Nike Prefontaine Classic Mens 1 Mile 2008
Monday, December 01, 2008
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Ten Olympic Controversies
MUNICH MASSACRE
September 5, 1972 was the darkest day in Games history as a bungled operation to free Israeli athletes taken hostage by Palestinian terrorist group Black September led to the death of 11 athletes, five terrorists and a policeman.
BOYCOTTS
Political protests have struck the Olympics several times in its modern history, including 1956 and 1976. The most recent boycotts were in Moscow 28 years ago when the USA, West Germany and Japan refused to take part in response to the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan - prompting the Soviets to do likewise in Los Angeles four years later.
PROFESSIONALISM
Until 1981, any athlete deemed to be a professional received a lifetime ban from the Games. Paavo Nurmi, the Finnish long-distance runner who won nine golds in the 1920s, was possibly the highest-profile victim of the rule - making him an even bigger hero in his homeland.
DRUGS
Tests were introduced in 1964, although their initial effectiveness is open to question given what is now assumed to be the widespread doping of Eastern Bloc athletes in the 1960s and 1970s. The biggest scandal occurred in 1988 when Canada's 100m runner Ben Johnson claimed gold with a world record in Seoul, only to be stripped of his medal after testing positive for steroids.
ZOLA BUDD v MARY DECKER
Budd, a barefoot South African persuaded to run for Britain, much to the unhappiness of anti-apartheid protestors, clipped the heels of the American during the 3,000m final in Los Angeles in 1984, causing both to fall. Decker left the track in tears and the boos of the crowd unnerved Budd, who failed to win a medal.
MICHELLE DE BRUIN
The Irish swimmer shocked the world to win four medals, including three golds, at the Atlanta Games in 1996. She was shunned by suspicious rivals, despite her claims of innocence, but was banned for four years in 1998 after being found guilty of tampering with a urine sample.
OFFICIALS
The host nation always performed best in the early Games, perhaps unsurprisingly given that all officials were drawn from the same country. In 1908 the USA team complained of the favourable treatment afforded to British competitors in London, and from then on the IOC insisted on using officials from around the world.
ATLANTA BOMB
Two people died and 111 were injured after an explosion in Centennial Park during the 1996 Games. The prime suspect, right-wing extremist Eric Rudolph, remained on the run until 2003, but he later admitted his role.
GIFTS FOR VOTES
Six IOC members were expelled and four resigned in 1998 after being found to have accepted gifts in exchange for backing Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Games. Members have since been banned from visiting candidate cities.
KENTERIS AND THANOU
Greek runners Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou both tasted gold at Sydney in 2000 and were expected to star in their homeland four years later. But they were withdrawn on the eve of the Games in Athens after missing a drugs test and were later found to have faked a motorbike accident in an attempt to mitigate their absence.
MUNICH MASSACRE
September 5, 1972 was the darkest day in Games history as a bungled operation to free Israeli athletes taken hostage by Palestinian terrorist group Black September led to the death of 11 athletes, five terrorists and a policeman.
BOYCOTTS
Political protests have struck the Olympics several times in its modern history, including 1956 and 1976. The most recent boycotts were in Moscow 28 years ago when the USA, West Germany and Japan refused to take part in response to the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan - prompting the Soviets to do likewise in Los Angeles four years later.
PROFESSIONALISM
Until 1981, any athlete deemed to be a professional received a lifetime ban from the Games. Paavo Nurmi, the Finnish long-distance runner who won nine golds in the 1920s, was possibly the highest-profile victim of the rule - making him an even bigger hero in his homeland.
DRUGS
Tests were introduced in 1964, although their initial effectiveness is open to question given what is now assumed to be the widespread doping of Eastern Bloc athletes in the 1960s and 1970s. The biggest scandal occurred in 1988 when Canada's 100m runner Ben Johnson claimed gold with a world record in Seoul, only to be stripped of his medal after testing positive for steroids.
ZOLA BUDD v MARY DECKER
Budd, a barefoot South African persuaded to run for Britain, much to the unhappiness of anti-apartheid protestors, clipped the heels of the American during the 3,000m final in Los Angeles in 1984, causing both to fall. Decker left the track in tears and the boos of the crowd unnerved Budd, who failed to win a medal.
MICHELLE DE BRUIN
The Irish swimmer shocked the world to win four medals, including three golds, at the Atlanta Games in 1996. She was shunned by suspicious rivals, despite her claims of innocence, but was banned for four years in 1998 after being found guilty of tampering with a urine sample.
OFFICIALS
The host nation always performed best in the early Games, perhaps unsurprisingly given that all officials were drawn from the same country. In 1908 the USA team complained of the favourable treatment afforded to British competitors in London, and from then on the IOC insisted on using officials from around the world.
ATLANTA BOMB
Two people died and 111 were injured after an explosion in Centennial Park during the 1996 Games. The prime suspect, right-wing extremist Eric Rudolph, remained on the run until 2003, but he later admitted his role.
GIFTS FOR VOTES
Six IOC members were expelled and four resigned in 1998 after being found to have accepted gifts in exchange for backing Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Games. Members have since been banned from visiting candidate cities.
KENTERIS AND THANOU
Greek runners Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou both tasted gold at Sydney in 2000 and were expected to star in their homeland four years later. But they were withdrawn on the eve of the Games in Athens after missing a drugs test and were later found to have faked a motorbike accident in an attempt to mitigate their absence.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
CHINA has spent the last two years downplaying its chances of leapfrogging the Americans at the top of the Olympic medals table in Beijing,but the race for global sporting supremacy still looks set to be a close one. China produced its best goldmedal tally since its 1984 return to the Summer Games to finish second (32) behind the United States (36) at the last Olympics in Athens in 2004. The boost from playing hosts in 2008 plus the investment in elite sports, particularly for the Beijing Games, have led to an expectation that China could supplant
the Americans, who have ruled the roost since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
However, Chinese sporting officials, perhaps in an attemptto reduce the pressure on their athletes, have tried to dampen expectations. “Basically we are not yet a strong nation in sport, we must be practical and realistic. We’ve got only Liu Xiang for athletics and I don’t see much hope in swimming,” deputy sportsminister Cui Dalin said.
The pessimism professed by Mr Cui and his colleagues is an admission that the “119 project”, which aimed to boost China’s chances of winning a share of the gold medals awarded in athletics, swimming, canoeing, kayaking and sailing, has failed.
Certainly, beyond world champion 110-metre hurdler Liu and a clutch of women marathon runners, China’s track and field hopes are bleak and the secret battalion of Chinese worldbeating swimmers one American coach prophesied has not emerged. China failed to win a title at last year’s swimming world
championships in Melbourne and the retirement of Athens
women’s 100-metre breaststroke champion Luo Xuejuan has deprived them of their only genuine gold medal contender.
In athletics, Athens 10,000- metre champion Xing Huina will be absent because of a leg injury, while 2003 world bronze medallist Sun Yingjie’s return from a doping ban came too late for her to regain form for a shot at the 10,000 in Beijing. Even Liu’s title defence is by no means a foregone conclusion after Cuban Dayron Robles bettered Liu’s world record last month.
China will, though, have its biggest ever Olympic team for Beijing with about 613 athletes, many of whom have a good chance of standing on the top step of the podium next month. Table tennis (four gold medals available), diving (eight), gymnastics (14), shooting (15),weightlifting (15), badminton (five), rowing (14) and taekwondo (eight) should provide several Chinese champions.
The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) analyses world championship results in Olympic sports and the data from the last two years suggest
China did not peak in Athens. “The top eight results for 2006 and 2007 show how strong the Chinese medal chances are as they won the 2006 gold medal count and had a solid
performance again in 2007,” Mr Steve Roush, the USOC’s sports performance chief, said by e-mail.
The USOC analysis of 2007 results gives the hosts 37 gold medals to the 47 of the US, while the total medals showing (87 to 100 for the US) point to Chinese strength in depth.
Accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has predicted the total medal counts for each country based on past performance,
economics and political planning for the last three Games.
Its 2008 report gives China a rise of 25 golds, silvers and bronzes for its home Olympics, putting it at top of the table with 88 compared to 87 for the United States, which is predicted to drop by 16 medals compared to Athens.
“The combination of the home country effect and the state support for sport... is expected to lead to a particularly significant boost to Chinese medal performance, allowing them to challenge the US for top position in the medal table,”read the report.
the Americans, who have ruled the roost since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
However, Chinese sporting officials, perhaps in an attemptto reduce the pressure on their athletes, have tried to dampen expectations. “Basically we are not yet a strong nation in sport, we must be practical and realistic. We’ve got only Liu Xiang for athletics and I don’t see much hope in swimming,” deputy sportsminister Cui Dalin said.
The pessimism professed by Mr Cui and his colleagues is an admission that the “119 project”, which aimed to boost China’s chances of winning a share of the gold medals awarded in athletics, swimming, canoeing, kayaking and sailing, has failed.
Certainly, beyond world champion 110-metre hurdler Liu and a clutch of women marathon runners, China’s track and field hopes are bleak and the secret battalion of Chinese worldbeating swimmers one American coach prophesied has not emerged. China failed to win a title at last year’s swimming world
championships in Melbourne and the retirement of Athens
women’s 100-metre breaststroke champion Luo Xuejuan has deprived them of their only genuine gold medal contender.
In athletics, Athens 10,000- metre champion Xing Huina will be absent because of a leg injury, while 2003 world bronze medallist Sun Yingjie’s return from a doping ban came too late for her to regain form for a shot at the 10,000 in Beijing. Even Liu’s title defence is by no means a foregone conclusion after Cuban Dayron Robles bettered Liu’s world record last month.
China will, though, have its biggest ever Olympic team for Beijing with about 613 athletes, many of whom have a good chance of standing on the top step of the podium next month. Table tennis (four gold medals available), diving (eight), gymnastics (14), shooting (15),weightlifting (15), badminton (five), rowing (14) and taekwondo (eight) should provide several Chinese champions.
The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) analyses world championship results in Olympic sports and the data from the last two years suggest
China did not peak in Athens. “The top eight results for 2006 and 2007 show how strong the Chinese medal chances are as they won the 2006 gold medal count and had a solid
performance again in 2007,” Mr Steve Roush, the USOC’s sports performance chief, said by e-mail.
The USOC analysis of 2007 results gives the hosts 37 gold medals to the 47 of the US, while the total medals showing (87 to 100 for the US) point to Chinese strength in depth.
Accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has predicted the total medal counts for each country based on past performance,
economics and political planning for the last three Games.
Its 2008 report gives China a rise of 25 golds, silvers and bronzes for its home Olympics, putting it at top of the table with 88 compared to 87 for the United States, which is predicted to drop by 16 medals compared to Athens.
“The combination of the home country effect and the state support for sport... is expected to lead to a particularly significant boost to Chinese medal performance, allowing them to challenge the US for top position in the medal table,”read the report.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Euro 2008 with the English.
Euro 2008 kick off today in Switzerland with 16 teams with Germany and Spain as front runners. The dark horse are Italy, Portugal, Holland and Russia?
Who can forget when Greece won it last time. Other teams may surprise too?
But one of them will not the England. England have fail to quality for the championship. Even when they have 3 English team in this season UEFA Champions league semi-finals.
But having more teams in the champions league does not make thier national team better.
Out of 498 BPL players only 170 were English in the BPL, or about 34.1%. The number is at a all time low.
Other national team have
Italian Serie A: had 7.3 Italians per team
Spanish La Liga A: had 6.9 Spaniards per team
German Bundesliga: had 4.9 Germans per team
Most player present at Euro 2008 are playing in the German Bundesliga
Euro 2008 kick off today in Switzerland with 16 teams with Germany and Spain as front runners. The dark horse are Italy, Portugal, Holland and Russia?
Who can forget when Greece won it last time. Other teams may surprise too?
But one of them will not the England. England have fail to quality for the championship. Even when they have 3 English team in this season UEFA Champions league semi-finals.
But having more teams in the champions league does not make thier national team better.
Out of 498 BPL players only 170 were English in the BPL, or about 34.1%. The number is at a all time low.
Other national team have
Italian Serie A: had 7.3 Italians per team
Spanish La Liga A: had 6.9 Spaniards per team
German Bundesliga: had 4.9 Germans per team
Most player present at Euro 2008 are playing in the German Bundesliga
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Sport Calendar for the month of June
Football Jun 7-29 European Champions Finals
England may not be at Euro 2008, but there is still plenty of interest in Austria and Switzerland. Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal and France are good bets. But Watch out for Czech Rep, Croatia and Holland
Tennis Jun 23-Jul Wimbledon: The Championships
Federer, Djokovic, Nadal.
Sharapova, Ivanovic, Jankovic
Golf Jun 12-15 US Open
Tiger Woods vs the rest.
Athletics Jun Weekend IAAF Meeting
It the Olympics Year, watch out for athletic from USA, Russia and even China for a surprise.
Football Jun 7-29 European Champions Finals
England may not be at Euro 2008, but there is still plenty of interest in Austria and Switzerland. Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal and France are good bets. But Watch out for Czech Rep, Croatia and Holland
Tennis Jun 23-Jul Wimbledon: The Championships
Federer, Djokovic, Nadal.
Sharapova, Ivanovic, Jankovic
Golf Jun 12-15 US Open
Tiger Woods vs the rest.
Athletics Jun Weekend IAAF Meeting
It the Olympics Year, watch out for athletic from USA, Russia and even China for a surprise.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Oscar Pistorius have been given the green light to compete at the Olympics games.
Now is up to him to meet the qualify time.
Oscar is a South African Paralympic. He is the current double amputee WR holder in 100 to 400m event.
He is qualify for the 2008 Olympic, I think it where be great. But with only a few more months before the dateline, I think the 2012 were be a more real target.
Beware Jeremy, LaShawn, Angelo.
Now is up to him to meet the qualify time.
Oscar is a South African Paralympic. He is the current double amputee WR holder in 100 to 400m event.
He is qualify for the 2008 Olympic, I think it where be great. But with only a few more months before the dateline, I think the 2012 were be a more real target.
Beware Jeremy, LaShawn, Angelo.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Nike+ Human Race: The World’s Largest One Day Running Event
BEAVERTON, Ore. (1 May, 2008) – Nike today announced the Nike+ Human Race, the world’s biggest one day running event ever, offering runners across the globe the chance to compete together on August 31, 2008. The 10k event will span multiple continents and cover 25 cities,including LA, New York,London, Madrid, Paris, Istanbul, Melbourne, Shanghai, São Paulo and Vancouver. Following races in each city, participants will be treated to an exclusive music concert featuring one of today’s top artists.
For more information on the Nike+ Human Race and a complete listing of race cities visit nikeplus.com.
BEAVERTON, Ore. (1 May, 2008) – Nike today announced the Nike+ Human Race, the world’s biggest one day running event ever, offering runners across the globe the chance to compete together on August 31, 2008. The 10k event will span multiple continents and cover 25 cities,including LA, New York,London, Madrid, Paris, Istanbul, Melbourne, Shanghai, São Paulo and Vancouver. Following races in each city, participants will be treated to an exclusive music concert featuring one of today’s top artists.
For more information on the Nike+ Human Race and a complete listing of race cities visit nikeplus.com.