Olympics-2008

    BEIJING, Oct. 10 -- Any athletes who thought they got away with doping at the Beijing Olympics shouldn't rest easy. The drug police are coming back.

    The International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday it will retest samples from the games to search for a new blood-boosting drug at the center of the latest Tour de France scandals.

    The move reflects the IOC's aggressive attempts to nab drug cheats not just during an Olympics, but weeks, months and even years later once new tests become available. Results and medals could be at stake.

    "Our message is very clear," IOC president Jacques Rogge said in a statement. "The IOC will not miss any opportunity to further analyze samples retroactively. We hope that this will work as a strong deterrent and make athletes think twice before cheating."

    The Beijing samples will be reopened and tested in particular for CERA, a new generation of the endurance-enhancing hormone EPO. The substance boosts an athlete's performance by increasing the number of oxygen-rich blood cells.

    No test for CERA was available during the Beijing Games. But a new blood test developed by the French Anti-Doping Agency has since detected CERA in samples of Tour de France riders, and the IOC now wants to go back and check whether it was also used in Beijing.

    "The idea is to retest across the sports, not solely on cycling," IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau said. "They will retest for all the new substances that are currently detectable, not only CERA."

    IOC medical director Patrick Schamasch said the IOC will test blood samples for CERA, but other tests will also be carried out to detect new drugs which he declined to identify.

    "We have indication of other substances," he said.

    The IOC freezes and stores samples from the Olympics for eight years, leaving open the possibility to retest them when new detection methods are devised.

    The IOC conducted more than 5,000 drug tests during the Beijing Games, including nearly 1,000 blood screenings.

    All Beijing samples are currently being sent to the Olympic doping lab in Lausanne, Switzerland.

    IOC medical officials haven't decided yet how many or which samples will be opened for reanalysis.

    "You don't do it just by random," IOC medical commission chairman Arne Ljungqvist said. "You have to base it on some suspicion. A number of blood samples were taken in Beijing. We will look into where we may have some suspicious parameters. Endurance events are of particular interest."

    The time frame for the testing process hasn't been finalized. Logistics have to be worked out, including whether the tests will be analyzed in Lausanne or other labs.

    "Our hope is to have this done during the coming few months," Ljungqvist said.

    The IOC previously retested some samples from the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games to look for THG, the designer steroid at the center of the BALCO scandal. No positives were found.

    Any athletes caught by new tests can be sanctioned retrospectively and be stripped of their results and medals.

    "All undiscovered cheats will be shaking now," said Michael Vesper, director general of the German Olympic Sports Union.

    The IOC has shown increasing willingness to retroactively punish doping cheats. US athlete Marion Jones had to return her five medals from the 2000 Sydney Olympics after she admitted in federal court last year that she had been doping.

    "Since we store the samples and have them at our disposal, we will not hesitate in doing further analysis," Ljungqvist said. "This is a message to people who are tempted to cheat that there may be something coming up soon or later."

    Andy Parkinson, head of operations of Drug-Free Sport in Britain, said the initiative "sends a great message."

    "Long gone are the days when an athlete gets a negative test after a competition and disappears with the medal forever," he said. "Athletes who cheat are not safe even eight years after competitions."

    Officials confirmed on Tuesday that German rider Stefan Schumacher and Italians Riccardo Ricco and Leonardo Piepoli tested positive for CERA at the Tour de France. The three riders combined to win five of the Tour's 21 stages.

    Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche Holding AG, which manufactures the drug for use by kidney patients, said it had teamed up with the World Anti-Doping Agency since 2004 to help catch cheats using it for sports enhancement.

    Michael Ashenden, the Australian-based coordinator of research consortium Science and Industry Against Blood Doping, helped develop the first doping test for EPO and another for blood tranfusion.

    He said Thursday that he expects the IOC retesting to result in more positives.

    "It wouldn't surprise me at all if we had more athletes caught," Ashenden said. "CERA is more easily detectable in blood than in urine. If there are some athletes that showed indications of it in urine, anticipate there will be even more of it in blood."

    WADA president John Fahey agreed that retesting could result in more drug test positives.

    "There's a distinct possibility that the retesting will bring out cases that weren't otherwise thought possible to detect," Fahey said on Thursday from his base in Sydney, Australia. "WADA believes that this is a very strong deterrent against any athlete who may be tempted to cheat."

    The IOC disqualified six athletes for doping during the Aug 8-24 Beijing Games.

    Three other cases are still pending.

    (Source: China Daily/Agencies)

Biological remediation was used to treat the 800,000 tonnes of soil removed from the stadium site to the base of the Olympic village



The stadium will be a hybrid structure of permanent and demountable elements

1. Demountable fabric roof canopy
2. Demountable wraparound video screen
3. Demountable upper tier of 55,000 seats
4. Permanent lower tier of 25,000 seats on concrete structure
5. Permanent semi-basement of athletes’ changing rooms
6. Demountable retail pods

 

 

BEIJING -- Yao Ming had 30 points and seven rebounds to put up the first win when China defeated Angola 85-68 Thursday in the men's basketball preliminary round at the Beijing Olympic Games.

China (1-2) continued on the way to produce one of the best Olympic journeys after losing to the United States 101-70, the less deficit in the Olympic history against the US,  and pulled world champions Spain down to the overtime before losing 85-75.

Yao was playing his best match so far in the competition as he also delivered three assists and blocked four times in 30:49 minutes. The Houston Rockets center shot 10-out-of-11 in the field and committed only one turnover before he was took off 3:05 minutes left in the game.

Yi Jianlian of China (L) is guarded by Vladimir Jeronimo of Angola during a men's Group B basketball game at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 14, 2008. [Agencies]

"My teammates gave me a great help. They made the open shots to put China ahead in the first quarter. We still have a long road to go (to enter the next round). I won't say Germany is an easier opponent than Greece. We'll take one game with one time," Yao said.

Five Chinese had double-digit numbers with point guard Sun Yue having 11 points, and Liu Wei, Zhu Fangyu and Yi Jianlian adding 10 each.

"We wanted the win more than Angola. We came out strong and never gave up even they closed the scoring," said Sun, who will play for the Los Angeles Lakers next season.

China led 28-14 in the first quarter, but let loose in the second period when Angola cut the deficit to two points on 44-42 with a 21-9 run.

"China had a perfect first quarter and we had the second. But we could not defend Yao. He is too big inside the paint," said Joaquim Gomes, who led Angola with 17 points.

Angola were held to only nine points in the third quarter when China opened it up by 65-51 to enter the last period.

"We missed some of our starters, like Olimpio Cipriano and Vladimir Jeronimo. Both played today but didn't give out what they should have given to the team. We closed the gap in the second quarter but China pulled away in the third. After that we could do nothing," Angola's coach Alberto Carvalho said.

China will take on Germany on Saturday and Greece on Monday. The hosts have to win at least one game to advance into the top eight round.

"The game against Angola reminded us that there is no easy win to score at Olympics. We have to concentrate throughout the game. We can beat any team if we play like we did against world champions Spain," Liu Wei said.


China's Yao Ming (L) vies with Angola's Joaquim Gomes during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games men's preliminary round group B basketball match at the Olympic basketball Arena in Beijing on August 14, 2008. [Agencies]


Yao Ming of China celebrates after scoring a basket against Angola during a men's Group B basketball game at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 14, 2008. [Agencies]


Zhu Fangyu of China (L) drives to the basket against Leonel Paulo of Angola during their men's Group B basketball game at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, August 14, 2008. [Agencies]


Yao Ming of China grabs a rebound over Joaquim Gomes of Angola during their Group B men'sbasketballgame at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 14, 2008. [Agencies]


Yi Jianlian of China (L) drives to the basket against Eduardo Mingas of Angola during their Group B men's basketball game at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 14, 2008. [Agencies]


China's Yao Ming (L) shots as he is defended by Angola's Joaquim Gomes (C) in their men's preliminary round group basketball match at the Olympic Basketball Arena during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on August 14, 2008. [Agencies]


China's Yao Ming scores a basket during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games men's preliminary round group B basketball match against Angola at the Olympic basketball Arena in Beijing on August 14, 2008. [Agencies]


Yao Ming of China (L) goes up for a basket against Eduardo Mingas of Angola during their men's Group B basketball game at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, August 14, 2008. [Agencies]

Shuttler Cai Yun (R), ranked second in the world, and his girl friend Wang Nan, a member of China's synchronized swimming team. [qq.com]


Chinese women's fencer Tan Xue (R) gained five World Cup tournament titles and the world No 1 spot. Tan's boyfriend Wang Jingzhi won China's first-ever World Cup tournament title in men's sabre. [qq.com]


Individual all-around artistic gymnastics gold medalist Yang Wei (R) and his girl friend Yang Yun, a former gymnast and now a TV program host [qq.com]


Individual all-around artistic gymnastics gold medalist Yang Wei (R) and his girl friend Yang Yun, a former gymnast and now a TV program host [qq.com]


Couple shuttlers Lin Dan (R) and Xie Xingfang are known as China's "golden couple" [qq.com]


Couple shuttlers Lin Dan (R) and Xie Xingfang are known as China's "golden couple" [qq.com]


Couple volleyballers Liu Yanan (L) and Wang Haichuan [qq.com]


Couple volleyballers Liu Yanan (L) and Wang Haichuan [qq.com]


China's tennis ace Li Na and her boy friend, also her coach, Jiang Shan [qq.com]


Zheng Jie, the first Chinese tennis player to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament, and her boy friend Zhang Yu, also her coach [qq.com]

Yang Wei of China gestures after winning gymnastics artistic men's individual all-around final of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, Aug. 14, 2008. Yang Wei claimed the title with a score of 94.575.(Xinhua Photo)


BEIJING, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- China's all-conquering gymnast Yang Wei won the men's all-around title with a convincing 94.575 points here Thursday at the Beijing Olympics.

Yang, a three-time Olympian with two world championships all-around gold under his belt, stormed to his first Olympic all-around victory by beating runner-up Kohei Uchimura by 2.60 points. Caranobe Benoit of France settled for bronze.

It's also China's second gymnastics men's all-around title after Li Xiaoshuang's at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

Surviving his nearly-failed last apparatus of horizontal bar, his weakest of all six apparatus which produced his lowest 14.775 points, a jubilant Yang celebrated even before his final score was accumulated, waving the Chinese national flag to the cheering home fans.

Yang, well-known for his awesome preciseness of movements, started with a comparatively plain start on floor exercise when he stepped outside the marked area and ended with a below-average 15.250 points.

He pushed two blocks up from 10th to 8th after pommel horse routine. On rings, the 28-year-old launched a strong surge, amid deafening cheers and applause from home fans for his unbelievable straightness.

Rings produced 16.625 points and took Yang up to second place only after Yang Taeyoung of South Korea. Vault sent him further to top when he scored 16.550, and a 16.100 points on parallel bars further extended his lead.

But horizontal bar nearly brought Yang a last-minute defeat as he was seen on the verge of loosing grip of the bar. When he survived, the crowd burst into cheers and chants "Yang Wei, Yang Wei". Broad smile came to his face for the first time.

"I had experience such as excelling on five apparatus but failed the last. I also had experience of losing the first but succeeding on the remaining five. Things of such kind cannot affect me any more," said Yang.

"The gold medal is meaningful because it's China's second men's all-around gold and also the second under the coach Huang Yubin," he said.

Yang and China's first men's all-around gold medalist Li Xiaoshuang are both from China's Hubei province. "I am happy as it's the second men's all-around gold medal from Xiantao city of Hubei province," he said.

Yang's teammate Chen Yibing, a rings specialist, tried hard to pull back from a crushing start on pommel horse.

He dropped shortly after his mount and placed 23rd. But the highest 16.650 points on his specialty sent him to 10th and he even made it to the third with consistent efforts.

But a fatal blow came after he fell from the horizontal bar. He even did not finish his routine and finished in last place.

Kohei Uchimura also nearly ruined his chance after disastrous performance on pommel horse. He dropped twice and scored as low as 13.275 points. But his stable performance throughout the rest of the competition brought him to second berth among the 24 finals.

"I exhausted myself in the team competition and also has injuries. I can feel weakness and injuries during my pommel horse routine. So I gave up today's competition. I must save my energy for my individual titles, " said Chen Yibing after the competition.

He also said his teammate Yang is above the field and deserves the gold. "He trained so hard for so many years and the gold should be his," he said.

Silver medalist Kohei said he was happy with a silver medal after a slack start.

"I think I was in a very bad situation (after pommel horse). I thought 'I won't be able to get a medal.' Therefore, at that moment, I didn't think about anything except for continuing the competition," he said.

For Caranobe, the bronze is a sheer surprise. "It's very special and even in my dreams I never said I would have a bronze medal. I don't know what to say."

He said horizontal bar was crucial for his winning. "The horizontal bar was important, because I'm not good at it. I was stressed about it but now I'm happy."

On contrary to the French's good luck on horizontal bar, Fabian Hambuchem of Germany had really bad luck on the apparatus, his specialty.

The horizontal bar world champion unexpectedly dropped from the bar and lost his last hope for making the top three.

 

More Photos

 

 

 

The United States awarded the Beijing Olympic Village its own gold medal Wednesday for its environmentally friendly design and efficient use of energy.

US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson presented the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Award to Chen Zhili, mayor of the Olympic Village and a vice-chairwoman of the National People's Congress.

Paulson called the village an example of US-China cooperation on energy and environmental issues.


Volonteers walk at the Beijing Olympic Village, on August 5, 2008, three days ahead of the start of the 2008 Beijing Olympic games. [Agencies]

He also urged more work on these issues.

The US Department of Energy provided technical assistance during the construction of the village.

"China's leaders know that the development of green buildings is a critical need, and the Olympic Village can serve as a model for this development," Paulson said.

"China, given its current economic growth and prosperity, can be a leader in deploying and using advanced energy and environmental technology."


US team takes up residence: The Stars and Stripes is unfurled during a flag-raising ceremony at the Olympic village on August 5 as the US team moves in. [China Daily]

Organizers have made "Green Olympics" one of the official slogans of the Games, and many of the venues have incorporated innovative systems, such as the collection of rain and wastewater for reuse.

The Olympic Village itself includes near-zero energy buildings that generate most of their power, heating and cooling through renewable sources such as solar cells and geothermal heat pumps.

This is one discipline, however, in which gold does not mean the top spot. The US Green Building Council, which issues the LEED certifications, has an even more elite category: platinum.

Agencies

China's Fei Cheng hugs a teammate after the women's team final of the artistic gymnastics event of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing on August 13, 2008. China won the gold, while United States won the silver and Romania the bronze.[Agencies]


The Chinese team celebrates after winning the gold in the women's team final of the artistic gymnastics event of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing on August 13, 2008. China won the gold, while United States won the silver and Romania the bronze.[Agencies]


The US team celebrates after winning the silver in the women's team final of the artistic gymnastics event of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing on August 13, 2008. China won the gold, while United States won the silver and Romania the bronze.


Cheng Fei of China (C) celebrates with teammates after winning the women's team artistic gymnastics gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 13, 2008[Agencies]


Shawn Johnson of the U.S. (R) consoles teammate Alicia Sacramone after the final results in the women's team artistic gymnastics final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 13, 2008.[Agencies]


The Chinese team celebrates on the podium after winning the gold in the women's team final of the artistic gymnastics event of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing on August 13, 2008. China won the gold, while United States won the silver and Romania the bronze.[Agencies]


United States' Shawn Johnson (L) and China's Fei Cheng (R) congratulate each other after the women's team final of the artistic gymnastics event of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing on August 13, 2008. China won the gold, while United States won the silver and Romania the bronze.[Agencies]


Nastia Liukin of United States competes on the balance beam in the women's team artistic gymnastics final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 13, 2008.[Agencies]


Deng Linlin of China competes on the balance beam in the women's team artistic gymnastics final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 13, 2008.[Agencies]

Wang Feng and Qin Kai compete in the men's synchronised 3m springboard final at the Beijing Olympics, August 13, 2008. The pair claimed the title in this event. [Sohu.com]
Chinese Wang Feng and Qin Kai won the men's 3m springboard synchronized gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Wednesday.

The Chinese duo collected a winning total of 469.08 points in the six-dive final.
Russian Dmitry Sautin and Yuriy Kunakov took the silver in 421.98, and Ukrainian Illya Kvasha and Oleksiy Prygorov bagged the bronze in 415.05.


Wang Feng and Qin Kai compete in the men's synchronised 3m springboard at the Beijing Olympics, August 13, 2008. They claimed the title in the event. The pair claimed the title in this event. [Sohu.com]


Wang Feng and Qin Kai wave to the audience after they were awarded the gold medal of men's synchronised 3m springboard at the 2007 World Swimming Championships, March 19, 2007. The pair claimed the title in the men's synchronised 3m springboard at the Beijing Olympics, August 13, 2008. [Xinhua]


Wang Feng (up) and Qin Kai compete in the men's 3m synchronised springboard at the "Good Luck Beijing" Diving World Cup, February 19, 2008. The pair claimed the title in the men' synchronised 3m springboard at the Beijing Olympics, August 13, 2008.

A boy looks at a jade suit sewn with gold thread from Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-25 A.D.) during the exhibition "Chinese Memory-treasures of a 5000-year Civilization" at the Capital Museum in Beijing, Aug. 12, 2008. A total of 169 of the best pieces from 55 museums across China were on display here from July 29 to Oct. 7. (Xinhua/Li Mingfang)


A young lady looks at an ancient bronze relic traced back to over 2,000 years on the exhibition "Chinese Memory-treasures of a 5000-year Civilization" at the Capital Museum in Beijing, Aug. 12, 2008. A total of 169 of the best pieces from 55 museums across China were on display here from July 29 to Oct. 7. (Xinhua/Li Mingfang)

Venus Williams of the United States hits a return against Iveta Benesova of Czech at the second round of women's singles during the Beijing Olympic tennis event in Beijing, China, Aug. 12, 2008. Williams beat Benesova 2-0.(Xinhua Photo)

BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Serena Williams needed only 44 minutes to see off Australian Samantha Stosur on Tuesday as she has been ranked as one of the top favorites for the gold medal especially after Serb Ana Ivanovic had pulled out.

Seeded fourth in women's draw, Williams broke at 3-2 and had the game in complete control, reeling off the last 10 games.

The 2000 doubles winner will take on 12th seed Alize Cornet from France, who dismissed a vociferous home crowd before outclassing China's Peng Shuai 6-2, 6-2.


Tennis player Venus Williams of the United States attends a news conference in Beijing, China, Aug. 12, 2008. She beat Iveta Benesova of Czech 2-0 at the second round of women's singles during the Beijing Olympic tennis event Tuesday.(Xinhua Photo)


"Well, I think she's really talented. I think she's playing well. I look forward to it. I haven't played her in a while and never played her on hard. It won't be easy, and I love a challenge," Serena said.

"It's an honor to compete in the Olympics. It's been great. Obviously I'm playing for a medal, but I have to get there first. That will be the ultimate goal for me."

In another early match on the Centre Court, Venus Williams also enjoyed an easy win, subduing Czech Iveta Benesova 6-1, 6-4.


Serena Williams of the United States hits a return against Samantha Stosur of Australia at the second round of women's singles during the Beijing Olympic tennis event in Beijing, China, Aug. 12, 2008. Serena Williams beat Stosur 2-0. (Xinhua Photo)


The Czech did not even have a break point opportunity while Venus broke three times of all her eight opportunities.

The American double-faulted six times but got make-up from her 15 winners.

Elsewhere, Italian Francesca Schiavone outclassed eighth seed Agnieszka Radwanska from Poland, 6-3, 7-6(6) and Denish sensation Caroline Wozniacki knocked out 10th seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 6-1, 6-3.


Serena Williams of the United States hits a return against Samantha Stosur of Australia at the second round of women's singles during the Beijing Olympic tennis event in Beijing, China, Aug. 12, 2008. Serena Williams beat Stosur 2-0.(Xinhua Photo)


"It's very good. I mean I feel like I played a good game and I'm so happy that I won over Hantuchova. It's a great win for me. I mean she is a very good player. It's amazing," said the 18-year-oldWozniacki, now ranked 22nd in the world and claiming her first career title in Stockholm a week ago.

Her reward might be a meeting with Elena Dementieva in the next round.

"I mean every round is very strong and every player is very good. We play here to represent our countries, that's great. So I have to play my best to win every match, but right now I just want to celebrate that I won today. I will think about my next match tomorrow."