More!
1. USA Men sweep 400m hurdles! Nice!
2. I didn't notice this until this morning. Somehow this was buried deep beneath other stuff. But the Chinese men have been absolutely dominant in gymnastics and fantastic to watch. Currently 5-5 in gold medals. It's quite the feat but has somehow escaped coverage. I guess the ladies hysterics and drama is more newsworthy.
3. Gebreselassie regrets withdrawal from the marathon. Beijing has been blue skies and clear air so far and the Ethiopian regrets not running in the event.
Gebrselassie regrets opting out of marathon - Olympics - Yahoo! Sports
Quote:
Gebrselassie regrets opting out of marathon
By Vivi Lin
BEIJING, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Marathon world record-holder Haile Gebrselassie regrets pulling out of the 42-km race at the Olympics over fears that Beijing’s air pollution would damage his health.
“I’m surprised. What do you expect from me? I was here in February, I didn’t see no blue sky,” the Ethiopian runner told Reuters on Monday in China’s capital, where the sun was shining in a slightly hazy sky.
“Since I came here everything is perfect. They should tell us,” he added with a laugh.
Asked if he was now sorry not to be running in next Sunday’s marathon, he chuckled again and said: “Don’t push me. Yes.”
Gebrselassie, a 35-year-old who suffers from asthma, announced in March that he would not participate in the marathon and called on China to deal with Beijing’s pollution problem, saying it would be a hazard to athletes.
International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge said last year that endurance events such as the marathon or long-distance cycling races could be rescheduled if efforts to clear Beijing’s polluted skies were unsuccessful.
As it turned out, the opening days of the Games were marred by smoggy skies but the weather has cleared for the second week.
“It’s really good for everybody, good for all … to keep such clean air, that’s fantastic,” Gebrselassie said.
Gebrselassie ran in the men’s 10,000m in Beijing on Sunday, an event in which he has twice won an Olympic gold medal. He finished in sixth place, behind fellow Ethiopians Kenenisa Bekele and Sileshi Sihine, who took gold and silver respectively.
“Getting sixth in 10,000, it was not bad,” he said.
“The only problem I had yesterday … was just the last 250 metres, the last 300 metres. I have no more sprint. My training is mostly for a marathon.”
He said he may return to the 10,000 metres and is also keen to run in the marathon at London’s 2012 Olympics. (Writing by John Chalmers; Editing by Ed Osmond)
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I think he should have remained in the race, and then pulled out at the last minute if the air was going to be bad. At the very least, China is a bit vindicated after taking so much criticism.
4. Team Redeem is unstoppable now. Gold is pretty much in hand. Maybe Lithuania or maybe Australia will be challenging. But it looks like US dominance in hoops will be restored.
5. New event to watch: Swimming marathon. This event looks interesting and I am looking forward to it. It's six miles in the open water, no-holds barred (within reason
). Should be lots of bumps and clashes along the way. I hear that the swimmers even draft each other. Sounds really exciting to watch and the finishes are really tight. This will be the only swimming event that Michael Phelps can't win the gold in cause he's not in it, haha!
6. Showdown at the track - look for Kenya and Jamaica to put on a running show as they compete fiercely for dominance.
7. Usain Bolt - got to say it again, This guy is quite the character. Hasn't been running that long and already owns everyone. He has everyone so fired up there's even talk of an NFL career as a wide receiver! I had to watch him again and I still can't believe this guy SLOWED DOWN towards the end of his race and STILL broke the record. He's only 21 too so he has time to continue wowing us. My favorite part of the victory lap: Usain runs into the stands where his family is and is hugged by mobs of Chinese dressed in "I Love China" t-shirts. One of the coolest and funniest sights on the day. The Chinese just love him there.