Bolt closes out season with another top class 100m sprint
September 7, 2008
Three time Beijing Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt has ended his Golden League season with a 9.77 second time in the 100m at the meet in Brussels. Had it not been for a 0.9 metres-per-second headwind he may have challenged his world record set in the final of the 100m in Beijing.
Bolt had to be content with the track record which previously stood at 9.84 seconds. Second placegetter Asafa Powell also came in ahead of the old track record as he clocked 9.83 second. It was a Jamaican 1-2-3-4 as Nesta Carter took third in 10.07 and Michael Frater fourth in 10.08. Tyson Gay who is the current world 100m and 200m champion pulled out of the race as he was not willing to risk his hamstring in the cool weather.
For Powell it was another fast run in a meet that did not matter. He failed miserably in the race that mattered in Beijing coming in fifth in 9.95. In smaller meets he shows he is a runner that should be challenging for gold at Olympics and world championships. Last Tuesday he ran 9.72 in Lausanne, just outside of the 9.69 word record. Hopefully at the next world championships he will step up and push Bolt all the way to the finnish line. That is an awesome thought.
Walsh and May-Treanor defend women’s Olympic beach volleyball gold medal to deny China
August 21, 2008
The women’s defending champions from the Athens Olympics, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh have become the first beach pairing to win two Olympic beach volleyball gold medals.
In today’s final played in heavy rain at the Chaoyang Park beach volleyball stadium the USA team were too good for the no. 1 seeded Chinese team of Tian Jia and Wang Jie. The final score was 21-18, 21-18.
Both sets were tight affairs however the USA pairing played the big points better to pull off the win. The first set was pretty much point for point and had reached 17-17. It was here that May-Treanor and Walsh won three straight points to make it 20-17. The Chinese pulled one back however that was the best they could do.
In the second set the US pairing took the early lead going out to 3-0. The margin was much the same as the score went to 6-3. The US team got their lead through good defence.
China now mounted a comeback thanks to some good serving and a good block or dig. Consecutive aces by Tian saw them take the lead at 9-8. Both teams then swapped the lead several times before the US got a slight advantage to lead 18-16.
Two errors from the US including a missed serve saw the scores back level at 18-18. Here was a crucial time. Could the Chinese push ahead to level the match at a set a piece or would the US grab the gold?
The 18-18 point had a huge rally where the Chinese were on top. After getting a good pickup Tian decided to bump the ball over deep to try for the win. May-Treanor was too good for this and got the dig and then put away the winner. After that play the US took the next three points and a Kerri Walsh spike saw them take the gold.
The difference between gold and silver to me was the better positional play of May-Treanor. She picked up some good digs playing in the shadow of the Walsh block. The digs were converted into vital points. The Chinese also could have picked up a few more points if the overhead skills of Wang were improved. Several times as she backed of the net she had the chance to play at the ball however the ball normally would fly off her hands and out of court.
Overall the Chinese can feel happy to see their players claim silver and bronze in a sport that has only recently seen them rise towards the top. Obviously for the US it was another great result in a sport that has its origins on the sands of southern California.
The gold medal in women’s beach volleyball has now been won by Brazil in 1996, Australia in 2000 and the USA in 2004 and 2008. Will 2012 be the turn of China or will another country emerge?
China wins first Olympic beach volleyball medal
August 21, 2008
China has made beach volleyball history by winning their first Olympic beach volleyball medal as Xue Chen and Zhang Xi defeated the Brazilian pairing of Renata Ribeiro and Talita Rocha in the bronze medal playoff.
The final score was 21-19, 21-17. In the first set it was a close tussle. The biggest lead came at 15-12 in favour of the Chinese. The Brazilians then ran off four straight points to lead 16-15. It then went point for point until 19-19. Here the Chinese grabbed two points to take the first set.
The second set saw the Chinese play from in front. It got as close as 18-17 late in the set before they took the last three points to make history as the first Chinese pairing to win a medal in beach volleyball at the Olympics.
Beach volleyball over the years has been dominated by teams from the USA and Brazil.
The final involves top seeds Tian Jia and Wang Jie of China playing the no. 2 seeds Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh of the United States.
Men’s 200m silver and bronze medal spots revised after disqualifications
August 21, 2008
US pair Shawn Crawford and Walter Dix were promoted to the silver and bronze medal positions in the 200m following the disqualification of the second and third-placed athletes for running in the wrong lane.
The Netherlands Antilles athlete Churandy Martina and Wallace Spearmon of the USA were both disqualified after having provisionally placed second and third.
In case you missed the earlier result, Usain Bolt blitzed the field as he completed the 100m / 200m sprint double in world record time. He set the new 200m mark at 19.30 slicing 0.02 seconds off Michael Johnson’s 1996 world record set at the Atlanta Olympics.
Michael Johnson has been reported as saying that he thinks Bolt could also beat his 400m world record. That would be interesting to see.
Awesome Bolt takes 100m / 200m double with world record time
August 21, 2008
What can you say about Usain Bolt that has not already been said? He was once again amazing as he blew away the field in the final of the Olympic 200m men’s sprint.
Bolt was looking to pull off the sprint double and match Carl Lewis’ effort at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. He was also aiming for Michael Johnson’s 19.32 world record set at the Atlanta Olympics.
Tonight Bolt blasted out of the blocks and ran like he wanted the world record. He ran out the full 200 metres and even dipped as he crossed the line. The result for Bolt was a new world record of 19.30 and another gold medal winning celebration lap.
Second place went to Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles in a time of 19.82 and third went to the USA’s Shawn Crawford who ran 19.96 seconds.
Another great night in Olympic history.
Defending Olympic champs bumped from beach volleyball semis
August 20, 2008
The men’s beach volleyball defending champions from the Athens 2004 Olympics have gone down in a tight semifinal match against their fellow Brazilians.
The pairing of Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego were one match away from defending the gold. In today’s match Fabio Magalhaes and Marcio Araujo were too good on the day and took the match 22-20, 21-18.
Ricardo and Emanuel were up against it in the first set after falling behind at 5-10. This margin was slowly reduced and both teams found themselves level at 19-19. It was then 20-20 before the younger and taller pairing took the last two points to take the crucial first set.
In the second set the defending champions took the first point however after that they were always fighting to catch their opponents. Late in the set it was 18-19 for Ricardo/Emanuel. They were not able to score again and the pairing of Marcio Araujo/Fabio Luiz closed out the match.
They will meet the USA pairing of Philip Dalhausser and Todd Rogers who easily defeated Jorge Terceiro and Renato Gomes of Georgia 21-11, 21-13 in the first semifinal.
The men’s beach volleyball gold medal match is scheduled to take place at 11am on August 22 at the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground.
If you don’t like to party stay away from the beach volleyball
August 19, 2008
Last night I got to experience beach volleyball Olympic style. It is a real party atmosphere and has changed a lot from the days when I played.
Every moment that the players are not in action there is a party song pumping out of the sound system. Any break in play you get to see the dancing girls strut their stuff. Even in the hey days of the AVP tour in the USA you did not get all this.
Some might say it is a bit over the top, others love it. The main event is watching the beach volleyball and there was plenty of action on the courts last night.
In the first match the Brazilian pairing of Marcio Araujo/Fabio Luiz took on Florian Gosch and Alexander Horst. The first set was tight and could have gone either way when the score was 20-20. It was however the more experiend Brazilians who took the set 22-20.
In the second set the Brazilians always held a slight advantage and they were able to use that to win the second set and a spot in the semi-finals as they completed a 22-20, 21-17 win. The Austrian’s had chances to win and played well.
In the second match the stadium came alive. It was the traditional showdown between the US and Brazil. The 2004 gold medal winners from the Athens games, Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego faced off against Sean Rosenthal and Jacob Gibb.
Gibb is just over 2 metres tall and put up some pretty big blocks for his Brazilian opponents to hit past. The shorter Brazilian’s also did pretty well in the blocking department and the crowd witnessed some huge blocks and huge spikes. Throw in some great defence and we had a great match.
The strong USA-Brazil following in the crowd added to the atmosphere. The US team pushed the defending champions in the first set and were at one stage just 18-17 down. Ricardo and Emanuel were able to hold it together and claimed the first set 21-18.
In the second set the Brazilian team slowly edged away from the USA team despite several errors coming in their play. Santos missed quite a few serves and sent some spikes long or wide by large margins. To counter this he also came up with many crucial blocks and good digs.
The match was taken 21-18, 21-16 by the big time Brazilian players. They are looking good to defend the gold medal.
One semifinal is an all Brazilian affair with the winners from the above matches meeting each other. In the other semi the USA’s Rogers/Dalhausser meet the surprise semifinalist’s of Geor/Gia from Georgia.
No magical moment for Hackett in Beijing
August 18, 2008
Australia’s Grant Hackett was today swimming for his place in history as he attempted to do what he denied Keiran Perkins in 2000, three consecutive 1500m freestyle Olympic swimming gold medals. Just like Perkins he has come up one short.
The final today has seen Tunisia’s Oussama Mellouli upset the great Australian distance swimmer. Mellouli took the lead at the 1100m mark and held on as a late rush came from Hackett. The margin at the end of 1500m was 0.69.
Mellouli’s winning time was 14:40.84 which was slower than the 14:38.92 swum by Hackett in his qualifying swim on Friday. Ryan Cochrane from Canada took third.
It remains to be seen if this is the end of the road for Grant Hackett after what to date has been a fantastic swimming career.
Usain bolts home in magical night at the Bird’s Nest
August 18, 2008
My wife and I were privileged enough to be just two people in a crowd of over 90 000 that witnessed Usain Bolt dash home in world record time in the glamour event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His time of 9.69 run in the 100m final made it one of the great runs in Olympic history.
The photo above, although not the best you are likely to see shows just how he dominated the event. The expected challenge from Asafa Powell did not eventuate and it was left to Bolt to thrill the crowd, and that he did.
Having been to sporting events in China in the past I am amazed at how their behaviour has changed over the years. The atmosphere in the Olympic Stadium for the 100m final was the most electrifying I have witnessed. The crowd went off once the athletes arrived at the start of the 100m.
The level of excitement lifted about 20 notches and you knew you were witnessing something special. As the start drew near a message went up on the giant screen calling for quiet to allow the starter to be heard. The crowd made up of mainly Chinese obeyed.
The tension built as the starter yelled out “On your marks”… the gun sounded and the stadium exploded with noise and excitement. It was now the Usain Bolt show.
He glided to the front of the pack as thousands of flashbulbs glittered in the night. Within a blink of an eye Bolt crossed the line and moments later the realisation of a new world record hit the crowd.
This added to the moment. It was one thing to be part of the main event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but to see the world record of 9.69 was another thing. The roar of the crowd had still not diminished as the Olympic champion played it up to the crowd and the watching billions around the globe.
The crowd cheered as if they never wanting the moment to end. It was a bit like a music crowd calling for an encore. The best that could be done was some serious strutting and some flag waving from Bolt but that was what the crowd wanted to see.
This was truely a night to remember in hot and steamy Beijing.
Li Na has Olympic tennis center rocking
August 15, 2008
Playing before a huge one sided crowd in the Chinese capital Beijing, Li Na could not have asked for more support as she took on the current Wimbledon champ Venus Williams.
The match started with Williams jumping out to an early 3-0 lead. She looked to be overpowering her Chinese opponent. With the crowd on her side Li gradually worked her way back into the match.
A few double faults from Williams helped the cause and before you knew it Li was up a break and had the first set in her sights. The crowd was pumped and the fact Li was playing an American made it even more exciting for them. Li went on to take the first set 7-5. If there was a roof over the whole stadium it would have been lifted by the Chinese cheering.
In the second set it was Li who got the first break as she went out to a 3-1 lead. Williams quickly hit back and then it was neck and neck until at 6-5 when Li got the crucial break to wrap up the match.
7-5, 7-5 to Li and a great victory for the home town favourite.
