Beijing Olympics 2008

[IAceI]

1. Usain Bolt

2. Asafa Powell

3. Tyson Gay

are my predictions. Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell were in a different world in their heats, particularly Bolt. I think Gay's going to have to work too hard to even trouble them 2, and at full speed Bolt and Powell are going to be ahead of him. I think Bolt's just got the all round ability to beat Powell, he starts so well where big men usually fall, then once through the transition obviously his long strides mean he can power ahead with ease.

Really looking forward to it though. Should be great fun to see. And good luck to Tyrone Edgar.

[Cabral_]

I have to agree with Bolt, and imo Gay didn't look great. I think it will between Bolt & Powell, the only guy outside these i can see challenging for a medal is Richard Thompson ands thats purely because he ran uner 10 seconds.

1.Bolt

2.Powell

3.Thompson (why not?)

[naiwf]

Men's Beach Volleyball (USA vs SUI) spoilers:

Spoiler: Click here to view

Dalhausser and Rogers came back from an 0-6 deficit in the 3rd to win in 3 sets over the Swiss. A loss there would have been embarassing.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Swimming...

Spoiler: Click here to view

Rebecca Adlington of Britain just smashed the competition in the finals of the womens 800 metre freestyle.

She won by over SIX seconds and broke the World Record by two seconds for her second gold of the Olympics. Good girl.

Apparantly it was the oldest female swimming record too...

Edited August 16, 2008 by ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster

[Zaz]

Walking spoilers

Spoiler: Click here to view

Tallent got bronze, awesome result, but then threw up on the track for the world to see >_>

We also had a bloke come in 6th, great stuff.

Wanking spoilers

Spoiler: Click here to view

lol, not to Rebecca Adlington, that's for sure

50m freestyle on now. Go Sullivan and Callus!

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I don't care if she looks like a horse. Surprisingly she's still better looking than the Aussie swimmer who got bronze he other day with the long wavy hair and bad skin

Swimmers don't often seem to be blessed with looks. Must be the chlorine eating away the skin.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Isn't that Brazil's first gold medal EVAH?

No wonder he looks happy.

[Whisper]

Swimmers don't often seem to be blessed with looks. Must be the chlorine eating away the skin.

And the giant shoulders.

Spoiler: Click here to view

Phelps is awesome.. he won that by a fingernail's length.

Edited August 16, 2008 by Whisper in the Wind

[Zaz]

Jessica Schipper? Yeah, she aint a good 'un, but most the others are

[Blaze09]

Spoiler: Click here to view

Does anyone else think that Phelphs win might get overturned

[Zaz]

50m freestyle spoilers (STILL HAVE TO DO THESE HAMSTER :@)

Spoiler: Click here to view

And we get ANOTHER 4th through Callus. Eamon Sullivan must be a bit disappointed with 6th considering all the hype. Oh well, at least he can get back together with Rice and her 3 golds after the Olympics >_>

[naiwf]

Rice is the only Aussie female swimmer I saw this year that didn't look like a dude in her swimsuit, but she's also the one that cut 12 seconds off of her 400 time. I'd assume that most of the women in that pool are on some legal supplements that take away their breasts and give them linebacker physiques though so I guess it all evens out in the end.

[Zaz]

Spoiler: Click here to view

Does anyone else think that Phelphs win might get overturned

Why so?

[Blaze09]

The coach for the dude in second filed a protest and they are reviewing it as we speak

[Blaze09]

Nevermind....LETS GO PHELPS

EDIT: DAMN, I need to pay attention to what I am clicking on

Edited August 16, 2008 by justblaze09

[gunnar hendershow]

Bolt/Powell/someone other than Gay will be the finish I think. I don't see anyone beating the Jamaicans though. Bolt looked so impressive tonight though, it was like he jogged to the finish.

[YI]

Nicola Sanders for the 400m! You know, for being at least bangable.

Edited August 16, 2008 by YI

[Zaz]

Some questions are being asked of the Chinese over doping allegations, especially after two unknowns scooped first and second in the 200m butterfly.

Coach: Unknown Chinese swimming medalists clean

By Yu Yilei

China Daily staff Writer

Updated: 2008-08-15 08:59

A Chinese swimming coach dismissed allegations of doping after unknown national swimmers Liu Zige and Jiao Liuyang made a surprising one-two finish in the women's 200m butterfly Thursday.

"Look at how many times our swimmers have been tested, I assure you that this is a clean team," Chinese coach Pan Jiazhang said. "Why do they accuse us every time we are doing well?" he asked. "Why don't they look at those times when we are not good?"

Chinese swimmers have had a difficult time since the 2004 Athens Games, where women's breaststroker Luo Xuejuan won China's only gold.

China's Liu Zige swims in the women's 200m butterfly swimming final at the National Aquatics Center during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing on August 14, 2008. Liu Zige set a new world record in the women's 200 metres butterfly with a time of two minutes 04.18 seconds in the final at the Beijing Olympics. [Agencies]

As the rest of world progressed at amazing speeds over the next four years, Chinese swimmers fell far behind.

When the last Chinese swimmer was knocked out of the world record books a few years ago, China's swimming medal hopes in Beijing seemed dead in the water.

Chinese swimmers could not win a single gold medal at the last two World Championships, as media around the world questioned their sluggish performances.

But the Chinese coach said it was just a strategy to pave the way for success in Beijing.

"We put our focus only on the Olympics," Pan said. "We've been improving fast and consistently in the last few years and I am very surprised by the achievements we've made."

Chinese coaches have been careful not to talk about medal hopeful events so their swimmers would not be distracted by expectations.

It's clear now which events the coaches had in mind.

"Yes, we regarded the women's 200m butterfly as our gold-favorite event. Our swimmers have reached a very high level during training and we did expect some good results from Liu and Jiao."

The 17-year-old Jiao proved her ability with a fourth-place finish at the 2007 World Championships.

"We invited many foreign coaches to do lectures in China and sent our athletes to train overseas. We are moving in the right direction."

So far, China has won five medals at the Water Cube - a gold, three silvers and one bronze - its best showing since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. But Pan says the team has not reached its full potential.

"We did not improve that much. Others think we improved so much just because we were so bad in the past few years.

"But I am glad that most Chinese swimmers are able to beat their best."

Both Liu and Jiao knocked more than two seconds off their personal best times. Pan attributed such a great performance to the right suit, right time and right place.

"First, I think the swimming suits help," Pan said, referring to the Speedo LZR Racer, which is believed to be behind many of the world-record-breaking performances over the past two years.

"Second, we are competing at home and our swimmers feel very comfortable. And also, just check out the crowd. They definitely help the swimmers a lot."

The Chinese duo agreed.

"I felt very powerful while I was cheered on by the spectators," Jiao said. "I was expecting a medal coming into the final."

And from SportsScientists.com:

Chinese performances: Scepticism or systems producing results?

However, doping remains a real possibility. I'm intrigued as to the sudden rise of the Chinese WOMEN swimmers, for example. In this morning's 200m Women's Butterfly final, China took gold and silver, and the world record by an enormous margin of 1.22 seconds. What is more telling is that the gold medallist, Liu Zige, has improved by 10 seconds this year - her winning time in the Chinese trials was 2:14, today she swam 2:04. That magnitude of improvement is extra-ordinary.

I'm also intrigued as to the absence of Chinese MEN from the swimming races - we've seen a number of women, but no men. The same will happen in the mountain biking event, and also the track and field competitions. Are the Chinese men just that much weaker? Is the overall standard of competition higher in the men's events? Or are we seeing the results of the Chinese sporting system? And why might it be more effective in women than men...? I can think of a reason, but I'm trying to remain hopeful (naive might be a better word) that it's not a function of steroid hormones having a greater impact on females than males...

[YI]

BOOO!! Ainslie was screwed. Fuck the wind. You don't need wind for sailing.

It's shit, as he was such a 'horrible cunt', just forcing the American to the back of the field, haha.

Plus, our 14 year old diver is a little cuntrag. And people have been spinning his partners quotes and stuff. most of what I've heard/read he's seemed pretty bang on about, it's just been spun to be like "Look at him, having a go at the poor, incredibly talented kid, he's jealous, the evil, evil bastard"...the kid's a bloody knobhead...you can tell by just looking at him.

Edited August 16, 2008 by YI

[Krone]

Okay, so I just watched this walking, and I can't even believe this is an Olympic event. Not sure what the rules on spoilers are, but I will spoiler just in case.

Spoiler: Click here to view

That was lame as fuck, but I guess I will give them some credit, because walking for that distance does have to be tough. I was hoping for the dude who finished in second (the guy who won gold in 1996, ATLANTA!!!) to end up winning it, but I guess that Russian guy was just too good.

Might I say that I fucking love the summer Olympics? I am actually contemplating going to the 2012 games in London as I will be 21 and on summer vacation from college. This shit is fucking awesome. Never really followed the Olympics, but being 17 now, I was kind of excited for it, and it hasn't disappointed yet. While some of these events may be cheesy as hell, its still something special to watch.