in the SM9 200 metres.

The Victoria resident finished more than nine seconds behind the South African swimming machine who picked up her third gold of the Paralympics after competing at the Olympic Games.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando Magic forward Pat Garrity is retiring from the NBA.

Garrity played 10 pro seasons – nine with the Magic – after spending his rookie year with the Phoenix Suns. He appeared in 513 games for Orlando, second most in franchise history.

LONDON – Manchester United is expected to unveil its new strike force of Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney this weekend, and it couldn’t come at a better time for the defending champions as they travel to fierce rival Liverpool.

Liverpool, which plays United on Saturday (7:45 a.m. ET), is level on points with early leader Chelsea, which is at Manchester City in another of the day’s eight matches.

BRUSSELS, Belgium – Stefan Schumacher of Germany has joined the Quick Step team of world champion Paolo Bettini and sprint ace Tom Boonen, the team said Thursday.

Schumacher finished third in last year’s world championship and won two stages in the Tour de France this year. He is an expert time-trial rider and has good climbing abilities that serve him well in the hilly, one-day classics.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland – The Swedish wrestler stripped of his bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics for protesting during the medal ceremony filed an appeal Thursday with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Ara Abrahamian, who was disqualified from the games after the protest, asked the top court in international sports to downgrade his punishment to a warning. CAS said it would rule within four months.

CHICAGO – The Toronto Bue Jays’ 10-game winning streak came to an end Wednesday thanks to Chicago White Sox veterans Mark Buehrle and A.J. Pierzynski.

Buehrle outpitched Toronto’s Roy Halladay and Pierzynski had three RBIs against the Blue Jays ace as the White Sox won 6-5 to stay one game ahead of Minnesota in the AL Central. “I’ve never had a loss that wasn’t frustrating,” said Halladay, who’d won five in a row. He lasted six innings, giving up nine hits and five runs.

BEIJING – A pair of powerlifters caught using banned substances Thursday increased to four the number of athletes found guilty of doping violations at the Paralympic Games.

Fracourou Sissoko of Mali and Liudmyla Osmanova of Ukraine both failed drug tests, the International Paralympic Committee said in a release.

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from: ckwstv.com

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

Swedish shooting great Jonas Jacobsson collected his 14th Paralympic gold medal Monday as host China climbed to the top spot in the gold medal standings.
Second-placed United States piled up eight gold medals, but has a total of 17 medals against 28 won by the Chinese. Britain was third on the ladder with seven gold.
China, which topped the medals table with 63 gold in Athens 2004, is widely expected to dominate the Games.
Jacobsson surpassed the eight-year-old world record by a huge margin in the morning in the men’s 10m air rifle standing position in his disability class, increasing his Paralympic medal tally to 14 gold, one silver and eight bronze medals.
He will compete in three other events – the men’s 50m free rifle 3×40 standing SH1, the mixed 10m air rifle prone SH1 and the mixed 50m free rifle prone SH1.
“Every competition is a new one. You have to focus,” he said.
South Africa’s Natalie du Toit was equally impressive.
The 24-year-old amputee grabbed her second gold of the Games, winning the women’s S9 100m freestyle final.
She had won the 100m butterfly in her category on Sunday in a world-record time of one min 6.74 sec.
Du Toit, who finished 16th among 25 competitors in 10km marathon swim at last month’s Olympics, and Polish table tennis player Natalia Partyka are the only athletes in Beijing appearing in both the Olympics and Paralympics.
Also in the Water Cube, Wang Xiaofu, who led the Chinese Paralympic team into the Bird’s Nest stadium on Saturday, bounced back from a shock defeat in the men’s S8 100m butterfly to win the 100m freestyle.
Elsewhere, China’s Yao Juan was back on the top of podium, eight years after she won her first Paralympic gold medal in Sydney. The 24-year-old won the women’s F42-46 javelin with a world record throw of 40.51m.
“I have always wanted to win back the gold medal, and I never gave up,” said Yao, who finished a distant fifth in Athens four years ago.
Yao’s compatriot Guo Wei followed suit, taking the men’s F35-26 javelin crown.
Lin Haiyan, 45, captured the first shooting gold for China by taking the women’s SH1 10m air pistol, while visually impaired compatriot Wang Lijing prevailed in the women’s 57kg judo competition.

from: chinadaily.com.cn

Sport-by-sport guide

Archery
Archery has been a Paralympic sport since Rome 1960. At the Paralympic Games, archers shoot the Olympic round only (70 meters, qualification & finals): Men’s Individual Olympic Round; Men’s (Open) Team Olympic Round; Women’s Individual Olympic Round and Women’s (Open) Team Olympic Round. Archers compete both standing and in a wheelchair in women’s and men’s categories. The Paralympic program includes singles and team events, and the competition and scoring procedures are identical to those used in the Olympic Games. Team competition is an open competition for both men and women and includes three archers of any class (standing or sitting). Archery opened the first International Games for the Disabled at Stoke Mandeville in 1948. It reached a new pinnacle 44 years later when Paralympian Antonio Rebollo ignited both the Olympic and Paralympic flames in Barcelona with a fire arrow.

Athletics
Athletics became a Paralympic Games sport in Rome, 1960 and has more events and competitors than any other sport in the Paralympic Games. Track events include all Olympic distances (100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m, 10000m, marathon, 4 x 100m relay and 4 x 400m relay). Field comprises, shot put, discus, javelin, club throwing (for severely disabled athletes), pentathlon, long, high and triple jump. Wheelchair racing, 60m sprint was included in the Paralympic Games for the first time in Tokyo, 1964. This continued to be the standard racing distance until Toronto, 1976, when 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m events were introduced.

(Wheelchair) Basketball
Wheelchair Basketball was developed by Sir Ludwig Guttmann at Stoke Mandeville Hospital following WWII as a form of rehabilitation for injured war veterans. Basketball became a Paralympic Games sport at the first Games in Rome in 1960. Wheelchair Basketball is open to male or female athletes and is played by two teams of five players each. Players are allocated points from 1 to 4.5 depending on their functional ability. Five players out of 12 from each team are on the court at any one time and throughout the game the total point value of each team on court must not exceed 14 points.

Boccia
Boccia is unique to the Paralympic Games and was refined from an ancient Greek ball tossing game by the Italians in the 16th century. Men and women compete together in team, pairs and individual events. It is a game of precision with leather balls thrown as close as possible to a white target ball (the jack) on a long, narrow field of play. Boccia became a Paralympic Games sport in Barcelona, 1992.

Cycling
Cycling competitions are relatively new for athletes with disabilities. In the early Eighties, the visually impaired were the first group of athletes to compete, and athletes with cerebral palsy and amputees began racing at the International Games for the Disabled in 1984. Up until the 1992 Paralympics, the competitons for each of these different groups were held separately. Then, at the Barcelona Games, spectators witnessed intense competitions in both track and road races between athletes in all three disability groups. The cycling events are divided into individual and team (a group of three cyclists from one nation) events. Athletes with cerebral palsy compete using standard racing bikes and, in some classes, tricycles. Athletes who are blind or visually impaired compete on tandem bicycles with a sighted team-mate, and they participate in the road race and the time trial events. Finally, amputees and cyclists with permanent locomotor deficiencies compete in individual road race events using cycles specifically constructed for their needs. Handcycling was included for the first time at the Athens Paralympic Games. Handcycling is for athletes who normally require a wheelchair for general mobility, or athletes not able to use a conventional bicycle or tricycle because of severe lower limb disability.

Equestrian
Riders compete only in individual and team dressage and develop creative ways to communicate with their horses if they are unable to give signals with their legs, such as utilising a dressage whip or other aids. In dressage competition, riders perform individually and they must ride a pattern which includes various changes in pace and direction. At the Paralympics, all riders are grouped according to their functional profiles and they are judged on their ability to control and maneuver the horses. Prior to Athens, athletes competed on borrowed horses. Own horses were used in Athens. Equestrian became a Paralympic Games sport in Atlanta 1996.

(Wheelchair) Fencing
Fencing became a Paralympic Games sport in Rome in 1960. There are team and individual events for men and women in foil and epee and for men only in sabre. Athletes are connected electronically to a scoring box that records hits on their opponent. In the initial rounds of the competition the first fencer to score five hits wins but in the latter stages it is the first to 15 hits.

Football
Seven-a-side football, for players with Cerebral Palsy, became a Paralympic Sport in New York in 1984 when the Games were split – for financial reasons -between Stoke Mandeville, England and New York. Five-a-side football for visually impaired athletes was introduced at the Summer Paralympic Games in Athens 2004. Goalkeepers can be visually impaired (B2/B3) or fully sighted in five-a-side football. GB has two sighted goalkeepers. The goalkeepers are not permitted to leave their area.

Goalball
Goalball was invented in Europe in 1946 and was used for sport and rehabilitation for the post WWII blind veterans. The game was introduced to the world in 1976 at the Paralympic Games in Toronto and the first world championships were held in Austria in 1978. Women first competed in goalball at the 1984 Paralympic Games in New York. All players wear masks and bells in the ball enable players to pick up its movement. Taped lines on the court enable players to ‘feel’ their way around the court. Audience/spectators are asked for silence while watching, as players listen to the bells. Goalball is a team sport for men and women. A team is comprised of six players with no more than three players per team on the court at any one time. The object is to roll the ball past the opposition defence and into the opponent’s goal. A bell inside the competition ball enables defending players to hear it and try to prevent its passage. Matches are played on a court 18m x 9m in two, seven-minute halves, with three players on each side. No GB team competing.

Judo
Originating in the late nineteenth century, judo developed from a diverse range of Japanese combative arts and was funded by Professor Jigoro Kano who studied the principles of the jujitsu schools of Japan’s Samurai warriors when developing the sport. Judo’s inherent qualities of touch, balance and sensitivity complement the highly developed skills of visually impaired athletes. Visually-impaired judo became a Paralympic sport at the 1988 Paralympics in Seoul. Women competed for the first time at the Athens Paralympic Games in 2004. Unlike sighted judo, visually-impaired judo fighters begin bouts holding each other’s judogis (suits).

Powerlifting
The benchpress competition widely known as “weightlifting ” was among one of the original Paralympic sports dating back to its inclusion in the second Paralympic Games in 1964 and was offered exclusively to Spinal Cord Injured lifters. The sport undertook a major transition with the incorporation of identical rules as those of the able-bodied “powerlifting” competitions and with the inclusion of other disability groups. At the 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona, 25 countries participated in the Powerlifting competitions. That number more than doubled in 1996 at the Atlanta Paralympic Games with 58 countries in participation. Since 1996 that number has risen to a total worldwide membership of 109 countries on five continents. Women competed for the first time at the Sydney Games in 2000.

(Wheelchair) Rugby
Wheelchair rugby, formally known as ‘murderball’, is unique to the Paralympic Games. It was invented in the 1970’s in Winnipeg by persons who had become quadriplegics as a result of spinal cord injuries to the neck. The purpose of the game is for players to score goals by touching or crossing the opponent’s goal-line while maintaining possession of the ball. Using a volleyball, players carry, dribble or pass the ball while moving toward the opponent’s goal area. The player in possession of the ball must dribble or pass at least once every ten seconds. A goal is scored when a player in control of the ball touches the goal-line with two wheels. It is believed to be the fastest growing wheelchair sport in the world. After being a demonstration event at the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, wheelchair rugby became a full medal sport at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney. Full contact sport. The athletes’ village has a welding workshop for repair to chairs after collisions.

(Adaptive) Rowing
Rowing was introduced to the Paralympic Programme in 2005 and will make it’s debut to the Games in Beijing in 2008. Rowers compete in four Paralympic boat classes – men’s arms only single scull (AM1x), women’s arms only single scull (AW1x), trunk and arms mixed double (TA2x) and legs, trunk and arms mixed coxed four (LTA4+) and each class race over a distance of 1000m. Rowing is open to athletes with spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, lower-limb amputations and visual impairments.

Sailing
Sailing was introduced as a demonstration sport at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games and became a full-medal sport at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney. Crews of three athletes compete aboard the 23-foot keelboats in the Sonar event. The 2.4mR is a single-handed keelboat. Both events are open to male and female competitors. There are slight modifications in equipment and a scoring system assigns points based on a level of disability, which allows athletes from different disability groups to compete together. Sailing is open to amputee, cerebral palsy, visually impaired, wheelchair and les autres athletes

Shooting
Shooting became a Paralympic Games sport in 1980 during the sixth Paralympic Games in Arnhem. The shooting competition is divided into rifle and pistol events, air and .22 calibre. Athletes shoot from three positions: standing or sitting, kneeling and prone. The programme includes men’s, women’s, mixed and team events, although team events are not held at the Paralympic Games.

Swimming
Swimming has been a Paralympic Games event since the first games were held in Rome in 1960. It is one of the largest and most popular competitive events in the Paralympic Games. Athletes compete in freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, breaststroke, individual medley and relay ranging from 50m to 400m. Swimming is open to all disability groups, including swimmers with spinal cord injuries, swimmers with cerebral palsy, swimmers with amputations and others swimmers including those with progressive diseases such a muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis, dwarfs, swimmers with joint disabilities including stiffness, spina bifida, swimmers with a combinations of different disabilities, etc; blind and partially-sighted swimmers.

Table Tennis
Table tennis has been a Paralympic sport since the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960. Table tennis is played in over 50 countries and in terms of the number of participating athletes is the fourth largest Paralympic Games sport behind athletics, swimming and powerlifting. Table tennis competitions take two forms at the Paralympic Games: standing and wheelchair events (sitting). Individual and team, men’s and women’s events are included in the program.

Wheelchair Tennis
Wheelchair tennis was a demonstration sport at the 1988 Seoul Paralympic Games and became a full-medal sport at the 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona, with men’s and women’s singles and doubles events being a part of every Paralympic Tennis event since then. The Quad division (for players affected in three or more limbs) made its Paralympic Games debut in Athens in 2004, where Peter Norfolk MBE became Great Britain’s first-ever Paralympic Games gold medallist in tennis, winning the quad singles title before partnering Mark Eccleston to silver in the quad doubles.

Volleyball
Volleyball was introduced to the Paralympic Games in Arnhem in 1980. Originally both standing and sitting competitions were included in the Games, however, standing volleyball was removed from the programme following the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney. In sitting volleyball the court is smaller than standard (6×10m) and has a lower net, so the game is a considerable faster than the standing equivalent. The game lasts up to five sets and the winning team is the first to win three sets. The team winning the set is the one to reach 25 points with at least a two-point lead.

source: telegraph.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.

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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

Australia’s Paralympic team is aiming to take its all-time medal tally over 1000 at the Beijing Games starting on Saturday.
The team of 170 athletes – 96 men and 74 women – which flew out from Sydney today is the largest team Australia has sent overseas for a Paralympic Games.
And the Australian Paralympic Committee is confident it can collect the 92 medals it needs to take Australia’s tally to 1000 over the past 48 years.
“Its a hard task, but we’re in the running for that and we could win the 1000th medal in these Games,” committee CEO Darren Peters said. “It’s pretty exciting.”
No more specific medal projections would be made so as not to place extra pressure on athletes already feeling the weight of expectation, he said.
The athletes will have a few days to acclimatise to conditions in Beijing before the 13th Paralympic Games, which run from September 6 to 17.
At the Paralympics in Athens in 2004, Australia won 100 medals and came fifth overall with 26 gold, 38 silver and 36 bronze.
China topped the medal tally with 63 gold and 141 medals overall and is expected to considerably exceed their 2004 tally at their home Paralympics.
The team’s best-known athlete Kurt Fearnley, who won gold in the wheelchair marathon in Athens, was impatient to get started.
“It’s been four years in waiting,” Fearnley told AAP.
“I’m putting myself in for individual medals and hopefully I’m on the higher end of the medals.”
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s wife Therese Rein, an honorary member of the Paralympic team, was at the airport to wish them luck.
“The team is brilliant and the atmosphere and support between athletes is amazing,” she said.
“They’ve all trained really hard and I’m sure they’re going to do brilliantly.”
Ms Rein’s father was an Australian Paralympic athlete in the 1950s.
“He was an archer, he played wheelchair basketball, he played tennis and he swam,” said Ms Rein.
“Sports was really meaningful for him and helped him to be the best he could be.”
Australian Paralympic Committee chairman Greg Hartung said the team was the best away team Australia had ever assembled.
“They are big on talent and big on toughness and we will expect our athletes to perform at peak value for Australia,” he said.

source: smh.com.au