Olympics: Golden British team home amid concerns for 2012

Tuesday, 26 August 2008

LONDON - Britain's most successful Olympic team for 100 years was due to arrive back home from Beijing on Monday, as team bosses warned that the coaches behind the medal haul could be poached by other nations.

A jubilant Team GB flew back to London on a Boeing 747 renamed "Pride" and with its nose cone repainted gold in recognition of its success.

Britain's collection of 47 medals at the Beijing Olympics, including 19 gold medals, lifted it to fourth in the medals table and raised expectations of home success at the 2012 Olympics in London.

To the disappointment of some fans, the returning heroes will have a low-key welcome when they touch down at 1400 GMT.

People were urged not to go to London's Heathrow Airport to greet them because it could not accommodate a large crowd on one of its busiest days of the year.

Instead, the Olympians will be given a homecoming victory parade through London in October.

But as Britain basked in its success, British Olympic Association chairman Colin Moynihan said he feared the brains behind the success would be poached by high-paying rivals.

The injection of funding generated by the national lottery over the past decade is credited with revamping Britain's Olympic fortunes, but Moynihan urged the government to quickly agree a four-year funding plan for 2012.

He said that working on a year-to-year basis could lead to key coaches with the British team being tempted away by rivals such as Australia, which is smarting from Britain's new-found success.

"A lot of our performance directors have really delivered so it's not going to be surprising for their phones to be ringing," Moynihan told The Times newspaper.

"We have some of the best in the world - there will be many other countries who will want to poach them from us.

"We need four years of funding in place for the national governing bodies so they can negotiate contracts to sign them up now for 2012. It cannot be done on a year-by-year basis."

Dave Brailsford, the performance director of the British cycling team which dominated competition winning 14 medals, is reportedly yet to commit his future to the British team.

The 2012 organisers threw a giant street party in the shadow of Buckingham Palace on Sunday to celebrate the official handover of the Olympic flag to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, during the Beijing Olympics closing ceremony.

Olympics: Brazil frustrated with Olympic score, eyes hosting 2016 Games

BRASILIA - Brazil on Monday moaned its lacklustre performance in the Beijing Olympics, with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva saying the country must do better even as Rio de Janeiro bids to host the 2016 Games.

"I think we need to quickly take the issue of Brazilian sport more seriously," he said in his weekly radio address, after lauding the few Brazilian champions who made it to the winners' podium.

Lula could barely hide his frustration over Brazil's paltry three gold medals, four silver and eight bronze, which put the nation in 23rd place in the Beijing rankings - lower than the 16th position it scored in the 2004 Athens Games.

Brazil's media were also disappointed, wondering how a country usually known for turning out champions in football, beach volleyball, Formula One and other disciplines could languish so badly in the world's most important sporting arena.

The Brazilian Olympic Committee is thinking of hiring more sports psychologists, the daily O Globo reported, while the Folha do S. Paulo stated: "Winning Olympic medals is always positive, but it doesn't have to be a priority for a country like Brazil."

Brazil's men's beach volleyball defeat to the United States and football loss to Argentina in Beijing were especially stinging, though questions were raised for all activities.

Brazilian federal and state authorities and big companies have to pull together "so that we have more competitive teams, more competitive athletes, which will improve Brazil's chances of better performance," Lula said.

More specialists were needed "so we can compete in the Olympics in equivalent conditions" as other sporting nations.

"If we start doing that now, we have a chance to improve a lot in 2012" - when London hosts the next Olympics - "and to be at the forefront in 2016," he said.

Lula said Rio had "concrete" chances of hosting the 2016 Games, in the face of competition from Tokyo, Chicago and Madrid.

"South America has never had the Olympics, and I think that the Olympic Games should come to South America. It's an important issue for us Brazilians and we are going to fight," he said.

The winning city for the 2016 Olympics will be announced next year.

China's Hu arrives for South Korea summit

Monday, 25 August 2008

SEOUL - Fresh from hosting a 17-day Olympic spectacular, Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in South Korea on Monday for talks set to focus on trade and North Korea's nuclear disarmament.

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak will seek Hu's help at a summit later Monday in easing tense inter-Korean relations and persuading the North to make progress on scrapping its nuclear weapons, Seoul presidential officials say.

The two leaders, meeting for the third time since Lee took office in February, will also discuss plans to broaden their relationship beyond economic issues and will sign a variety of cooperation deals.

"His South Korean trip due the very day after the closing of the Beijing Olympics will demonstrate ever-closer bilateral relations," presidential spokesman Lee Dong-Kwan said.

China is a longstanding ally and crucial donor of food and fuel to the impoverished North.

Inter-Korean relations are at their lowest ebb for a decade after Lee took office and promised to take a firmer line with the North. Official contacts have been cut off.

Six-nation nuclear negotiations chaired by China and including the two Koreas, the United States, Russia and Japan have also hit a snag.

As part of a deal reached last year the North has handed over details of its plutonium-based nuclear programme, but cannot agree with the United States on ways to verify it.

The dispute is delaying efforts to move on to the final phase of the deal, under which the North is supposed to dismantle its atomic plants and hand over all nuclear weapons and material.

At their first summit in Beijing in late May, Lee and Hu agreed to upgrade relations to form a "strategic cooperative partnership." They also met on August 9 in Beijing after Lee attended the opening of the Olympics.

China is South Korea's largest trade partner with total trade worth more than US$145 billion last year.

Seoul had invested a total of US$22.54 billion in China as of the end of last year, and the two sides are studying a possible free trade agreement.

Seoul officials say Monday's meeting will aim to broaden ties into non-economic sectors.

Lee and Hu will witness the signing of memorandums on closer cooperation in energy conservation, the prevention of desertification, trade information networking, technology, food safety and education.

"Yellow dust," originating in China's Gobi Desert and coated with pollutants en route, is a frequent springtime irritant in South Korea, which has sent volunteers to plant trees in the desert.

North Korean defectors meanwhile said they would rally in central Seoul to protest at China's policy of repatriating North Korean refugees as economic migrants.

International rights groups have criticised the policy, noting that the refugees often face harsh punishment on their return.

"China has become a country that garners international attention, and we hope it would now make improvements in human rights as well, particularly the rights of North Korean defectors, to suit its status," said Pastor Kim Kyu-Ho, whose groups is organising the rally.

About 100 defectors and rights activists will gather for the protest, Kim told Yonhap news agency.

South Korea is laying on a full ceremonial welcome, including a 21-gun salute and a state banquet, for Hu.

He is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Han Seung-Soo and attend a lunch hosted by economic organisations Tuesday before heading for Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Olympics: US NBA stars win gold but Spain gives them a challenge

BEIJING - Kobe Bryant provided a vital late spark as the United States reclaimed Olympic basketball supremacy on Sunday, defeating world champion Spain 118-107 to bring the Americans their 13th gold medal.

Dwyane Wade scored 27 points to lead the Americans while Bryant added 20, LeBron James contributed 14 and Carmelo Anthony scored 13 for the US squad of National Basketball Association stars who found redemption for a 2004 flop.

Wade, James and Anthony were all frustrated reserve members of the US team that settled for bronze at the 2004 Olympics, sparking the golden quest of this US "Redeem Team" to reclaim global supremacy for basketball's birthplace.

"We were at America's lowest point in '04," Anthony said. "We did a hell of a job putting America back where it belongs, on top of the world."

A day after his 30th birthday, Bryant smiled and said, 'Oh my God,' as he watched the Stars and Stripes rise while the US anthem played, having already bitten his medal and found the taste of gold sweeter than his three NBA titles.

"It is more important and more special than any championship that any of us will ever win," Bryant said.

It was a game the NBA superstar multi-millionaires had waited for years to play and they were not about to lose.

"We put our time and hearts into this. To come through and finally win the gold medal not just for ourselves but for America, it means a lot," James said. "It means everything to me. It's so rewarding to see your hard work pay off."

But the Spaniards gave the US stars their toughest Olympic fight, staying within two points with eight minutes to play.

Rudy Fernandez sank a three-pointer with 8:13 remaining to pull the Spanish within 91-89, the closest they had been since the first eight minutes and that any team in the Olympics had been to the Americans so late in a game.

"They were unbelievable," James said. "They countered our game plan by making some incredible plays. Every possession counted. If it wasn't for our determination we wouldn't have pulled it through."

Bryant entered after a US timeout to regroup and sparked a 12-3 run, scoring five points and making two assists. Pau Gasol, Bryant's NBA teammate, answered with four points to pull Spain within 104-99.

But Bryant replied with a pivotal four-point play - sinking a three-pointer, being fouled and adding a free throw.

"Dwyane made a couple big plays and we all know Kobe likes the ball down the stretch," Gasol said. "We played well. We almost had it. We fought to the end. We had a chance."

Spain closed within 108-104 but Wade hit a three-pointer and added lay-in off a pass from Bryant with 71 seconds remaining to seal Spain's fate.

"That probably goes down as one of the greatest games in Olympic history," James said. "The intensity was unbelievable. It was crazy for us."

In the final seconds, US players began hugging each other with joy. Wade, James and Anthony sought each other out and stood in awe of their achievement.

"The moment is special," Wade said. "All three of us took time out and took the moment in. Being part of the '04 Olympic team and not getting to show our talent, we really wanted to win this."

Americans had lost only twice in Olympic history until 2004, when they dropped round robin games to Puerto Rico and Lithuania and fell to eventual champion Argentina in the Athens semi-finals, settling for bronze medals.

A shock loss to Greece in the 2006 world championship semi-finals left the Americans with bronze again, but the US team has not lost since, avenging the losses to Greece and Argentina with Olympic triumphs.

"Everybody talks about NBA players being selfish and arrogant," Bryant said. "What you saw out there was a team coming together and playing as a team."

The US team improved to 10-0 against Spain in the Olympics, including a victory in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics gold medal game. The US team routed Spain 119-82 last week in preliminary round play but this was far different.

Fernandez scored 22 to lead Spain while Gasol added 21.

"It was a wonderful game but unfortunately we lost," Gasol said. "We kept ourselves with a chance the whole game, which says a lot about this team. We played a tough game. We never backed down. We should be proud."

Olympics: Phelps already eyeing more gold in London

LONDON - US swimming sensation Michael Phelps warned on Sunday that he is already eyeing more gold at the London Games in 2012.

Phelps became the most decorated medallist in Olympic history with 14 gold medals from Beijing and Athens, including a record eight gold in China, the most by an athlete at any single Games.

But rather than sitting back and enjoying his achievements, the 23-year-old from Baltimore is already preparing himself for the challenge of the London Games in four years' time.

And after arriving in London for the Olympic handover party he explained how he was hoping to take his swimming skills to another level, including tackling new events such as the backstroke.

"Olympic athletes dream of being part of the Olympics every four years," he said. "Right after the Olympics are over, our mindset is already focused on the next four years and what we can do to change how we prepare and try some new things and that's something I'm looking forward to now.

"I still have things that I want to do in the sport, I've never competed over here in London and I'm looking forward to really experiencing more of the city and be able to prepare myself to hopefully swim some fast times.

"I've no idea what I'm really going to do but I'm looking forward to trying some new events and swimming some events that I haven't really had the opportunity to swim since my schedule is always so crowded," said Phelps.

"I've never really swum the backstroke or the 100m freestyle at a major international competition so Bob (Bowman), my coach, is going to throw everything he has ever done coaching me out of the door and try something completely different just to see how it works.

"No breaststroke, no distance swimming, no open water - at least those guys will still be my friends," said Phelps.

"I'm excited for the next four years and today is the kick-off for the next four years.

"We are just trying a bunch of new things and if it's successful then great and if not then we can go back to what we were doing.

"But I'm looking forward to having some changes because the last 10 or 15 years have been the same thing the whole time.

"I've got some pretty lofty dreams in my head and those goals are going to stay there until they are accomplished," said the American.

But Phelps accepts he faces even tougher challenges to stay at the top of his sport after his outstanding performances in Beijing.

"This has been one of the hardest things I've ever done, to be able to swim 17 times and make sure that I have to be ready to swim at my beat in every one of those races because I'm competing against people who are focusing just on that one race.

"I know that it's not going to be easy getting there and there are going to be some bumps in the road here and there - but everybody has bumps in the road and it really just depends on how you get over those and make sure it doesn't happen again.

"I don't think it's going to be perfect but it's going to be fun over the next few years while I finish off my career," claimed Phelps, who is adamant London will be his last Olympics.

"I told myself I would never compete past the age of 30.

"I started swimming when I was seven and I told my coach I'm not swimming past the age of 30 so don't get any ideas.

"He said 'That's good because I don't want to coach you past the age of 30'.

"Bob and I have had a great relationship and I wouldn't trade him for the world so I'm happy that he's willing to put up with me for four more years."

Olympics: Curtain down on "truly exceptional" Beijing Games

BEIJING - The Beijing Olympics, played out against a background of political intrigue and featuring 16 days of compelling and controversial action, drew to a spectacular close on Sunday.

International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge described the Games as "truly exceptional" in a lavish closing ceremony at the Bird's Nest stadium which culminated in the handing over of the Olympic flag to Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, which will host the 2012 edition.

"Through these Games, the world learned more about China, and China learned more about the world," said Rogge. "These were truly exceptional Games."

The Games saw China depose the United States as the new sports superpower but the final day started with Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru relishing the heat to record an historic first Olympic marathon for the African nation.

Zou Shiming won China's first ever boxing gold and his country's 50th gold of the Games when he claimed the light-flyweight title.

At the end of the 16 days of competition and 302 events, China had 51 gold medals, 15 more than the United States on 36, with Russia winning 23 and Great Britain 19.

It is the first time China has won the gold medal count, although in total medals won the United States has 110 to China's 100.

Wanjiru, striding to Kenya's first marathon success, celebrated in the hot sun as be broke the 24-year-old Games record while those around him wilted.

"I had to push the pace to tire the other runners. I had to push the pace because my body gets tired in the heat when I slow down," he said as temperatures rose towards 30 degrees.

"It feels good to make history here. It feels good to make history for Kenya and win the gold."

Kenya may have won according to the script but the principal actors were different as the outstanding Martin Lel, a triple London marathon winner, faded to fifth and it was half-marathon specialist Wanjiru who pulled through.

China's Zou Shiming had a quick finish to the light-flyweight title for China's first boxing gold when Mongolia's Serdamba Purevdorj hurt his shoulder and his corner threw in the towel 19 seconds into the second.

There was success for Mongolia in the bantamweight final when Badar-Uugan Enkhbat won their first ever boxing gold beating Cuba's highly fancied Yankiel Leon 15-5.

It was a miserable Games for traditional ring titans Cuba and the United States.

Cuba failed to get a gold despite eight of their boxers reaching the semi-finals, while for the first time no USA boxer made the finals and they ended with a solitary boxing bronze.

The United States team of basketball multi-millionaires beat defending champions Spain as expected but the match was closer than the final 118-107 scoreline suggested.

Spain had closed to 89-91 with eight minutes remaining before Kobe Bryant provided a crucial late spark for the all-stars.

The United States picked up further gold beating Brazil 3-1 in the men's volleyball final.

Earlier, Rogge said that overall "the IOC was extremely pleased" with the Games.

"More than 40 world records were set, more than 100 Olympic records, and of course we had the two icons of the Games, Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt."

Rogge pointed to heightened environmental awareness, greater enthusiasm for sport among Chinese and the new stadium in Beijing as the legacies for China.

But he skirted around questions regarding China's response on such issues as human rights and Internet access, and diplomatically refused to be drawn into debate about the medals table.

For China, the investment of more than 40 billion dollars on the Games reaped handsome rewards.

They not only topped the gold medal count, but a near flawless organisation meant the controversies that marred the build-up largely slipped into the background.

Phelps, with his unprecedented eight gold medals and seven world records, and Bolt, the fastest man on earth winning three gold medals with three world records, were the headline stories.

At the end of Sunday's ceremony, the Olympic flag was passed to Johnson while London's position as the new host city was marked by Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page dueting with Leona Lewis on 1970s rock classic Whole Lotta Love.

Londoner, and former England football skipper, David Beckham booted a ball off the top of a London bus before the Olympic flame was extinguished.

Olympics: IOC gives Beijing Games seal of approval

BEIJING - The International Olympic Committee gave the Beijing Olympics its seal of approval on Sunday, expressing itself "extremely pleased" with the Games which saw China emerge as the power in sports.

Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru led off the final day of competition, relishing the heat to record an historic first Olympic marathon for the African nation.

Zou Shiming won China's first ever boxing gold and his country's 50th gold of the Games when he claimed the light-flyweight title.

At the end of 16 days of competition and 302 events, China had 51 gold medals, 15 more than the United States on 36, with Russia winning 23 and Great Britain 19.

It is the first time China has won the gold medal count, although in total medals won the USA has 110 to China's 100.

Wanjiru, striding to Kenya's first marathon success, celebrated in the hot sun as be broke the 24-year-old Games record while those around him wilted.

"I had to push the pace to tire the other runners. I had to push the pace because my body gets tired in the heat when I slow down," he said as temperatures rose towards 30 degrees.

"It feels good to make history here. It feels good to make history for Kenya and win the gold."

Kenya may have won according to the script but the principal actors were different as the outstanding Martin Lel, a triple London marathon winner, faded to fifth and it was half-marathon specialist Wanjiru who pulled through.

China's Zou Shiming had a quick finish to the light-flyweight title for China's first boxing gold when Mongolia's Serdamba Purevdorj hurt his shoulder and his corner threw in the towel 19 seconds into the second.

There was success for Mongolia in the bantamweight final when Badar-Uugan Enkhbat won their first ever boxing gold beating Cuba's highly fancied Yankiel Leon 15-5. It was a miserable Games for traditional ring titans Cuba and the United States.

Cuba failed to get a gold despite eight of their boxers reaching the semi-finals, while for the first time no USA boxer made the finals and they ended with a solitary boxing bronze.

The United States team of basketball multi-millionaires beat defending champions Spain as expected but the match was closer than the final 118-107 scoreline suggested.

Spain had closed to 89-91 with eight minutes remaining before Kobe Bryant provided a crucial late spark for the all-stars.

The United States picked up further gold beating Brazil 3-1 in the men's volleyball final.

After two weeks of exceptional triumphs and heart-wrenching defeats, IOC president Jacques Rogge said that overall "the IOC is extremely pleased" with the Games.

"More than 40 world records were set, more than 100 Olympic records, and of course we had the two icons of the Games, Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt."

Rogge pointed to heightened environmental awareness, greater enthusiasm for sport among Chinese and the new stadium in Beijing as the legacies for China.

But he skirted around questions regarding China's response on such issues as human rights and Internet access, and diplomatically refused to be drawn into debate about the medals table.

For China, the investment of more than 40 billion dollars on the Games reaped handsome rewards.

They not only topped the gold medal count, but a near flawless organisation meant the controversies that marred the build-up largely slipped into the background.

Phelps, with his unprecedented eight gold medals and seven world records, and Bolt, the fastest man on earth winning three gold medals with three world records, were the headline stories.

On Sunday evening, Beijing hands the Olympics over to London which is talking of a more modest affair in 2012.

To show off the next Games city, the London organizers were to introduce themselves to a global audience with the help of Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Leona Lewis and football icon David Beckham.

Olympics: Two boxing golds for history-making Chinese

BEIJING - China won two boxing gold medals on a historic day not only for the Asian powerhouse but also for Mongolia.

Zou Shiming won China's first-ever Olympic boxing title at light-flyweight before Badar-Uugan Enkhbat repeated the feat for Mongolia at bantamweight.

Zhang Xiaoping then added a second gold for the Chinese at light-heavyweight to ensure they topped the boxing medals table, ahead of traditional powers Cuba, USA and Russia.

Alexey Tishchenko's gold at lightweight meant Russia were the only other nation to win more than one title while Cuba incredibly failed to win a single gold medal and the US had a miserly one bronze medal to show for their efforts.

Zou, who began his sporting career in wushu, sent the home fans into ecstasy in the first final of the day as Mongolia's Serdamba Purevdorj lasted just over one round before retiring with a shoulder injury.

The Chinese revealed he had adopted an interesting diet to prepare for these Games.

"While I've been in Beijing what I've been eating most is pizza and hamburgers," Zou said.

"I love Western food so I've had a lot of it. Chinese food tends to be so greasy so it's better for me to eat Western food."

Zhang's victory was highly contentious as he beat Ireland's Kenny Egan 11-7 in the final.

Zhang seemed to score several points off punches that didn't land cleanly, meaning Egan was always playing catch-up and forced into taking risks in the final round that allowed Zhang to counter effectively to open up the four-point gap by the end.

"I shot two shots and they were in his favour, so he was getting points from my work," complained Egan.

"Deep down in my heart of hearts I felt I won the fight but that's boxing."

China had a third finalist in Zhang Zhilei at super-heavyweight but he was never at the races against world champion Roberto Cammarelle of Italy.

Cammarelle dominated from the opening bell and Zhang took several crunching blows to the jaw.

But he demonstrated admirable resistance until the fourth round when a short left hook dropped him to his knees, after which the referee mercifully put an end to his punishment.

After the controversies surrounding the scoring here Cammarelle claimed that was something that never worried him.

"I came here to win the gold medal and I've been fighting very well. You saw it also in the semi-final. I could even have won with five Chinese judges," he said.

Bakhyt Sarsekbayev of Kazakhstan was a dominant winner at welterweight, beating Cuba's Carlos Banteaux 18-9.

Banteaux's defeat meant that Cuba failed to win a single boxing gold at these Games despite qualifying eight fighters for the semi-finals.

They finished with four silver and four bronze, the first time they have failed to win a gold since 1968 – other than 1984 and 1988 when they didn't compete.

Sarsekbayev scored at will with his crunching right hooks to the body and straight lefts right on the muzzle. "I was faster in the exchanges but I could have won more convincingly," he said.

Tishchenko claimed a second straight Olympic gold medal as he beat France's Daouda Sow 11-9 to win the lightweight title.

Tishchenko was the overwhelming favourite coming into this final as he won the featherweight division four years ago in Athens and was also a World Championship finalist in Chicago a year ago.

Sow had surprised Cuban 2005 world champion Yordenis Ugas in the semi-final and caused the Russian problems with his awkward, rangy style.

Olympics: Russia rules rhythmic gymnastics

BEIJING - Russia wrapped up their third straight Olympic rhythmic gymnastics group all-around title on Sunday, with China finishing second for their first medal ever in the crowd-pleasing discipline.

Russia, the reigning world champions, bounced back after a mistake-marred qualification round with a polished performance in two routines – one using five ropes and one using two clubs and three hoops.

Russia took the lead with their folk-themed ropes routine and secured the gold with their clubs and hoops effort.

"I'm very excited and I almost cried," said Russian Elena Posevina. "It's not easy to win the gold medal. We've worked very hard."

China couldn't match the high degree of technical difficulty in Russia's routines, but they were thrilled to improve on their sixth-place finish in Athens.

"It's the most glorious day for rhythmic gymnastics in China," said Zhang Shuo.

The Chinese team's use of Peking Opera themes was big hit with spectators as well as judges.

"I knew the Russian and Belarussian teams are at a higher level, but we have our style," Zhang said. "We used Peking Opera music, which creates a nice atmosphere for the spectators. They understand our background."

Belarus, the top qualifiers, produced the most difficult routine of the finals but settled for bronze.

Athens silver medallists Italy were disappointed that their creative effort left them in fourth.

"I really, really feel upset. We didn't live up to our expectations," Italy's Elisa Santoni said.

Russia's group gold followed Russian Evgeniya Kanaeva's individual all-around triumph on Saturday by an impressive 3.575-point margin.

Knaeva, the 2008 European champion, gave Russia their third straight individual gold, taking the lead with her first apparatus and extending it throughout each rotation with such props as hoops, clubs, ribbon and ball.

Elegant Inna Zhukova of Belarus took the silver, moving into second place with her clubs performance despite fumbling a club at the beginning of the routine.

Ukrainian Anna Bessonova, bronze medallist in 2004 used superb clubs and ribbon routines to seize the bronze again.

Olympics: Stanley stars as USA take men's volleyball title from Brazil

BEIJING - The United States, led by the tournament's best player Clayton Stanley, won the Olympic men's volleyball gold on Sunday beating defending champions Brazil by three sets to one in the final.

Stanley, the top scorer and server in Beijing, killed off the Brazilians at the second match point with an emblematic cross-court smash that their inspirational captain Gilberto Godoy Filho was unable to return.

The defending champions took the first set 25-20, but the United States came back to narrowly win the next three sets 25-22, 25-21, and 25-23.

Stanley finished with 20 points, including 15 spikes, while Godoy Filho scored 14 points for Brazil and Dante Amaral 13 spikes.

In the decisive fourth set, the United States rallied from two points behind the spikes of William Priddy, who also teamed up with Ryan Millar and David Lee for 12 blocks.

Endres Murilo, who scored 13 for Brazil, saved a point with a drive before Stanley found himself alone in the right corner for the uncontested kill.

The two teams, who were meeting for the first time in this tournament, have four Olympic titles between them.

But the Americans, who went through the tournament undefeated, had not won it since 1988 in Seoul.

Brazil started the stronger with the high-leaping Godoy Filho, Andre Heller and Amaral scoring with some crowd-pleasing kills while Stanley misfired early.

But when Stanley found his groove in the second set the Americans raced to a 6-0 lead helped by his two kills and and a jump serve ace.

Brazil fought back with some inspired Godoy Filho smashes and an ace, plus effective blockingm that brought them back to within one at 20-21 before a Stanley ace and two smashes got the Americans home 25-22.

The third set developed into a see-saw battle with Amaral and Stanley trading smashes until the US drew away with the help of their solid defence.

Beijing not ruling out permanent car use limits

BEIJING - Olympic host city Beijing has not ruled out making controversial car use limits permanent, citing the benefits for the environment, state media reported Sunday.

While there are no concrete plans to extend the rule, which has taken at least a million cars off the streets of the capital city, it is worthy of consideration, an official was quoted as saying by the China Daily.

"The rule is closely related to everyone's daily life. We want to hear more public opinion on the whether, or how, to keep the rule," said Wang Li, deputy director of Beijing's traffic administration bureau.

In a last-ditch attempt to clear the air in the run-up to the Games, Beijing ordered cars with licence plates ending in odd and even numbers to take turns and only hit the roads every other day.

The "odd-and-even" restrictions on car use have been particularly well received by the public, with calls to carry on beyond September 20, the date initially set for ending the curbs, the Beijing News reported.

The limits -- along with a decision to shut down construction work and close more than 100 polluting factories -- has been an unmitigated success, according to officials.

Beijing has had the cleanest air of any summer in the past decade, with the air quality ranging from "fairly good" to "excellent" on the pollution index since the opening of the Olympics, the China Daily said.

"The city's air quality was highly satisfactory during the Games in the past two weeks," said Ivo Allegrini, an Italian pollution expert, according to the China Daily.

No one disputes that Beijing's 3.3 million cars have been an important factor in making the city one of the world's most polluted.

However, some officials have said it is necessary evil, arguing that the auto industry has been an important driver of growth.

Olympics: Rogge says China Olympic gymnast documents look "ok" at first sight

BEIJING - Documents produced by China to prove that their gymnasts are 16 or older appear to be okay on first sight, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said Sunday.

Allegations have been rife that China broke the rules by fielding gymnasts who will not turn 16 this year, as required under the sport's rules introduced in 1997 to protect the wellbeing of young athletes.

They have focussed on females He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan, Li Shanshan, Deng Linlin and Yang Yilin, with the IOC last week ordering the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) to investigate.

In response, the FIG held an extraordinary general meeting on Saturday to discuss the issue and China subsequently handed over documents to prove their case, including passports and identity cards.

Rogge said they were being analysed but looked to be in order.

"We heard allegations in the media about the ages and we took that very seriously and we asked the international federation to organise an inquiry themselves," he said on the final day of the Beijing Games.

"The eligibility of the athletes is the responsibility of the federation, not the IOC, but we considered it to be a very serious issue.

"The international federation requested all documents, like family books and entries of schools and things like that, and these have been received.

"At first sight everything seems okay. However, the FIG wants to study them thoroughly because they are in Chinese and then they will report to the IOC as soon as possible."

The IOC had specifically referred to the case of He after an American computer expert claimed he had uncovered Chinese state documents that proved she was born in 1994, making her 14.

China muscled aside the competition to dominate the gymnastics events here in a manner not seen since the Soviet era, snaring nine of the 14 gold on offer, second only to the USSR's 10 in Seoul in 1988.

He got two gold -- in the women's team event and in the uneven bars, where she edged US star Nastia Liukin.

USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny said he had "always believed this issue needed to be addressed by the FIG and IOC".

Chinese officials, including Beijing Olympic organisers, have persistently denied any wrongdoing, with He herself insisting she was 16.

"I don't want to talk about this subject any more because those who know me, they know that I'm 16," she said during the competition.

"How can I do more? Explain more? No matter what people say, I'm still 16."

The Shichahai Sports School in Beijing, where He was nurtured, added that its documents showed she was 16.

Professor Arne Ljungqvist, the head of the IOC's medical commission, said during the Games he had come across issues of age-manipulation previously at world junior events.

But he stressed he had no reason to believe anything untoward had happened during the Beijing Olympics.

Olympics: London takes the baton for more modest 2012 Games

LONDON - London will take the baton from Beijing on Sunday with the 2012 organisers promising the first 'sustainable' Olympics and Britain riding the wave of its best medal haul for a century.

The 19 golds won mainly by Britain's cyclists, sailors and swimmers in Beijing shows that a programme of heavy investment has already put its competitors on track for glory in four years' time.

And when David Beckham kicks footballs from the top of a red London double-decker bus in Sunday's closing ceremony, the British capital will seek to show it will adopt a vastly different organisational approach from Beijing.

With half of Beijing's estimated 45-billion-dollar (30.5-billion-euro) budget, London's chiefs stress that they have no intention of competing with the Chinese capital to stage a bigger and better Olympics.

Instead, the London Games will seek to regenerate a deprived eastern area of the city and leave a lasting legacy for the local community which will endure long after the memories of sporting glory have faded.

Sebastian Coe, the double Olympic champion who heads the London organising committee, said Beijing may be the last Olympics of its kind.

"It's unlikely that we will see another Olympics of this scope and stature again," Coe said in Beijing.

"The International Olympic Committee themselves recognise that this is the last edition of a Games which is going to look and feel like this."

The iconic 90,000-seater Bird's Nest in Beijing is arguably the most memorable stadium in Olympic history, but the plans for the main stadium in London are far more modest.

The 85,000-capacity venue, with a design that is unremarkable by modern standards, will be converted into a 25,000-capacity stadium after the Games.

"The stadium will be a very different concept (to Beijing)," Coe said.

"We're talking about leaving a 25,000-seater all-purpose stadium."

It was London's plans to transform the rundown Lea Valley area in the east of the city which helped it win a surprise victory over long-time frontrunner Paris in 2005.

Organisers say all the venues have been designed with long-term use in mind in an attempt to avoid the 'white elephant' syndrome which has afflicted so many Olympic cities, most recently the 2004 hosts Athens where most stadia now lie disused and decaying.

When the London Olympics end, the Olympic Park will be transformed into what the organisers say will be "the largest urban park created in Europe for more than 150 years".

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said the long-term benefits of the 2012 Games would be enormous.

"A huge amount of our investment in the Olympic Park is for legacy. We are cleaning up the land, burying overhead power lines, upgrading roads and railways and installing new energy infrastructure.

"A site of this scale and quality, within a few minutes of a great city centre, must be almost unprecedented," he said.

Some dark clouds are already gathering. The original budget for 2012 has already leaped from 3.4 billion pounds to 9.3 billion pounds (11.7 billion euros, 17.2 billion dollars).

Johnson has dismissed reports that the security bill alone will top one billion pounds, although the need for tight security was hammered home on July 7, 2005, the day after London won the vote to host the 2012 Games, when four Islamist extremist suicide bombers killed 52 people on trains and a bus in the capital.

At least the 2012 organisers can be confident that British competitors will not slump in front of an expectant home crowd.

In Beijing, the British team has reaped the benefits of 265 million pounds of funding for elite sport over the past four years to achieve its highest medal tally since 1908.

More funding is promised, and the majority of the competitors, such as 19-year-old double gold medal-winning swimmer Rebecca Adlington, are young enough to be already targeting more success in 2012.

Olympics: Wanjiru gives Kenya Olympic marathon gold

BEIJING - Samuel Wanjiru made it a full house of Olympic titles in middle distance and long distance races for Kenya's men here on Sunday as he ended their title drought in the event and broke the long-standing Olympic record as well.

The 21-year-old timed 2hours 6minutes 32seconds, breaking the 24-year-old Olympic record set by Carlos Lopes.He beat home Morocco's two-time world champion Jaouad Gharib (2hr07:16) for the gold while Tsegay Kebede of Ethiopia took the bronze.

The race came alive at the 20km mark when five runners split from the leading pack.The quintet comprised Gharib, two Kenyans in three-time London Marathon winner Martin Lel and Wanjiru, second in this year's London Marathon.

The other two were Eritrean Yonas Kifle and Ethiopia's Deriba Werga, who had timed his personal best at the London Marathon but had been over a minute behind Wanjiru.

Several of the favourites failed to cope with the hot conditions especially defending champion Stefano Baldini of Italy.

The 37-year-old was out of contention early on as the European champion failed to find the spark he had in Athens four years ago and was to finish 12th.

America's hopes of ending on a winning note also died around that time as Ryan Hall, who has impressed since he switched from running the mile, also found nothing when the quintet split.

By the 30km mark, though, the picture had dramtically changed as Wanjiru and Werga upped the pace and Gharib, Lel, who should on form have been able to go with them as he owned the fastest time this year among those running, and Kifle could not find anything.

However, while Lel and Kifle floundered, 36-year-old Gharib drew on all his championship winning experience and somehow managed to reel in the front two setting up what looked sure to be a thrilling climax.

The trio were still intact as they passed the 35km marker with Wanjiru leading them out.

Behind them Kifle had squirmed free of a tiring Lel, who was beginning to look behind him in a sure sign of desperation, but the Eritrean faced a tough task in getting back to the leaders as he was nearly a minute-and-a-half adrift.

Shortly after that Wanjiru went up a gear to test out the other two and found Werga wanting, though, Gharib stuck to him like a limpet.

But even he could not keep up the pace and the young Kenyan had by the time they got to 40km established a clear gap between himself and the Moroccan.

With two kilometres to go as they appeared under the shadow of the stadium the game was clearly up for Gharib, who had an 18sec gap to make up if he were to add Olympic gold to his two world titles.

But Wanjiru was not for cracking and strode to a memorable victory - raising his left arm in celebration on entering stadium and was still full of running as he rounded off a highly satisfying Games for the Kenyans.

Werga faded so badly that what had looked at one point could be gold turned to nothing as Kebede passed him on the final lap round the track.

Tennis: Jankovic hopeful of first breakthrough in tennis Grand Slam

NEW YORK - Jelena Jankovic goes into the US Open knowing that in order to capture her first Grand Slam title she needs to raise her game to the next level when it counts the most.

The knock on the world number two Jankovic continues to be her failure to breakthrough at a Grand Slam.

The 23-year-old Serbian has yet to reach a final in the 20 Grand Slam appearances and despite going deep into just about every tournament this year she has just one win on her resume.

She blames that in part on injuries.

"I am working very hard and some of the things don't happen overnight," she said. "You can't get your endurance and your strength back in a few days. I will keep working hard and we will see what happens."

In the semi-finals of the French Open, Jankovic appeared to be headed to victory when she was up 2-0 in the third set before losing to countrywoman Ana Ivanovic.

Jankovic has reached the quarter-finals or better in 14 of 15 tournaments this year and was rewarded for her consistent play earlier this month when she earned the world number one ranking for the first time in her career.

But it was a short stay at the top as Ivanovic quickly claimed it back.

Jankovic had to fight through a calf injury to get to the round of eight at the Beijing Olympics. She received pain injections from a doctor prior to her matches.

"There was a problem with my calf in Beijing and I was taking injections to play that tournament," she said. "I had to take the injections so I didn't feel the pain. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to go on the court and play."

Jankovic said tennis recently became the number one sport in Serbia thanks to the success of players like her, Ivanovic and men's No. 3 Novak Djokovic.

"Believe it or not tennis is the most popular sport in Serbia," Jankovic said. "That was never the case before. We didn't have a tradition of producing great tennis players.

"Now we have the top three in the world. It is really amazing. A lot of young kids are playing. A lot of people are so interested tennis. It is a great thing for our country."

She is looking forward to the challenge of competing in the US Open but doesn't know if her conditioning will be enough.

Besides the leg injury in Beijing, she was upset in the fourth round at Wimbledon while dealing with a knee injury.

"Knock on wood I don't have any problems or injuries at the moment.

"I am just trying to get back in shape. I am training hard to get as fit as possible for the tournament.

"It is amazing how quickly you get out of shape and then it takes you a long time to get back there."

Olympics: Kaniskina blazes trail to women's 20km walk gold

Friday, 22 August 2008

BEIJING - World champion Olga Kaniskina of Russia led from gun to tape to win the women's 20 kilometres walk gold medal at the Olympics on Thursday.

In atrocious conditions on the course around the National Stadium, Kaniskina dominated the field and set an Olympic record of 1hr 26.31min.

There were maiden track and field medals at these Games for Norway and Italy as Kjersti Platzer finished second, 0.36sec off the pace, with Elisa Riguado a further 0.05sec adrift.

Defending champion Athanasia Tsoumeleka of Greece could only manage a ninth-placed finish in 1:27.54.

In driving rain, Kaniskina broke away from the main field early on and slowly but surely built up a steady lead on her rivals which she never looked in danger of losing.

On the track, American Bryan Clay got his bid to unseat defending world and Olympic champion Roman Sebrle off to a good start in the first event of the gruelling decathlon.

Clay, the 2005 world champion, sped to a lead 10.44sec in the 100m, giving the American 989 points.

The 33-year-old Sebrle of the Czech Republic, the reigning world record holder who also won silver in the 2000 Sydney Games, ran 11.21sec for 814pts in joint 27th position.

The decathletes will now turn their attention to the long jump and shot put in the morning session, before competing in the high jump and 400m in the evening.

Their second day of competition, comprising the 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500m, comes on Friday.

Medalling events in Thursday's evening session include the men's 110m hurdles, 400m and triple jump, and the women's 200m and javelin final.

There are also semi-finals in the men's 800m and women's 1500m ahead of Saturday's finals in each event, and men's and women's 4x100m relay teams race heats for Friday's finals.

In the 400m final, reigning Olympic and two-time world champion Jeremy Wariner will face a showdown with top rival LaShawn Merritt.

Merritt, the 2007 world runner-up to Wariner, beat his arch-rival in the US Olympic trials but lost twice to him last month in Europe, setting the stage for their most meaningful meeting yet.

US men have dominated the men's 400m, winning the past six gold medals in the event and 11 of the past 13. They could even sweep the podium as the US 400m hurdles line-up did since American David Neville also reached the finals.

The 110m hurdles might have lost some of its lustre with the withdrawal through injury of defending Olympic and world champion Liu Xiang of China and American two-time Olympic silver medallist Terrence Trammell.

But world record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba, American duo David Payne and David Oliver, and Frenchman Ladji Doucoure, all made it through.

The women's 200m sees a trio of Americans - two-time 200m world champion Allyson Felix, Olympics debutant Marshevet Hooker and Muna Lee - face off against Jamaica's defending champion Veronica Campbell-Brown, Kerron Stewart and Sherone Simpson.

Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie of the Bahamas and Cydonie Mothersill of the Cayman Islands make up the final line-up.

Olympics: US beach volleyball queens extend reign

Thursday, 21 August 2008

BEIJING - US beach volleyball queens Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor overcame a stern challenge from China's Wang Jie and Tian Jia to successfully defend their women's Olympic title on Thursday.

In heavy rain, the bikini-clad Americans won 21-18, 21-18 to stretch their winning streak to an astounding 108 matches without dropping a set in seven appearances here.

China made the early running but May-Treanor, 30, coolly reeled off three points in a row to create three first-set points before spiking the winner.

China briefly led midway in the second set before the US regained control with Walsh converting the first gold-medal point.

Earlier, Chen Xue and Zhang Xi claimed China's first Olympic beach volleyball medal with a 21-19, 21-17 victory over Renata Ribeiro and Talita Rocha of Brazil.

China's silver-bronze finish breaks the stranglehold held by Brazil, Australia and the United States, who between them had collected all the women's Olympic medals since the sport's introduction in 1996.

Silver-medallist Tian has epitomised China's steady rise after she finished 19th at Sydney 2000 and ninth in Athens four years ago.

May-Treanor also reached the 2000 quarter-finals with Holly McPeak. Thursday's scoreline was the closest faced by the US champions who defeated Brazilian challengers Ribeiro and Rocha in the semis.

Greatest Olympian' Phelps remembers Singapore

BEIJING - He walked in as the sounds of U2’s Vertigo crashed off the walls and shivered the glass panes around the Omega Pavilion.

His image beamed out of countless small television screens behind him, and the electric entry of swimming’s greatest star would surely have got the nod of approval from Bono and The Edge.

It’s about the only way to introduce Michael Phelps these days.

He’s so big even Bruce Springsteen stopped in the middle of a concert last Saturday in the United States to tell the fans: “Michael Phelps has just won gold number 7.”

The Boss never, ever, stops a live performance for anyone, except for swimming’s Zeus.

Now we know.

After turning the Water Cube in Beijing into his own playground to win eight gold medals, the athletic giant so many are calling the greatest Olympian of all time was paraded by his sponsors Omega at the Olympic Green here on Wednesday, with team-mates Natalie Coughlin and Katie Hoff and Games greats Alexander Popov and Ian Thorpe.

The Emperor was at ease mingling with kings Alexander the Great and the Thorpedo. At only 23, he has already performed the greatest feat in Olympic history with the most prolific haul of 14 gold medals.

After bettering Mark Spitz’ haul of seven golds at the Munich Olympics in 1972 by one here at the 2008 Games, Phelps is talking legacy these days.

He is set to reap millions after capping his astonishing adventure over the last few months with a spectacular finale, but he says his story is also for swimming’s sake.

He’s had enough seeing his sport come alive only once every four years.

It looks like there will be room for Singapore in his tale.

As the superstar walked an audience of selected media through his gold-paved journey on Wednesday, he brought up pictures of his time in Singapore, where the American swimming team were training prior to their arrival in Beijing.

There were shots of his trip to the Night Safari, “where we got to see lions and tigers”, he said.

There were pictures of Phelps in his suite on board the Singapore Airlines A380 bound for Beijing, “with the coolest facilities and that giant bed, man”, he gushed.

“These have been exciting times and I have so many memories from the last few months,” he added. “They are memories I will keep forever.”

In the memory-making business he has left us with so many priceless moments it could well be an unfair trade-off.

He thrilled us day after day flying through the water during the first week of the Olympics, to leave Thorpe with egg on his face, after Australia’s hero wrote off Phelps’ chances of winning eight golds 48 hours before the opening ceremony on August 8.

The former champion, who won five Olympic golds in all, on Wednesday tried to blame the whole episode on miscommunication.

“It’s not what I said,” he insisted, a little uncomfortably with Phelps sitting right next to him.

“I know anything can be done.

“I said Michael would not be able to do it only because of the competition.

“I think luck plays a role, and you look at the 4x100m freestyle relay against the French, it was very lucky, and in the 100 butterfly.

“But what Michael has done is wonderful. Never in my life did I think I would see such an achievement.”

Popov, Russia’s freestyle sprint legend who won four golds over two Games, never had any doubt.

“I was always 100 per cent sure Michael would do it,” said the 36-year-old.

“Everything was down to Michael, it was all about what Michael wanted to do.

“It was up to him and from day one when he won the 400 individual medley, I knew he had everything under control.”

While Phelps will be the first to admit he did have some hairy moments, not for a second were there negative vibes in his head.

“I always thought anything is possible, and it was a matter of getting down to it, working hard,” he said.

“When someone says it is not possible, I like that, it fires me up. It motivates me.

“It’s cool to do it in the end.

“It’s been a crazy few weeks and I can say I’ve been happy to be here.”

The world’s been equally thrilled by his presence.

Olympics: Martina loses 200m silver as US protest upheld

BEIJING - Churandy Martina of the Dutch Antilles has been stripped of his Olympic 200m silver medal after the US team's protest that he had run out of his lane was upheld.

The move deprives the Dutch Antilles of their first-ever Olympic track and field medal, and sees 2004 Olympic champion Shawn Crawford of the United States take silver behind Jamaican Usain Bolt, who won the race in a world record of 19.30 seconds.

Crawford's team-mate Walter Dix, a bronze medallist in the men's 100m also won by Bolt, will now take bronze.

The US team had initially protested the disqualification of third American runner Wallace Spearmon, who had finished in bronze-medal position behind Bolt and Martina.

But they ultimately accepted the decision that Spearmon had in fact crossed lanes.

Olympics: US suffer gold medal wipe-out

BEIJING - The United States suffered a gold-medal wipe-out on Wednesday after suffering another dismal track and field performance which virtually conceding Olympic Games supremacy to China.

The US only managed a silver medal in the women's 400m hurdles through Sheena Tosta and a bronze in the men's 200m from defending champion Shawn Crawford as Jamaica piled on the misery.

First, Melaine Walker took the hurdles gold before Usain Bolt stole the show with a record-breaking performance in the 200m which delivered him the double sprint gold as well as a second world record.

American pride was restored by their teams with its NBA superstars cruising past Australia 116-85 in men's basketball and the country's baseball team making sure of their place in the last four with 4-2 victory over Japan which sets up a semi-final date with old rivals Cuba.

Meanwhile, a dominant United States ensured their place in the last Olympic softball final ahead of the sport being dumped from the Games by beating Japan 4-1.

Yukiko Ueno and Monica Abbott, the only two pitchers to throw perfect games during the tournament, kept each other's team scoreless through the first seven innings of regulation play and the first extra period.

But then the Americans scored four runs off the previously untouchable Ueno in the ninth inning for victory.

"If I said it was a great ball game, that would be an understatement. This was softball at its best internationally," said US coach Mike Candrea.

"You saw great pitching, great defence, adjustments at the plate, an international tie-breaker ... you saw a little bit of everything the sport has to offer."