Liu Xiang withdraws from Men's 110m Hurdles

Liu Xiang withdraws from Men's 110m Hurdles



The first round competition of Men's 110m Hurdles took place at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, on August 18, 2008. Defending Olympic champion Liu Xiang of China dropped out after getting injured.




Liu Xiang takes off his jersey prior to the first round.

Emmons repeats Athens tragedy

Emmons repeats Athens tragedy



Despite not shooting the wrong target this time, the 4.4 that the United States' Matthew Emmons scored on his last shot was no better than the zero from his last shot in the same event final four years ago.

After nine shots in the final of the Men's 50m Rifle Three Positions, Emmons was leading by 3.3 points over Ukraine's Jury Sukhorukov. Qiu Jian of China was in third place with one tenth of a point less.

After that, history repeated itself. Emmons shot an amateurish 4.4 points on his last shot. Qiu Jian shot 10.0 to win the gold medal with a tenth of a point more than Sukhorukov, who scored 9.8 on his last shot. Four years ago in Athens, China's Jia Zhanbo was lifted from second to win gold when Emmons hit his neighboring target and earned zero on his last shot.

Rajmond Debevec of Slovenia, the current world and Olympic record holder was the highest-ranked shooter after qualification with a score of 1176, which was one point short of the Olympic record that he set at Sydney 2000. Due to Emmons' mistake, Debevec was lifted into third position and won the bronze medal.

Reigning champion Jia Zhanbo failed to make it to the final, finishing a disappointing 24th after qualification.

Rafael Nadal enters Men's Tennis final

Rafael Nadal enters Men's Tennis final




Rafael Nadal of Spain defeated Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the Men's semifinal Tennis Match at the Olympic Green Tennis Center on Day 7 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 15, 2008 in Beijing, China.

Swimming Day 8 Review: Phelps equals Spitz's gold medal record, despite scare

Swimming Day 8 Review: Phelps equals Spitz's gold medal record, despite scare





American Michael Phelps won his seventh gold on Saturday in the Men's 100m Butterfly final at the National Aquatics Center, to equal Mark Spitz (USA) as the only person ever to have won seven gold medals at a summer Olympic Games.

But Phelps had to survive a big scare from unheralded Serbian Milorad Cavic to do it.

Phelps won in an Olympic record time of 50.58, to take his gold medal tally to seven, but by the slimmest of margins - 0.01 seconds. He had a huge battle on his hands after Cavic touched first on the 50m mark at 0.09sec under the world record.

Phelps and Cavic battled it out in the last 50m. A monumental upset looked to be approaching - until Phelps dug deep and out-touched Cavic on the wall.

Cavic finished with the silver medal in a time of 50.59.

Australia's Andrew Lauterstein won the bronze medal in 51.12. World record holder Ian Crocker of the United States swam in fourth place at 51.13.


After winning three silver medals at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe finally won gold in the Women's 200m Backstroke and she smashed the world record in a time of 2:05.24.

World record holder Margaret Hoelzer of the United States was unable to reel in Coventry and finished with the silver in 2:06.23. Nakamura Reiko of Japan won the bronze medal in an Asian record time of 2:07.13, at 1.89 behind the gold medal winner.

In the Women's 800m Freestyle final, Rebecca Adlington of Great Britain broke the oldest world record left in the swimming pool.

Adlington touched in 8:14.10 to knock an incredible 2.12 off Janet Evans' (USA) 19-year-old old world mark and claim the gold medal.

Italian Alessia Filippi, third fastest into the final, won the silver in 8:20.23 and Lotte Friis of Denmark took bronze in 8:23.03.



Unheralded Brazilian Cesar Cielo Filho won the Men's 50m Freestyle final in a major upset to win the Men's 50m Freestyle final, emerging in an Olympic record time of 21.30.

Frenchman Amaury Leveaux took the silver in 21.45 and Thursday's 100m Freestyle champion Alain Bernard of France could only manage the bronze in 21.49. World record holder Eamon Sullivan of Australia finished the final as sixth fastest in 21.65.

In the Women's 50m Freestyle semifianl, 41-year-old Dara Torres of the United States showed her semifinal competitors that age is no issue in the Women's 50m Freestyle by clocking the fastest time into the final.

Torres stopped the clock at 24.27. Cate Campbell of Australia, who was not even born when Torres made her third Olympic team, was the second fastest qualifier in 24.42.

Friday's 100m Freestyle gold medalist Britta Steffen of Germany qualified third fastest for the final in 24.43 and world record holder Lisbeth Trickett of Australia qualified fifth fastest - but will need to find extra speed if she does not want to miss out on both Olympic sprint freestyle titles.

Chinese men lead Trampoline qualifications

Chinese men lead Trampoline qualifications


Chinese duo Lu Chunlong and Dong Dong dominated qualifications and earned the top two spots for the final, raising hopes for a first Men's medal for China in the Trampoline. The qualification event was held at the National Indoor Stadium on day eight of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 16, 2008 in Beijing, China.




Ben Wilden of Australia competes.

Canoe/Kayak Slalom Day 5 Review: After rain delay, sun shines on Slovakia

Canoe/Kayak Slalom Day 5 Review: After rain delay, sun shines on Slovakia




After getting rained out the previous day, six pairs of paddlers finally were able to compete in the finals of the Men's Slalom Canoe Double (C2), while rescheduled competition also commenced in the semifinal and final of the Women's Slalom Kayak Single (K1) on Friday, August 15.

Men's Slalom C2

The Olympic champions in 2000 and 2004, Slovakian twins Peter and Pavol Hochschorner, placed second in the previous day's semifinal but were at their best at Friday's final run, winning with a time of 190.82 seconds.
Jaroslav Volf and Ondřej Štěpánek from the Czech Republic, who incurred no penalties in either the semifinal or final, delivered a solid performance and their 192.89 seconds won them the Silver medal. Russians Mikhail Kuznetsovk and Dmitry Larionov took Bronze in 197.37 seconds.

Despite being the fastest crew in the final, French pair Martin Braud and Cedric Forgit could only manage fourth overall after making uncharacteristic mistakes and incurring penalties in their semifinal run.

Germans Felix Michel and Sebastian Piersig, leaders after the first run, produced a disappointing performance and finished last in the final.

Women's Slalom K1

Slovakia also claimed a gold in the Women's K1 from defending champion Elena Kaliska, who came in first in both the semi and the final. Her total time was 192.64 seconds.



Australia's Jacqueline Lawrence grabbed silver with a total of 206.94 seconds, 14.30 behind Kaliska. She ranked fourth in the semi and second in the final.

Bronze went to Austria's Violetta Oblinger Peters, who only clinched seventh place in the semi but came in third in the final.

French kayaker Emilie Fer was second in the semifinal with a time of 98.50 seconds, but after having 54 penalty seconds added to her final time, she dropped down to seventh in the ranking.

Canoe/Kayak Slalom Day 4 Preview: Men's C2 and Women's K1 get their medals

Canoe/Kayak Slalom Day 4 Preview: Men's C2 and Women's K1 get their medals



Paddlers will compete for medals in the Men's Slalom Canoe Double (C2) and Women's Slalom Kayak Single (K1) on Thursday, August 14.

Men's Slalom C2

Ten pairs are starting in Thursday's semifinal competition. The World No. 1 pair, Peter Hochschorner and his twin brother Pavol Hochschorner from Slovakia, ranked first with 196.73 seconds after Wednesday's heats, and they remain the biggest favorite for gold.



Peter Hochschorner and Pavol Hochschorner from Slovakia


Second place entering the semifinal is the French pair Cedric Forgit and Martin Braud, who finished 1.83 seconds behind the Hochschorner brothers on Wednesday.

The third finisher from the heats is the World No. 4 duo China's Hu Minghai and Shu Junrong.

Women's Slalom K1

Fifteen paddlers will race on Thursday in the semifinal. Defending world champion Elena Kaliska of Slovakia ranked first in Wednesday's competition with 186.19 seconds.




Elena Kaliska

World No. 4 Li Jingjing of China finished second, 1.37 seconds behind Kaliska.

Stepanka Hilgertova of the Czech Republic came in third at 189.56 seconds.

Soni breaks OR in Women's 200m Breaststroke

Soni breaks OR in Women's 200m Breaststroke




Rebecca Soni of the United States broke the Olympic record in the Women's 200m Breaststroke with a time of 2:22.17 at the National Aquatics Center on Wednesday, August 13. The former Olympic record of 2:23.37 was set by Amanda Beard of the United States at the 2004 Athens Games.

Ainslie gains on American Railey in Finn sailing

Ainslie gains on American Railey in Finn sailing



British star Ben Ainslie took second in Wednesday Finn class Olympic sailing to gain a six point overall lead on American challenger Zach Railey. The day had such light winds that some sailors spent hours languishing in the heat as they waited out race delays and postponements on their boats.

"It was a long wait for one race and the conditions were very light," Ainslie said after the second Finn race planned for Wednesday was postponed, probably until Thursday or Friday due to lack of wind. American favorite Anna Tunnicliffe stayed at the top of the Laser Radial class after six races, with a sixth place finish, while teammate Andrew Campbell took his first win in the men's Laser class, and the U.S. boat beat Britain in the three-woman Yngling class.

The U.S. duo of Tim Wadlow and Chris Rast scored two firsts and a 10th in racing by the fast 49er dinghies, but Australia's Nathan Outteridge and Ben Austin maintained their first overall, one point ahead of Denmark and 11 points ahead of Italy. Despite the sailing venue of Qingdao, about 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Beijing, being notorious among sailors for light summer breezes, Wednesday was the first time all the races could not go ahead as planned because of lack of wind.

The day's second races were also postponed for the Laser, Laser Radial and Yngling classes, while the 470s and 470s dinghies competed their schedule for the day. Ainslie, who has two gold and one silver Olympic sailing medals, is the undisputed favorite in the Finn class, but has faced an unexpectedly tough challenge from world No.

11 Railey. The 31-year-old Briton climbed back from seventh place after the first leg, to trail Croatia's Ivan Kljakovic-Gaspic the rest of the way to the Croat's first win in the games.

Ainsley finished 2 minutes, 6 seconds behind, with Sweden's Daniel Birgmark in third, 2:17 behind. "In those conditions anything could have happened, so I'm pretty relieved to have come away with a good result," Ainslie said.

American challenger Railey, 21, also gained after being down as far as 14th or 15th place in the 26-boat fleet. "I was really fortunate to get seventh in that race.

I was sixth of seventh at the first windward mark, and just had a disastrous downwind .

at the bottom mark I was 15 or something like that.

It all went wrong," said Railey. Railey, who tries to sail conservatively, did something that is usually not part of his strategy: Taking a chance.

"I just had to calm myself down on the second upwind, and went out to the right of the fleet and I got some (wind) pressure and was able to get back. .

I had to do something to get back into the race," he said. After seven of the series' 11 races, Ainslie leads with 19 points, six points ahead of Railey with 25, and 11 ahead of Guillaume Florent of France, who was fourth on Wednesday.

"Six points is really nothing," said Ainslie. "There are three more races, probably, and the medal race, which counts double.

So I have to keep trying hard." In the women's Laser Radial, Tunnicliffe stayed in the lead with 15 points after three races, with Croatia' Mateja Petronijevic second overall with 22 points after a fifth place, and Gintare Volungeviciute of Lithuania third with 24 points, after an eighth.

Britain's Penny Clark won Race Three, 10 seconds ahead of New Zealand's Jo Aleh, and 33 seconds ahead of Israel's Nufar Edelman in third. The Laser, Laser Radial and Finn starts were delayed by nearly four hours.

"We were prepared to sit around a lot here, it was just all part of the plan," said Tunnicliffe. "We tried to stay cool and then really focused in when the time came.

" The U.S. Yngling crew of Sally Barkow, Carrie Howe and Deborah Capozzi took their first win of the games, for third overall with 33 points. But they remained well behind leaders Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson of Britain, who have 17 points, and the Dutch crew of Mandy Mulder, Annemieke Bes and Merel Witteveen who have 22.

In other classes, Australia was leading the double-handed 470 dingies for men, ahead in overall points of France and Britain, while the Dutch women took over the lead in the women's 470s, ahead of Australia and Spain. Racing continues Thursday for the 49ers, RS:X windsurfers, Laser, Laser Radial, Finn and Yngling classes.

Olympic hockey: Australia thrash S. Africa 10-0

Olympic hockey: Australia thrash S. Africa 10-0



World number one Australia pulverised hapless South Africa 10-0 on Wednesday to continue their impressive march towards retaining the Olympic men's field hockey gold medal.

Eli Matheson slammed a hat-trick and Jamie Dwyer and David Guest scored two goals each as the Kookaburras recorded their second successive win in Pool B at the Olympic Green Hockey stadium.

Meanwhile, Asian Games champions South Korea were given a scare by Games debutantes China before romping to a 5-2 win in Pool A with Jang Jong-Hyun scoring three penalty corner goals.

China snatched a 2-0 lead by the eighth minute before the Koreans hit back to follow up their 3-1 win over the same rivals in the Asian Games final in Qatar two years ago.

Australia, who had routed Canada 6-1 in their first game, displayed their awesome strike power with five goals in each half as the 13th-ranked South Africans wilted under the onslaught.

Dwyer, whose golden goal against the Netherlands won Australia their maiden Olympic men's title in Athens four years ago, opened the floodgates with a second-minute goal.

Grant Schubert, Fergus Kavanagh and Des Abbott were the other scorers for Australia, who clash with Pakistan in their next game on Friday.

South Africa, who finished tenth in Athens, next play Britain on Friday. The Koreans were stunned by the two early Chinese goals from Na Yubo in the sixth minute and Song Yi in the eighth, but drew level by half-time through Seo Jong-Ho and Jang.

Jang slammed in two more penalty corners soon after resumption before Kang Seong-Jung completed the tally for the Koreans.

Women's Volleyball Day 3 Preview: Two giants finally meet

Women's Volleyball Day 3 Preview: Two giants finally meet



The Cuban women won three consecutive Olympic gold medals (Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000), and even collected a bronze medal at Athens 2004, but China will make every effort to hold on to their Olympic title when the two traditionally strong teams meet on day three of the Women's Volleyball tournament at the Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium on August 13.

The two teams have four points apiece at present, but China leads pool A with a 1.365 ratio.

World No. 2 Italy, who finished third at this year's FIVB World Grand Prix and qualified for the Olympics by claiming gold at the 2007 World Cup, will be battling Algeria in pool B at 10:00 a.m. (UTC/GMT +8) in the first match of the day.

Venezuela and Poland will compete with the United States and Japan, respectively. The US team, who ranks No. 4 in the world and finished fourth at the 2008 FIVB World Grand Prix, now sits in fourth place in pool A with three points. Japan sits in third place with three points and Venezuela sits last with two points.

Japan and Venezuela lost their respective first matches, but since Japan took a straight-sets victory over Venezuela, Venezuela might have some difficulty making the quarterfinals.

In pool B, traditional powerhouse Russia will meet Kazakhstan, and World No. 1 Brazil will meet Serbia, who finished second in the 2007 European Championships. Brazil leads pool B with four points, and Serbia follows just behind. Coming off a seventh FIVB World Grand Prix title, Brazil is in prime position to claim their first Olympic gold.

Flawless Nadal leaves Hewitt reeling

Flawless Nadal leaves Hewitt reeling




Rafael Nadal crushed former world number one Lleyton Hewitt 6-1 6-2 at the Olympic Tennis Centre on Tuesday before Roger Federer gave El Salvador's Rafael Arevalo a tennis lesson he will never forget.

Dogged Australian Hewitt tried everything he knew to contain Spanish powerhouse Nadal but he proved no match for the 22-year-old who is looking to add Olympic gold to the French Open and Wimbledon crowns he has won this year.

While Nadal faced a familiar foe, Federer had probably never heard of Arevalo who arrived on Centre Court with a ranking of 447. The Swiss duly won 6-2 6-4 but Arevalo played a full part in an entertaining tussle played in a crackling atmosphere.

Chilean Nicolas Massu's hopes of emulating his incredible run to the singles title in Athens four years died at the hands of Argentine David Nalbandian, who won 7-6 6-1.

Nikolay Davydenko became the highest-ranked men's casualty so far when he fell to 7-5 6-3 to Paul-Henri Mathieu, one of three Frenchman into the third round.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia made no mistake when he saw off Germany's Rainer Schuettler 6-4 6-2.

American sisters Serena and Venus Williams rolled on towards a likely gold medal showdown with easy second-round wins in the women's singles.

Serena needed just 44 minutes to blow away Australian Samantha Stosur 6-2 6-0 and shortly afterwards on Centre Court Venus beat Czech Iveta Benesova 6-1 6-4.

Nadal had never beaten Hewitt on hardcourts and trailed the Australian 4-3 in career meetings.

Statistics counted for nothing, however, as Nadal sent Hewitt scuttling to all corners of the court a display of spin, power and deadly precision.

"I felt like he played flawless tennis out there tonight," Hewitt told reporters before contemplating another clash with the Spaniard in doubles on Wednesday.

China's Zheng Jie and Li Na raised the decibel levels when partisan crowds roared them into the third round. Zheng outlasted Spain's Nuria Llagostera Vives 6-7 6-1 6-4 before Li beat Japan's Ayumi Morita 6-2 7-5.

After Russian third favourite Svetlana Kuznetsova's demise on Monday, two more women's seeds fell. Slovak Daniela Hantuchova, seeded 10, was beaten by Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki 6-1 6-3 and Polish hope Agnieszka Radwanska lost to Italian Francesca Schiavone 6-3 7-6.

New world number one Jelena Jankovic showed no signs of a calf strain when she opened the evening session with a a 7-5 6-1 defeat of Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko.

Equestrian Day 5 Preview: Dutch rider aims for third consecutive Olympic gold

Equestrian Day 5 Preview: Dutch rider aims for third consecutive Olympic gold



A record-high 22 countries will be participating in Dressage on August 13 in Hong Kong after the completion of the Eventing competitions on August 12. Anky van Grunsven from the Netherlands is favored to earn her third straight Olympic gold, though she'll face a tough challenge from six-time German Dressage Champion Isabell Werth.

Grunsven is a Dutch Dressage champion who earned her first Olympic medal in Barcelona in 1992, when she won silver in Team Dressage. In 1996 she took silver in the Individual event and in 2000 she ascended to the top of the podium, a spot she successfully defended in 2004. The Dutch rider has been named World Cup Dressage champion eight times and in Beijing will again be atop Salinero, the Hanoverian on whom Grunsven won gold in Athens.

Grunsven's biggest rival is Isabell Werth of Germany. Werth won Individual gold in Atlanta in 1996 after helping Germany win Team gold in Barcelona and dominated the German Dressage scene in the 1990s with six national titles. Werth relinquished the top Olympic spot to Grunsven in Sydney but has remained at the highest level in the sport throughout the last eight years. In 2007 she took first place in Individual Dressage at the FEI World Cup and the Grand Prix Special at the European Championships.

Grunsven and Werth will be accompanied by strong riders from their respective companies, giving them a legitimate chance at a gold medal sweep in both Individual and Team Dressage. Imke Schellekens-Bartels of the Netherlands is ranked No. 5 in the world; Hans Peter Minderhoud rounds out the team.

Nadine Capellmann was a member of the German team that took Team gold in Sydney and is essential to Germany's effort to claim Team gold again. Capellmann was the gold medal winner at the 2002 Dressage World Championship.

Though expectations will be high for the German and Dutch riders, expect enthusiastic support for Hoketsu Hiroshi, the 67-year-old rider from Japan who will be making his Olympic comeback 44 years after his first participation in Tokyo in 1964. Previously a competitor in Jumping, Hoketsu, a retired pharmaceutical company director, now trains and competes in Dressage. The Japanese rider won five national championships between 1988 and 1992 and qualified for the Olympics in Seoul before having to drop out when his horse failed the quarantine exam. A source of inspiration for retirees (and anyone who is young at heart), Hoketsu will have to look to London and beyond if he wants to pass the record for oldest Olympian -- Oscar Swahn competed in the 1920 Olympics in Belgium at the age of 72.

Phelps wins again to join elite Olympic group

Phelps wins again to join elite Olympic group




Michael Phelps carved his name among the Olympic greats on Tuesday, smashing another world record in the pool to join Mark Spitz and Carl Lewis in an elite group on a record nine career golds.

An imperious victory in the 200 metres freestyle also gave the 23-year-old American his third gold in Beijing as he seeks to overtake Spitz's other record, seven golds at a single Games.

"The ball's rolling," he said in his usual laid-back style, after chopping almost a full second off his own world record. "We just need to keep that ball rolling."

Togo won their first Olympic medal, in kayaking, and North Korea won a rare gold, but the record books will remember Phelps on Tuesday for another powerful performance at the Water Cube.

Phelps could overtake compatriots Lewis and Spitz, "Flying Finn" runner Paavo Nurmi and Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina, all on nine golds, when he swims two more finals on Wednesday.

"To be tied for the most Olympic golds of all time, with those names ... is a pretty amazing accomplishment," he said.

Phelps led an American fightback against Chinese dominance of the medal table on day four, the U.S. team winning three out of four golds on offer in the pool.

They picked up another when a Texan hunter, Walton Eller, beat an Italian policeman in the men's double trap shooting.

China struck back with gold in the men's team gymnastics, an elegant victory in the women's 10m synchronised platform diving, its first fencing gold in over two decades and another weightlifting title. Near the end of day four, China led the Americans 13 golds to seven.

The hosts have spared no expense in staging the Games and preparing their athletes. Nothing would be sweeter than toppling the Americans off the top of the final medals table, after coming second in Athens.

They have dominated the weightlifting, won all three diving golds so far and picked up victories in shooting and judo.

The gymnastics victory was among the sweetest.

Gold medallists in Sydney, the Chinese failed to win a medal in Athens. This time they stormed to victory in front of an ecstatic crowd, led by double world all-round champion Yang Wei.

Little has been left to chance by organisers desperate to make a good impression, with cheerleaders filling vacant seats.

Organisers also admitted some of the opening ceremony fireworks were pre-recorded to enhance the televised event.

Authorities may be nervous after the father-in-law of the American volleyball coach was killed in Beijing on Saturday, and security has been tightened. An armoured personnel carrier now guards the press centre and armed soldiers man barricades.

There have also been three attacks by suspected Muslim separatists in the country's far northwest in the last week, the latest on Tuesday when three security guards were stabbed.



TOGOLESE SAYS TIME TO VISIT

Back in the sporting arena, Germany won gold in team three-day eventing, compensation for disqualification in 2004.

There were celebrations for North Korea, the reclusive communist state winning its first gold since 1996 in the women's 63 kg weightlifting.

"This gold medal is the best present for the president and for the people of the country," Pak Hyon-Suk said, saying she was delighted to win for "our dear homeland".

There was no hint of politics, though, when South Korea's Jin Jong-oh beat the North's Kim Jong-su in the men's 50m air pistol. "We two are very close and happy we both got medals," said Jin.

There was unlikely glory for Togo with its first ever Olympic medal, bronze in kayaking for Benjamin Boukpeti.

Born to a Togolese father, Boukpeti chose to compete for the West African nation when it became clear he was too old for France. He has only been there once, as a baby, but said he now had "a very good reason to go".

Inside the polygonal bubble-wrap of the Water Cube, Phelps' win was one of three for American swimmers in 20 minutes.

World champion Natalie Coughlin "cried like a baby" on the podium after forcing Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry to settle for silver in the women's 100 backstroke, her relief all the greater after Coventry had set a world record in the semi-final.

American Aaron Peirsol smashed his own world record to maintain his dominance of the men's event, but it was the turn of an Australian in the women's 100 breaststroke.

World champion Leisel Jones ended eight years of gut-wrenching defeats by winning her first individual gold.

"It has been a long journey, a long eight years," she said. "I've gone from a naive 14-year-old to an under-pressure 18-year-old in Athens and now, a relieved 22-year-old."

American swimming success has helped draw huge audiences for the Olympics back home, where broadcaster NBC recorded the best ratings for any Games held outside the United States since 1976.

Chen Ruolin and Wang Xin made it three out of three victories for China in diving, winning the women's synchronised 10m platform. The youthful Chen, just 15, and Wang, who turned 16 on Monday, dived with adult composure to dominate the contest.

China's money market traders are now betting the host country will win 40 to 42 golds in the Games, up from 32 in 2004.

Olympic marathon champ Noguchi pulls out injured

Olympic marathon champ Noguchi pulls out injured




Defending Olympic champion Mizuki Noguchi pulled out of Sunday's marathon because of injuries to her left thigh and groin. Japanese coach Susumu Takano said Noguchi informed the federation on Tuesday that she was withdrawing.

Noguchi, the 2003 world championship silver medalist, had hoped to become the first woman to repeat as Olympic marathon champion. "It is a great shame," said Lamine Diack, president of the International Assocation of Athletics Federations.

She had been bothered by the injury for some time and underwent a series of tests in Japan after returning from her training in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Noguchi, who turned 30 last month, pulled out of last year's world championships because she doesn't like running in the heat. "A fit athlete is so close to being an injured athlete.

A tiny thing, and they are not fit at all," Diack said. However, she survived sweltering conditions to win the event at the 2004 Athens Olympics, beating favored Catherine Ndereba of Kenya by 12 seconds.

She won the Tokyo Marathon last November. Paula Radcliffe, the world record holder from Britain, was a major disappointment in that race, collapsing because of dehydration after leading much of it.

The 34-year-old Radcliffe told the BBC on Tuesday that she would race in the marathon in Beijing. She too has been bothered by a thigh injury.

"Of course, I could do with a bit more time, but I'll just go in and give it a go," Radcliffe said. Noguchi has been plagued by injuries since her Olympic triumph.

Her lone race in three years came last November when she won the Tokyo Marathon. Two months ago, she spoke confidently of her prospects and talked about wearing ultra-light shoes partly made of rice husks.

"The shoes are easy to run in," Noguchi said at the time. "The Beijing course is hard on the feet and legs.

It's flat and the surface of the roads is very hard." She also spoke of trying to become the first repeat winner in the women's marathon, which was added to the Olympic program in 1984.

"I don't really feel pressure," she said. "To the contrary, it makes me happy that I'm getting this much attention.

" In April, Noguchi had carried the Olympic torch through Nagano, site of the 1998 Winter Games, protected by riot police from anti-China protests. "As I ran, I wished for the success of the Beijing Olympics and peace," Noguchi said.

Day 3 Review: Records fall, champions to the fore

Day 3 Review: Records fall, champions to the fore



No rain in Beijing today – just a shower of records, a sprinkling of surprises and cascading gold as Day 3 athletes surpassed the amazing feats of the previous days of Beijing 2008.

The Cube was the place to be if you like to see records go a-tumbling. Count them: five swimming world records were feverishly scribbled into the notebooks of stat-freaks alongside a liberal smattering of Olympic, continental, national records and a generous dose of personal bests. Oh, and there was plenty of gold on the horizon too.

That Michael Phelps fellah was in the thick of it as expected, notching up his second gold medal of the Games in (yep, you've guessed) a new world record time, with his American colleagues in the Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay, keeping his quest to crack Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals in one Games (Munich 1972) on track.

Australian lead-off man, Eamon Sullivan, set a world record in the opening leg of the event – however his Aussie comrades were soon left trailing in the wake of Phelps, Garret Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak, who audaciously slashed almost four seconds off the previous world record the team had only set the day before. The French team, which briefly led in the third leg, held onto silver, ahead of Australia, which claimed the bronze.

The other world records came from Kitajima Kosuke of Japan, who defended his Men's 100m Breaststroke Olympic title by fracturing his own world record in the event by clocking 58.91 seconds.

In heats, Zimbabwean Kristy Coventry cracked her own World Record (again, set yesterday) in the Women's 100m Backstroke, while Federica Pellegrini of Italy established a new world best of 1:55.45 in the Women's 200m Freestyle prelims.

Phelps broke his own Olympic record in the Men's 200m Butterfly prelims, clocking 1:53.70, while the Olympic Men's 100m Backstroke record was lowered three times in Monday's semifinals -- in heat one by Arkady Vyatchanin of Russia, and then by Australian Hayden Stoeckel and Mark Grevers of the USA.

Medal-wise, Lisbeth Trickett of Australia recorded an Oceana record to strike gold in the Women's 100m Butterfly. Christine Magnuson of the United States took silver. Jessicah Schipper of Australia won the bronze.

However the biggest surprise in the pool came in the Women's 400m Freestyle with Rebecca Adlington of Great Britain taking gold with a time of 4:03.22, pushing Katie Hoff of the United States to the silver spot. The 800m short course world champion outreached Hoff on the line. Another Briton, Joanne Jackson, won bronze.

What did you do during your school holidays, kids? Well, 14-year-old British diver, Tom Daley will surely have a better answer for his teachers than his school pals. "I competed in an Olympic diving final."

Sadly, young Mr. Daley and his Men's Synchronized 10m Platform partner, Blake Aldridge, came last as China's divers kept on course to scoop all eight diving gold medals.

Reigning world champions Lin Yue and Huo Liang took gold with 468.18 points. Sascha Klein and Patrick Hausding of Germany won silver, while Dmitriy Dobroskok and Gleb Galperin of Russia earned bronze.

Surpassing the Chinese diving dynasty isn't easy – but hats off to the Republic of Korea's men's archers who claimed the Men's Team gold medal for the third Games in a row (not as good as their women's team, which yesterday claimed their sixth title in a row, but never mind lads, I'm sure you can catch up.)

The ROK team of Im Dong-Hyun, Lee Chang-Hwan and Park Kyung-Mo outscored Italy by two points in a thrilling final, while China took third place after a closely fought victory over Ukraine in the bronze medal match.

Maria Valentina Vezzali of Italy became a triple Olympic gold medalist after her third consecutive Women's Individual Foil Fencing title. The World No.1 beat Nam Hyun-hee of the Republic of Korea, who took silver, in a 6-5 bout.

On the Judo mat, another World No. 1 Elnur Mammadli of Azerbaijan needed just 13 seconds to defeat Wang Ki-chun from the Republic of Korea with an ippon to claim gold in the Men's -73kg category. Giulia Quintavalle of Italy claimed gold in the Women's -57kg class on her Olympic debut by defeating Deborah Gravenstijn from the Netherlands with a yuko.

Indian hot-shot Abhinav Bindra won the gold medal in the Shooting Men's 10m Air Rifle final with an incredible total score of 700.5 points. China's Zhu Qinan, gold medalist at Athens 2004, won the silver medal with 699.7. Bronze went to Finland's Henri Hakkinen, who led after the qualification round.

Satu Makela-Nummela of Finland took the Women's Trap title despite missing four targets in the final round. Slovakia's Zuzana Stefecekova, who had tied with Makela-Nummela after the qualification round, took silver. Corey Cogdell of the United States, won a four-way shoot-off between the other finalists to take bronze.

It was Chen and Zhang to the double as China hoisted the gold medals in the day's two weightlifting finals. Chen Yanqing set a new Olympic record to retain her Women's 58 kilogram crown by lifting a total weight of 244kg. Then Zhang Xiangxiang won his first Olympic gold medal by lifting 319kg in the Men's 62 kilogram final.

Away from the medals there was a smattering of surprises.

The biggest shocks came in the tennis tournament with home favorite Li Na of China defeating Women's No. 3 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, while in the Men's Singles, Great Britain's Andy Murray, seeded No. 6 and fresh from victory in the Cincinnati Masters, lost 7-6(5), 6-4 to World No. 77 Lu Yen-hsun of Chinese Taipei.

All the other seeds progressed in the Men's and Women's singles. Although, soon-to-be crowned Men's World No.1, Rafael Nadal of Spain, dropped a set against Potito Starace of Italy, before winning by 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.

In the Badminton qualification rounds, the shocks were positively seismic. In the Women's Doubles quarterfinals, World No. 8 pair Maeda Miyuki and Suetsuna Satoko of Japan stunned World No. 1 duo, Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen of China 8-21, 23-21, 21-14, while in the Men's Singles round of 32, World No. 10 Lee Hyun-il of the Republic of Korea knocked out World No. 6 Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark. In the Women's Singles round of 16, World No. 15 Saina Nehwal of India beat sixth seed Wang Chen of Hong Kong, and Maria Kristin Yulianti of Indonesia, ranked World No. 21, ousted fourth seed Tine Rasmussen of Denmark.

There were eyebrows raised in Rowing too, which featured re-scheduled Men's and Women's Eights heats. The US Women's crew justified their status as pre-regatta favorites with an emphatic win to put them into Sunday's (August 17) final, where they will meet three-time consecutive defending champions Romania.

However, Great Britain delivered an upset to the Men's US team by beating them, while the Canadians were untroubled in advancing into Sunday's final.

Germany leads the Equestrian Eventing competition by a slender margin ahead of early leaders Australia after Monday's Cross-Country phase. The German team, for who Hinrich Romeike heads the Individual rankings, has an overall lead of 158.10 points, with Australia less than one jumping penalty behind on 162. Great Britain is third on 173.70, Italy fourth on 127.40 and Sweden in fifth position at 200.50.

The competition concludes tomorrow with the Jumping event and Team and Individual medals on the line/at stake.

The Olympic Women's Basketball tournament continued with World No. 3 Russia pulling away from Asian champion Republic of Korea in the last minute for a 77-72 win in their preliminary round, the group A match. Belarus and Australia also recorded convincing wins.

In group B, the US demolished China 108-63 (to show anything their men's team could do the evening before, the girls could do even better). And there were more comfortable wins for the Czech Republic and Spain.

In the Women's Volleyball tournament, Cuba cruised to a 25-15, 26-24, 25-17 straight sets win over an uninspiring USA side and is now in top spot in pool A.

Brazil are on top in pool B after gaining revenge for their defeat against Russia in Athens 2004 by beating their old rivals 25-14, 25-14, 25-16. Serbia, second and Italy, third, enjoyed easy straight-sets wins over Algeria and Kazakhstan and now have two victories each. Kazakhstan, Russia and Algeria are winless and will vie for the fourth quarterfinal spot in the pool.

Favorites in the Women's Water Polo tournament, the United States, beat Olympic newcomers China in a 12-11 nail-biter in the group A preliminary round opening game. Italy achieved a narrow one-goal win over Russia, 9-8, in the other group A game. In group B, Australia beat Greece 8-6, and Hungary defeated the Netherlands 11-9.

Those are the highlights of a record breaking, legend making, Day 3 of Beijing 2008.

Interpreter leaves Federer sheepish

Interpreter leaves Federer sheepish




Roger Federer's timing was a little off Monday at the Olympics. He easily won, but at a postmatch news conference he kept stepping on the interpreter translating questions and answers into Chinese.

Federer milked the situation for laughs, belying his image as a stoic Swiss. Following the first question, Federer and the interpreter began talking at the same time.

Then, he again tried to answer before she was done translating the question. When she finally finished he smiled and said, "She answered for me.

" Federer stepped on the interpreter again after the second and third questions. "Excuse me," he said sheepishly.

Following the fourth question, he finally had the routine down, and gestured grandly toward the interpreter as she began to translate. After another question, Federer leaned into the mike and feigned speaking as the interpreter began.

And after the translation of one question, he let several seconds pass in silence, then looked at the interpreter with a grin. "Just giving you time," he said.

Despite being lost in translation, Federer was in a good mood because he successfully began a bid for his first Olympic medal by beating Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 6-2.

Nadal, Serena win Olympic singles debuts

Nadal, Serena win Olympic singles debuts



Rafael Nadal made a successful debut in Olympic singles on Monday, overcoming numerous missed chances by sweeping the final four games to beat Potito Starace of Italy 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.

Top-seeded Roger Federer had an easier time. He began a bid for his first Olympic medal by beating Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 6-2.

Regardless of the outcome in Beijing, the No 2-seeded Nadal will supplant Federer atop the rankings next week. No 4-seeded Serena Williams won all four games when her match resumed after an overnight wait to complete a rain-interrupted victory over Olga Govortsova of Belarus, 6-3, 6-1.

Like Nadal, Williams was playing her first singles match at the Olympics. She won a gold medal in doubles in 2000 with her sister Venus.

No 6 Dinara Safina of Russia won her 11th match in a row by beating Mara Santangelo of Italy 6-3, 7-6 (1). Safina has won her past two tournaments.

Nicolas Massu of Chile opened his bid to repeat as Olympic champion by beating Steve Darcis of Belgium 6-4, 7-5. Massu won the gold at Athens in both singles and doubles.

No 7 David Nalbandian of Argentina defeated Zeng Shaoxuan of China 6-2, 6-1. Chinese men finished the tournament 0-3.

Playing the morning match on centre court, Nadal struggled on the backhand side and shook his head or rolled his eyes when usually reliable strokes misfired.

Nadal failed to convert seven consecutive break-point opportunities before he broke for a 4-2 lead in the final set.

He erased a 15-40 deficit on his serve in the next game, then broke again for the victory.

A highlight-reel shot got him going early in the third set. Nadal sprinted into the alley near the net in pursuit of a ball and scooped a forehand winner cross-court as he braked to avoid running into the post, then fell to his back. He rose and threw a jubilant fist, leaving behind a spot in the concrete damp with his sweat.

Nadal is seeking his eighth tournament title this year. He beat Federer in the finals at the French Open and Wimbledon.

The latter result sent Federer into a slump that will cost him the top ranking. The stylish Swiss has won only two tournaments in 2008, and an Olympic gold medal would help him salvage the year after he was shut out of the medal chase at Sydney in 2000 and at Athens in 2004.

Judo Day 3 Preview: Judokas from Azerbaijan seek gold

Judo Day 3 Preview: Judokas from Azerbaijan seek gold



The fifth and sixth gold medals of the Judo competitions will be handed out on day three in the Men's -73kg and Women's -57kg. Here are the athletes to look out for:

Men's -73kg:

Belgium's Dirk van Tichelt was the gold medalist of the 2008 European Championships and is considered one of the top judokas in the world. He has moved to the -73kg division from the -66kg division in 2003 and is currently rank second in the world.

World No. 1 Elnur Mammadli from Azerbaijan was the European champion in 2006 and the second-place finisher at the World Championships in 2007. He won the 2008 Super World Cup title in Hamburg in February.

As one of the top judokas in Tajikistan in the -73 category, Rasul Bokiev of Tajikistan claimed his Olympic berth by finishing third at the 2007 World Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro. He is ranked No. 3 in the world.

Wang Ki-chun, a 19-year-old judoka from the Republic of Korea, beat 2004 Athens champion Lee Won-hee in the 2007 World Championships and may be poised to improve on that impressive performance with Olympic gold.

Women's -57 kg

World No. 1 Sabrina Filzmoser from Austria became European Champion in 2008 after three consecutive third-place finishes. She'll be challenged by World No. 2 Barbara Harel of France, who will be aiming for a podium finish in Beijing after fifth- and seventh-place finishes in Sydney and Athens.

Isabel Fernández from Spain won silver at the 2007 world championships and is a six-time European champion. She won gold in Sydney and earned Olympic bronze in 1996.

Kifayat Gasimova from Azerbaijan was the third place finisher at the 2007 and 2008 European Judo Championships bronze. Her first place finish at the 2008 World Cup Sofia confirms her place among the division's top contenders.

Rowing Day 3 Preview: Women's A-final Rowing berths on offer Monday

Rowing Day 3 Preview: Women's A-final Rowing berths on offer Monday


Spots in the A finals are on offer for the first and second place-getters in the Women's Double Sculls on Monday, August 11, as day three of the Rowing regatta gets underway at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.

Following the postponement of the Women's and Men's Eights on Sunday because of inclement weather, the four Eights heats will now be raced on Monday from 2:50 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8). The first quarterfinal of the Women's Single Sculls will start at 3:30 p.m. as originally scheduled.

The program re-scheduling also sees the Women's Pairs repechages moved to Tuesday, August 12, at 5:20 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Women's Eight

After a solid 2008 World Cup campaign, Australia must feel confident of a medal in the Women's Eight. They will be tested by reigning Olympic champions Romania, the powerful world champion US crew and the Great Britain and Canadian combinations.

Men's Eight

In the Men's Eight, the United States will be out to repeat their world record-setting Athens Games success. But the US crew that chose not to race in Europe this season will first need to overcome in-form world champions Canada, as well as Germany, China, Australia and a Great Britain combination keen to regain the crown won at the Sydney Games.

Women's Single Sculls

-- Some excellent racing is expected across the four quarterfinals with final A hopefuls Michelle Guerette of the United States, Gabriela Bascelli of Italy and Julia Michalska of Poland lining up in the first race of the day.

-- Miroslava Knapkova of the Czech Republic and surprise heat winner Iva Obradovic of Serbia should fight out the second quarterfinal, while Bulgaria's Rumyana Neykova and China's Zhang Xiuyun are expected to contest the third. Both are good finishers, meaning the race should go down to the wire.

-- Event favourite Ekaterina Karsten of Belarus, Emma Twigg of New Zealand and Frida Svensson of Sweden should dominate the last quarterfinal.

Men's Single Sculls

-- Andre Vonarburg of Switzerland, Alan Campbell of Great Britain and Marcel Hacker of Germany appear in the first Men's Single Sculls quarterfinal. Hacker will be particularly keen to improve on Saturday's heat, where he ran second to Lassi Karonen of Sweden after fading noticeably in the final 750m.

-- Norway's Olaf Tufte should have the measure of the field in the second quarterfinal, while Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic and Tim Maeyens of Belgium are tipped for a close race in the third. World champion Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand should be untroubled in the last Single Sculls quarterfinal of the day.

Men's Pair

-- A single repechage will be run to determine A/B semifinalists and C-finalists in the Men's Pair.

-- Croatia's Sinisa and Niksa Skelin should improve on a below-par heat row on Saturday to take the repechage.

Women's Double Sculls

-- Four final A berths will be won during the two repechages of the Women's Double Sculls.

-- Germany and Great Britain will be keen to consign Italy and Romania to final B when they contest the first repechage, while the USA and Czech Republic will be hoping to do likewise to Australia and Ukraine in the second.

Men's Double Sculls

-- The only repechage of the Men's Double Sculls presents a particularly open race, with little separating semifinal hopefuls USA, Russia, Belarus, Bulgaria and Iraq after Saturday's heats.

Men's Four

-- France and the Czech Republic should contest the final event of the day, the Men's Four Repechage.

-- China and Belarus will be looking to improve on their heat performances, but could still find the opposition too strong over the final 1000m of the race.