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NEWS ABOUT: 2008 Beijing Olympics

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Jamaica's Bolt: World's Fastest Man

(AP) - Jamaica's Usain Bolt rewrote the record books again and easily captured his first Olympic medal by running the 100-meter dash in a stunning 9.69 seconds. Laying claim to the title of "world's fastest man," Bolt beat Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago by 0.2 seconds, while... More »

Phelps Ties Spitz With 7 Golds

(AP) - Michael Phelps beat Milorad Cavic of Serbia by the thinnest of margins to win the 100-meter butterfly yesterday, tying Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals at a single Olympics. Phelps, seemingly destined for second at the finish, somehow touched the wall first, a scant .01 seconds ahead of Cavic.... More »

Cops Turn China Protesters Into Propaganda

Beijing police feed arrested visitors fried chicken, deport them

(Newser) - The Rev. Patrick Mahoney posed for pictures during his interrogation in Beijing—half of it, anyway. Over 7 hours, police ran a classic good cop/bad cop routine on Mahoney, who had unfurled a “Jesus Christ is King” banner in Tiananmen Square, he tells the Washington Post. "They wanted... More »

Liukin Does What Dad Couldn't

Daughter scores gymnastics gold as silver medalist father watches

(Newser) - Growing up in Texas, Nastia Liukin eyed her father's four Olympic gold medals, won for his gymnastics exploits as a USSR star. But one always eluded him: the all-around individual medal, which he came within a tenth of a point of in 1988. "I hope that I made up... More »

Phelps: Great, or Greatest?

The debate rages on

(Newser) - Everyone agrees that Michael Phelps is one of the greatest Olympians ever—but is he the greatest? It’s become a hot topic of debate in Beijing, the New York Times reports. Phelps stands alone in the gold medal column, but swimming hands out a lot of medals, and some... More »

Bird's Nest Stadium: Your Corporate Logo Here

Beijing's National Stadium and Aquatics Center put post-game rights on market.

(Newser) - For a low, low price in the hundreds of millions of dollars, Beijing’s $500-million National Stadium, known as the “Bird’s Nest,” is peddling 30-year naming rights, courting six multinational corporations for logo privileges and other partnerships, the Wall Street Journal reports. The “Water Cube” Aquatics... More »

US Gymnasts Grab Gold, Silver in All-Around

Liukin takes gold, Johnson silver to China's bronze

(Newser) - Americans Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson captured the gold and silver medals in the women’s gymnastics all-around competitions, marking the first time US gymnasts have taken the top two spots, USA Today reports. Liukin’s standout balance-beam routine and focus on artistic elements helped lead her to victory with... More »

Phelps Grabs Gold No. 6

(Newser) - Six for six. Michael Phelps swam to another gold medal with an easy win in the 200 individual medley, the AP reports. Phelps, who continued his perfect streak of world records, beat Hungary's Laszlo Czeh (silver) and fellow American Ryan Lochte (bronze). He's got two races remaining to set a... More »

Twitter Helps Chinese Blogger Tell His Story

Citizen journalist is forced to leave Beijing, but he plans to return

(Newser) - Twitter gets a bad rap for its often less-than-substantive musings, but every now and then the service proves its "true potential" as an Internet tool, writes Mathew Ingram in the Toronto Globe and Mail. Case in point: When a Chinese citizen journalist recently traveled to Beijing, the authorities hustled... More »

Chinese News Agency Put Gymnast's Age at 13

(AP) - Just 9 months before the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government's news agency, Xinhua, reported that gymnast He Kexin was 13, which would have made her ineligible to be on the team that won a gold medal this week. In its report Nov. 3, Xinhua identified He as one of "... More »

Olympics Online Coverage Still In Learning Curve

NBC serves up quantity, but quality is sometimes lacking

(Newser) - NBC is offering a nearly endless supply of Olympics coverage online, a laudatory move but one with its share of hiccups, writes Robert Bianco in USA Today. NBCOlymics.com provides live feeds of dozens of events—many of them obscure—for free. But the broadcasts lack much of the polish... More »

Irate Wrestler Chucks Bronze

Sweden's Abrahamian only out for the gold

(Newser) - Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian threw his bronze medal to the floor during the ceremony, stormed off, and vowed to quit the sport, the Telegraph reports. "I don't care about this medal. I wanted gold," Abrahamian said. The wrestler had earlier confronted the judges’ over their decision that eventually... More »

Federer Falls to Blake

Phelps eases into butterfly semis

(Newser) - Roger Federer’s lackluster year continued today, as American James Blake knocked him out of the Olympics, 6-4, 7-6 (2), ESPN reports. Blake had won just a single set against the once-invincible Federer in their previous eight meetings. The women’s side also saw big upsets, with Serena Williams falling... More »

Hey Saudis, Let the Women Play!

Time for the IOC to enforce it's no discrimination rule

(Newser) - The most beautiful sight in the Olympics' opening ceremony came when Egypt’s 26 female competitors strode into the stadium, writes Mona Eltahawy, an Egyptian Muslim, in the Washington Post. Women also carried flags for Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, filling Eltahawy with pride. And then came Saudi Arabia—... More »

China Defends 'Olympic Karaoke'

Bucktoothed girl not 'flawless' enough for Olympic image

(Newser) - Chinese officials are defending Friday’s lip-synched performance of its national anthem, reports the AP. "There were a number of candidates to sing that song and at the end of the day the artistic directors picked the best voice and the best performer," a spokesman said. The actual... More »

Chinese Dancer Paralyzed in Fall

Liu Yan was rehearsing for opening ceremonies; may never walk again

(Newser) - One of China’s top classical dancers may have been paralyzed for life during rehearsals for the Olympics' opening ceremonies, the New York Times reports. Liu Yan was to perform the show’s only solo number, until she missed a jump to a malfunctioning platform 12 days ago, falling 10... More »

Phelps' Winning Personality Separates Him From Spitz

Golden-boy swimmers are only similar in the pool

(Newser) - Michael Phelps has passed Mark Spitz's record number of career gold medals, and is dead set on eclipsing the seven golds Spitz won in Munich in 1972. But apart from their metal preferences the two men are very different people, observes the New York Times. The detached Spitz matched his... More »

I'M IN UR LOLYMPICS, BEIN UR PREZIDENT

British paper turns Bush into laughing-out-loud stock

(Newser) - By now you’ve probably encountered “LOLcats,” the photos of cats with superimposed text designed to make people “laugh out loud,” as the kids say. Now, the fine folks at the Guardian have turned some highlights from President Bush’s visit to Beijing into “LOLBushes”... More »

Gold-Mining Phelps Eats 12K Calories a Day

Olympic swimmer gorges on 4K calories at each meal

(Newser) - Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps gorges on 12,000 calories a day—pounds of pasta, trios of fried-egg sandwiches, and an entire pizza—to keep his body fueled for his gold medal performances, reports the New York Post. "Eat, sleep, and swim. That's all I can do," said Phelps,... More »

Beijing Struggles to Fill Stadiums

Sold-out games are full of empty seats

(Newser) - Olympic organizers have a problem: No one’s going to their sold-out events. Foot traffic is sparse in Olympic Park, and empty seats have abounded at early events. The panicked Chinese have organized yellow-shirted, state-trained “cheer-squads” to fill the holes, but that hasn’t been enough for the IOC,... More »

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