OPINION
Time to bring back Olympic tradition of competing naked, says columnist
Bloomberg Jul 8, 08 8:08 AM CDT
(Newser)
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No sporting record lasts forever, but these days, writes Bloomberg columnist Scott Soshnick, athletes are demolishing them with almost ridiculous frequency. At the US Olympic swimming trials this year, no fewer than nine records were broken or equaled—a function less of talent than of technology. Perhaps it's time to return to the old Olympic tradition of competing nude, which would level the playing field—not to mention boost ratings.
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Entire monasteries cleared as Olympics start date approaches
Times (UK) Jul 7, 08 2:35 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The Chinese government has jailed more than 1,000 monks in an effort to prevent protests during the Olympic Games, reports the Times of London. Three large monasteries are empty near Lhasa, where hundreds of monks and supporters held protests amid gunfire in March. The government is holding the monks—many of them young ethnic Tibetans—in nearby prisons and detention centers, according to sources.
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Prez says he'll tackle human rights in Beijing
CNN Jul 6, 08 11:29 AM CDT
(Newser)
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President Bush today defended his decision not to boycott the Beijing Olympics next month, saying skipping “would be an affront to the Chinese people" that would make it difficult "to speak more frankly with the Chinese leadership.” Speaking ahead of tomorrow's G8 meeting in Japan, Bush said he would address concerns over religious freedom and human rights with Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Games.
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Injury a jolting
reminder that talent
isn't always enough
Los Angeles Times Jul 6, 08 5:55 AM CDT
(Newser)
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America's best-known hopeful for the Olympic track team is still going to Beijing—but won't be defending his world championship title in the 200-meter sprint. In a stunning twist, super runner Tyson Gay suffered a leg cramp that felled him during his key event in the quarterfinals of the Olympic trials. Fellow athletes, sobered but thankful that the injury was nothing more serious, expressed both sympathy and stoicism, reports the Los Angeles Times.
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There are low expectations for the team, but it has come a long way
New York Times Jul 5, 08 11:19 AM CDT
(Newser)
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China’s Olympic baseball team, under the guidance of an ex-Major League manager, has some hurdles to jump in its first Olympics. After Mao Zedong banned the Western sport in China, it never drew many fans–so the team uses second-rate facilities and generally faces overwhelming odds against other teams. But the big leagues have spent millions to push the sport in China’s huge market, the New York Times reports.
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Ageless US swimmer makes a splash in the record books
New York Times Jul 5, 08 6:05 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Dara Torres swam her way into the history books with a victory in the women's 100-meter freestyle trials last night, reports the New York Times . The 41-year-old will be the first five-time swimmer in Olympic history. She shot past 25-year-old American record holder Natalie Coughlin to finish in 53.78 seconds—almost 5 seconds faster than when she first qualifed in 1984.
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President dashes rights groups' hopes of an Olympic opening boycott
New York Times Jul 4, 08 3:27 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The White House has confirmed that President Bush will attend the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics—and he's likely to have plenty of seats to choose from in the VIP box, reports the New York Times . Brit Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will not be in attendance. French President Nicolas Sarkozy was withholding his decision until after progress in ongoing Tibet talks—but now Chinese officials have told him not to bother.
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Athletes must keep agency up to speed on their whereabouts
USA Today Jul 1, 08 1:59 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Many US professional athletes aren't accustomed to giving blood and urine samples during their off seasons, but with the Olympics approaching, that's all been changing, writes USA Today . The US Anti-Doping Agency requires all potential competitors to comply with a "whereabouts program" and submit to random screenings for HGH and illegal blood transfusions.
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Swimmer loses top time in backstroke, for only one heat
Los Angeles Times Jun 30, 08 8:26 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The US Olympic swim trials in Omaha, Neb., today looked more like a final in Beijing, as Hayley McGregory took the 100-meter backstroke world record from Natalie Coughlin—who promptly took it back, the Los Angeles Times reports. McGregory swam it in 59.15 seconds, and Coughlin stroked it in 59.03 in the next heat. "I really didn't want her to have it for very long," Coughlin said.
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2 conventions, 1 Olympic games, and an August birthday complicate matters
New York Times Jun 30, 08 6:41 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Barack Obama and John McCain must do more than pick VP candidates—they have to time the announcements carefully, a key tactical move in a busy summer, the New York Times reports. Two national conventions, the Beijing Olympics, and Obama's Aug. 4 birthday all help or hinder the timing, but it appears that Obama, with a convention closer to the games, faces the harder choice.
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OPINION
*Except that track, unlike any other sport, factors in the weather, columnist writes
ESPN Jun 30, 08 2:10 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Tyson Gay might have used the Olympic trials yesterday to cover 100 meters faster than any human in history, but he is not the world record-holder because track, unlike any other sport, attaches asterisks to records, Jim Caple writes on ESPN.com. Strong tailwinds propelled Gay to victory, but his breathtaking time of 9.68 seconds would have been 9.86 without the wind.
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USA Today Jun 30, 08 10:53 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Records fell at the Olympic trials in Omaha yesterday as both Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff triumphed in the 400 IM, USA Today reports. Each swimmer had a personal motivation: Phelps took almost a second of his own world record, and Hoff recaptured the record from Stephanie Rice.
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