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.
USA back on top in men’s volleyball after claiming Olympic gold
August 24, 2008
It has been a long time since the glory days of US volleyball back in the mid to late 80’s. Things are looking good for US volleyball once again after the men’s team claimed the Olympic gold medal with a 3-1 victory over Brazil. This comes on top of its first World League title earlier this year.
In the Gold medal match Brazil started well and took the first set 25-20. The Brazilians had a slight buffer after jumping out to a 3-0 lead. In the second set it was the Americans who got the early lead as they went out to 6-0. This was enough to see them take the second set 25-22. The Brazilians had got it back to 21-20 but could not edge past the USA.
The third set was tight to start with before team USA took a slight advantage to get out to a 16-12 lead. Brazil got it back to 21-19 down before taking the pressure off the US with a few service faults. This helped USA take the set 25-21.
The fourth set was pretty tight most of the way through. Until Brazil took a 20-17 lead it was just a see sawing affair where Brazil had a two point lead from time to time. With the 3 point buffer you would have favoured Brazil taking it to a fifth set to decide the gold.
USA were not giving up that easily. Some great pickups and good allround play saw the US make a run from 17 to 22. Some key plays included two kill blocks by Clayton Stanley. The Brazilians finally got a point to make the score 22-21 in favour of the US.
From here the USA were pumped as they could almost reach out and touch the gold. Another kill block from Stanley and a spiking error from Brazil saw the Olympic gold medal point come up. It took just one for the USA to wrap it up.
The celebrations started!!
Congratulations to the US men’s volleyball team. It has been a good Olympics for the USA on the volleyball courts, both indoors and out. The women took silver and on the beach volleyball courts the USA picked up both gold medals.
Brazil too strong for defending women’s Olympic volleyball champs
August 22, 2008
Brazil has eliminated China from the women’s volleyball competition in the Beijing Olympics after they won the second semifinal 3-0. They now advance to the final against the USA who had earlier defeated Cuba also 3-0.
The first two sets could have gone either way however the Brazilians blocked better or hit better when it mattered. The home team with the large crowd urging them on started well and established an early 5-1 lead.
Brazil worked their way back into the set with many good blocks and stong spiking. The Chinese edged ahead at 16-14 only to see Brazil come back to lead 21-19. China levelled the scores and then twice served for the set. On one occasion they served a fault. China then handed the set to Brazil thanks to crucial errors. The first set was 27-25.
In the second set it was Brazil who had the early lead as they went up 6-3. The match went backwards and forwards until both teams were locked at 20-20. Here the Chinese seemed to lose their way making a string or errors included a shanked dig and hitting errors. Brazil won the second set 25-22.
In the third set Brazil could see the final was in reach and they played over the top of China. From 14-10 up for Brazil the match was quickly closed out and the south americans ran out winners 25-14.
That made the final score 27-25, 25-22, 25-14. Brazil’s height at the net and blocking prowess was too much for China to handle. At one stage China could do nothing but run quick balls behind. Anytime they tried to go with a high ball to the far post the Brazilians put up an unbeatable block.
Brazil are now into their first Olympic final where they meet the USA who will also be playing for their first gold medal in women’s Olympic volleyball competition.
USA reaches first women’s volleyball final since coach won gold with China
August 21, 2008
Back in 1984 at the Los Angeles Olympics the USA were defeated by China 3-0 in the women’s volleyball final. A key player for the Chinese was Lang Ping. Fast forward 24 years and Lang Ping is now coach of the USA women’s team.
Today in Beijing the Lang Ping coached team from USA has easily accounted for three time Olympic champions Cuba winning 3-0. The final score was 25-20, 25-16, 25-17. This is a complete turnaround from the pool result when on August 11 Cuba defeated the US 3-0.
The USA team saw Logan Tom and Tayyiba Haneef-Park pile on the points with good hitting and blocking. The libero for USA Nicole Davis also put in a good performance with many key digs.
The USA overpowered Cuba on the way to their semifinal victory. For coach Lang Ping she could come up against her old team in the final. In the past as a coach of China, she led the Chinese to a silver medal in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. On that occasion Cuba won gold.
The other semifinal will be played tonight between China and the top ranked Brazilian team. China are the defending Olympic champions while Brazil were second in the 2006 world championships and recently won the 2008 World Grand Prix an event that China were place fifth.
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.
My day out at the Olympic basketball tournament as the Aussies thump the Czech Republic
August 21, 2008
August 19 saw me head off to the women’s quarterfinal matches between China and Belarus and Australia and Czech Republic.
First of all I had to travel across town to get to the Olympic Basketball stadium and Wukesong. The public transport here is really good, however in a city of this size you are doing well if you find a seat during peak times.
The subway ride was sardine tin like as people crammed into the train I was getting into. After about a 40 trip which included one transfer I was out at Wukesong home of the Olympic basketball stadium.
First I walked past the Olympic baseball field before coming across the security checkpoint. After about five minutes I was through security and walking towards the stadium.
The stadium is quite unspectacular when thought of alongside the bird’s nest and the water cube. It has some strange covering. As I approached the stadium I saw a handfull of aussie supporters.
After entering the stadium I was greeted by the friendly Olympic workers as I headed to my seat. I was in row 27 behind the player benches. Quite a good view. On the inside the stadium looks like any other big arena I have been to in the United States or like the basketball venue at the Sydney Olympic games.
Now in my seat I settled back and enjoyed the second half of the China-Belarus match. As the home crowd was playing the crowd were very vocal and the place was packed. China ran out winners 77-62. From what I saw they should not be a pushover for the Australians.
Next up I got to watch the world champion team from Australia. The crowd had thinned out quite a bit after the China match. The players warmed up and then the game was underway. Both teams did little to trouble the scorers in the first couple of minutes. It was not until Australia’s Penny Taylor sank a free throw at the 8:16 mark that the scoring started.
The Czech team in a prelude of what was to come did not score until the 6:13 mark in the first quarter. By the end of the first quarter Australia had already established a 13 point lead. The match continued along with Australia dominating. They had a 21 point lead at the half, 38-17.
Despite leading by a wide margin the Australian players would quite often have a fullcourt press against the Czech team. The third quarter ended with Australia up by 34 and the score at 61-27.
At one stage in the fourth quarter the lead for the Aussies had got out to 40 points before the Czech’s sank a few late baskets to see the score end up as 79-46. Quite a comprehensive win for the Aussie team who will now meet China in the semi. You could see the class of Lauren Jackson as she lead all scorers with 17 points from 24 minutes 46 seconds court time.
The main concern after this match is the fitness of Australia’s Penny Taylor who limped off the court in the second half with an ankle injury. The star player is most likely to miss the semi against China but could possibly play in the final if Australia get past the host country.
In the other matches the USA easily defeated Korea to setup a semi showdown with Russia. It was Russia who eliminated the USA in the semis at the last world championships before losing to Australia.
After the match two of the players from the Australian team mingled with the 30 or so aussie fans that were still hanging around after the match.
Overall it was a pretty awesome experience taking in some Olympic basketball.
Spain and Lithuania advance to basketball semis
August 20, 2008
This afternoon in Beijing Spain and Lithuania have eased into the Olympic men’s semifinal for the basketball tournament.
First up Spain defeated world no. 20 ranked Croatia. Spain started well with a 12-1 run thanks to nine points from Paul Gasol. At the end of the first quarter they were up 22-11. Despite committing six turnovers in the second quarter Spain maintained their 11 point advantage at the halftime break with the score 37-26.
Spain pretty much killed off the match with a 10-2 run to start the third quarter. Croatia did give their fans a glimmer of hope when they had a 10-3 run in the third quarter to make the score 51-38 with one quarter to play.
Paul Gasol helped his team to close out the win and the final score was 72-59. Gasol scored 20 points and pulled in 10 rebounds.
In the second semifinal China had a large crowd on their side as they took on Lithuania. The first quarter was close with the Lithuania’s ahead by two 19-17. This all changed in the second quarter as Lithuania outscored the locals 22-13.
The home crowd could not help the Chinese team overcome a tough opponent. As the match progressed the margin slowly increased. Each time China tried to close the gap Lithuania seemed to be able to answer with a 3-pointer. Overall they shot 13/31 from beyong the three-point line. China could only manage 4/21.
Top scorer for Lithuania was Sarunas Jasikevicius with 23 points. He shot an impressive 5 from 6 outside the arc. Yao Ming tried to carry his team and he scored 19 points however this was not enough.
The Lithuanian’s booked their semi-final spot with a comprehensive 94-68 win and should provide the current world champions Spain a tough match.
