Written by Adam Jacobs for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Events, Track & Field, Special Features

On Thursday, Libby Callahan was officially named to the team in finishing second to Beki Snyder in the sport pistol competition. At age 56, Callahan will become the oldest American woman to ever compete in the Games; the four-decade long mark is currently held by equestrian Kyra Downton.

Joining Callahan on Team USA shooting are:

• Snyder, who will participate in her fourth consecutive Olympics; she also debuted at the age of 20 at Atlanta 1996, and her highest finish in the Games was at Sydney 2000, where she placed ninth. Snyder also competes in taekwondo at the black-belt level.

• Mike Anti. The prone-shooting specialist has been on something of a tear lately: After not making any significant appearance in international competition in 2005 and 2006, Anti only returned by taking the 3-position championship in at the Shooting World Cup in Sydney in 2007. Major Anti took the silver in the 3-position at Athens 2004.

• Brian Beaman. A converted archer, Beaman made the national team in 2006 at age 21 and took second in the air rifle competition at the nationals the following year.

• Brenda Shinn. Shooting is one of few Olympic sports in which law enforcement will provide the training; Shinn is testament to that quality, getting her first formal training with the Orange County sheriff’s department in 1979, and her first first-place finish at the National Police Explorer Pistol Match in 1980. This gold got her the attention of Team USA shooting and an invite to the 1982 nationals, where Shinn placed 11th. Retiring from the sport altogether in 1987, Shinn came back in 2006 and has racked up four medals in competition since then.

• Daryl Szarenski. Writes his local Saginaw News: “Szarenski hopes his experience at the Olympics [as a member of Team USA at Athens 2004] and in Beijing will help his chances. He was in Beijing in April, finishing third in free pistol at the Good Luck Beijing 2008 International Sport Shooting Federation World Cup.” Starting at age 11 and competing since his 1989 NCAA days should also assist.

• Jason Parker. The two-time Olympian and member of the US Army Marksmanship Unit, Jason Parker is already assured a ticket to Beijing 2008 for the air rifle competition; going into day two of the Olympic trials, Parker is positioned to take the 3-position spot on Team USA as well.

• Jason Turner. Formerly a World Cup/world championship rifle specialist, Turner switched to full-time pistol, perhaps inspired by his back-to-back medal finishes in the competition at the Toronto Grand Prix in 1999 (gold) and 2000 (bronze). Turner competed with Team USA at Athens 2004 in air- and free pistol events.

Team USA shooting team trials finish on Sunday. 

Written by Os Davis for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Events, Other, Featured Writers, Os Davis

I think it is terrific that Oscar will now have the same chance to compete in the Olympic Games as any other human being. I’m not saying that the IAAF ban was preposterous but it certainly strikes me as an exclusionary and arbitrary judgment. The Olympic dream and the Olympic movement is about chance and opportunity and I think it is important that Oscar be afforded the same chance and opportunity as the rest of us “able-bodied” humans enjoy.

The pretense that he could have some sort of advantage from his ossur-built prothetics is technologically unproven at best and a fearfully paranoid hateful statement at worst. A paranoia based on a Dick Pound-solidified distrust of all things fast and competitive. Instead of applauding fast runners we assume they enjoy some sort of unhealthy or exterior advantage and wish their demise. 

Pistorius and his cheetah legs should not be seen as advantageous or even different than human limbs. They are his legs, nothing more nothing less. It is our sincere hope that he can join his fellow South African Paralympian Natalie Du Toit in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. 

For further reading on Mr. Pistorius this excellent Wired Magazine profile shows him to be a normal athlete and 21-year old, one not encumbered by stereotypes and condescending assumptions. This New York Times profile gives a good back story and provides a fair even-handed presentation of the situation. This New York Times summary of the CAS decision quotes both Parlympians and “able-bodied” sprinters on the ruling.

For more news on the inspiring Natalie Du Toit click here for words on her numerous triumphs at the Paralympic World Cup, click here for a South African Times interview, and here for a BBC Sport interview and profile.

Written by Michael J. Sedor for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, 2008 Paralympics, Culture/History, Human Interest, Socio-Political, Events, Track & Field, Featured Writers, Michael Sedor

The AP article summarizing the meeting mentions a website with 100 “awareness tips” that the Olympians were given but links out only to the Hilton Hotel Brand’s site: www.behospitabletraveler.com. The article’s quotes come mainly from Hilton’s expert travelers so we’re assuming that that’s the site. Try as we might we can’t find the 100 tips.

We found everyday use Mandarin word translations, sport-related translations, videos on awareness, character, and thoughtfulness, as well as a translate your name into Chinese tool. That tool is a lot of fun. In fact those characters you see in the upper corner...that’s my ersatz name. Or at least that’s what the website tells me however I won’t be getting it tattooed on my neck anytime soon. Cultural awareness, natch.

Nevertheless, if this was the web site athletes were referred to then we might have an international incident on our hands. Luckily (or not so luckily) we can refer them to this Wall Street Journal blog entry about numerology. Chinese culture associates different characteristics for each number from 1 through 9 because of various reasons which include similar sounding words. 4 is associated with death, 2 with love. This WSJ article explains the phenomenon.

8 is the luckiest of all numbers in China and the Olympics’ Opening Ceremony’s date, 8-8-2008, was meant to be the luckiest day ever. But to many superstitious Chinese numerologists it isn’t working out that way.

Last Sunday’s devastating earthquake happened with 88 days until the Olympics on a day, 5-12, whose three numbers add up to 8. This is the third time a crisis has occurred on an eight-total day. The Tibet riots began on 3-14 and a massive snowstorm fell on (gasp) 1-25. Is the world coming to an end?  The Journal doesn’t seem to think so. By their generous counting method they can associate 8 with at least 1/3 of all the days in May. Oh well, so much for that conspiracy. Nevertheless, our swimmers and track athletes might want to think about numerology when picking lanes. Why? For cultural consideration purposes, of course.

Written by Michael J. Sedor for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Beijing News, Culture/History, Design/Art/Culture, Socio-Political, Featured Writers, Michael Sedor

(Funnily, similar complaints against Michael Jordan’s Bulls, perhaps the most consistently winning team in any American sport since the 1950s Yankees were rare. Again, if memory serves.)

An interesting thing happened on the way to Team USA’s current casino status on the international stage. While Team USA was going 71-0 in Olympic play up until the 1972 Munich Games, the red, white and blue was nearly as reviled as such a force would typically be. The Europeans ultimately emulated the American style of play, begrudgingly admiring of the beautiful way the USA played hoops; the finals were typically drawn up along strict Cold War lines.

After Team USSR bested the USA in the tainted gold-medal game in Munich, American basketball still didn’t draw the resentment. When Brazil offed Team USA in 1988, the story made international news to be sure and the once-dominant source was vulnerable and not nearly as feared.

When the Dream Team emerged in 1992, opposing teams asked Team USA members for autographs in the post-game. No one seemed to mind (well, maybe Lithuania and Croatia, a bit) terribly much that they’d lost to the great Air Jordan, Larry Legend, Magic,Sir Charles, Reggie Miller, etc.: It was just a joy to be on the same court. To some extent, the trend continued in 1996 with personalities such as Scottie Pippen and Shaq leading the way, and the inclusion of Hakeem Olajuwon endeared all of Africa to Team USA.

Today, however, no one believes Team USA to be the dominant force. And, make no mistake about it, the red, white and blues will be the heavies in Olympic basketball this time ‘round.

The plucky David to topple Uncle Sam’s Goliath? Argentina would appear to be the best bet, and the national team is making room on the bandwagon. (Incidentally, they’re the defending champs.)

Official news this week had Andres Nocioni “champing at the bit to play for Argentina again this summer.” Nocioni will be on the Argentine squad, an actual augmentation of the 2007 FIBA Americas team that took silver to … ah, you know the rest. You can hardly blame Nocioni for the excess antsiness, after all; Andres put in a solid 13.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game for the lackluster 33-49 Chicago Bulls.

“We never played as a team, we didn’t play defense and we deserved to be out of the playoffs,” Nocioni said. “The only positive thing with the Bulls this year is that I had no injuries and I played 82 games, but from a team level it was very complicated.”

Keeping things in perspective, though, Nocioni continued with, “The good thing from having been eliminated from the playoffs is that I can rest to be well for the national team.”

Meanwhile, more good news for those wanting to see Team USA go down: The team’s sole possible weakness will be covered by a star. Nocioni, among others, is touting Pablo Prigioni (Tau Ceramica) to fill the vacuum left by long-timer Pepe Sanchez, who recently retired.

Looking for a spot on the team, too, is bandwagon tale fodder 32-year-old Roberto Gabini (Lottomatica Roma). Gabini will be starting for Team Argentina at the South American Championship in Puerto Mont, Chile, the late June/early July tournament FIBA calls “hugely important” for the baby blue-and-white: not because anything is at stake with Argentina’s Olympic berth assured and hardly likely to drop from its FIBA ranking of no. 2, but in order to set the Olympic roster.

Oh, and in case you needed it repeated, here’s Nocioni again, loading up the slingshot: “We don’t fear [Team USA] and I would really like to avenge the defeat to Spain.”

Written by Os Davis for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Events, Basketball, Featured Writers, Os Davis

No, what’s most surprising about the twenty-six-year-old MBE is that she is currently number twelve in line for the British throne. That’s right. Her mother is Princess Anne (number ten) and her grandmother is the queen of England. In a recent GQ Sport interview Zara takes it all in stride laughing off her label as a Royal pin-up, shrugging off marriage questions regarding her rugby star boyfriend Mike Tindall, and admitting that she would have lived a wilder life had she not been born into royalty. Her cover shot should do wonders for equestrian attention; she seductively poses while draped in the Union Jack.

Zara probably doesn’t mind the gossipy royal-gazing attention as it distracts the public from her sports recent turmoil and controversy, much of it stemming from the controversial and exceedingly difficult race courses designed by her father. 12 riders have died in the past year and a half and the sport’s safety is under a serious microscope. Had these injuries occurred in a more mainstream sport like auto racing, American football, mixed martial arts, or boxing then there surely would have been a collective uproar.  We hope that more precautions are in place during Beijing 2008 because a tragedy there could end the sport forever.

Image Source: GQ

Written by Michael J. Sedor for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Beijing News, Culture/History, Human Interest, Events, Equestrian, Featured Writers, Michael Sedor

Image details: "Fan Celebration Tour" finale served by picapp.com

Did you get your mother a card and some flowers for her special day? Well here’s another gift from the summerolympian.com: a slew of Mother’s Day story links from the many Olympic mothers.

On ESPN.com’s Page 2 Mary Buckheit tells the incredible story of six U.S. Soccer stars past and present who have managed to keep their active roster spot after giving birth. She cites the remarkable story Joy Fawcett who managed to play every single minute of three World Cups and two Olympics from 1994-2003 while in the same time period having three children. Fawcett has served as a shining example of motherhood possibilities to soccer team members. No longer would they have to sacrifice one dream (athletic success) in order to achieve another dream (parenthood).

Her article continues by looking at Tina Ellertson, a world-class defender who gave birth to her second daughter two Sundays ago. While Ellertson’s talent is nonpareil her chance to regain her playing edge in two months is precarious. Her attitude, however, is completely positive. On Sunday she explained to the Seatlle Times “I look at my daughter Mya and said, ‘OK, she’s amazing and beautiful.’ Playing in the Olympics is something I will do, whether it’s in August or four years from now. I feel like I’m pretty lucky.”

The shift towards accepting athlete mothers is a relatively new concept. For example, the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs just added family quarters in in athlete residences THIS YEAR! Prior to that athlete mothers were out of luck.

U.S.A. Softball mothers have had another recourse: take the kids on the road. As the San Francisco Bay Area’s NBC11 explained this year’s team is a veritable nursery on wheels. Three team members - star pitchers Lisa Fernandez and Jennie Finch, and catcher Stacey Neumann - have brought along their kids on the 46-stop “Bound 4 Beijing” barnstorming tour. U.S.A. Softball thankfully provides the athlete mothers and their children rooms of their own instead of the customary roommate method.

The Sydney Daily Telegraph’s article Olympians’ Mother of a Sacrifice recounts how dozens of Australian Olympic aspirants are spending Mother’s Day away from their family while training for the Beijing Games. The article explains the separation anxiety and guilt that many athletes face while gunning for their lifelong dream.  But basketballer Rohanee Cox summaries our feelings perfectly by adding that athlete mums who juggle their responsibilities are living proof that mothers can do anything.

Written by Michael J. Sedor for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Culture/History, Human Interest, Socio-Political, Events, Basketball, Soccer, Softball, Featured Writers, Michael Sedor

With a starting team comprised of wall-to-wall NBAers, Team Spain hardly needed psychological incentive to add to all the talent taking the floor at the Beijing Games; Los Españoles have that as well.

Said motivation takes the form of a recent sad announcement from national head coach Pepu Hernandez, who will be stepping down as Spain’s team leader after the 2008 Olympics and before the Eurobasket at which he’s seen such success.

Back at the beginning of the year with no hint of retirement, Hernandez offered a few modest comments about his roster, including NBA and future NBA players such as Jorge Garbajosa, Juan Carlos Navarro, Sergio Rodriguez, Jose Manuel Calderon, and the Gasol brothers: Simply “an extraordinary generation of players” he called them.

Hernandez and FIBA’s official statement ran, in part:

Hernandez, who led Spain to the gold medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship and silver at the Eurobasket last year in Madrid, has decided that his ‘cycle will have come to an end’ with the national team.

‘I want to thank the FEB for giving the opportunity to have enjoyed an incredible experience,’ he said. ... ‘Our mind is on the [Olympic] gold medal, that is why I want to ask for the suppport of everyone, players, coaches, FEB and of course, the fans.’

Hernandez has some big decisions to make with respect to his squad.

There’s a huge debate in Spain as to which point guards he should take to Beijing along with Jose Calderon. Sergio Rodriguez has played very little this year with Portland and Carlos Cabezas has endured an injury-plagued campaign with Unicaja Malaga. Teenage sensation Ricky Rubio of DKV Joventut has played so well that many think he will get one of the other two playmaker spots.

Hernandez’ career began at the age of 36 with CB Estudiantes, a top-level Spanish league team. With the team from 1994 to 2005, Hernandez helped Estudiantes to one national title and one second place finish in a now-defunct tournament known as the Korac Cup.

While Korac’s time with Estudiantes could be characterized by his work with those of the Extraordinary Generation – Calderon, Rodriguez, Alfonso Reyes, Carlos Jiménez, Felipe Reyes – Coach Hernandez is destined to be immortalized as the man who molded a dozen superstars into a national team that now stands at no. 3 on FIBA’s rankings and is a feared unit in any international competition. A coach of superstars, a Spanish Phil Jackson.

Between being named to the position of head coach and Team Spain winning the gold at the FIBA Worlds, Hernandez’ father passed away, but he carried on and, at least by one private recollection, united Spain.

“I remember one man,” said Hernandez in February, “coming up to me in Barcelona and saying: ‘I don’t like basketball but, you know what, your team has brought all Spaniards together’. That is incredible, something very powerful in a country like this.”

Hernandez would like to accomplish one more thing, however:

“An Olympic medal would be a reward for all the work we’ve done over the years but we want to put things in perspective and ensure we are a basketball power for some time to come and not just a temporary phenomenon.”

And such a finish would immortalize Hernandez in basketball history, the perfect career capper.

Written by Os Davis for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Events, Basketball, Featured Writers, Os Davis

Here’s another thing to think about: in a front page Sunday story the Washington Post reported that those parents will have spent a great deal of money getting to China to see their son or daughter. Plane tickets between $2,000 and $3,000. Business class is hovering around $10,000. 11 nights at the Beijing Hilton $9,000. Second tier hotel $800 per night. Third tier hotel $400 per night. USA Swimming is offering a $36,000 two-person parent package while USA Boxing can dole out a $25,000 one.

The Olympic-sized parental angst does not stop at costs. Tickets too are at a demand. As reported yesterday, the third round of Beijing 2008 ticket sales ended with all tickets taken except for a few outside of Beijing soccer matches. Chinese residents lapped up all 700,000 tickets that were on sale. A Beijing 2008 spokeswoman added “Ticket sales are the hottest ever at an Olympics.”

One would naturally assume that each participating athlete would have at least two tickets for their event. That assumption would be optimistic. The Washington Post explained, “A few months ago, when each sport learned what its ticket allotment would be, panic set in. There weren’t enough. Several sports, including boxing, warned parents to be prepared to buy tickets through brokers.” The United States Olympic Committee now believes it may have procured enough tix but it is not 100% sure.

Nevertheless if an athlete’s parents want a good seat they almost certainly will have to go through a broker or through their child’s corporate sponsor. No corporate sponsor? No luck. Donating business have received many of the good seats. A Speedo v.p. explained to the Post that “he is able to use Speedo’s tickets to move parents down from the upper reaches of the pool’s grandstand when their kids are racing.” How generous. But what about the non-Speedo athletes? Well, their parents shouldn’t worry because their child won’t be wearing the Speedo LZR Racer and have little chance to win anyway.

So when you’re watching the Beijing 2008 have some sympathy for the parents on screen. Not only have they worked hard to make their child an Olympian but they’ve also spent a lot of money to see their child realize their dream and share in their glory.

Written by Michael J. Sedor for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Culture/History, Human Interest, Socio-Political, Events, Aquatics, Boxing, Featured Writers, Michael Sedor

I don’t care either way. Conte’s word is dubious, his intentions are suspect, and his pontificating is contradicted by his actions. What is compelling is the PBS documentary Secrets Of The Dead: Doping For Gold which airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. on most local PBS affiliates. The documentary looks at the East German women athletes of the early seventies. The dozens who the East German secret police systemically and methodically pumped full of testosterones, steroids, and other drugs - most of the time unbeknown to the athletes themselves - and as a result won golds and broke world records.

Glory, however, wasn’t the only side effect. Some women took on very masculine appearances, some experienced extreme weight gain, some lost their reproductive powers, and many have been shattered both physically and psychologically. Both their bodies and their minds have broken down.

The documentary also delves into the Cold War geopolitical-battles-first mentality and the resultant win-at-all-costs sporting environment. The Olympics no longer revolves around competing nations; individual athletes and their personal monetary gain have become the headliners and the motivation. Now individuals, unlike the tragic East German women, are choosing to ravage their own bodies for success. In thirty years will their story mimic the ones profiled in Secrets Of The Dead: Doping For Gold? Only time will tell.

Written by Michael J. Sedor for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Doping, Culture/History, Olympic History, Socio-Political, Featured Writers, Michael Sedor

This article looks closely at United States commonwealth Puerto Rico. As of 1996, the IOC stopped allowing territories or sub-national entities to participate by themselves at the Games - you won’t see a Basque team or Quebec squad unless they become independent - but Puerto Rico’s inclusion was grandfathered in.  The island’s Olympic status is an avenue of pride despite never having won a gold medal. It matters none that Puerto Ricans are United States citizens, there is an earnest desire to represent Puerto Rico first.

If Puerto Rico were ever decide to become an official state then it would lose its Olympic spot. The feelings towards statehood and Olympic participation run the gamut from ardent favoritism, ardent negativity, to complete apathy. But Puerto Rican boxing hopeful and World Championship bronze medalist McJoe Arroyo - his name a perfect example of the island’s cultural clash - encapsulates what every winning Puerto Rican athlete would feel when he describes his boxing medal stand experience: “Seeing that flag rising,” he said, “I felt something like—I can’t explain it—like a knot in my heart.”

Would he have felt the same thing had it been an American flag? Would American audiences have ardently accepted a Puerto Rican as one of their own? Probably yes in both cases but still, the status quo is always difficult to change both in mind and in practice.

Should Puerto Rico be a state? I don’t see why not although I don’t understand why the District of Columbia hasn’t yet achieved statehood. Is statehood worth using your national identity and local pride (and your Olympic team)? That’s a question that will be decided at the next Puerto Rican plebiscite.

Written by Michael J. Sedor for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Culture/History, Human Interest, Socio-Political, Events, Boxing, Featured Writers, Michael Sedor

Image details: 2008 Australian Championships: Day 3 served by picapp.com

What news could possibly emerge from the Men’s 10k Open Water World Championships that would top yesterday’s Natalie du Toit 10k qualification? Admittedly none. But three-time Olympic gold medalist and Australian swim team captain Grant Hackett’s failure to qualify comes pretty close.

Hackett is the current holder of the longest pool event, the 1500m, world record, but that didn’t help him in the more chaotic atmosphere of the 10k open water event. Hackett shockingly placed 15th, five places shy of qualification. The real fun, however, began after the race had finished. The Australian star was disqualified for interfering with other racers. In disbelief Hackett complained to the press that “with 150m to go, another swimmer swam over the top of me and pulled me back, and I swam over his legs - and that’s what I was supposedly disqualified for.” The DQ was a cruel insult to injury; Hackett’s time wouldn’t have qualified him anyway.

Further insult found its way to the Hackett when an AP photographer snapped an unflattering picture post race of his distended belly and flabby muscles. Speculation of poor training and over-confidence ran rampant over the internet. Let’s hope Hackett addresses the world on his blog sometime in the near future.

Australian head coach Greg Towle has already had his say. He stuck up for his beleaguered star almost immediately stating that “considering how much treatment he got through the race and how much he had to deal with, it [the disqualification] is unbelievable...He is the most honourable sportsman we have in the country and we stand by him.” We wonder, is that a compliment towards Hackett or an insult the Australia’s other sportsmen.

Lost in the Hacket hubbub was the thriller of a race whose 10,000 meters ended with a near photo finish. Defending 10k world champ and open water specialist Vladimir Dyatchin edged out Briton David Davies, the 2004 Olympic 1,500m bronze medalist, by just 0.3 second. Davies had led the entire race and was overtaken with victory just meters away. Ironman triathlete and Australian Dancing With the Stars competitor Ky Hurst finished fifth and will be going to Beijing. No word if he will attempt to compete in the new Olympic triathlon event. That would be an extraordinary double. 

Written by Michael J. Sedor for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Beijing Results, Events, Aquatics, Featured Writers, Michael Sedor

“Mão Santa” Schmidt was celebrated in Brazil for decades as the hero of its national team, a player that passed on a chance in the NBA in order to stay with Team Brazil in those days of amateurs-only at the Games. Once 1989 rolled around and the rules changed, Schmidt went on the play pro ball in Spain.

By the time Schmidt retired from the game, his stats looked something like this:

Schmidt played in five Olympics and was the top scorer in three ...  In the 1980 and 1984 Olympics, he averaged an identical 24.1 points per game in seven games ... In the 1988 Olympics, he went for a crazy 42.3 points per game ... in 38 total career Olympic games, Oscar’s average was 28.8 points per game average ... Schmidt scored 49,703 points in his top-level career ... he received the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Order Award in 1996.

Along the way, Schmidt led Brazil to three South American championships and one Pan-American Games gold. It is, of course, that gold for which the United States – and basketball history – will always remember Oscar Schmidt.

In 1987, Team USA continued its decades-long dominance in international play to enter those Pan-Am Games with but one asterisk-toting loss in its entire history. David “The Admiral” Robinson, Danny Manning and the boys blazed through the tournament to the final, where Brazil awaited.

The Yanks even ran up a 14-point lead before the unexpected happened.

Happily, an excellent compilation of at least middling quality of the 1987 Brazil-USA game is available on YouTube:

See Schmidt and the boys – but especially Schmidt – seemingly magically take over in this game after a strong drive to the hoop by the Holy Hand! See Schmidt talk trash at the Americans! See Schmidt in one half of play dismantle the international legend of Team USA.

Damn, he was good.

To Mr. Schmidt, SummerOlympian tips the metaphorical cap and says, “Parabéns e saúde!”

Written by Os Davis for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Culture/History, Olympic History, Events, Basketball, Featured Writers, Os Davis

Spain. Confirmed for Spain this week was Jose Calderon, whose Toronto Raptors were mercilessly bounced out of the NBA playoffs by the Orlando Magic, four games to one. Not to play in Beijing is Calderon’s fellow Raptor, Jorge Garbajosa. Garbajosa spent the entirety of 2007-2008 on injured reserve, and the Toronto club is exercising its rights to block Garbajosa from the competition.

If you guessed this decision steams the Spanish Basketball Federation, you’d surely be correct. Bad blood already runs between the entities over Garbajosa’s participation in Eurobasket 2007 and concomitant insurance matters.

Australia. Definitely out for Beijing are team captain Jason Smith and old hand “Slammin’” Sam MacKinnon due to some ugly injuries indeed.

Longtime NBL player Jason Smith (Melbourne South Dragons) reportedly suffered a rotator cuff injury (!) in this year’s playoffs while with the Sydney Kings. An operation will keep him off the court for eight months.

Meanwhile, MacKinnon is suffering from blood clots on the lungs. (Ouch.) After taking home the NBL’s MVP award in his 14th season, the “greatest Australian basketball player to have not played in the NBA” has been prescribed blood-thinners and a regimen which includes no basketball for three months. (Double ouch.)

Cape Verde. Poor Cape Verde; ever since the islanders took the bronze medal at the 2007 Africa Championship, it’ll all been downhill. Not only will head coach Emannuel Trovoada miss the Beijing Games due to family issues, not only will the team be “have a transformed squad in July when they show up at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Athens,” not only does Ryan Gomes (Minnesota Timberwolves) appear unlikely to play, but the team itself may actually be denied funding to attend the Athens tournament.

According to a local report by AfricaBasket.com’s Pedro Gomes two weeks ago,

The Cape Verdean Basketball Federation has established a deadline of 15 days to decide whether the national team will participate in the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament to be held in Athens from June 14-29.

The president of the Basketball Federation guarantees that, despite financial difficulties, almost everything has been prepared for the national team’s participation in the tournament.

As for Gomes, well ... while would-be teammates like Rodrigo Mascarenhas opines that the T-wolf “is more than welcome,” Cape Verde Basketball Federation president Kitana Cabral closed the door on that one recently with “There is nothing to say about Ryan Gomes.”

All right, then. 

Written by Os Davis for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Events, Basketball, Featured Writers, Os Davis

Taekwondo. One of the many international competitions China is scheduling this year in the leadup to The Games was last week’s 18th Asian Senior Taekwondo Championship held in Zhengzhou. Home team China Taipei can certainly do a little back-patting, particularly on the women’s side with three gold medals, one silver and two bronze for the ladies.

For the men, Team Iran was downright scary in overturning the South Korean men’s 38-year domination in international competition, including all 17 prior Senior Championship. Reported the pleased-as-punch local press, “Iranian taekwondokas hoisted the country’s flag after seizing the title in the 18th Asian Senior Taekwondo Championship.” More specifically, these guys came home wearing four golds and a silver. South Korea and Chinese Taipei finished second and third in medal count.

SummerOlympian Official Prediction: Don’t bet against any Team Iran; the country appears to be enjoying a true international sports renaissance right now.

Baseball. There is, of course, only one story in Olympic baseball for Beijing 2008: its moribund state, which has seen little advancement in theory or reality. On Sunday, The New York Times offered a Cuban angle on the story, a sad tale unfortunately glossed over with snooty prose. Key quotes: “Baseball in Cuba is the culture, passion and happiness. It’s the blood of our people.” (Would that it were still so in America...)

In four Olympics, Team Cuba has taken three golds and a silver in baseball.

Archery. The US Olympic Archery Trials continue today in Phoenix, as the red, white and blue team for The Games coalesces into shape. The leader board as of this writing is here; damned if SummerOlympian knows how these score totals work (research is clearly warranted here), but clearly after day two of the competition, Brady Ellison is crushing the field at 20.00 points. Closest rival is Butch Johnson. A quick look but at past results shows that Ellison and Johnson have been set for Team USA’s 1-2 spots for awhile.

On the ladies’ side, Jenny Nichols is a favorite to make the team and leads her side at the Trials by a comfortable margin. Nichols represented the US at the 2004 Olympics; her sisters Mandy and Amanda have also competed in international archery. Jenny also A bid for yoga at the Olympics.

Sailing. Northern Ireland has set its team for Olympic sailing events; the country qualified for four of the 11 events, considered a bit of a disappointment for a national specialty.

By the way, how’s your Putonghua coming along...? 

Written by Os Davis for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Events, Baseball, Other, Featured Writers, Os Davis

Natalie du Toit is representative of everything that is wonderful about the Olympic Games. Her hard work, her passion, and her drive are surely what Olympics founder Pierre de Coubertin had in mind when he created the games. She is the epitome of its motto “The most important part of the Olympics is not to win but to participate, just as the important thing in life is not the victory but the battle. It is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”

After her accident du Toit switched to distance swimming out of necessity; she was no longer as fast in her former specialties the 400m individual medley, 200m individual medley, and 200m butterfly. She would not quit. Her newfound event, however, was not yet an Olympic event. She would have to wait until this year before the 10k open water race was included in the Olympics roster. Between then and now she won five golds and a silver at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games and made the final at the open 800m event at the Commonwealth Games.

This year she is going to the Olympics and there is no reason to believe she doesn’t have a chance to win a medal. Her fourth place World Championship finish was only five seconds slower than the gold medalist and only 0.6 slower than the third place finisher. At Beijing she is sure to have the entire world in her corner.

For more about this unbelievably uplifting and inspiring story you can read her 2004 interview by William Rowland in Disability World, her 2005 feature in Swimming World Magazine, a 2005 SouthAfrica.info profile, a Toronto Globe and Mail summary of today’s swim, and an ESPN.com recap of the same event.

Written by Michael J. Sedor for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Beijing Results, Culture/History, Human Interest, Events, Aquatics, Featured Writers, Michael Sedor

In their Friday edition, the Toronto Sun spotlighted Ms. Chao. The 32-year-old Toronto-based computer engineer won the 10-metre air pistol event at the 2007 Pan American Games and the bronze at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. This true Olympics amateur began shooting just seven years ago while her fiance was trying out for the Canadian National Team. He is now her coach.

Chao’s mother is an accomplished poet who immigrated to Canada in 1984 with just $100 in her pocket. Chao cites her mother as her true hero. The article ends with an inspirational quote from Chao that encompasses both her and her mother’s philosophy and life’s work “Hold on to your dreams and don’t let anyone tell you what you can’t do. Don’t listen to negative people. Hold on to your dreams and work hard.”

Fencer Luan Jujie knows what working hard is all about. Beijing 2008 will be her fourth Olympics and a homecoming for one of China’s most celebrated female athletes. At Los Angeles 2004 Luan won the women’s individual foil gold medal. She was 25. Today she is 50 and has come out of retirement because, she explained to China Daily, “My first dream was to win gold at the Olympics in 1984. The second was to compete at an Olympics in my home country.” She is now fulfilling that dream.

Luan immigrated to Canada in 1989 and now lives in Edmonton, Alberta where she runs a fencing academy but she is still beloved in her country of birth. In China, she is studied in textbooks, she has had a stamp issued in her honor, she was named one of China’s top 50 sport stars in the People’s Republic era, and she has had a movie made about her life. If she somehow manages to medal at age 50 then we are sure another movie will find its way into production.

Victoria Poon was born in Hong Kong and now lives in Montreal, Quebec after attending McGill University. She is the fastest 50m swimmer in Canadian history; Her 25.47 time at this years Canadian Olympic trials lowered her previous Canadian-best mark of 25.52 set in 2005. Yes, she was wearing the Speedo LZR. Follow this link for a self-effacing interview from Victoria on floswimming.com. The embedded youtube is a video of her most recent Canadian record time. She is in lane 5.

Written by Michael J. Sedor for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Beijing News, Culture/History, Human Interest, Events, Aquatics, Other, Featured Writers, Michael Sedor

Image details: Swimming - Finals served by picapp.com

Beware 50m men’s freestyle johnny-come-latelies. The 33-year-old Gary Hall, Jr. is tanned, rested, and ready to return himself to the the world record-breaking arena. The two-time defending 50m gold medalist is focused on his three-peat. He told Reuters that “I feel really good, I’m fit, a little bit more training and I’m ready.”

Ready to break the 50m world record for the first time. An achievement that has eluded him despite his big meet success. Tom Jager’s 21.81 world was set in 1990 and remained the standard until Alexander Popov’s astounding 2000 21.64 swim. That record stood until February of the year. Since then it’s been eclipsed by four swimmers, all sporting the NASA-designed space-age Speedo LZR swimsuit. But Hall is ready and hopeful, “I’m trying to convince myself it applies to me too, that when I put on this magic suit I will go a low 21.”

We are too. So look out Bernard, Leveaux, Bousquet, and Sullivan; the sheriff is back in town and he’s ready to win. We can’t wait to see the times posted at June 29-July 6 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha.

In a separate Reuters article Hall also raised more suspicions concerning the dropping times by explaining “There’s obviously something there besides technology.” Nevertheless he continues to worry that the Australian regimen of thrice daily drug testing during the Olympics could turn swimming into cycling or baseball (or track, we add) where “They’re more interested in testing someone for taking cold remedies than they are those taking designer drugs.” Here here Gary. Everytime we read a Gary Hall, Jr. interview we’re refreshed by his frankness, honesty, and forthrightness and wish every athlete could be as intelligently outspoken.

Written by Michael J. Sedor for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Events, Aquatics, Featured Writers, Michael Sedor

Last Saturday, sculptor/activist Jens Galschiot and his sons were denied entry based on the known intent to protest the torch relay in the province. Galschiot is known locally as the creator of the Pillar of Shame, a memorial to the Tiananmen Square Massacre on the University of Hong Kong campus.

On Wednesday, the torch arrived; turned away were “several” activists which Hong Kong authorities reported had planned protests. Farrow has stated that she may join a torch relay protest.

The official word from immigration yesterday was, “The Hong Kong government will not comment on individual cases. The Immigration Department has the responsibility to uphold effective immigration control so as to ensure Hong Kong’s public interest. The department will handle all entry applications in accordance with the law and prevailing policy and having due regard to the individual circumstances.”

This morning in Hong Kong, Farrow was allowed admission into China on the proviso that she not participate in any protest.

As is fashion these days, media report on media coverage, with the Associated Press story on Farrow reporting that “AP Television News filmed Farrow as she arrived in Hong Kong on a flight from New York. After she stepped up to the immigration desk to have her passport stamped, an officer talked to her briefly and called over another official...” The blow by blow description is available here.

The torch will be run for 33 kilometers through Hong Kong by 120 torch-bearers and the marshaling forces of 3,000 police.

After leaving Hong Kong, the fabled run up Mount Qomolangma (a.k.a. Everest) will follow, but the date remains unknown. State meteorologist Yang Xingguo, who is tasked with providing the forecast for the torch’s ascent, stated in part that “There is also a distinctive diversity of weather modes between the south and north slopes of the Mt. Qomolangma, so it is really hard to predict precisely. I think at least it is impossible to scale the mountain in the next three days.”

Whenever it does go off, the Everest relay will be run in tandem with the ground-bound torch, whose relay will continue through August.

Written by Os Davis for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Culture/History, Socio-Political, Featured Writers, Os Davis

On the other hand, geeks of the games should never lament such breakthroughs as Team China’s, these Great Leaps made by a professional or national team are the necessary punctuation in the long book of history; think the mid-1970s Denver Broncos or when Italy forced the powers-that-be to make rugby’s Five Nations Championship the Six Nations as of 2000.

Though SummerOlympian.com is hardly at liberty to pronounce a turning of the tide atop the women’s basketball table, but the official press release (and aren’t all press releases emanating from China official, really?) is not greatly exaggerating when pronouncing China’s lady b-b-ballers had “made a historic breakthrough by defeating the USA with the score 84-81.”

And, if possible, the team achieved more, too. After taking out a haggard, slow-moving Team USA in game 1, Australia then lost to China and saw a number of injuries effectively remove them from competitiveness.

The skill gap in international women’s hoops appeared to widen with the Opals by the wayside, and this writer had a column proclaiming Team USA prohibitive for the Beijing Games after the Americans, um, womenhandled China on the last day of round-robin play, 86-61.

How prohibitively favored? Like 1:50,000 to take the gold. “There are no dark horses,” proclaimed the now-deleted words promising little more than red, white and blue Olympic demolition in the original file.

And behind Miao Lijie’s ridiculous 26 points scored from all over the floor, the Chinese could allow the USA its inevitable “victory” on the boards (in this final match, it was 42-26 in favor of the Americans) and still pull out the win.

Sure, Team USA has got to be considered the favorites in Beijing come August; heck, the aforementioned official press release notes that “with many core players absent from the tournament, the US team is still favored to grab its fifth Olympic gold medal for women’s basketball in the upcoming Olympic Games.”

To some extent, though, Good Luck Beijing may have dinged up the near-invincible veneer of America’s other Dream Team like the 2002 FIBA worlds did for the boys – though admittedly, no international tournament loss could be quite that devastating, historically speaking.

And best of all, in the win China has brought back the essence that makes sport – and especially Olympic sport – what it is: suspense. At least for a little while, anyway…

Gong xi, Team China, on the well-earned gold!

Written by Os Davis for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Events, Basketball, Featured Writers, Os Davis

Beijing 2008’s re-labeling as a Blood Olympics, a Genocide Olympics, a Repression Olympics, or a Human Rights Olympics is quickly becoming a reality. China has opened its skeleton-filled closet and now faces the outraged opinions of a judgmental world. The protesters’ signs are those judgments.

Anger over the Tibetan occupation and the genocide in Darfur is not new but the Olympic torch relay has given reason for the world to refocus. This is surely a good result and would not have happened without the Beijing Games. These horrors would have been placed far from the world’s priority list. But now we care and we must hope that China abandons its defiant stance and addresses the world’s concerns.

Nevertheless when the IOC awarded Beijing the games neither they nor the Chinese government hoped to spotlight Chinese human rights violations. They wanted to showcase the world’s fastest growing industrial nation, a place where countless freeways are built with Eisenhower’s fervor, a country that’s home to most of the world’s construction cranes, a place that we must accept as a part of our global community. Because of the Olympics it is a place that we now realize is there. That can’t be a bad thing.

Buzz Bissinger’s article is so wrapped in idealism that it sees no good at all. He quixotically wishes that the Olympics were still stuck in the pre-modern era, in a time of innocence where television money and global politics didn’t interfere with the virtue of sport. A time when the aristocratic Victorian-era values of Olympics founder Pierre de Coubertin still reigned, a time of amateurs, a time of purity, a time of royalty, a time of exploitation.

Bissinger imagines that if de Coubertin saw today’s Olympics filled with its oceans of corruption, strife, dirty money, and kowtowing to evil regimes he would want his games disbanded. In turn, it only stands to reason that the Olympics should be no more. He follows the Olympics year-by-year from 1968 on giving an example of how the Games betrayed de Coubertin.

Bissinger himself would probably be alarmed if he had attended de Coubertin’s first Olympics in 1896. He would be shocked at the similar politicization. The Greek royal family would have been sitting at the finish line promoting their spendthrift royalist agenda, one at odds with the recently deceased former Prime Minister Charilaos Trikoupis who felt the country couldn’t afford the price tag of the new Olympics.

Ironically, Bissinger cites the Greek government’s profligate spending – $12 billion on the Athens Games – as his 2004 reason on why the Olympics must end.  Bissinger’s most acclaimed work, 1990’s Friday Night Lights took the same lost innocence look at high school football indicting the corrupt system and the economic disparity of a west Texas town.

Friday Night Lights, however, doesn’t call for the abolishment of high school football partly because it provides hopes, dreams, and opportunities for its young participants like its protagonist Brian Chavez who parlayed sports into admission into Harvard and gives solace and meaning to the lives of Odessa, Texas residents.

In his curt, dismissive New York Times editorial Bissinger forgets that the Olympic games provide similar hope, dreams, opportunities, solace and meaning for athletes and nations the world over. 

There are thousands of athletes like Afghani miler Mahboba Ahdyar, Irani high jumper Zahra Nabizadeh, and Palestinian runner Nader Masri. Athletes with no chance to win in Beijing but who are shining examples of de Coubertin’s famed Olympics credo:  “The most important part of the Olympics is not to win but to participate, just as the important thing in life is not the victory but the battle. It is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”

We think de Coubertin would love what his Olympics have become.

Written by Michael J. Sedor for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Doping, Culture/History, Human Interest, Socio-Political, Events, Track & Field, Featured Writers, Michael Sedor, Special Features, Columns/Blogs

Beijing Organizational Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) representative Lin Weiguo intrepidly commented that “overseas football hooligans” would be kept away from the events, citing experience in such matters gained in hosting “the FIFA Women’s World Cup and other international football events.”

Such experience aside, the Olympics may be a far cry from the international men’s game. Hardly breaking a cybersweat with a search or two online brings up stories like these:

• Professional futsal match broken up by fans throwing flares, hooligans assault Czech national coach

• In Nicosia, three men attacked by balaclava-clad hooligan gang wielding bats and pickaxes

• Brick-throwing Brit hooligans banned for three years

• Hundreds of hooligans attack visiting team

• Twenty-three arrested in preemptive crackdown

• Australian foreign minister compares Olympic Torch protestors to hooligans

And that’s just in the past two weeks.

Certainly China will have few problems with hardcore European hooliganism, what with the great distance to be traveled, airport security, and mere sheer organized firepower. Take a look at what Russia has ready for any of the expected 50,000 Brits coming into Moscow for the Champions League final on May 21; surely, Chinese security forces will be attentive to these efforts in preparing Beijing.

Uzis or no, there’s no way the gangs’ll go down without a fight (so to speak). After all, this is the 21st century, and today internationally traveling hooligans are as wired as you and me. And they have been for a long time.

As for China’s problems with hooliganism internally, the news is – as with most reportage out of the big country – a bit murky. Wikipedia has Chinese football hooliganism mostly down to “accusations of corrupt refereeing, with Chinese football being plagued by allegations of match fixing in the early 2000s.”

A particular low point, and one that naturally led to official statements filled with finality, came in 2000 after a match which could have led to one team’s promotion.

Lowest of the low, though, blew up in July 2004. Three months before Asia Cup final, Chinese media was dubbing the forthcoming China-Japan championship match “explosive” and playing up the World War II invasion angle. (And you thought American-style sports hype was bad.)

After a 3-1 Japan win in Beijing, rioters ran amok while burning flags and destroying property up to and including that of Japanese Embassy officials. Some 5,000 police were required to quell the nationalism-fueled mob.

For the city of Beijing, round two starts this summer. The haters will be multilingual and organized; security will be ready. Word has it there may even be some soccer, too.

Written by Os Davis for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Events, Soccer, Featured Writers, Os Davis

Estrada’s match against Trinidad’s Andrew Fermin began slow; the first round ended with Fermin leading 1-0. Estrada roared back in the second scoring four points to Fermin’s none. After the third he had stretched his lead to 8-2 before closing the match out with an 11-3 advantage. Estrada’s next bout is on Sunday against Colombian Alexander Brand.

Christopher Downs was not so fortunate. The 6’4” 33-year-old U.S. Army veteran never got it going against Ecuadorian Julio Cesar Castillo Torres. He dropped three points early on and rallied to close his deficit to 3-2 before the fourth and final round. But Torres did not relent, pulling out a 5-3 win. The loss ends Downs’ Olympic dream which just one month ago at the first Americas Qualifier seemed so promising.

Downs had stormed through that competition scoring a knockout in his first bout and dominating a vaunted Cuban boxer 15-6 in his second match, becoming the first boxer at that tourney to defeat a Cuban. Downs’ quest to become the oldest United States Olympic boxer seemed like a sure thing. Then he unexpectedly lost big in the semi-final to Venezuelan Luis Gonzalez. Downs still had a chance. The top three place winners in that weight class would make it to Beijing. But in the third-place box off he was defeated by Brazilian Washington Silva thus forcing him to travel to Guatemala City.

We feel horrible for any athlete who misses out on their Olympic dream by such a razor thin margin and we wish Christopher Downs the best.

The third American fighting in Guatemala City is super heavyweight Michael Hunter II who gets is tourney started against a Canadian foe.

Written by Michael J. Sedor for Summer Olympian. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!

Section: Beijing 2008, Beijing Results, Events, Boxing, Featured Writers, Michael Sedor

A long way, that is, from the days when the likes of Ted Williams lent likenesses to tobacco companies to push more cigarettes. For not only have most athletes firmly eschewed smokes, but hard-smoking China itself will now be forced to sneak outside for a puff.

In an effort to “achieve the tobacco-free Olympics and creation of a healthy city,” Beijing is battening down the hatches on public smoking. China will comply with requests from the International Olympic Committee and the World Health Organization for all Olympic venues to be tobacco-free.

Beijing Patriotic Health Campaign Committee deputy chief (now that’s a title) Sun Xianli announced this week that numerous areas are to be smoke-free as of May 1: medical facilities; nurseries and kindergartens; primary and secondary schools; institutions of higher education; cinemas, music halls, exhibition halls, museums, libraries, and children’s palaces; business areas of commercial, financing, and post and communications industries; public transport and facilities; cultural and historic sites; and sports venues and facilities. Partial bans will be in effect for parks, restaurants and internet cafes. Hotels have been advised to set smoke-free rooms and floors.

And if you think you can sneak a smoke, get this: Beijing seeks to add 40,000 “inspectors” to its current roll of 60,000.

While now an accepted part of American life and become rote in Europe, going smoke-free is quite the revolution in China. The world’s largest tobacco producer by far since the mid-1990s at least, the country was pumping out over 30 percent of the world’s tobacco product, the majority for domestic consumption.

In the mid-1990s, WHO noted early North and South American efforts to cut tobacco consumption while noting that “On the other hand, the increasing consumption in the Western Pacific (2.2%) and Southeast Asia (1.8%) is primarily due to the trends in China and India, respectively. From 1983, per capita (adult) consumption in China rose by 3.9% per year to reach 1990 cigarettes in 1990-1992.”

(Quick calculation shows that 1990 cigarettes works out to just under two packs per week.)

By 1996, an official survey revealed that 63% of adult males and 3.8% of adult females were smokers, today this translates to 320 million-plus cigarette smokers in China: more than the population of the United States and just under one-quarter the total number of smokers worldwide.

Sun also reiterated the city’s and the nation’s adherence to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, with which China seeks full compliance by 2011. The initial major step in cleaning up for the Olympic Games and for the Framework Convention was taken in October, when Beijing (and soon thereafter Shanghai) banned smoking in all taxis.

Congratulations for kicking the habit, Beijing. Remember to take it one day at a time, we’re all supporting you, the first days are the hardest ...

Written by Os Davis for Summer Olympian. | Permalink