tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69132727351705786242024-02-08T08:25:22.988-08:00Chinese ThingAll about Chinese Thing , Chinese Thing basic information.staiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-10540399526469333812008-08-24T07:55:00.004-07:002008-08-24T07:56:38.321-07:00Tia Hellebaut wins Belgium first gold medalWith only one day left, Belgium finally got on to the <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> Olympic gold medals table when Tia Hellebaut won a women's high jump title in Beijing on Saturday.<br />
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Tia Hellebaut of Belgium celebrates with Blanka Vlasic of Croatia after the women's high jump final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Tia Hellebaut won the title with 2.05 metres. Blanka Vlasic took the silver.</center><br />
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The 30-year-old Hellebaut, the world indoor pentathlon champion, cleared 2.05 meters on her first attempt to claim the gold medal<br />
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Croatian Blanka Vlasic had to settle for the silver as she failed the first attempt on 2.05. The world champion, who had the eight best marks of the season and was a big favorite coming into the Olympics, didn't miss at any heights until her first go at 2.05 meters, which she cleared on her second attempt.<br />
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The bronze medal went to Russian Anna Chicherova with 2.03 meters.<br />
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Another Russian Elena Slesarenko, the 2004 Athens gold medalist and two-time world indoors champion, was fourth at 2.01. <br />
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Source: Xinhuastaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-5931834859189834442008-08-24T07:55:00.003-07:002008-08-24T07:55:55.209-07:00United States wins Olympic gold for women's basketballPlayers of the U.S. women's volleyball team wave on the podium after winning the silver medal of women's volleyball event at the <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. <br />
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Australian women's basketball team attend the awarding ceremony of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games basketball event at Olympic Basketball Gymnasium in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. <br />
Defending champions United States won their fourth consecutive Olympic women's basketball gold medal on Saturday, beating Australia 92-65 in the third final between two sides since the 2000 Olympics.<br />
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The U.S. led the first half 47-30.staiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-6164392027026319162008-08-24T07:55:00.001-07:002008-08-24T07:55:37.280-07:00Samuel Kamau Wansiru of Kenya winns marathon gold medalKenya's Samuel Kamau Wansiru crosses the finish line during men's marathon final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2008. Samuel Kamau Wansiru won the title. <br />
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Kenya's Samuel Kamau Wansiru crosses the finish line during men's marathon final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2008. Samuel Kamau Wansiru won the title. <br />
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Kenya's Samuel Kamau Wansiru competes during men's marathon final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2008. Samuel Kamau Wansiru won the title.<br />
-- Samuel Kamau Wansiru won the men's marathon, the final event of the Beijing Games track and field sports, with a perfect performance at the long-distance running on Sunday.<br />
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After dominated the distance running in the Bird's Nest, the 21-year-old Kenyan won the race for African in a time of two hours six minutes and 32 seconds, breaking the Olympic record set by Carlos Lopes of Portugal at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles by two minutes 49 seconds.<br />
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Jaouad Gharib of Morocco finished second, also broke the previous Olympic record, in a time of two hours seven minutes and 16 seconds, while Tsegay Kebede of Ethiopia won the bronze in 2:10:00.staiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-45554765938360896392008-08-24T07:54:00.004-07:002008-08-24T07:55:16.284-07:00South Korea wins taekwondo men 80kg gold medalCha Dongmin of South Korea fights against Alexandros Nikolaidis of Greece during the Taekwondo men +80kg gold medal match at the <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Cha Dongmin defeaded Alexandros Nikolaidis and won the gold.<br />
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Cha Dongmin of South Korea fights against Alexandros Nikolaidis of Greece during the Taekwondo men +80kg gold medal match at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Cha Dongmin defeated Alexandros Nikolaidis and won the gold.staiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-56626114115002098592008-08-24T07:54:00.003-07:002008-08-24T07:54:53.445-07:00Brazil beats U.S. for women's volleyball goldPlayers of Brazilian women's volleyball team celebrate after winning the gold medal of women's volleyball event at the <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. <br />
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Players of <a title='Chinese' href='http://www.chinardf.cn'>Chinese</a> women's volleyball team pose after winning the bronze of women's volleyball event at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. <br />
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Players of the U.S. women's volleyball team wave on the podium after winning the silver medal of women's volleyball event at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. <br />
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Players of Brazil celebrate after the women's volleyball gold medal match at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Brazil beat the United States 3-1 and won the gold.staiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-45828298097440344102008-08-24T07:54:00.001-07:002008-08-24T07:54:17.533-07:00Typhoon Nuri brings downpours to south ChinaDownpours brought by Typhoon Nuri swept south China's <a title='Guangdong' href='http://guangdong.chinardf.cn'>Guangdong</a> and <a title='Guangxi' href='http://guangxi.chinardf.cn'>Guangxi</a> from Friday to Saturday, but no casualties have been reported. <br />
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A float bridge is damaged by the gale at Dayawan sea area in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Aug. 22, 2008. <br />
From 8 a.m. Friday to 2 p.m. Saturday, rainstorms accompanied by winds of up to 68 km per hour, hit the southeastern areas of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with the biggest precipitation of 350 mm in Beiliu County, according to the regional meteorological station. <br />
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Heavy rain was forecast to continue in the region on Sunday and Monday. <br />
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Typhoon Nuri was downgraded to a strong tropical storm on Friday afternoon after it landed in the coastal areas along Sai Kung of Hong Kong. The storm made another landfall in southern Guangdong late on Friday, packing winds of up to 90 km per hour. <br />
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Heavy clouds are seen over the skyline in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province, Aug. 22, 2008. <br />
In a farming yard in Guangzhou, Guangdong's capital, 186 tourists, including 55 foreigners, were evacuated to safe areas by police after the wooden house where they stayed were damaged by strong winds with power cut off.<br />
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Source:Xinhuastaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-61634369638038499042008-08-24T07:53:00.005-07:002008-08-24T07:53:55.243-07:00South Korea wins Asia's first Olympic baseball gold medalSouth Korean men's baseball team celebrate after winning the gold of baseball event at the <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. <br />
South Korea beat defending champion Cuba 3-2 here Saturday to win Asia's first Olympic baseball gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games.<br />
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Lee Yong-kyu opened the winning team's lead with a two run homer in the first inning and teammate Park Jim-man added one point in the seventh inning.<br />
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Lee Yongkyu of South Korea competes during the Baseball gold medal game against Cuba at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. South Korea beat Cuba and won the gold. <br />
Cuba's Michel Enriquez and Alexei Bell homered respectively in the first and seventh innings.<br />
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The bronze medal went to the United States.<br />
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Asia's first Olympic baseball gold medal could be last one for this sport as baseball will not be included in the 2012 London Games. Whether it can enter the Games afterwards remains unclear. <br />
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Source: Xinhuastaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-80095802129591753902008-08-24T07:53:00.003-07:002008-08-24T07:53:43.478-07:00Chinese Zhang Xiaoping wins Olympic light heavy weight (81kg) goldZhang Xiaoping of <a title='China' href='http://www.chinardf.cn'>China</a> celebrates after defeating Kenny Egan of Ireland at the men's light heavy final bout at <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> 2008 Olympic Games boxing event at Worker's Gymnasium in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2008. Zhang Xiaoping won the gold medal of the event. <br />
<a title='Chinese' href='http://www.chinardf.cn'>Chinese</a> Zhang Xiaoping beat Ireland's Kenny Egan to win the Olympic light weight gold medal at the Olympic Games here on Sunday.<br />
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Zhang Xiaoping of China celebrates after defeating Kenny Egan of Ireland at the men's light heavy final bout at Beijing 2008 Olympic Games boxing event at Worker's Gymnasium in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2008. Zhang Xiaoping won the gold medal of the event. <br />
Zhang maintained his leading position through out the match and ended it at 11-7. Zhang and Egan got the same points in the second and third rounds, but Zhang made a better start and ending.<br />
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It is a breakthrough for China's boxing as none of Chinese heavy weight boxers had won Olympic medals before.<br />
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Just before Zhang's victory, his team mate "Pirate" Zou Shiming claimed the gold of 48kg at the Beijing Olympic Games. <br />
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Source: Xinhuastaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-78935209960741803722008-08-24T07:53:00.001-07:002008-08-24T07:53:30.072-07:00China wins synchronized swimming team bronze<a title='China' href='http://www.chinardf.cn'>China</a> win bronze in the team event free routine 97.334 points at the <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> 2008 Olympic Games synchronized swimming event in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Spain took its second silver following Russia with 98.251 points.<br />
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China win bronze in the team event free routine 97.334 points at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games synchronized swimming event in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Spain took its second silver following Russia with 98.251 points.<br />
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China win bronze in the team event free routine 97.334 points at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games synchronized swimming event in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Spain took its second silver following Russia with 98.251 points.staiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-5805060817315680702008-08-24T07:52:00.004-07:002008-08-24T07:53:05.026-07:00Roundup: A British cycling empire rises in BeijingRiders pass the Tian'an Men Square during women's road race of the <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, August 10, 2008. <br />
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As the Beijing Olympic Games cycling dropped its curtain on Saturday, a new empire has been established by the Britons, who will host the next Olympics in London in 2012.<br />
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British cycling team only won two golds in Athens four years ago, which disappointed their people back home. In order to get a good result in Beijing and pave the way for London, the British government funded the team with 3.5 million pounds of lottery money during the past four years.<br />
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And, their investment got paid well.<br />
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A total of 54 medals had been awarded from the 18 finals in cycling's four disciplines of road cycling, track, BMX and mountain bike at Beijjing Games. Britain finally topped the medal table with eight golds, four silvers and two bronzes, leaving their arch rival France far back with two golds, three silvers and one bronze.<br />
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Nicole Cooke stunned the world to claim Britain's first gold in Beijing by wining the women's road race on the first day of the cycling event, while Emma Polley aggrandized British ecstasy in cycling by winning a silver in the women's individual time trial later on.<br />
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Britain's Nicole Cooke is excited after passing the finish line during women’s cycling road race of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, August 10, 2008. Nicole Cooke won gold in the event. <br />
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Britain demonstrated their overwhelming domination on the track, medalling in eight of the 10 events, only failing to claim a medal in the mass-start events, the men's and women's points races and the Madison, while traditional track rivals Australians, who collected a total of six golds on the track in Athens, only saved face at last day by winning a silver in women's sprint.<br />
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The British men's team made a clean sweep of the sprint events, even going one-two in the men's sprint and keirin. In fact, the Brits never lost a single heat in any of the sprint events.<br />
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Flying Scotsman Chris Hoy equalled a 100-year-old British Olympic record on his way to winning his third gold medal of the Games in the coveted sprint event, ahead of England's Jason Kenny.<br />
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Cyclists of the British team compete at the men's team sprint qualifying of the Beijing 2008 Olympic cycling-track event at the Laoshan Velodrome in Beijing, China, Aug. 15, 2008. The British team ranked 1th with a total time of 42.950 seconds in the qualification and was qualified for the first round. <br />
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"It's pretty special," said Hoy, who becomes the first Briton to win three Olympic golds in a single Games since swimmer Henry Cotton in 1908.<br />
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"When I think multiple medals I think about Steve Redgrave and Michael Phelps," he added.<br />
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The 32-year-old Hoy has collected a total of five Olympic medals, four of them gold. In Athens he won the time trial crown on its last Olympic appearance and in Sydney four years earlier he claimed silver in the team sprint behind France.<br />
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Britain's record tally of medals was completed by Victoria Pendleton, who maintained her unbeaten momentum throughout the tough three-day sprint tournament to claim her first Olympic crown.<br />
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If it was no crash accident in the final of Olympic's newcomer BMX women's race, Shara Reade would add another gold to British lion's share on cycling.<br />
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The defending world champion was regarded as the best female BMX rider, and has dominated the race in last year's world championship and this year's world cup in Taiyuan, China.<br />
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Two French women Anne-Caroline Chausson and Laetitia Le Corguille were lucky enough to finish one-two on the podium, while Jill Kintner of the United States took the bronze.<br />
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Maris Strombergs, reigning world champion from Latvia clinched the gold in men's edition, dashing the hope of the United States to pocket all medals in the event. Mike Day and Donny Robinson has to be placed second and third, swallowing the bitter, even they kept their lead in from the first run.<br />
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As for the mountain bike, the only field that Britons has lagged behind, German's Sabine Spitz met no Briton-challenge to take the gold of women's cross country. Maja Wloszczowska of Poland took the silver, while the bronze medal went to Irina Kalentyeva of Russia.<br />
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French due Julien Absalon and Jean Christophe Peraud finished 1-2 in the men's edition, and Nino Schurter of Switzerland took the silver. The bronze went to Nino Schurter of Switzerland, and British Liam Killeen only finished eighth.<br />
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<a title='Chinese' href='http://www.chinardf.cn'>Chinese</a> cyclists did not live up their promise to make a gold break through on home soil, finishing with one bronze medal took by Guo Shuang in women's sprint on the track.<br />
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Four year from now, Britain will hold the Olympics back home. Will British cycling armada keep on sailing far? We will wait and see. <br />
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Source: Xinhuastaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-50470575567074537642008-08-24T07:52:00.003-07:002008-08-24T07:52:42.653-07:00Kenya's Wilfred Bungei wins Olympic men's 800m goldWilfred Bungei of Kenya celebrates after the men's 800m final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Wilfred Bungei won the title with 1:44.65.<br />
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Wilfred Bungei of Kenya crosses the finish line during the men's 800m final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Wilfred Bungei won the title with 1:44.65. <br />
Kenyan Wilfred Bungei stormed to the men's 800 meters title to win his country's third gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.<br />
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Bungei won the gold in one minute 44.65 seconds after a brilliant surge of speed in the final laps. He was followed by Ismail Ahmed Ismail of Sudan, who finished the race at 1:44.70. The bronze medal went to another Kenyan Alfred Kirwa Yego with 1:44.82.<br />
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Bungei, who only finished fifth in Athens Games four years ago, had been in the leading pack for the whole race, he met a strong challenge from Ismail but managed his leading position.<br />
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Ismail and Yego broke clear in the closing stages but Wilfred ensured himself of the gold medal when he sprinted away in the final straight.<br />
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Kenya had won two gold at the Games as Pamela Jelimo was crowned in women's 800 meters and Brimin Kiprop Kipruto took the men's 3,000 meters steeplechase title. <br />
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Source: Xinhuastaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-29363031899934526252008-08-24T07:52:00.001-07:002008-08-24T07:52:18.648-07:00Kenya's Langat wins women's 1500m gold at Olympic GamesKenya's Nancy Jebet Langat won the women's 1,500 meters gold medal at the <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> Olympic Games on Saturday.<br />
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Nancy Jebet Langat of Kenya reacts after the women's 1,500m final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Nancy jebet Langat won the title with 4:00.23. <br />
The 27-year-old clocked her personal best of four minutes and 0.23 seconds for the gold. Ukraine's Iryna Lishchynska took the silver in 4:01.63 and her compatriot Nataliya Tobias won the bronze in 4:01.78.<br />
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In the first 400 meters, the race was led by Russia's Anna Alminova and Iryna Lishchynska of Ukraines, the bronze medalist of the 2007 world championship.<br />
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Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain, the world champion soon caught up with the top echelon and overtook them to spearhead. Langat was trailing them behind.<br />
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When Jamal seemed to be assured of the gold as 1,200 meters had been covered, Langat dramatically kicked and widened the gap with the world champion.<br />
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Jamal, exhausted as she was, was overtaken by Lishchynska and her fellow Tobias, and lost her chance to win a medal. <br />
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Source: Xinhuastaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-385440204822183192008-08-24T07:51:00.006-07:002008-08-24T07:52:01.358-07:00Bekele completes gold double by winning men's 5000mKenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia set a new Olympic record in men's 5,000-meter race to win the gold medal on Saturday at the <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> Olympic Games.<br />
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The 26-year-old Ethiopian distance runner finished in 12 minutes and 57.82 seconds to refresh the 24-year-old Olympic record created by Morocco's Said Aouita at Los Angeles Games.<br />
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Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia competes during the men's 5,000m final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Kenenisa Bekele won the title and set a new Olympic record.<br />
The new record also gave him the second gold medal in the Beijing Olympic Games after winning the men's 10,000m.<br />
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Bekele, the silver medalist at Athens Games in 5,000m, also became the second Ethiopian after Miruts Yifter to achieve the 5,000m and 10,000m double. Yifter made the feat at Moscow Games, 1980.<br />
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Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge, bronze medalist at Athens Games, finished in 13:02.80 to win the silver medal.<br />
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Kipchoge's fellowman Edwin Cheruiyot Soi gained his seasonal best result of 13:06.22 to win the bronze medal.<br />
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Bernard Lagat of the United States, the world champion last year, finished ninth. <br />
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Source: Xinhuastaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-49516822536378349572008-08-24T07:51:00.005-07:002008-08-24T07:51:46.819-07:00Richards leads U.S. to women's 4x400m relay winMonique Henderson of the United States competes during the women's 4x400m relay final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. The team of the USA won the title. <br />
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Runners of the United States celebrate after the women's 4x400m relay final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. The team of the United States won the title with 3:18.54. <br />
<a title='Sanya' href='http://sanya.chinardf.cn'>Sanya</a> Richards made a thrilling comeback from behind to anchor the win for the United States in the women's 4x400 meters relay at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing on Saturday.<br />
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Richards, who finished a disappointing third place in the 400m event, overtook Russia's Anastasia Kapachinskaya at the last moment, to help the U.S. quartet retain the champion won in Athens four years ago.<br />
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The U.S. team, also including Mary Wineberg, Allyson Felix and Monique Henderson, clocked three minutes 18.54 seconds.<br />
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Russia took the silver in 3:18.82 and Jamaica won the bronze in 3:20.40. <br />
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Source: Xinhuastaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-23464916045804775312008-08-24T07:51:00.003-07:002008-08-24T07:51:32.108-07:00U.S. storms to 4x400m relay win with new Olympic recordJeremy Wariner of the United States competes during the men's 4x400m relay final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. The team of the United States won the title and set a new Olympic record. <br />
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David Neville of the United States competes during the men's 4x400m relay final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. The team of the United States won the title and set a new Olympic record. <br />
The U.S. quartet won the men's 4x400 meters relay gold medal with a new Olympic record at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing on Saturday.<br />
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It is not a surprise for the U.S. team to win the race comfortably because the four athletes are all dominant figures in the Games.<br />
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Newly-crowned 400m champion LaShawn Merritt ran the first leg. The second was Angelo Taylor, twice Olympic champion in 2004 and 2008 in the 400m hurdles, and the third was David Neville, the 400m bronze winner and the anchor leg was run by Jeremy Wariner, the Athens champion and silver winner behind Merritt.<br />
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The U.S. finally won the race in two minutes 55.39 seconds, beating the previous Olympic record of 2:55.74, set by the U.S. team in the 1992 Barcelona Games.<br />
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Bahamas took the silver in 2:58.03 and Russia finished third in 2:58.06. <br />
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Source: Xinhuastaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-32607474409900917562008-08-24T07:51:00.001-07:002008-08-24T07:51:15.798-07:00Aussie black horse spoils China's dream of diving gold sweepMatthew Mitcham of Australia performs a dive during Men's 10m Platform Final of <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> 2008 Olympic Games diving event in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Matthew Mitcham claimed the gold of the event.<br />
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Matthew Mitcham of Australia performs a dive during Men's 10m Platform Final of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games diving event in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Matthew Mitcham claimed the gold of the event.<br />
Aussie Matthew Mitcham outscored top favorite Zhou Luxin at the last second in the men's platform final of the Beijing Olympics, spoiling China's dream of a clean sweep of all Olympic diving golds for the first time in over 50 years.<br />
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Mitcham trailed Zhou in the first five dives, but still over 30 points behind before the last attempt.<br />
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However, he nailed an unbelievable back two-and-a-half somersault and two-and-a-half twists, with a 3.8 degree of difficulty, achieving four perfect 10s to outscore Zhou who made a glitch in his last attempt.<br />
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Zhou Lvxin of <a title='China' href='http://www.chinardf.cn'>China</a> performs a dive during Men's 10m Platform Final of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games diving event in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Zhou claimed the silver of the event.<br />
The World No. 3 compiled a total of 537.95 points to bag the gold.<br />
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Zhou, winner of the 2006 World Cup and second of the 2007 World Championships, was left a silver medal with 533.15 points.<br />
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World champion Gleb Galperin of Russia settled for the bronze with 525.80. <br />
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Source: Xinhuastaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-58034425808532016692008-08-24T07:50:00.001-07:002008-08-24T07:50:59.907-07:00Meng/Yang of China retain men's canoe double (C2) 500m goldMeng Guanliang and Yang Wenjun of <a title='China' href='http://www.chinardf.cn'>China</a> compete in the men’s canoe double 500m final at <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> 2008 Olympic Games in the Shunyi Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. They won the gold medal.<br />
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Meng Guanliang/Yang Wenjun from China retained their men's canoe double 500m title in one minute and 41.025 seconds at the Beijing Olympics on Saturday.<br />
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Russia took the silver in 1:41.282, and Germany got the bronze in 1:41.964. <br />
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Source: Xinhuastaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-65264083951323398992008-08-24T07:49:00.002-07:002008-08-24T07:50:37.251-07:00American Clay wins men's decathlon gold at OlympicsAmerican Clay wins men's decathlon gold<br />
Bryan Clay of the United States, silver medalist four years ago in Athens, finally won the men's decathlon gold at the <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> Olympic Games in Beijing on Friday.<br />
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The 28-year-old collected 8,791 points, a new Olympic record. Belarus' Andrei Krauchanka won the silver with 8,551 points and Cuba's Leonel Suarez took the bronze with 8,527.<br />
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Clay, also the 2005 world champion, took the lead from the start, and he was never threatened for first place. He topped disciplines including 100 meters, long jump and discus throw. He lied on the track after finishing the 1,500 meters race, the last event, exhausted.<br />
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Gold medalilst Bryan Clay of the United States, silver medalist Andrei Krauchanka of Belarussia and bronze medalist Cuba's Leonel Suarez show their medals during the awarding ceremony for the men's decathlon at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 22, 2008. Bryan Clay won the title with 8791 points.<br />
"It was a long one. It was brutal, it was just brutal. It probably was the hardest decathlon I've ever done in my life through all the extremes and weather conditions." said the champion.<br />
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"I'm very, very tired, but I'm also very happy. Yesterday is a little bad but it's generally OK." he said.<br />
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On racing just to finish the 1,500 meters, he said: "I guess I knew that if I finished the race I was going to win, but I was still nervous. I still get nervous about whether I am going to be able to finish the race."<br />
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"I was exhausted. I had nothing in my legs but my main goal was to come out and compete and win a gold medal."<br />
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Krauchanka was ninth after completing shot put. However, his excellent performance in 400 meters, pole vault and javelin throw helped him catch up to snatch the silver in the end.<br />
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Cuba's Suarez was third in the 1,500 meters, taking his score to a national record of 8,527 points and allowing him to move past Alexander Pogorelov of Russia for the bronze medal.<br />
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"It's a great result for me. I prepared well, but I didn't actually think about winning a medal before the competition. It was only on the first day when I started the competition, that I realized I had a chance to win a medal. I prepared well for the world championships last year and that followed through to the Olympics."<br />
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"Before the competition my goal was to score 8,500 points and I did that so I'm very happy. Obviously I'm very happy with my performance in the running events but I think the event that made the difference was the Javelin because I threw a personal best. I also had very good results in the hurdles."<br />
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Talking about how to handle the pressure as a 20-year-old athlete, he said: "I haven't been in a competition like this in the past. My coach told me that I was only competing against myself and not the other competitors and I never felt a lot of pressure. I was very relaxed throughout the competition."<br />
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"Of course I want to go to London because I'm only young. I want to get a better result there but what happens, happens," he said. <br />
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Source: Xinhuastaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-66704372673958269222008-08-24T07:49:00.001-07:002008-08-24T07:49:26.397-07:00Bolt: great to hang out as a team"Jamaican sprinters are taking over the world. We've always been the sprinters, but we're going to tell the world we're taking over forever, forever," said Usain Bolt of Jamaica on Friday.<br />
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Asafa Powell, Michael Frater, Nesta Carter and Usain Bolt of Jamaica pose for photos by the results board with their new world record after the men's 4x100m relay final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 22, 2008. The Jamaican team won the title with 37.10 seconds and set a new world record. <br />
The two Olympic sprint gold medals winner led Jamaica to the men's 4x100 meters win with a new world record at the Beijing Olympic Games.<br />
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Bolt, who broke both the 100m and 200m world records en route to the gold medals, ran the third leg and gave the Jamaicans a big lead before handing the baton to Asafa Powell, the former world 100m record holder. <br />
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Powell easily anchored the race in 37.10 seconds, breaking the previous mark of 37.40 set by the United States in the 1992 Olympic Games. All of the Jamaican quartet could run 100m within 10 seconds. <br />
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Trinidad and Tobago, led by 100m silver medalist Richard Thompson, took the silver in 38.06 seconds and Japan won the bronze in 38.15. <br />
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Jamaican, also including Nesta Carter and Michael Frater, had not been really challenged in the final since the most favorite teams of the United States, Britain and Nigeria had been either disqualified or failed to finish the qualifying round. <br />
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"It's a team effort. We're good friends so it's great to hang out as a team," said Bolt.<br />
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"It's something that I'm used to, you know? But, being with a team, it's different," former 100m world record holder Asafa Powell said when referring to breaking the relay record. <br />
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Source: Xinhuastaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-70743763188709979892008-08-24T07:48:00.004-07:002008-08-24T07:49:09.121-07:00Brazilian Maurren Maggi crowned in women's long jumpMaurren Maggi of Brazil claimed gold medal in women's long jump by bettering Russian elite Tatyana Lebedeva over one centimeter at the <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> Olympics in Beijing on Friday.<br />
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Gold medalist Maurren Higa Maggi of Brazil, silver medalist Tatyana Lebedeva of Russia and bronze medalist Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria show their medals during the awarding ceremony for the women's long jump final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 22, 2008. Maurren Higa Maggi won the title with 7.04 metres. <br />
The champion secured her gold in the first attempt with 7.04 meters, her best performance this season. Lebedeva who took the silver in women's triple jump on Aug. 17, was narrowly behind with 7.03 meters. Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria took the bronze with 6.91 meters.<br />
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With the 7.04 meters mark, Maggi dominated the first place from the start to the end, despite Lebedeva's remarkable 7.03 meters in her last trials.<br />
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"I'm really happy to win the gold. This is the first gold medal won by a Brazilian woman from a field event," she said.<br />
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Gold medalist Maurren Higa Maggi of Brazil waves during the awarding ceremony for the women's long jump final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 22, 2008. Maurren Higa Maggi won the title with 7.04 metres.<br />
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"I was so moved to hear the music of the Brazilian national anthem on the podium," said the champion who broke into tears at the medal ceremony.<br />
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"It's not an ending. I'll keep training in the future. I'm 32 years old, but I still can compete, and I'll go to London," she said.<br />
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Maggi's role, in fact, is far beyond a long jumper. She is also the South American record holder at 100 meters hurdles and at long jump, with 12.71 seconds and 7.26 meters respectively. She also has 14.53 meters in the triple jump.<br />
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Gold medalist Maurren Higa Maggi of Brazil cries during the awarding ceremony for the women's long jump final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 22, 2008. Maurren Higa Maggi won the title with 7.04 metres. <br />
In 2003, Maurren got tangled in a doping scandal after clostebol was found on her organism, an anti-scarring gel sheet that she used contained the anabolic steroid in its composition. Maurren was suspended for two years, leaving her out of the 2003 Pan American Games, and she gave up the 2004 Olympic Games due to a pregnancy.<br />
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"You know what, doping happens. It was a bad accident for me, since I was only able to compete for two years. I knew I still have things to do. I want to come back and compete in track and field. This is my last chance. I reach the gold gradually. At the very beginning it was difficult and I was scared. However, things gradually changed. Today I come back with gold. It's unbelievable," she told a news conference held after the match.<br />
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For Lebedeva, the Athens champion and winner of the three of the last four world championships, a silver is far from satisfaction after she tried her luck and failed in the critical last jump.<br />
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But later, the elite jumper peacefully accepted her fifth Olympic medal, a silver as she put it: "Life will continue."<br />
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"Of course I didn't want to be in this place. But sport is beautiful. Sport is fighting. Here in the Olympics, it's not the strongest who wins. It's coincidence of luck. Maggi got all the luck, all the strengths today. I was fighting. I was struggling until the very end."<br />
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Athens 2004 heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft of Sweden, who had decided to concentrate on the long and triple Jumps in Beijing 2008, finished ninth with 6.49 meters. "Today I didn't jump too good. I didn't take my speed with me to the board," she admitted.<br />
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"We'll see. Hopefully, I can do both the heptathlon and the long jump," she said. <br />
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Source: Xinhuastaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-16020648069096092552008-08-24T07:48:00.003-07:002008-08-24T07:48:52.210-07:00Usain Bolt donates to quake-hit area of ChinaLiu Xuanguo, vice general secretary of the <a title='Chinese' href='http://www.chinardf.cn'>Chinese</a> Red Cross Foundation , presents a T-shirt with the logo of CRCF to Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt during a donation ceremony in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 23, 2008. Usain Bolt, who won three gold medals in the men's 100m, men's 200m, and men's 4x100m relay competitions of the <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> 2008 Olympic Games, donates 50,000 U.S. dollars through the CRCF to the children in the earthquake-hit areas of <a title='China' href='http://www.chinardf.cn'>China</a> on Saturday, and invites six earthquake-affected children to travel to Jamaica. <br />
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Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt addresses a donation ceremony in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 23, 2008. Usain Bolt, who won three gold medals in the men's 100m, men's 200m, and men's 4x100m relay competitions of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, donates 50,000 U.S. dollars through the Chinese Red Cross Foundation to the children in the earthquake-hit areas of China on Saturday, and invites six earthquake-affected children to travel to Jamaica. <br />
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Liu Xuanguo , vice general secretary of the Chinese Red Cross Foundation , presents the certificate of donation to Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt during a donation ceremony in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 23, 2008. Usain Bolt, who won three gold medals in the men's 100m, men's 200m, and men's 4x100m relay competitions of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, donates 50,000 U.S. dollars through the CRCF to the children in the earthquake-hit areas of China on Saturday, and invites six earthquake-affected children to travel to Jamaica. <br />
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Bolt wins gold in men's 200m final with world recordstaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-67055754338515461812008-08-24T07:48:00.001-07:002008-08-24T07:48:26.215-07:00U.S. beats Japan 8-4 to pocket Olympic baseball bronze medalThe United States beat Japan 8-4 here Saturday to take home bronze medal of the 2008 <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> Olympic Games baseball tournament.<br />
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Japan's Araki Masahiro opened the scoring with a solo home run in the first inning, while Matt Laporta of the United States levelled it by the end of the second inning. Japan reclaimed the lead in the third inning when Aoki Norichika hit a three-run homer over the leftfield fence.<br />
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The United States retaliated shortly as Matt Brown hit the team's first three-run homer. The U.S. team then pulled in front 6-4 in the fifth inning and extended the lead to 8-4 to secure the medal.<br />
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"It feels really good. We are fortunate to get it, it's a blessing. We finally started hitting the ball and I thought we pitched well the whole game," U.S. player Matt Brown said after the match.<br />
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U.S. team manager Davey Johnson said that baseball is a big business in the United States and many good players from the Major League have club matches to play during the Olympic Games time.<br />
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On the Japanese side, team manager Senichi Hoshino said he was disappointed with the result.<br />
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"I'm sorry we didn't get the gold. Japanese fans were looking forward to the gold medal but we didn't bring it back. I feel sorry about this. We have never experienced such a tough time before," he said.<br />
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The gold medal match is slated for Saturday evening between Cuba and South Korea. <br />
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Source: Xinhuastaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-43108981465464988102008-08-24T07:47:00.002-07:002008-08-24T07:48:05.519-07:00Netherlands claims gold in Olympic women's hockeyWorld champion the Netherlands snatched the Olympic women's hockey gold with a 2-0 win over <a title='China' href='http://www.chinardf.cn'>China</a> in <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> on Friday.<br />
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The team of the Netherlands pose for a group photo after the awarding ceremony of the women's hockey match at Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 22, 2008. The Netherlands won the gold of the event while China got silver and Argentina ranked the third.<br />
It is their first Olympic hockey title since the Los Angeles Games 24 years ago.<br />
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Hosts China also picked up their first ever hockey medal at the Olympic Games.<br />
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The first half saw a 0-0 tie, in which the Dutch's four penalty corners were all saved by <a title='Chinese' href='http://www.chinardf.cn'>Chinese</a> goalie Zhang Yimeng.<br />
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A penalty corner converted by Van As Naomj in the 51st minute broke the tie and gave the Netherlands 1-0 lead. Maartje Goderie added another in the 62nd minute and sealed their 2-0 win.<br />
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"It is amazing that we can finally get the Gold medal. You can see, almost the whole stadium is orange. China was really tough but in the last 25 minutes we managed to score," said Dutch defender Maartje Paumen.<br />
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The Dutch coach Marc Lammers said he always had respect for Chinese coach and Chinese team. "They don't have many hockey players, but still they are the No. 2 in the world," he said.<br />
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He noted that lots of hockey players in his country started to train at the 14 or 15 years old and laid a very good foundation. So, he suggested China cultivate their hockey players from a young age.<br />
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"Every player wants to stand at the top podium, but the silver is still a breakthrough," said Huang Junxia, who played in three Olympic Games since 2000.<br />
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"We confronted the world No. 1 today, and my players went all out," said China's coach Kim Chang-back. "Dutch players are excellent, but our players are not inferior since they did their best."<br />
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World No. 2 Argentina took the bronze with a 3-1 win over defending champion Germany. <br />
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Source: Xinhuastaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-85474456917943520222008-08-24T07:47:00.001-07:002008-08-24T07:47:43.746-07:00Norway wins Olympic women's handball goldGro Hammerseng of Norway shoots during the women's gold medal match of handball event between Norway and Russia at <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Norway beat Russia and claimed the title in this event. <br />
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Norway reaped its first Olympic gold in women's handball on Saturday in Beijing, downing world champion Russia 34-27.<br />
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Before the victory, the best result of the Scandinavian country in the event had been its two Olympic silvers, respectively in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics.<br />
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"Today's fast attack in the first half worked very well. That is the key to our victory. It is the happiest moment and it is the greatest win, "Norwegian left back Katja Nyberg said.<br />
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Her teammate Goeril Snorroeggen told reporters,"I am so delighted and will go to a bar to celebrate."<br />
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Goalkeeper Katrine Lunde Haraldsen made brilliant saves to secure the victory. She said after the match,"I am tired. I was very nervous at the beginning of the match but I found later our rivals were more nervous than us. We had a good start and stunned Russia."<br />
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"It is the biggest moment in my career. I am satisfied with my performance throughout the Olympics," added Haraldsen.<br />
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The Norwegian girls dominated the first half with sweeping attacks. With diversified transferring and high speed, they took advantage of Russia's porous defense and scored continuously with fast breaks.<br />
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Nyberg and pivot Marit Malm Frafjord came into limelight at about the 26th minute with their marvelous blitz when Russian players made an error in attacking. Norway led by 18-13 before the halftime.<br />
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Russia mounted a counterattack after the interval, but the assaults were too weak to penetrate the strengthened defense of Norway. It only garnered six scores midway throughout the second half while Norwegian girls have extended their lead to nine points.<br />
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With three minutes before the buzzer, the lead of Norway was increased further to 11 points.<br />
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One high-profile scorer of the Norwegian squad was right back Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth who accumulated nine goals throughout the match, followed by pivot Else Marthe Soerlie Lybekk who brought seven points for her team.<br />
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Norwegian goalkeepers also enjoyed high efficiency in savings, one with 29 percent and the other with 39 percent, standing in a sharp contrast to their Russian counterparts of which the rates were all 19 percent.<br />
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Russia won the title in the World Championships last year. <br />
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Source: Xinhuastaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6913272735170578624.post-83890210146729570822008-08-24T07:46:00.002-07:002008-08-24T07:47:14.695-07:00Chinese Premier meets Latvian Prime Minister<a title='Chinese' href='http://www.chinardf.cn'>Chinese</a> Premier Wen Jiabao shakes hands with Prime Minister of Latvia Ivars Godmanis during their meeting in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Ivars Godmanis is here to attend the closing ceremony of the <a title='Beijing' href='http://beijing.chinardf.cn'>Beijing</a> Olympic Games, scheduled for Sunday night, and other relevant activities. <br />
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met Saturday morning with Prime Minister of Latvia Ivars Godmanis who is here to attend the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, scheduled for Sunday night, and other relevant activities.<br />
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Wen said <a title='China' href='http://www.chinardf.cn'>China</a> is glad to see that the Beijing Games has contributed to promoting unity, friendship and exchanges between people of different countries in the world.<br />
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He said that though the Beijing Olympic Games is going to close soon, the Olympic spirit will stay forever.<br />
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Godmanis said it is not his first time to attend Olympic Games, but "I have to say the organization and everything that has been done are on the highest level,"<br />
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He said he once visited China in 1995 with then Latvian president and he found that amazing change has taken place in Beijing since then. <br />
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Source: Xinhuastaiwaivhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05501071046074945573noreply@blogger.com0