http://olympiadpekin.com http://olympiad08.com/home Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:10:43 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/310/69/ BEIJING, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Hot favourites the United States won Olympic men’s basketball gold by outgunning valiant Spain 118-107 in a final of hard fouls and flying elbows on Sunday. The American players whooped with joy at the final buzzer before forming a huddle and dancing around the centre circle as the crowd of 18,000 erupted with chants of “USA, USA.” Athens champions Argentina took bronze by outmuscling Lithuania in a 87-75 victory earlier on the final day of the Games. World champions Spain were down by as many as 14 points in the first half... News - Last Topics Sun, 24 Aug 2008 14:08:45 +0100 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/309/69/ NEW YORK (AP)—Olympic closing ceremonies usually offer less of a spectacle than opening nights, and the Beijing finale will have less than half the participants—but that’s still about 7,000 people. NBC Sports executive David Neal said Thursday he traveled 90 minutes west of Beijing to see a rehearsal of the ceremony conducted in secret on a college campus. Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, who directed the opening ceremony, does the same for the Sunday’s finale, set to air via tape delay at 7 p.m. EDT on NBC. “It’s just unlike any other closing ceremony I’ve ever seen,” said Neal,... News - Last Topics Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:59:21 +0100 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/307/69/ BEIJING (TICKER) —Goalkeeper Hope Solo helped extend the match past regulation and the United States women’s soccer team took advantage. Carli Lloyd scored in the sixth minute of extra time as the U.S. won its second straight gold medal with a 1-0 victory over Brazil on Thursday. Since the Olympics started carrying women’s soccer in 1996, Team USA has now claimed three gold and one silver medal, while Brazil won its second two silver. “It was hard,” Lloyd said. “It was definitely a battle. Now we’re all going to be on vacation for a little bit. But,... News - Last Topics Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:41:54 +0100 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/305/69/ BEIJING (AP)—The Jamaican national anthem has become as popular at the Bird’s Nest as reggae music is back on the island. It’s what happens when so many sprint gold medals go to one country. Veronica Campbell-Brown won the women’s 200 meters Thursday to make Jamaica 4-for-4 in the Olympic sprints. Usain Bolt won the 100 and 200—both in world-record times—while Shelly-Ann Fraser took the 100 title. “Dominating like we are is no surprise,” said Kerron Stewart, who took third in the 200, adding to the silver she shared with teammate Sherone Simpson for their dead heat in the 100. “I... News - Last Topics Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:28:46 +0100 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/303/69/ BEIJING, Aug 21 (Reuters) - World champions Australia overpowered China 90-56 on Thursday to reach the final of the Olympic women’s basketball tournament. Belinda Snell and Kristi Harrower scored 30 points as Australia set up a showdown with fierce rivals the United States in Saturday’s gold medal game. Australia were missing 2006 world championship MVP Penny Taylor with damaged ankle ligaments, although she is expected to play in the final. The Australians were silver medallists in 2000 and 2004 but have never won Olympic gold. The United States are bidding to win a fourth straight Olympic title.... News - Last Topics Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:25:39 +0100 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/301/69/ BEIJING (AP)—The U.S. men’s volleyball team came from behind to beat tenacious Serbia in five sets to advance to the Olympic semifinals against Russia. The United States remained undefeated in Beijing with the dramatic 20-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-18, 15-12 victory Wednesday night. Brazil will play Italy in the other semifinal match on Friday. The U.S. team overcame tragedy to win all five of its matches in preliminary pool play, while Serbia went 2-3 to advance to the quarterfinals. The Serbians went up 2-1 on the U.S. team, but the Americans rallied to take the fourth set.... News - Last Topics Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:57:01 +0100 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/299/69/ BEIJING, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Michael Johnson lost his 200 metres world record to an extraordinary run by new Olympic double sprint champion Usain Bolt on Wednesday and predicted the big Jamaican could now take his 400 mark too. Johnson, who won the 200m and 400m double at the 1996 Atlanta Games, was as impressed as anyone in the 91,000 capacity Bird’s Nest crowd when Bolt shaved two hundredths of a second off his previous 200m world best to win gold again. “It’s incredible. It leaves you speechless but yes, I did (think he would break my record),”... News - Last Topics Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:27:45 +0100 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/298/69/ BEIJING (AP)—Move over, Michael. Make way for Usain. The Beijing Olympics will no longer be remembered only for what Michael Phelps did in the pool. Usain Bolt made sure of it on the track Wednesday night. Already the champion at 100 meters, Bolt whizzed through the 200, too, making him the first winner of both Olympic sprints since Carl Lewis in 1984. Yet Bolt one-upped Lewis, Jesse Owens and the other guys who’ve pulled off the 100-200 double. The long, lanky, joyous Jamaican also set a world record in both races, and that’s never been done at... News - Last Topics Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:25:33 +0100 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/296/69/ BEIJING (AP)—Usain Bolt of Jamaica broke the world record by winning the 200 meters in 19.30 seconds Wednesday night, becoming the first man since Carl Lewis in 1984 to sweep the 100 and 200 gold medals at an Olympics. Bolt is the first man ever to break the world marks in both sprints at an Olympics. Not even Lewis or Jesse Owens managed that. Showing what he can do when he runs at full speed all the way through the finish—something he hadn’t done yet in the Beijing Games—Bolt eclipsed the old record of 19.32 seconds set... News - Last Topics Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:56:51 +0100 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/295/69/ BEIJING, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Russia’s Andrey Silnov won the Olympic gold medal in the men’s high jump on Tuesday with a jump of 2.36 metres. Britain’s Germaine Mason took silver, his country’s first athletics medal at the Beijing Games, and Russia’s Yaroslav Rybakov took bronze. Sweden’s Stefan Holm, the gold medal winner in Athens four years ago, finished fourth after failing to clear better than 2.32. Holm, 32, had said he intended to retire if he retained the Olympic title, and he will be disappointed to have failed to have at least made the podium.... News - Last Topics Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:57:42 +0100 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/293/69/ BEIJING (AP)—The reigning world men’s handball champions won’t get a chance to add Olympic gold to their haul. Denmark defeated Germany 27-21 on Monday to qualify for the quarterfinals and eliminate the 2007 world champs. Denmark (2-1-2) led 23-21 before scoring the last four goals of the match. Germany (2-2-1) lost out to Russia on goal differential. Quarterfinal games will be played Wednesday. France and Poland tied 30-all in the nightcap, and both advanced. France (4-0-1) was the only team that didn’t lose in group play. Poland (3-1-1) could have won Group A with a win.... News - Last Topics Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:21:52 +0100 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/292/69/ BEIJING (TICKER) —An explosion of offense has the United States feeling a lot better about the medal round. Nate Schierholtz had three hits and drove in three runs as the Americans beat China, 9-1, on Monday to improve their chances of moving out of the preliminary round. Taylor Teagarden added a two-run double for Team USA (3-2), which remained tied with Japan for third place in the standings. The U.S. has two preliminary games remaining, including a meeting with Japan on Wednesday. After needing two runs in the seventh to rally past Canada, 5-4, on Saturday,... News - Last Topics Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:11:37 +0100 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/291/69/ BEIJING (Reuters) - Time is running out on teams searching for a crack in the U.S. amour as the mighty Americans continued their march towards a fourth consecutive Olympic softball gold medal on Monday. In eight years and three Summer Games, no team has discovered the Kryptonite to neutralize Americans’ superpowers on the Olympic diamond. The U.S. steamrolls into Wednesday’s semi-final against Japan unbeaten in 21 Olympic contests, a streak of dominance stretching back to the 2000 Sydney Olympics that has shown no sign of ending in Beijing. The... News - Last Topics Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:45:29 +0100 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/289/69/ BEIJING (AP)—China’s He Wenna has won the gold medal in women’s trampoline, wowing the home crowd with her flips and twists. He went last after leading the qualifying round, and the sound of cameras clicking could be heard with each bounce. When her score of 37.80 came up, the flag-waving fans erupted into a frenzy of cheers. Karen Cockburn of Canada scored a 37.00 to get her second silver after also finishing second place in Athens. Ekaterina Khilko of Uzbekistan got the bronze with a 36.90. Germany’s Anna Dogonadze, who won gold in Athens, finished last... News - Last Topics Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:52:40 +0100 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/288/69/ BEIJING (AP)—She came to the Olympics favored to grab every gold medal in sight. Three events in, Shawn Johnson is still looking for something more than silver. Johnson, predicted to be America’s darling of the Beijing Olympics, gets her final shot at a title when she competes on the balance beam. NBC will feature her last chance as part of Tuesday night’s prime-time coverage. Considered the top gymnast in the world, the 16-year-old had gold in sight three times in five days. But she made one of the U.S. team’s four mistakes that cost them the gold in... News - Last Topics Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:47:17 +0100 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/286/69/ BEIJING (AP)—Marcio and Fabio, the second Brazilian beach volleyball team to qualify for the Olympics, is the first into the final four after beating Austria in straight sets. The fourth-seeded Brazilians won 22-20, 21-17 on Monday to end the Olympics for Florian Gosch and Alexander Horst, who were the No. 24 seed in the 24-team men’s field. Marcio and Fabio will play whoever wins the match between the American team of Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal and the top Brazilian team of Ricardo and Emanuel. Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser will play Georgians Renato Gomes and Jorge Terceiro... News - Last Topics Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:40:09 +0100 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/284/69/ BEIJING (AP)—Usain Bolt served up a speedy reminder Monday night that despite losing one of the Beijing Games’ biggest attractions, there’s still plenty to look forward to in Olympic track and field. The Jamaican sprinter easily won his quarterfinal heat in the men’s 200-meter race Monday night, jogging down the stretch to finish in 20.29 seconds and still topping defending gold medalist Shawn Crawford of the United States by 0.13 second. Bolt, who ran a world-record 9.69 seconds to win the 100 on Saturday, is trying to become the first man to pull off the sprint double since... News - Last Topics Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:27:52 +0100 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/282/69/ BEIJING (AP)—World champion Andrei Aramnau of Belarus broke three heavyweight world records Monday to win his country’s first Olympic gold in weightlifting. Aramnau lifted a total of 436 kilograms (961.2 pounds) in the 105-kg category. Russians Dmitriy Klokov and Dmitry Lapikov took silver and bronze. At first the competition looked to be a duel between Aramnau and former world champion Marcin Dolega of Poland, but the latter missed out on the medals after a disappointing clean and jerk session. Aramnau broke Dolega’s world record in the snatch, becoming the first in the weight class to lift 200... News - Last Topics Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:23:31 +0100 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/280/69/ SHANGHAI (AFP) - Brazil came from a goal down to stun Germany 4-1 Monday and book a place in the women's Olympic decider, avenging their painful defeat to the European powerhouse in last year's World Cup final. Formiga, Marta and a Cristiane brace did the damage, cancelling out a Birgit Prinz strike to set up a gold medal match against either defending champions the United States or Japan in Beijing on Thursday. Prinz got the opener on 10 minutes, making the breakthrough after a nervy start by both sides. As she so often has in the past,... News - Last Topics Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:08:14 +0100 http://olympiad08.com/home/content/view/279/69/ A few links to get you through the day ...Personally I think the Dream Team would beat the Redeem Team by at least 20 points. (For the record, I can't stand the Redeem Team nickname, can somebody please come up with something else) The '92 squad was the best team I have ever seen, and I don't think there will ever be another one like it. Joe Posnanski will take Dream Team as well, because that team had a guy named Michael Jordan (http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/jor/). [KC Star (http://www.kansascity.com/495/story/752793.html)]Rafael Nadal (http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/esp/rafael+nadal/214032/) wins the gold medal ... can anybody beat this... News - Last Topics Sun, 17 Aug 2008 23:54:19 +0100