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Posts Tagged ‘Beijing Olympics’
Tue, August 12, 2008 10:20 am By James Coolridge  Printer friendly version
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 BEIJING (AP) _ Guo Jingjing and Wu Minxia of China grabbed the the first diving gold medal of the Beijing Games on Sunday. Both with their magnificient performance gave an opening to the host country’s bid to sweep eight golds medals. Guo and Wu, the current world champions, won the women’s 3-meter synchronized springboard title Sunday. China has a history of producing maximum Olympic medals in swimmimng.
The Chinese win came just minutes after American star Michael Phelps got going on his pursuit of eight Olympic swimming gold medals after winning the 400-meter individual medley. Like Phelps, the Chinese are also in attempts to sweep the gold medals for the first time since the Olympics expanded to eight diving events.
Guo and Wu defended the 3-meter synchro title they owned four years ago in Athens, finishing with 343.50 points. They led through all five rounds of the competition, and were cheered wildly by their red flag-waving countrymen.
After completing their final dive, a backward 2 1/2 somersault, Guo and Wu climbed out of the pool and Guo gave herself a fist bump to the heart before the duo took their traditional bows. Julia Pakhalina and Anastasia Pozdnyakova of Russia won silver with 323.61.
Ditte Kotzian and Heike Fischer of Germany won the bronze with 318.90. Americans Kelci Bryant and Ariel Rittenhouse missed a medal by 4.5 points,by finishing fourth with 314.40.
The United States hasn’t been successful yet in owning a diving medal since 2000, having been shut out in Athens. Bryant and Rittenhouse were tied for first after the opening round and tied for second through the next two rounds before dropping to third.
U.S. fans booed when the duo’s marks for execution ranging from 6.0 to 7.5 were posted after their fourth dive. Bryant and Rittenhouse were tied with the Germans going into the fifth and final dive, but the Germans earned the third-highest score of the competition, 76.50, to take the bronze.
Pakhalina came back to the podium targetting for her third Olympics, though, this time with a different partner. The Russian won gold in the event at Sydney and silver in Athens in partnership with Vera Ilyna.Fischer and Kotzian stood second to Guo and Wu at last year’s world championships. Guo and Wu will now face against each other later in the individual 3-meter competition. Guo, now 26, plans to retire after the Olympics.She is a huge star in China. Her relationship with a wealthy Hong Kong businessman is hot topic for the gossip mongers.
Tags : US, Beijing Olympics, gold medal, Russia, swimmimg, bronze medal, gossip, Guo Jingjing, Wu Minxia
Sun, August 10, 2008 10:11 am By James Coolridge
 SHENYANG, China (AP) _ Germany has already made a big victory on Chinese soil by lifting the women’s football title on an impregnable defense, and is now right on track for another one at the Olympics. The Germans did a magical performance last year at World Cup title in China last year without allowing a single goal in six matches. And again defense has been the key again in the Beijing Games.
Goalkeeper Nadine Angerer and her defenders have kept Germany in contention for its first Olympic gold medal. “Last year, we scored 11 goals in the first game and then we had no goals against,” Germany coach Silvia Neid said. She feels as historical and unique, and definitely something that will be very difficult to repeat. The team’s current streak without conceding a goal is at eight matches.
Germany got Brazil on draw 0-0 in its Olympic debut and edged Nigeria 1-0 in its second game, with the winner scored by Kerstin Stegemann, a defender. Angerer was key in both matches, coming up with big saves.
The ace goal keeper was successful in denying FIFA Player of the Year Marta from scoring on Wednesday, and made two crucial stops on one-on-one breakaways against Nigeria on Saturday. “Nadine is one of the most important players in our team,” feels Neid.
Nadine had proved herself last year. She knows to control the ball and to work magically in the box. She is self-motivated and she knows how to encourage the other players. Angerer stopped Marta’s penalty kick in the World Cup final last year, when the Germans were up 1-0 before eventually winning 2-0.
Agerer says that she don’t care if goal comes or not. Her primary concern is winning the match. “My goal is to win the title, not just to not allow goals. I will be just as satisfied if they score four times but we win 5-4.”
Germany will take over North Korea on Tuesday in Tianjin needing a victory or draw to secure a quarterfinal berth. It is second in Group F with four points. Brazil too carries the same number of points but leads on the number of goals scored. North Korea has three points and Nigeria is virtually eliminated with none. The top two teams from each of the three groups plus the best two third-place finishers advance to the second round.
“It will keep us going in the tournament and give us a chance to win the gold medal,” feels Angerer. Germany is now in second place behind the United States in FIFA’s rankings and the defending European champion is yet to play in an Olympic final in women’s football. Since the tournament debut in 1996 in Atlanta, it has grabbed the bronze twice in Sydney in 2000 and in Athens four years ago, losing to Norway and the U.S. in the semifinals, respectively.
Tags : Football, US, Brazil, Germany, FIFA, Beijing Olympics, women's football, Nadine Angerer, Silvia Neid
Sat, August 9, 2008 10:11 am By James Coolridge
 BEIJING (AP) _ Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou was barred from the Beijing Olympics by the IOC on Sunday. The decision to bar Thanou comes after the the allgations for her role in a drug-testing scandal at the Athens Games four years ago. The International Olympic Committee’s executive board made their decision after the investigation by the disciplinary panel on Thanou’s selection for the 100 meters for the Greek team, IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said.
Thanou and fellow Greek sprinter Kostas Kenteris were found missing from the doping tests on the eve of the 2004 opening ceremony, claiming they were injured in a motorcycle accident. The pair later withdrew from the games and returned their Olympic accreditations.
The IOC did not sanction them at the time. But both were later suspended for two years by the International Association of Athletics Federations. Thanou made a comeback to competition in 2007 and was found berth in the Greek team.
As per the IOC president Jacques Rogge, the committee had reserved the right in Athens to open disciplinary procedures against Thanou and Kenteris if they sought accreditation for future games. A three-man panel met on Thursday to consider the case. Their recommendations were made to the executive board on Sunday morning.
Davies said the executive board fully accepted the findings that Thanou was ineligible to compete at the Beijing Games under rule 23.2.1 of the Olympic charter.
She said the independent decision was made by the board “in order to send a firm message” to bar Thanou for bringing the Olympic movement into disrepute. The IOC has the privilige to bar athletes from the Olympics if they are considered guilty of improper conduct or bringing the games into disrepute. The women’s 100-meter heats are set for Aug. 16.
The hearing into Thanou’s eligibility is not connected to her claim to the 100-meter gold medal won by Marion Jones at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Thanou was second in that race.
Jones was later stripped of all five of her Sydney medals after she admitted earlier this year that she was doping at the time. The IOC is yet to make a decision on the reallocation of Jones’ medals.
Tags : doping, Beijing Olympics, Katerina Thanou, Greece, sprint, IOC, Jacques Rogge, Athens olympics
Sat, July 19, 2008 9:18 am By James Coolridge
MELBOURNE: Legendary Australian hockey player Ric Charlesworth has been inducted into the inaugural hall of fame of Hockey Australia.
 Charlesworth, presently at loggerheads with his Indian employers, is one of the 22 inductees, including 11 female recipients, whom Hockey Australia have honoured. The honouring comes on the eve of the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the Perth convention and exhibition centre.
Generally the Hockey Australia hall of fame reccognise those who have achieved excellence in the international arena for their achievements enhanced the image of the sport.
Richard Aggiss, a member of the hall of fame selection committee, later said that choosing 22 recipients was a dead end task.
The selection was a difficult but exciting process as per him. Reviewing the history of the game delving back to the early 1900’s and making a comparison with those players against the current era made the selection a huge task,” says Aggiss. He also adds that the present inductees are those who retired before year 2000. He promises to induct deserving candidates in coming future.
“Given the enormous success over the last number of years and to best represent all eras of Australian hockey it was decided to limit the initial group of inductees to those players and officials who retired from international hockey prior to 2000,” feels Aggiss.
He adds that he is looking forward to add more names to the hall of fame from the modern era on a regular basis. Each hall of fame inductee was awarded a custom minted solid silver medallion struck by Perth mint.
2008 hall of fame inductees: Ian Dick, Eric Pearce, Julian Pearce, Paul Dearing, Brian Glencross, Robert Haigh, Ron Riley, Ric Charlesworth, David Bell, Warren Birmingham, Mark Hager, Evelyn Tazewell, May Campbell (nee pearce), Audrey James (nee jones), Wendy Pritchard (nee butcher), Mavis Gray (nee beckett), Dianne Gorman (nee dowd), Marian Aylmore (nee bell), Robyn Bannerman (nee downey), Sharon Buchanan, Liane Tooth, Jackie Pereira.
Tags : Hockey, Ric Charlesworth, Australia, Beijing Olympics, Perth convention centre
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