This was obviously supposed to be for yesterday, but it's being released today. We're continuing the Ultimate Olympic Preview as we look at the Women's Gymnastics Competition and the Track and Field Competition.
GYMNASTICS PREVIEW (Continued)
Women:
The American women have a better chance of winning gold in Beijing than the men do. Both Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin, the first two women named to the team after the Olympic trials, are current world champions after winning the team event in Stuttgart last year. Johnson is also the current individual all-around champion and floor exercise world champion. Nastia Liukin is the current balance beam world champion and won silver in the balance beam in the last two world championships. Together, they are the strongest members of the American team and are two of the best in the world.
The rest of the American team exhibits a lot of talent as well. Chelsie Memmel is a former world champion who won gold in Melbourne at the 2005 world championships. She suffered shoulder injury in 2006 and started to make a comeback in 2007. Along with Memmel, Samantha Peszek, who has strong beam and floor routines, Alicia Sacramone and Bridget Sloan will join Liukin and Johnson in Beijing. The United States finished second to Romania at the 2004 Olympics.
While the Americans are favored, their task to win gold will certainly not be easy. Their biggest threat are the Chinese, who lost to the United States by five one-hundredths of a point in last year's team event at Stuttgtart. They won the team event back in the 2006 World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark and have had a huge rivalry with the American team for the past four years. With the Chinese competing at home, the crowd will be heavily favoring team China, including Cheng Fei, five-time world champion over the past three years.
Romanian gymnastics has somewhat declined over the past four years since winning team gold in Athens four years ago. But after winning the bronze medal in Stuttgart at last year's world championships, the Romanians are hoping for a comeback. However, they will be missing veteran gymnast Catalina Ponor, who retired from the sport after the world championships. Instead, Sandra Izbasa and Steliana Nistor, silver medalist in last year's individual all-around, will be the Romanian hopeful that will look to put Romania at the top of the gymnastics world.
But Romania will have to play underdog and put up with the United States, the favorites, and China, the host nation. Both the team and individual all-around competition will be the ones to watch in women's gymnastics competition in Beijing. And both competitions will be broadcast live in primetime on NBC.
TRACK AND FIELD PREVIEW
It's a sport where not one, but many nations can enjoy their moment in the spotlight. There is never a single country that dominates track and field. This is a sport that tests a variety of skills from running to jumping to throwing. For 10 days during the games, 47 gold medals will be awarded in the sport of athletics.
Men:
Of those 47 events, the most popular are the sprint events, namely the 100 meter dash. On the men's side, the race will come down to three athletes: American Tyson Gay and Jamaican sprinters Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell. A current world champion in the 100 meters, Gay ran the fastest time in the event in any conditions, running a 9.68 race, wind-aided, in the final of the U.S. Olympic Trials. But Usain Bolt is the current official world record holder after running a 9.72 at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York last June. Bolt faced off with Asafa Powell, the veteran sprinter and bronze-medalist at last year's world championships, in an IAAF meet in Stockholm earlier this week.
Obviously, the 100 meter race in Beijing will come down to who will have a fast start and who can put the pressure on the other competitors. The men's 100 meter final will be run on Saturday night, August 16 (Saturday morning here in the United States) at 10:30PM Beijing Time.
But the one race that all of China will be looking forward to will be the 110 meter race where defending Olympic Champion Liu Xiang will try and defend his title. He has the entire nation's hopes on his shoulders and winning in Beijing is the only choice for this 25-year-old Chinese hurdler. He won China's first men's track and field gold medal in Athens and since then, has owned a world record and won a world championship in the event.
But he will have some tough opposition, among them current world record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba. He broke Liu Xiang's world record at a IAAF Golden Spikes Meet in Ostrava, Czech Republic earlier this year with a time of 12.87 and has been consistently running those times since. At the last Golden League meet, he ran a 12.88 to win the 110 meter hurdles event in Paris.
Terrence Trammell is America's best hope to win the gold in Beijing. He won the silver medal twice in this event and is competing in what is most likely his last Olympic Games. He also won silver at the last world championships in Osaka last year.
But the focus will be on Liu Xiang, who has been the focus of Chinese sports for the past four years since winning Olympic gold. This feature from Sports Illustrated on the Chinese athlete really expresses why Liu Xiang MUST win this race. And the 110 meter hurdles will be held on Thursday night (Thursday morning here in the U.S.) on August 21, at 9:45PM.
While the 110 meter hurdles will be China's biggest attraction during the games, the other events should be highly entertaining as well. The American rivalry between reigning world and Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner and up-and-coming star LeShawn Merritt, who may be peaking at the right time, will make the 400 meters race a must-see. That race will also be ran on Thursday night, just before the 110 meter hurdles.
Bernard Lagat will also likely make headlines when the 1500 meters and 5000 meter races are ran. He is the favorite in both and is representing the United States for the first time after representing his home nation of Kenya in the last Olympic Games, when he won silver. He is the current world champion in both events.
On the field, the pole vault and shot put events will be the ones to watch. Current world champion and American Brad Walker and Australian Steven Hooker are strong contenders to take medal spots in the pole vault. And there could be a huge clash of American shot put titans when Reese Hoffa takes on Adam Nelson for a shot at the gold medal. The shot put will be one of the first medals to be awarded in athletics.
Women:
The highlight of the women's program will be the sprint races where the rivalry between the Jamaican and American runners will reach its peak. Each nation will showcase very talented runners and each race should be well-matched. In the women's 100 meters, Jamaica will be leaning on Kerron Stewart while Torri Edwards, Muna Lee and Lauryn Williams will all be contenders for gold in the event for the United States.
What this rivalry will be missing is Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown, who did not qualify for the 100 meters after placing fourth in the Jamaican Olympic Trials. The defending world and Olympic champion in the 100 meters will, however, be competing in the 200 meters and 4x100m relay in Beijing. She will have to put up with American Allyson Felix, defending world champion and silver medalist from Athens, and her countrywoman Kerron Stewart, who is trying for the elusive sprint double, that is if she wins the 100 meters.
The Jamaican-USA rivalry will likely spill over into the 400 meters race, but both countries will have to deal with powerful runners from Great Britain. Sanya Richards from the United States and Jamaican runners Novlene Williams-Mills and Rosemarie Whyte will all be contenders for medals. But runners like Nicola Sanders, who won silver in Osaka last year, and Christine Ohuruogu, current world champion, may give Great Britain glory in this event, which would be a great boost for the country that will host the next Olympic games in four years time.
On the field, the most captivating matchup will be in the pole vault where American Jenn Stuczynski will matchup with world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva, who broke her own world record in a Golden League event in Rome earlier this year. The two athletes have gone one-two in numerous events, most notably this year's world indoor championships. Isinbayeva is the defending world and Olympic champion and it would be a tall order for Stuczyinski to overthrow her. The pole vault final will be held on the night of August 18.
CONCLUSION
So looking back at the three sports that will attract the most eyes during the 17-day competition, the United States is expected to dominate in swimming, have a good shot in gymnastics, and have some bright moments in track and field. China is looking forward to its brightest moment of all, when Liu Xiang takes on the rest of the world in his signature event, the 110 meter hurdles.
We'll continue previewing the games as we inch closer to the opening ceremonies. And during the Olympic Games, NOW Sports will tackle its toughest challenge of all: A LIVE 20-HOUR BLOG on each day throughout the ENTIRE Olympic Games (or until I leave for college, whichever comes first). We'll detail more on how NOW Sports expects to cover these Games of the XXIX Olympiad.
Showing posts with label track and field. Show all posts
Showing posts with label track and field. Show all posts
Friday, July 25, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Fri July 11: Volleyball, Golden League and A Look Back at the Last Olympiad
World sports are interesting in that there is always something big happening in some sport somewhere around the world. Today and this weekend, two events headline the weekend in global sports: the final round of the FIVB World Grand Prix (women's volleyball) and the third stop in the IAAF Golden League series (track and field).
Brazil, China and United States Seek Gold At World Grand Prix Final
The World Grand Prix is a women's volleyball competition held annually by 12 teams from four continents: Europe, Asia, North and South America. Its purpose is to promote the sport of volleyball though the competition seems to only be popular in the East Asian region since the World Grand Prix is mainly sponsored by Asian companies and many of the preliminary rounds are held in Asia.
The World Grand Prix is the female equivalent of the popular men's World League competition. This year's final round is being held in Yokohama, Japan and six nations will compete for this year's title in a round-robin format: United States, Brazil, Cuba, Italy, China and Japan. Through this morning, teams have played three games already and Brazil and Cuba stand as the lone teams undefeated. The United States, suffered a straight set loss to Brazil and a five-set loss to Cuba this morning. On day 2, the United States were able to defeat Japan over five sets and thus the U.S. stands at 1-2.
Through 1PM EDT, July 11:
Brazil 3-0
Cuba 3-0
United States 1-2
Italy 1-2
Japan 1-2
China 0-3
The United States will face Italy and China in its final two games. Meanwhile the matchup of this final round will be held tomorrow between Brazil and Cuba, the two undefeated teams. This will be a rematch of last year's Pan-American games final when Cuba defeated Brazil in a five-set thriller.
This final round of games in the World Grand Prix will also be used as an evaluator tool to determine the final rosters for the Olympic Games. All six teams competing in Yokohama have qualified for the Olympics.
For more info on the FIVB Grand Prix final round, visit these links:
http://www.fivb.org/EN/volleyball/competitions/WorldGrandPrix/2008/General/Overview.asp
http://volleyball.teamusa.org/
Five Athletes Still Up for Grand Prize at IAAF Golden League
The Golden League is an annual series of meets where the world's top athletes compete professionally for a share of the $1 million jackpot. An athlete must win their respective event in all six meets. It's an top-level competition that attracts pro athletes and many spectators each year. And with the Beijing Olympics less than a month away, this is a huge warm-up meet for the athletes competing today in Rome. With the U.S. Olympic trials over, this will be the first test for the American athletes as they will compete with athletes from other nations for the first time since the Olympic team was made.
Today's meet in Rome is the third meet of the six-meet Golden League series. Five athletes are still in contention to win a share of the jackpot, including American Bershawn Jackson competing in the 400m Hurdles. Jeremy Wariner, Sanya Richards and Alison Felix are also competing in today's meet. Wariner will continue his rivalry with LeShawn Merritt while Richards and Felix will be competing in their first international meet since the Olympic trials.
For more on today's Golden League meet, visit:
http://www.iaaf.org/gle08/index.html
And watch today's meet on ESPN Classic starting at 3PM Eastern with replays on Saturday at 7AM on ESPN Classic and Sunday at 12 Midnight on ESPN2.
Countdown to Beijing: Look Back at The Past Olympiad
Yesterday, we briefly looked back at the last Olympic Games in Athens in 2004. Today, we look back at the past four years in sport (Olympic Sports, that is, though we've had memorable Super Bowls in the past 4 years too).
From the top of my head, there have been many changes in the marquee sports of track and field, swimming and gymnastics. In track and field, the sport has been trying to clean itself up by placing stricter rules on doping. Marion Jones confessed to using banned substances as well and immediately retired from the sport, giving up gold medals she won in 2000 in Sydney.Justin Gatlin was forced out of the sport in 2006, currently serving a four-year ban, after being tested positive for a banned substance. He won world championship gold medals in 2005 in both the 100m and 200m while his rival, Asafa Powell, was out with an injury. Unfortunately, the rivalry between the two never matriculated as we never got to see the two face each other in a race. Meanwhile, both Powell and Gatlin took turns breaking world records.
Meanwhile, runners began to run faster and different athletes emerged to become the top athletes of the sport, including Tyson Gay, Allison Felix and Bernard Lagat. Meanwhile, veterans like Jeremy Wariner continued to remain strong in their respective events.
In gymnastics, Chelsie Memmel, Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin emerged as the United States' best hope for medaling in the sport, winning world championships in the past three years. In swimming, Michael Phelps continued to dominate in world championships while world records continued to be broken by multiple athletes.
Overall, from the past four years, the United States has just been getting better and faster in their respective sports. But they haven't been the only one. Teams from China, Australia and Russia have been getting better in certain sports as well. Especially host nation China, who ranked second in the medal count in Athens.
There have been other bright spots in sports for the past four years. Italy won the World Cup while Brazil's women's football team captured the World Cup in China last year. Commonwealth nations like Canada, England and Australia shined at the Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne in 2006 while China dominated the Asian Games that same year.
We'll be taking a closer look at the past four years in each sport when we begin to preview the Olympic Games, sport-by-sport, beginning tomorrow with athletics.
Thanks very much for reading, hope you'll come back tomorrow.
Brazil, China and United States Seek Gold At World Grand Prix Final
The World Grand Prix is a women's volleyball competition held annually by 12 teams from four continents: Europe, Asia, North and South America. Its purpose is to promote the sport of volleyball though the competition seems to only be popular in the East Asian region since the World Grand Prix is mainly sponsored by Asian companies and many of the preliminary rounds are held in Asia.
The World Grand Prix is the female equivalent of the popular men's World League competition. This year's final round is being held in Yokohama, Japan and six nations will compete for this year's title in a round-robin format: United States, Brazil, Cuba, Italy, China and Japan. Through this morning, teams have played three games already and Brazil and Cuba stand as the lone teams undefeated. The United States, suffered a straight set loss to Brazil and a five-set loss to Cuba this morning. On day 2, the United States were able to defeat Japan over five sets and thus the U.S. stands at 1-2.
Through 1PM EDT, July 11:
Brazil 3-0
Cuba 3-0
United States 1-2
Italy 1-2
Japan 1-2
China 0-3
The United States will face Italy and China in its final two games. Meanwhile the matchup of this final round will be held tomorrow between Brazil and Cuba, the two undefeated teams. This will be a rematch of last year's Pan-American games final when Cuba defeated Brazil in a five-set thriller.
This final round of games in the World Grand Prix will also be used as an evaluator tool to determine the final rosters for the Olympic Games. All six teams competing in Yokohama have qualified for the Olympics.
For more info on the FIVB Grand Prix final round, visit these links:
http://www.fivb.org/EN/volleyball/competitions/WorldGrandPrix/2008/General/Overview.asp
http://volleyball.teamusa.org/
Five Athletes Still Up for Grand Prize at IAAF Golden League
The Golden League is an annual series of meets where the world's top athletes compete professionally for a share of the $1 million jackpot. An athlete must win their respective event in all six meets. It's an top-level competition that attracts pro athletes and many spectators each year. And with the Beijing Olympics less than a month away, this is a huge warm-up meet for the athletes competing today in Rome. With the U.S. Olympic trials over, this will be the first test for the American athletes as they will compete with athletes from other nations for the first time since the Olympic team was made.
Today's meet in Rome is the third meet of the six-meet Golden League series. Five athletes are still in contention to win a share of the jackpot, including American Bershawn Jackson competing in the 400m Hurdles. Jeremy Wariner, Sanya Richards and Alison Felix are also competing in today's meet. Wariner will continue his rivalry with LeShawn Merritt while Richards and Felix will be competing in their first international meet since the Olympic trials.
For more on today's Golden League meet, visit:
http://www.iaaf.org/gle08/index.html
And watch today's meet on ESPN Classic starting at 3PM Eastern with replays on Saturday at 7AM on ESPN Classic and Sunday at 12 Midnight on ESPN2.
Countdown to Beijing: Look Back at The Past Olympiad
Yesterday, we briefly looked back at the last Olympic Games in Athens in 2004. Today, we look back at the past four years in sport (Olympic Sports, that is, though we've had memorable Super Bowls in the past 4 years too).
From the top of my head, there have been many changes in the marquee sports of track and field, swimming and gymnastics. In track and field, the sport has been trying to clean itself up by placing stricter rules on doping. Marion Jones confessed to using banned substances as well and immediately retired from the sport, giving up gold medals she won in 2000 in Sydney.Justin Gatlin was forced out of the sport in 2006, currently serving a four-year ban, after being tested positive for a banned substance. He won world championship gold medals in 2005 in both the 100m and 200m while his rival, Asafa Powell, was out with an injury. Unfortunately, the rivalry between the two never matriculated as we never got to see the two face each other in a race. Meanwhile, both Powell and Gatlin took turns breaking world records.
Meanwhile, runners began to run faster and different athletes emerged to become the top athletes of the sport, including Tyson Gay, Allison Felix and Bernard Lagat. Meanwhile, veterans like Jeremy Wariner continued to remain strong in their respective events.
In gymnastics, Chelsie Memmel, Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin emerged as the United States' best hope for medaling in the sport, winning world championships in the past three years. In swimming, Michael Phelps continued to dominate in world championships while world records continued to be broken by multiple athletes.
Overall, from the past four years, the United States has just been getting better and faster in their respective sports. But they haven't been the only one. Teams from China, Australia and Russia have been getting better in certain sports as well. Especially host nation China, who ranked second in the medal count in Athens.
There have been other bright spots in sports for the past four years. Italy won the World Cup while Brazil's women's football team captured the World Cup in China last year. Commonwealth nations like Canada, England and Australia shined at the Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne in 2006 while China dominated the Asian Games that same year.
We'll be taking a closer look at the past four years in each sport when we begin to preview the Olympic Games, sport-by-sport, beginning tomorrow with athletics.
Thanks very much for reading, hope you'll come back tomorrow.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Tuesday July 1: Andy Murray, an Oregon Sweep, and introducing "Sports Pic of the Week"
So I realize that actual news organizations do a better job in telling the story than I do, since all I do is watch sports on TV or read about it. I've decided to let them tell you the story and my job thus will be exposing and introducing you to the top sports stories that I think will be of interest to you, sports fans.
Here's the update for Tuesday, July 1, 2008:
Hip-hip! MURRAY! Hip-Hip! MURRAY!
The round of 16 at Wimbledon always seems to provide great drama, especially when you have a British player fighting for a spot in the next round. If any of you saw the excitement and emotion that yesterday's Rd of 16 match between Andy Murray and Richard Gasquet provided, you'd understand why I love sports. Of course, this passion would be better understood if you had been at Centre Court yourself (not that I was).
But to comeback from two sets down and win a crucial tiebreaker in the third set and dominate the last two, that already gives any sports fans a thrill. Mix in the fact that a male UK player has not won Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936 and you've got an entire nation biting their finger nails. It's always a sight to see when a British player (in Murray's case, Scottish) to get closer to becoming a Wimbledon champion. The crowd is always yelling, cheering, praying, saying rubbish, and Murray was the conductor of that loud orchestra.
For more on his great win, BBC has you covered:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/7482226.stm
Murray will next face Rafael Nadal and Murray feels very confident that he can win the title. We'll have to see about that on Wednesday when the gentlemen's quarterfinals take place.
From Oregon, An Oregon Trio Will Go To Beijing
If you stayed up to watch the Olympic Trials on USA Network, then you might have caught a very interesting race in Men's 800 meter final.
The 800 meters is always interesting because its not too fast, like the 100m, but its not as long as the 5000 or 10000m. There's time for strategy, but you have to think quickly. The most important rule, however: Don't ever get boxed in! Because then you're stuck between the runner in front and behind you and the other runners that are alongside of you. How can you make a move?
Well for Nick Symmonds, Andrew Wheating and Christian Smith, they all made their move and will be moving on to Beijing. And for the hundreds of people watching at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, they couldn't have been more proud. Nick Symmonds and Christian Smith run for the Oregon Track Club while Andrew Wheating, who came around the outside and kicked past the rest of the field to place second in the final, just completed his sophomore year at the University of Oregon.
Who better to learn more from than an Oregon news source:
http://www.oregonlive.com/trackandfield/index.ssf/2008/06/three_cheers.html
Introducing "Sports Pic of the Week"
So by Tuesday, the sports week is usually over (a sports week usually starts on a Wednesday or Thursday and lasts through the top sports events of the weekend and ends with like Monday night football or something) and its time to look back at what has been a fantastic week (or weekend) in sports. One way of doing that is by looking at pictures. We spend all weekend watching TV anyway, so why not take one specific moment and have it last longer.
Thus, we welcome a new addition to NOW Sports Daily. Here's my pick for "Sports Pic of the Week":
This is what happens when you win a football (sorry, soccer) tournament for your country. An entire nation celebrates. This kind of celebration kinda gives the Giants Super Bowl Victory Parade a run for its money (though I think a parade is better):
MADRID, SPAIN - JUNE 30: The Spanish team celebrate with fans at Plaza Colon after winning the UEFA EURO 2008 Final match between Germany and Spain 2008 on June 30, 2008 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
Pic of the Week is going to be a regular thing so if you think there's a sports pic out there that you'd like to nominate as a pic of the week, then please send me a suggestion.
So that's today's blog update. Tomorrow we'll cover more from Wimbledon, the Olympic Trials and also preview soccer's annual South American Super Bowl, the Copa Libertadores Final. See you then.
Here's the update for Tuesday, July 1, 2008:
Hip-hip! MURRAY! Hip-Hip! MURRAY!
The round of 16 at Wimbledon always seems to provide great drama, especially when you have a British player fighting for a spot in the next round. If any of you saw the excitement and emotion that yesterday's Rd of 16 match between Andy Murray and Richard Gasquet provided, you'd understand why I love sports. Of course, this passion would be better understood if you had been at Centre Court yourself (not that I was).
But to comeback from two sets down and win a crucial tiebreaker in the third set and dominate the last two, that already gives any sports fans a thrill. Mix in the fact that a male UK player has not won Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936 and you've got an entire nation biting their finger nails. It's always a sight to see when a British player (in Murray's case, Scottish) to get closer to becoming a Wimbledon champion. The crowd is always yelling, cheering, praying, saying rubbish, and Murray was the conductor of that loud orchestra.
For more on his great win, BBC has you covered:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/7482226.stm
Murray will next face Rafael Nadal and Murray feels very confident that he can win the title. We'll have to see about that on Wednesday when the gentlemen's quarterfinals take place.
From Oregon, An Oregon Trio Will Go To Beijing
If you stayed up to watch the Olympic Trials on USA Network, then you might have caught a very interesting race in Men's 800 meter final.
The 800 meters is always interesting because its not too fast, like the 100m, but its not as long as the 5000 or 10000m. There's time for strategy, but you have to think quickly. The most important rule, however: Don't ever get boxed in! Because then you're stuck between the runner in front and behind you and the other runners that are alongside of you. How can you make a move?
Well for Nick Symmonds, Andrew Wheating and Christian Smith, they all made their move and will be moving on to Beijing. And for the hundreds of people watching at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, they couldn't have been more proud. Nick Symmonds and Christian Smith run for the Oregon Track Club while Andrew Wheating, who came around the outside and kicked past the rest of the field to place second in the final, just completed his sophomore year at the University of Oregon.
Who better to learn more from than an Oregon news source:
http://www.oregonlive.com/trackandfield/index.ssf/2008/06/three_cheers.html
Introducing "Sports Pic of the Week"
So by Tuesday, the sports week is usually over (a sports week usually starts on a Wednesday or Thursday and lasts through the top sports events of the weekend and ends with like Monday night football or something) and its time to look back at what has been a fantastic week (or weekend) in sports. One way of doing that is by looking at pictures. We spend all weekend watching TV anyway, so why not take one specific moment and have it last longer.
Thus, we welcome a new addition to NOW Sports Daily. Here's my pick for "Sports Pic of the Week":
This is what happens when you win a football (sorry, soccer) tournament for your country. An entire nation celebrates. This kind of celebration kinda gives the Giants Super Bowl Victory Parade a run for its money (though I think a parade is better):
MADRID, SPAIN - JUNE 30: The Spanish team celebrate with fans at Plaza Colon after winning the UEFA EURO 2008 Final match between Germany and Spain 2008 on June 30, 2008 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
Pic of the Week is going to be a regular thing so if you think there's a sports pic out there that you'd like to nominate as a pic of the week, then please send me a suggestion.
So that's today's blog update. Tomorrow we'll cover more from Wimbledon, the Olympic Trials and also preview soccer's annual South American Super Bowl, the Copa Libertadores Final. See you then.
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