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What will be your must see event at the Beijing Olympics?

The Beijing Olympic games open in less than 17 days. I will be heading over there in 7 days.

I have to say I am most looking forward to the 100m men’s athletics final. Thanks to my father in law, I am lucky enough to have tickets to this event. It is always one of the most anticipated contests on the Olympic calendar.

The 2008 showdown will be no exception. Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay all will be out to claim the ultimate prize in sprinting. That trio have all run sub-9.8 second 100m times.

Other events I can’t wait to see are the 1500m men’s freestyle race. Will Grant Hackett make history by winning his third consecutive Olympic gold in that event? He is sure to be tested by US swimmer Peter Vanderkaay. On the weekend Hackett showed he is swimming fast when he broke the world 800m short course record.

The men’s basketball tournament is sure to be one to watch. The USA team will be out to claim the gold once again. They were embarrassed by their bronze medal result at the Athens Olympics.

There are so many things happening at an Olympics it is hard to say just what the highlight will be. There is always some special performance that inspires all who watch. I can’t wait.

What are you most looking forward to watching at the Beijing Olympics?

Nowitzki to finally live the Olympic dream

The other day Germany grabbed the final spot in the Beijing Olympic men’s basketball tournament. For Dirk Nowitzki it was a special moment.

On the reuters countdown to Beijing site Erik Kirschbaum wrote about how much it meant for Nowitzki to finally get to play in an Olympic basketball tournament.

This shows the special place that the Olympics has in the hearts of many a sportsman or woman and fans of the greatest sporting show on earth. Nowitzki earns millions playing in the NBA for the Dallas Mavericks however he probably gets more joy from playing for free while representing Germany at the China Olympics.

For myself the Olympics are special. I love to watch every moment that I can. I also love to read and study everything written about the Olympics.

With just under 17 days to go until the opening ceremony I am getting excited. It is even more exciting as in one week I will myself be in Beijing.

The first thing I will be doing is checking out the Olympic venues for myself. Watch for more from Beijing after July 30.

Another Aussie world athletics champion to miss China Olympics

Australia’s hopes of winning an Olympic gold medal in the track and field competition at the Beijing Olympics have taken another blow. First it was Jana Rawlinson who withdrew from the games due to injury. Now 50km walk world champion Nathan Deakes has been forced out with a hamstring tear.

Deakes was hoping to improve on his Athens Olympics 20km bronze medal when he took to the streets of Beijing. His chance of doing so has no been taken away due to a chronic hamstring injury. This is an injury he has battled for the past four years.

The injury popped up again while working out at his St Moritz training base. An MRI scan showed that the best option was to undergo surgery to repair the muscle.

Deakes speaking from Switzerland said it was no a surreal feeling. He was sure it would hit him harder as August comes and he is watching the games rather than competing.

With Deakes and Rawlinson out of the Australian athletics team it is hard to see where a gold medal will come from. Craig Mottram in the 5000m is one of Australia’s main contenders for a medal at the China Olympics. Steve Hooker in the pole vault is another that I give some chance.

Last three China Olympics men’s basketball spots booked

In the 2008 FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament in Athens 12 teams were shooting it out to  claim one of three spots still available in the Beijing Olympic men’s basketball tournament.

On the last day of competition Germany defeated Puerto Rico 96-82 to win the final spot available at the Olympic’s. They joined Croatia who had earlier booked their ticket to Beijing with a 76-70 win over Germany and Greece who defeated Puerto Rico 88-63 in the semi’s.

Both losing semifinalists were given the second chance to go to Beijing and it was Germany who accepted. Germany were lead by NBA star Dirk Nowitzki who scored 32 points to help his team take the win.

The full list of teams for the China Olympics is as follows:

Host country	China
2006 FIBA World Champion	Spain
African Champion	Angola
Americas Champion & Runner up	USA & Argentina
Asian Champion	Iran
European Champion & Runner up	Russia & Lithuania
Oceanian Champion	Australia
FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament	Croatia, Greece, Germany

The first matches at the mens’ Beijing Olympic basketball tournament tip off on August 10. The twelve teams are split into two pools of six for the round robin stage. The top four in each pool advance to the sudden death quarterfinals.

Aussie beach volleyballers all set for China Olympics

The Australians who will be representing the country in the China Olympics beach volleyball tournament to be held in Beijing have been announced. One women’s pairing and one men’s pairing have qualified. The teams are:

Tamsin Barnett (VIC) and Natalie Cook (QLD)
Andrew Schacht (SA) and Joshua Slack (QLD)

Cook who is one half of the most successful Australian Olympic beach volleyball duo now makes her way to her fourth consecutive Olympics. In Atlanta, Sydney and Athens Cook teamed up with Kerri Pottharst to win a bronze medal in 1996 and a gold in front of their home crowed at the 2000 games played on Bondi Beach.

Pottharst has retired from the sport and 33-year old Cook now plays with 28-year old Tamsin Barnett. The duo have had success since pairing up and won an FIVB tour event in Seoul last year. This was just their third outing together. Since pairing up they have been consistent top ten finishers. In the 2008 season they picked up a fourth place finnish in Osaka.

Barnett has successfully made a transition from indoor volleyball to the beach as she represented Australia indoors at the Sydney Olympics. Barnett who is 193cm was voted the most improved player on the FIVB tour last year. She first started on the FIVB world beach tour in 2005.

Cook and Barnett would have to be given a good chance to take a medal home from the China Olympics.

In the men’s competition 35-year old Andrew Schacht and 31-Joshua Slack look to improve on their Athens 9th place finnish. Slack is playing his third Olympic beach volleyball tournament having also played in the Sydney Olympics with Matt Grinlaubs.

Last year at the beach volleyball world championships Schacht and Slack showed the volleyball world that they are a top class pairing as they took the bronze medal. Since then their form has been a bit up and down as they have placed 17th, 7th, 17th and 3rd in the four FIVB tournaments contested in 2008. In 2007 the Aussie’s also went well in the Montreal FIVB event taking second spot. They went close to snatching the tournament win, going down in the third set 18-16.

Going into the Beijing Olympic beach volleyball tournament Slack and Schacht would have to be given a chance of grabbing an Olympic medal. The conditions will be tough at the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground.

I have managed to get a ticket to one of the Olympic beach volleyball sessions. With a bit of luck I will get to see some Aussie’s in action.

China unveils Chinese Olympic medal winners suits

The Chinese have unveiled the outfit that they are hoping will be on display many times at the China Olympics which officially open in Beijing on August 8. The outfit is the one to be worn by winners of medals during the presentation ceremony.

The winners’ suit is designed by Beijing’s Wang Li who said “It took nearly a year to finalize the design, and I’m very happy and very proud our submission won.”

The design incorporates the traditional colors of China with the red and yellow. The design also includes the “auspicious clouds” that adorn the Olympic relay torch.

The outfits to be worn at the medal presentations are made by adidas while many of the competition outfits are supplied by Nike, which sponsors the Chinese teams in 22 of the 28 Olympics sports. It has been reported that adidas paid $80 million for the right to outfit the medal winners. 

The outfits were unveiled by the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) and the official Beijing 2008 sportswear partner adidas Tuesday.

Photos of the Chinese medal winners outfits.

China won a total of 63 medals at the Athens Olympics including 32 gold medals. This saw them in second place overall. The USA won 103 medals in Athens with 35 of them gold.

USA Beijing Olympics Track and Field roster

Recently the best track and field athletes battled it out for spots on the team USA roster for the Beijing Olympics to be held in China from August 8, 2008.

The Olympic track and field competition commences on Friday 15th August. There are 47 gold medals up for grabs.

The US athletes that won their spot are listed below:

Cadel Evans claims Tour de France yellow jersey

A day after almost crashing out of the Tour de France, Australia’s Cadel Evans has achieved his dream to wear the leaders jersey in the Tour de France.

During stage 9 of the Tour Evans had a nasty tumble over the handlebars of his bike. A team mate said a bag got blown onto the course and went into the spokes of the front wheel on Evans’ bike. There was talk that the favourite to win the tour may have broken a collarbone. Luckily this did not turn out to be true and Evans fought back and completed the stage still six seconds behind the leader.

Stage 10 saw the riders go from Pau to Hautacam Argeles Gazost. This was another testing ride through the Pyrenees. Evans knew he had to attack in the mountains to achieve his dream of wearing the yellow jersey. That is what he did. He did not keep with the leaders of the stage however he completed the stage around two minutes behind the stage winner Leonardo Piepoli riding for team Saunier Duval - Scott.

Denis Menchov also went after the leaders jersey however Evans was able to pip him by 1 second to take the lead. The Australian now knows he has some work to do to keep the Tour de France leaders jersey when the tour ends in Paris on July 27.

It is a rest day on Tuesday for the riders. This will help Evans recover from the bumps he picked up in the stage 9 crash.

Stage 11 will see the riders once again battle the mountains as they ride from Lannemezan to Foix.

Australian men’s Olympic basketball team for Beijing

The Australian basketball team for the Beijing Olympics has been announced. The team is made up of the following:

David Andersen / Forward/Centre / 212cm
Chris Anstey / Centre / 213cm
David Barlow / Guard/Forward / 205cm
Andrew Bogut / Centre / 213cm
CJ Bruton / Guard / 188cm
Joe Ingles / Guard / 203cm
Patrick Mills / Guard / 181cm
Brad Newley / Guard / 198cm
Matthew Nielsen / Forward / 209cm
Shawn Redhage / Forward / 202cm
Glen Saville / Guard/Forward / 197cm
Mark Worthington / Forward / 202cm

The Boomers will be looking to medal for the first time when they take on the world’s best basketball talent in the Beijing Olympic basketball tournament. At the Athen’s Olympics they failed to progress out of the group stage winning just one match.

In the Sydney Olympics the Australians put on a good show for the home crowd and made it to the semifinals before ending up in fourth spot.

Heading into Beijing the Boomers have had the chance to get some games under their belt as they competed against recently against New Zealand and Iran in June and more recently they played Croatia, Greece and Brazil in Greece.

The Boomers have just entered a training camp in Australia which gives the squad the chance to adjust to playing with NBA player Andrew Bogut. The Bucks player is fresh from signing a huge contract extension with his NBA team.

Chris Anstey is another player with NBA experience. He played two seasons with the Dallas Mavericks and one with the Chicago Bulls in the late 1990’s.

The men’s Olympic basketball team will head over to China in August and have a warm up match scheduled for August 5 in Shanghai. There opponents will be none less than the USA. The USA will be keen to regain the glory days in Beijing after some recent poor performances.

Top ten Summer Olympic memorable moments…

I first witnessed the Olympics in 1976. As a ten year old I was blown away by the colour and excitement of the Montreal Olympics opening ceremony. Compared to more recent Olympics it was nothing special however it got me hooked.

As years have gone by I have always been excited as the Olympics come and go. I try to catch every moment I can on television or in more recent times through the internet. I also have bought many books covering the Olympics.

With all this in mind I have been giving thought to the most memorable moments from the Olympics. I have to point out that I am from Australia so it is based on what I have seen as an Australian.

I will count down from 10 to 1. Here goes…

10 - Sydney Olympic opening ceremony. On September 15, 2000 the world witnessed a magical night as the Olympics were officially opened for the 27th Olympiad. The highlight for me was the lighting of the Olympic torch by Cathy Freeman.

9 - The first Basketball Dream Team takes to the court at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. Seeing the likes of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson running around together at the Olympics was a special moment. It may not have been great for the opposition teams however as a basketball and Olympic fan I loved it.

8 - Carl Lewis matches the feats of Jesse Owens. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics all eyes were on Carl Lewis as he attempted to match the four gold medals won by the great Jesse Owens in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It was a great moment when Lewis ran the anchor leg of the 4×100m relay to claim his fourth gold at the games.

7 - Ben Johnson and Carl Lewis in the 100m final at the Seoul Olympics. What a race this was. The hype machine was going into overdrive as the final was about to be run. I still remember Ben Johnson crossing the line with his arm raised and him looking across towards Carl Lewis to see that he had won. He blew the field away on that day. We all know what happened next…

6 - Derek Redmond’s dad lends a hand. What the Olympics is all about was best captured during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Redmond had been forced to withdraw from the 1988 games due to injury. At the Barcelona games he was running the 400m semifinal when disaster struck. Another injury ended his dreams. He did not let this stop him and he started to hobble towards the finnish line. His father then ran down from the stands to help his son complete the painful run. With tears streaming down his face Derek and his dad crossed the line.

5 - Gymnast Kerry Strug sticks a vault landing. In Atlanta during the women’s gymnastics team event Kerry Strug had injured her ankle on her first vault. With the pain from the injury front and centre she knew she had to put this behind her and take the second vault. At stake was an Olympic gold medal for not only herself but the team. Strug despite the pain stuck the landing and the USA won gold.

4 - Australia take the men’s 4×100m freestyle gold in Sydney. Being an aussie this was a great moment in our home town Olympics. Ian Thorpe anchored the team to win the event in a world record time. Beating the USA team was a highlight from the pool on Day 2 of the Sydney Olympics and it ended the stranglehold the US had on the relay gold.

3 - Cook and Pottharst take gold in the Sydney beach volleyball. This may not rank up there with a lot of people but as I played professional beach volleyball here in Australia this is a biggie for me. I used to see these girls all the time on the pro tour. To see them go on and beat the best in the Olympics was a special moment. It was party central down at Bondi Beach during the Olympics.

2 - Nadia Comaneci earns first ever Olympic 10.00 in the uneven-bars event. Apart from the opening ceremony from the Montreal games the feat of Nadia Comaneci in earning a perfect 10 stands out in my mind. She was the darling of the games in 1976.

1 - “And the winner is… Sydney”. This may not be a memorable moment for most however as an Olympic loving Australian this was my most exciting Olympic moment ever. For me it meant the Olympics were coming to my backyard. I still remember sitting up early one morning to watch the announcement. It was around 4 am on September 24 in Australia when Juan Antonio Samaranch said what all of Australia wanted to hear. I was jumping up and down in my lounge room. I then started to think if I could get good enough at handball to make the Olympic team. I figured that and beach volleyball were my best shot.

So there you have it. They are my most memorable Olympic moments. They are sure to be different from yours. Leave a comment and let me know what are your most memorable summer Olympic moments.

There are so many more I could have included such as the archer lighting the flame at the Barcelona Olympics, or Ali at Atlanta. It is so hard to pick just 10 Olympic moments.

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