Live report of 2004 Olympics

gdhdannyUID: 125843

2 Gold medals in a row from the shooting team.

We are red-hot!

franchescaUID: 122155

Chinese women basketball has just beat the Korean!! :D

I beg Athens Olympics will be a big triumph for China! I'm so proud of being a Chinese! :mad:

gdhdannyUID: 125843

I am sure it will not be as good as what we will get in 2008

franchescaUID: 122155

China off to good start in Olympics
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-08-15 07:32


Olympic debutante Du Li fired the start gun for China's gold rush in the Athens Games on Saturday as the 2000 Olympic third-place finisher nabbed four gold medals from shooting and diving.

U.S. swim phenom Michael Phelps broke his own world record in winning the men's 400m individual medley and his nemesis Ian Thorpe picked the 400m freestyle gold, making their only encounterin 200m freestyle even more attractive.

Three more world marks tumbled. Australia set a new world record of 3:35.94 to win the women's 4x100m freestyle while Turkey's women's weightlifer Nurcan Taylan shattered two world records en route to the top podium.

Du Li clinched the Olympics' first gold in the women's 10m air rifle with an Olympic record of 502.0 points, beating a host of elite markswomen including top-ranked Lioubov Galkina of Russia and world and European champion Katerina Kurkova from the Czech Republic.

The 22-year-old student entered the 10-shot final with 398 points as a joint second and was edged into fifth after opening the final with a 9.4 points.

"I was nervous about the first shot, but as the final went on, I regained my calmness," she said.

The Chinese rejoined the title race with 10.6 and 10.8 points. But she didn't overtake Galkina until the last shot, firing a 10.6 against the Russian's 9.7.

Galkina, who led by a full point into the final with 399 points,picked the silver with 501.5 points. Kurkova claimed the bronze.

Wang Yifu, a six-time Olympian and the oldest athlete at 44 in the Chinese sports delegation, added 10m air pistol gold to his Olympic medal collection that includes a 1992 gold, three silvers and a bronze.

Wang edged out world record holder Mikhail Nestruev from Russia by 0.2 points for a winning total of 690 points, a new Olympic record.

"I'm extremely excited at the victory," said a teary Wang, who had collapsed and passed out after missing the gold by 0.1 point in the 1996 Olympics.

Guo Jingjing and Wu Mingxia grabbed the Games' first diving gold in the women's 3m springboard synchronized final, totaling 336.90 points against second-placed Russian duo Vera Ilyina/Yulia Pakhalina's 330.84.

They were followed up by compatriots Tian Liang and Yang Jinghui, who totaled 383.88 points for the men's 10m synchronized gold.

In an event hogging most spotlight, Phelps lifted the Games' first swim gold and a world record.

The American teenager later claimed that winning seven gold medals here, just as fellow countryman Mark Spitz did in the 1972 Olympics, was possible.

"That's one down and six to go," he said after winning the 4x100m IM in 4:08.26, bettering his own mark of 4:08.41 set in theUS Olympic trials on July 7.

"The whole day I was thinking about this race. I didn't sleep last night and I just swam as fast as I could."

Phelps' Australian rival Ian Thorpe defended his 400m freestylecrown in 3:43.10 and was in tears after out-touching teammate Grant Hackett in an electrifying final.

"I was emotional, I didn't realize how much this event meant tome," he said.

World record holder Yana Klochkova of Ukraine retained her 400mIM title in 4:34.83, just 0.12 of a second ahead of American Kaitlin Sandeno. Georgina Bardach of Argentina took the bronze in4:37.51.

Australia won the women's 4x100m freestyle in a new world record clocking of 3:35.94, beating the previous world standard of3:36.00 set by Germany on July 29, 2002.

The United States picked the silver in 3:36.39 and the Netherlands got the bronze in 3:37.59.

On the judo mat, history was made by Japanese pair Tadahiro Nomura and Ryoko Tani.

Nomura became the first triple Olympic champion in the sport and Tani was the first woman to win a second title.

Nomura edged out Georgian Nestor Khergiani in the men's under-60kg final to win Japan's 100th summer Olympic gold.

Tani, still troubled with an ankle injury, beat France's Frederique Jossinet by waza-ari in the women's under 48kg final.

Italian cyclist Paolo Bettini won a grueling 224.4km road race with a time of 5:41.44, overtaking Portugal's Sergio Paulinho in afinal spurt.

Fencer Aldo Montano won Italy's second gold as he rallied to defeat Hungarian Zsolt Nemcsik 15-14 in the men's individual sabre.

Turkey's Nurcan Taylan upset Chinese Li Zhuo in the women's 48kg category to win the first weightlifting gold medal.

Taylan lifted 97.5 kg in the snatch, breaking the former world mark of 93.5kg set by Li Zhuo last September.

The 21-year-old went on to set one more world mark as she garnered 210kg after lifting 112.5 in the clean and jerk. Li was second with 205.0kg.

In a heavy blow to the pride of hosts, who have already delivered a thumbs-up opening ceremony, Greek Olympic 200m champion Costas Kenteris and women's 100m silver medallist Katerina Thanou have been withdrawn from the Athens Games pending an International Olympic Committee (IOC) hearing.

Greek Olympic chief Lambis Nikolaou said they decided to remove the athletes until a final decision by the IOC, who is investigating whether they deliberately missed the doping check, an act usually treated as a failed test.


Tian Liang (right) and Yang Jinghui won China's second gold medal in diving from the men's synchronized 10m platform at the 28th Olympic Games on Saturday. [Xinhua]

franchescaUID: 122155

China beat Japan 3-0 in women's hockey preliminaries
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2004-08-14 17:08


China defeated Japan 3-0 in the women's hockey preliminaries in the Olympic Hockey Center in Athens Saturday.

franchescaUID: 122155

Chinese sharpshooter breaks Olympic record
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-08-14 16:03


Zhao Yinghui of China broke the Olympic record of the women's 10m air rifle in the qualification round competitions Saturday morning.

Zhao scored 398 points to beat the previous Olympic record of 397 set by Petra Horneber of Germany at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

franchescaUID: 122155

Wang Yifu wins 2nd gold for China at Athens Olympics
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-08-14 20:12



Wang Yifu waves to the audience after winning gold medal of men's 10m air pistol final in Athens, August 14, 2004. [newsphoto]
Chinese veteran shooter Wang Yifu shot down the men's 10m air pistol gold medal with a total of 690 points at the 28th Olympic Games on Saturday.

  

Wang Yifu, at the age of 43, only secured the gold in the final shot, in which he had 9.9 points, beating Mikhail Nestruev of Russia to the second.

Nestruev, world champion in 2002, shot 9.7 points in the final round, losing the title by 0.2 points.

Vladimir Isakov, also from Russia, was third at 684.3 points.

Wang, who began his career at the age of 16, is the only Chinese athlete who has competed in the Olympic Games since 1984 Los Angels where he finished third in the men's 50m pistol event.

At the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992, he took his first gold medal in the 10m air pistol with 684.8 points. In both Atlanta and Sydney Games, he finished second in the shooting.

franchescaUID: 122155

Earlier on Saturday, Du Li of China won the women's 10m air rifle gold medal with a score of 502 points.

The 22-year-old outscored a host of elite markswomen, including compatriot Zhao Yinghui, world number one Lioubov Galkina of Russia and world and European champion Katerina Kurkova of the Czech Republic, winning with an Olympic record score of 502.0 points.

Du, who is competing in her first Olympics, entered the 10-shot final with 398 points on joint second places along with Zhao and Kurkova. She was edged into fifth place after opening the final with a 9.4.

The girl then maintained her composure and rejoined the title race with a 10.6 and 10.8. But she didn't overtake all-time leader Galkina until the last shot, firing a 10.6 against the Russian's 9.7.

Galkina, who led by a full point into the final with 399 points, had to settle for the silver with a total of 501.5 points.

Kurkova claimed the bronze medal with 501.1 points.

franchescaUID: 122155

By Xing Zhigang (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-08-14 00:37


Hundreds of millions of Chinese viewers will be glued to Athens Olympics on the television over the next 17 days.

The four-yearly Olympic mania has swept through China since 1984 when the country sent its first delegation to the Games in Los Angeles.

With the Beijing 2008 Olympics in mind, the nation seems to have even more enthusiasm in the Athens Games. The connection between Athens and Beijing has actually become so evident that it can be felt everywhere from the Chinese Olympic squad and media reports to the preparations for the 2008 Games.

China has sent its biggest Olympic delegation ever -- 407 athletes and 230 coaches and officials -- to Athens, hoping to relive its glory at the Sydney Games in 2000.

Four years ago the country came third in the medal table behind the United States and Russia, its best ever Olympic finish.

Li Furong, vice-president of the Chinese delegation, has disclosed that China has selected younger athletes this time with an eye towards preparing a competitive team for the Beijing Olympics.

Even the Chinese public has demonstrated a wide-ranging interests in the Athens Games, sharply contrasting with their past preoccupation with the number of gold medals won by the Chinese Olympians.

"We used to pay attention to only the performance of our Chinese athletes because it was something that concerned us most," says a Beijing-based taxi driver Liu Fu.

He explains that for him the Olympic Games was just another sports event.

"But given that it will be Beijing's turn to hold such a spectacular event next time, we Beijingers now have more to care about this year and we have never felt so close to the Olympic Games," Liu says.

Wang Yan, a student at the University of International Business and Economics, says the Athens Olympics are an important prelude to the Beijing Games in 2008.

"The two cities, both cradles of human civilization, have shared many aspects in their long history and ancient culture," she says.

"So what we see in the Athens Games may be the same as what will happen in Beijing and this may be the main reason for our great passion for this year's event."

For instance, both Athens and Beijing face the problem of how to ensure that the style and landscape of their Olympic projects conforms with their traditional architectural styles.

What's more, Wang adds, it is natural for people to compare the host cities of the Olympics, which may also encourage the Chinese people to focus more on Athens.

At the same time, Olympic-related organizations in China have taken advantage of their participation in the Athens Games to prepare for the 2008 event.

China Central Television (CCTV), the country's flagship media organization, has sent a team of 160 reporters and technicians to cover the Athens Games.

It also has more than 400 people working around-the-clock at its Beijing headquarters to broadcast the event to the nation.

Preparation bid

Renting a total of six satellite lines, CCTV plans to air 1,400 hours of programmes covering about 2,200 events -- twice the amount of coverage of the Sydney Games -- on six channels, including a 24-hour sports channel and two subscription channels.

CCTV has also been entrusted by the International Olympic Committee for the first time to help offer TV footage of matches in table tennis, badminton and modern pentathlon for international transmission.

CCTV Sports Centre Director Ma Guoli hopes wide coverage of the Athens Olympics will help lay solid foundation for its broadcasts of the 2008 Games.

"We are trying to train more presenters and commentators, using the Athens Games as part of our preparatory work for the 2008 Games," he says.

"I do hope our team will benefit from its experience in Athens so that we are able to do a better job of broadcasting the Beijing 2008 Games to the whole world."

Yi Jiandong, an associate professor at Beijing Sport University, says the Athens Games will be of great significance to organizers of the Beijing event.

"The organizers of the Beijing Olympiad can learn a lot from the Athens Games," he told China Daily.

Yi, a leading researcher on Olympic studies in China, notes that preparations for the Athens Games have proven to be of immense importance in establishing a strong leadership and drafting a sound and reasonable plan for the Beijing Games.

Excellent management of the preparations and effective co-ordination among related departments are both vital to the final success of the Beijing Games, he says.

In the meantime, preparation of both hardware and software facilities for the Beijing Games should be given equal emphasis.

"Compared with Athens, it seems Beijing should do more and harder work in improving the software environment, such as the training of volunteers and the education of the audience," the associate professor says.

The Chinese media has also urged the country to take concrete moves to enhance the quality of potential Chinese spectators.

A recent commentary in the Outlook news magazine says the opening of the Athens Games will prompt the international community to pay more attention to China, as well as the behaviour of its people.

It adds that by holding the Olympic Games the host country will open a window for the outside world to determine its overall national strength and the quality of its people.

While international opinion is confident that China's fast-rising national strength will ensure a successful Games in 2008, the quality of the Chinese people has yet to be tested, according to the article.

It suggests that the Athens Games will provide the Chinese public with an opportunity to learn about how to be a good host in 2008.

Learning from Athens

Li Wei, an anti-terrorism expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, says the huge security cost at the Athens Games should also be a lesson for Beijing.

Greece has so far spent an unprecedented 1.2 billion euros (US$1.5 billion) on the Games' security, five times more than that of the Sydney Games.

"That reminds us of the significance of guaranteeing security for the 2008 Games amid a deteriorating security environment," he says.

"Many security measures should be phased in now although the Games are for another four years."

In fact, China has already began to learn from Greece in how to organize a cost-effective Olympic Games.

Gu Yaoming, secretary-general of the Chinese Olympic Committee, says he has been greatly impressed by the frugal and practical way of Greece in hosting the Games.

"The Greek people have done a very practical work rather than engaging in only elaborate things," he says.

"I strongly feel we should use their experience as reference."

As one of the signs that the host of the 2008 Games is learning from this experience, Beijing has moved to revise its plans for the construction of Olympic stadiums in line with the principle of saving costs and reducing potential financial risks.

Du Wei, deputy director of the Beijing Association for Olympic Economy Studies reportedly said Olympic projects will undergo appropriate cutbacks.

More existing stadiums will be brought into full use, while the size and standard of new stadiums will be appropriately adjusted, Du was quoted as saying by the Guangzhou-based 21st Century Business Herald.

These savings will be ploughed back into infrastructure construction, such as addressing traffic congestion and air pollution in the capital city.

The revision is expected to help cut costs by billions of yuan, according to Du.

As the first step in the revision, Beijing has halted construction on the 100,000-seat "bird's nest" stadium, designed as a centerpiece venue for the 2008 Olympics with a budget of 3.5 billion yuan (US$423 million).

Media reports said the ambitious design, with bands of steel stretching every which way to resemble a bird's nest, was originally designed with a retractable roof, but will now be an open-air venue.

A roofless design would save an estimated 400 million yuan (US$48.37 million) and 10,000 tons of steel, top engineering consultant Shen Shizhao of the Chinese Academy of Engineering was quoted as saying.

On the other hand, the deadline for the completion of all Olympic projects has also been postponed from the end of 2006 to the end of 2007, the 21st Century Business Herald reported.

"The idea of delaying the completion deadline is inspired by the Athens Games, which saw the completion of its main stadium just in time for the opening of the Games," says Ge Jiaqi, chief structure engineer at the Chinese Institute of Aviation Plan and Design.

"In comparison, our original demand for completion of all Olympic projects in the second half of 2006 appears quite unnecessary."

Sports researchers says completing Olympic projects too early will increase operational cost.

On Friday, the Beijing organizing committee officially confirmed the delay of venue construction upon the advice of the IOC Co-ordination Commission for the 2008 Olympic Games.

"The venue construction should be completed at a right time, neither too early nor too late," Liu Jingmin, executive vice-president of Beijing organizing committee, told a press conference in Athens.

"What we said in the bid book is to complete the construction of the stadiums by the end of 2006, then we will do the installation and testing by 2007, so it doesn't run contradictory to the IOC request." said Liu.

He added that all the venues will be ready in succession in the year of 2007.

In Athens, one final connection to the Beijing Games is a symbolic ceremony at the August 29 closing of the Games where Beijing Mayor Wang Qishan will be handed the Olympic flag, signalling the formal transition of the Games to Beijing.

Then 170 Chinese performers will stage an eight-minute traditional Chinese art performance, entitled "From Olympia to the Great Wall."

Earlier reports said that the performance will be directed by world-famous Chinese film director Zhang Yimou.

gdhdannyUID: 125843

China men basketball team was defeated by their Spanish competitor tonight with a score of 58:83.

Yao Ming, our leader, totally frustrated by the poor performence of the whole team, complained about his teamates about the past game.

maniacUID: 155886

Although Yao Ming has enough grounds for complaint, he should do a better job in the match. As the most famous basketball star in China, he has already received wide acceptance in NBA. He must take more responsibility, and the first should be increasing the shooting times and reduce the unnecessary passes. The most important is that he should remember he is one of the best centres in the world and he should dominate the Paint and Low post.

gdhdannyUID: 125843

It is unfair to complain about the performence of one single player in a game which involves the efforts of the whole team. Meanwhile, I do believe what Yao Ming concerned is not the result of the game but how much the team contributed to it. And that is exactly why we lost the game --- the lack of confidence and duration which are among the key factors to win a group game.