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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: 2008 Beijing Olympics

2008 Beijing Olympics stories: 376 news summaries

61 - 80 of 376 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ... 19 Next >>

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Olympics

 Japan Upsets US
 for Softball Gold

Americans denied top prize for first time since sport's Olympic debut in 1996

Aug 21, 08 9:43 AM CDT
(AP) - The US softball team was denied a chance for a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal today, beaten 3-1 by Japan in the sport's last appearance in the Olympics for at least 8 years. Japanese pitcher Yukiko Ueno shut down an American squad that ruled the sport since its Olympic debut... More »

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Team USA • Japan • 2008 Beijing Olympics • softball

 Speedy, but
 Disrespectful:
 IOC Chief

IOC chief criticizes sprinter's winning attitude

Aug 21, 08 8:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - Usain Bolt has reached the level of track great Jesse Owens, but the 22-year-old Jamaican needs to show more respect to fellow competitors, says the head of the IOC. Although Jacques Rogge expects more amazing feats from Bolt, whom he calls "another dimension in sprint," he censured the... More »

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Jamaica • 2008 Beijing Olympics • track and field • International Olympic Committee • Usain Bolt

 Spitz Starts Life
 as Second-Greatest

1972 Olympic champ stays gracious after record falls to Phelps

Aug 21, 08 7:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - Outspoken and prickly in the best of times, Mark Spitz is slowly adjusting to being the second-greatest Olympian of all time, the Wall Street Journal reports. Mustering a little grace for the occasion, Spitz says he's relieved at the downgrade. "He's got the burden of inspiring the youth as... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Michael Phelps • 2008 Beijing Olympics • world record • swimming • Olympians • USA Swimming • Mark Spitz

BMX Olympic Debut Sees 4 US Riders Advance

Super sweep remains possible as men survive flashy crashes

Aug 21, 08 5:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - BMX proved that it deserves its debut as an Olympic sport, with an exciting day full of crashes and injuries. All three American men made it through their qualifying heats, some more battered than others. On the women's side, Jill Kintner won the right to represent the US in the... More »

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2008 Beijing Olympics • BMX

(Newser) - Michael Phelps’ eight Olympic golds may be priceless, but they're not worth that much to a commodities trader, MarketWatch notes. This year's gold medals are made mostly of silver and coated with less than a quarter-ounce of gold, putting their value around $215. But people are, of course, willing to... More »

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Michael Phelps • 2008 Beijing Olympics • gold prices • metal prices • gold medal • silver • commodity prices

OLYMPICS

Phelps' Ties
to Timekeeper Raise Doubts

Sponsor Omega won't release images of
race No. 7 finish

Aug 20, 08 5:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - Michael Phelps' razor-thin victory in his seventh race is raising sticky ethical questions because the Olympics' official timekeeper is also one of Phelps' sponsors, the New York Times reports. Making matters worse, the timekeeper, Omega, and swimming's governing body won't break with protocol and release underwater images of the finish.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Michael Phelps • 2008 Beijing Olympics • gold medal • USA Swimming • gold medalist

Phelps' Bond With Dad
Hardly Golden

Pop a Beijing no-show; Mike's also getting no love from Beard

Aug 20, 08 3:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - Michael Phelps’ estranged dad, who’s had a peripheral role in the swimming sensation’s life since divorcing his mom when the boy was 9, has not contacted his son once during the Olympics, Fred Phelps tells the New York Post. "He's so busy, I'm sure not even his... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Michael Phelps • 2008 Beijing Olympics • celebrity • Fred Phelps • Amanda Beard

ANALYSIS

 NBC's
 Olympic
 Ratings:
 Gold

Phelps' record-breaking swim is highlight of network's bonanza

Aug 20, 08 2:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - NBC’s Olympic coverage smashed the competition last week, in what Variety suggests could be the most decisive rout in television history. Viewership was buoyed by Michael Phelps’ record-breaking gold-medal performance Saturday; in addition, NBC’s various networks reached a staggering 83% of the US. The margins were the biggest... More »

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NBC • Michael Phelps • 2008 Beijing Olympics • Nielsen Ratings • demographics • TV ratings • viewership

OLYMPICS

 Golden Bolt Breaks 200 Record

Jamaican sprinter first since Carl Lewis to win 100 and 200 meters

Aug 20, 08 10:13 AM CDT
(AP) - Usain Bolt of Jamaica raced to a gold medal and a world record of 19.30 seconds today in the 200 meters, becoming the first man since Carl Lewis in 1984 to sweep the 100 and 200 gold medals at an Olympics—and the first to ever break world records... More »

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Jamaica • 2008 Beijing Olympics • track and field • Usain Bolt • Michael Johnson • sprinters • Carl Lewis

OLYMPICS

 Britain Bumps 
 Medal Count on Day 11 

3 more golds give 2012 host nation total of 16, best haul since 1908

Aug 19, 08 5:19 PM CDT
(Newser) - Britain’s Olympic team added a 16th gold medal today, a total not seen since the 1908 Games, Reuters reports. Christine Ohuruogu took first in the women’s 400 meters—the country’s first track victory in Beijing. Bahrain’s Rashid Ramzi won the men’s 1,500 meters, giving... More »

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2008 Beijing Olympics • track and field • weight lifting • Christine Ohuruogu • medal • Matthias Steiner

Public Recreation Suffers as China Pays Olympic Bills

Exercise options include illegal swims in a frozen lake

Aug 19, 08 4:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - While elite athletes reap the benefits of Beijing’s lavish Olympic spending, Chinese citizens complain that public recreation programs are suffering, reports NPR. The government has directed $430 million to public sports facilities since 2000, but that’s only half its annual budget for training athletes. “Government resources aren't... More »

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China • 2008 Beijing Olympics • swimming • exercise • recreation

OLYMPICS

 Jamaicans Spell Speed 'D-N-A' 

Sprinters' success a combination of nature and nurture

Aug 19, 08 1:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Jamaicans sprinters are cleaning up in Beijing, thanks to both biology and their backgrounds. Runners of West African descent—including Jamaicans—have more "fast-twitch" muscle fibers, the kind that generate quick bursts of energy, Slate explains. But nature alone didn't propel 100-meter champ Usain Bolt to his record-breaking, chest-thumping... More »

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Jamaica • 2008 Beijing Olympics • track and field • Usain Bolt • sprinters • Shelly-Ann Fraser

Phelps Pulls a Spitz on Sports Illustrated Cover

Swimmer mimics iconic shot of Olympian whose record he broke

Aug 19, 08 1:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Michael Phelps now has "the picture" to match his record Olympic medal haul, the New York Daily News reports. Sports Illustrated features a grinning, medal-clad, bare-chested Phelps on the cover of its issue out tomorrow, a shot that mimics the mag's iconic 1972 photo of Mark Spitz. "This... More »

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Michael Phelps • 2008 Beijing Olympics • world record • Sports Illustrated • Mark Spitz

olympics

 US Wrestling Prodigy Wins Gold

21-year-old is youngest American to win wrestling gold

Aug 19, 08 8:40 AM CDT
(AP) - Henry Cejudo, the 21-year-old US prodigy who had competed in only one world-level senior tournament before Beijing, won gold today in Olympic freestyle 55-kilogram wrestling. Cejudo, crying the moment the match ended and wrapping himself in an American flag, defeated Tomohiro Matsunaga of Japan in the best-of-three match. Cejudo is... More »

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United States • 2008 Beijing Olympics • wrestling • gold medal

olympics

 Johnson Nabs Gold on Beam

Wins in last women's gymnastics event

Aug 19, 08 7:40 AM CDT
(AP) - Shawn Johnson finally got her Olympic gold medal in the last event of the women's gymnastics competition today on the balance beam. When her routine, chock-full of difficult tricks, earned a 16.225, Johnson's grin was a thousand times wider than the 4-inch-wide beam she had just conquered.  More »

MORE ABOUT:
Beijing • 2008 Beijing Olympics • gymnast • Shawn Johnson

OLYMPICS

 US Sweeps 400m Hurdles

Jackson clears his own hurdles for bronze

Aug 19, 08 2:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - US men swept the 400-meter hurdle competition at the Olympics yesterday, but bronze medalist Bershawn Jackson covered the longest distance—all the way from a rugged Florida neighborhood, reports the Miami Herald. Cheering him inside Bird's Nest stadium was the childhood coach who remembered he "hated to lose just... More »

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2008 Beijing Olympics • Bershawn Jackson • 400-meters • Angelo Taylor • Kerron Clement • Moore Park • Jesse Holt

olympics

Disappointment Has a Silver (Medal) Lining

As gymnast beats herself up, American fans go wild

Aug 18, 08 5:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - Despite failing to win an individual medal, and her tearful insistence that she cost the US the team gold, gymnast Alicia Sacramone is enjoying wild popularity among fans across the world, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. "I guess it's kind of surprising,” said Sacramone, who has climbed as... More »

MORE ABOUT:
2008 Beijing Olympics • gymnastics • gymnast • Alicia Sacramone

OLYMPICS

Hostesses Wow after Grueling Preparation

Stand-and-smile boot camp preceded duty at medal ceremonies

Aug 18, 08 3:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - The hostesses helping to hand out medals at the Beijing Olympics are earning high praise for their glamor and grace. But while they make their jobs look simple, a whopping amount of training and a meticulous selection process brought the women to the world stage. Candidates were chosen using precise... More »

MORE ABOUT:
China • 2008 Beijing Olympics • hostesses • cheerleaders

 An Olympic
 Medal, but
 Then What?

Many athletes experience a vacuum when they withdraw competition

Aug 18, 08 3:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - When Olympic careers end, many athletes endure emotional stress or cope with the comedown by turning to drugs, the New York Times reports. Few can expect the multi-million-dollar endorsement deals that await Michael Phelps, and many fail to redirect their focus. The fix, says one sports psychologist, is to identify... More »

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2008 Beijing Olympics • athlete • Olympic athletes • sports psychology • gold medalist • second career

olympics

'Supermom' Torres Won't Rule Out 2012 Games

3 Beijing silvers—and close call with gold— may push swimmer to try for London

Aug 18, 08 1:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - Though Dara Torres says she’s looking forward to hanging with her 2-year-old, the US swimmer’s three silver medals in Beijing have some asking if she’ll aim to compete in the 2012 Olympics—when she’ll be 45. "I don't know," Torres told the Philadelphia Inquirer.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
motherhood • 2008 Beijing Olympics • swimming • working mothers • Dara Torres

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