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Showing posts with label Day 4. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Day 4. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Men's 100m Freestyle Semifinal


Current world champion James Magnussen and World record holder Cesar Cielo. Question. Magnussen is only 21 years old. Why does he look so damn mature! He sprinted to un-chasable distance by the last 25m. I like Brent Hayden's tats! Capless too because he's botak! :))


1. Nathan Adrian (Usa)
2. James Magnussen (Aus)
3. Hanser Garcia (Cub)
4. Sebastiaan Verschuren (Ned)
5. Cesar Cielo (Bra)
6. Brent Hayden (Can)
7. Yannick Agnel (Fra)
8. Nikita Lobintsev (Rus)

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Phelps Seeks Medal Record as Doping Row Flares

The headlines everywhere in the world right now.
I excerpt this from the business times; it has a more neutral feel.

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Top swimmers cautioned against assumptions of doping as a debate over the astonishing performances of a Chinese swimmer threatened to overshadow Michael Phelps' bid to become the most decorated Olympian of all time on Tuesday.

Ye Shiwen, 16, is chasing a second gold in Tuesday's 200 metres individual medley final after winning the 400 medley on Saturday more than a second inside the world record.

"We want to be very careful about calling it doping," the American John Leonard, executive director of the World Swimming Coaches Association, told Britain's Guardian newspaper.

"The one thing I will say is that history in our sport will tell you that every time we see something - and I will put quotation marks around this - 'unbelievable', history shows us that it turns out later on there was doping involved."

China briefly dominated women's swimming in the 1990s but its reign ended as fast as it began, following a series of doping scandals.

Ye swam the 400 medley five seconds inside her personal best, covering the last 50 metres faster than American Ryan Lochte, who won the equivalent men's event in the second best time in history.

She issued a quick and firm denial on Monday, telling the China News

Service: "My results come from hard work and training and I would never use any banned drugs."

Australia's Ian Thorpe, winner of five Olympic swimming golds, warned against rushing to judgment.

"Young swimmers can take off chunks of time that other swimmers can't," he said.

"RUINING SPORT"

International Olympic Committee medical chief, Arne Ljungqvist said it would ruin the "charm of sport" to raise doping suspicions every time an athlete's performance improved dramatically.

Others noted that Phelps had broken his first world record at 15. "Michael Phelps is a phenomenal swimmer," British multiple short-course world champion Mark Foster said. "Is she the Chinese Michael Phelps? Why not?"

American Phelps has gone on to win 17 Olympic medals, 14 of them gold. If he wins two more in Tuesday's 200m butterfly and 4x200m relay, he will overtake Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina's record haul of 18.

He also has the chance in the butterfly, his favourite event, of becoming the first man to win the same swimming event in three successive Olympics.

"I made my first Olympic team in this. The shorter races are a lot better for me now that I'm older," Phelps said.

Monday provided another story of youthful success in the pool as Lithuania's swimmer Ruta Meilutyte, just 15, won the women's 100 breaststroke, and an upset as Frenchman Yannick Agnel beat Lochte in the men's 200 freestyle.

A total of three swimming golds put France third in the medal table at the end of Monday's third day of competition, behind the United States, on five golds, and China, on nine.

For the host nation, golds are proving elusive but a bronze in the men's team gymnastics on Monday felt almost as good as it ended a 100-year wait for any kind of a medal in the event.

The focus of home attention on Tuesday is Wimbledon as Andy Murray competes in the second round of the tennis competition, once again carrying the hopes of British fans yearning for a title after his final defeat to Roger Federer in the grand slam tournament there earlier this month.

Women's soccer throws up a tasty tie between North Korea and the United States, at Manchester United's Old Trafford ground, that may prove as much of a spectacle for students of Cold War rivalry as for die-hard sports fans.

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I really admire International Olympic Committee medical chief, Arne Ljungqvist for defending her. Even Phelp's coach says it's unfair to accuse Ye Shiwen. What unjust! American coach John Leonard calls Ye's achievement, breaking the world record as "disturbing".  That's a very unwise thing to say.  I call his jealousy and inability to accept a true young prodigy as disturbing! Ye Shiwen is having a finals event later in the night, in which she broke the Olympic records yesterday while in the semifinals. This young girl is simply swimming for her life and all these news...I suspect it's all to distract her. :(( Poor Ye! It's really hard being on top. 




Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay Heats


It will be such a joy to watch! Unfortunately I missed it due to work. :( So many countries represented! I wonder who each country sent for their heats. Usa has a reputation for sending b-team in their heats, but the stunning results - 3 seconds off the rest = is too incredible, so I'm guessing a-team is here! Lochte, Phelps, perhaps? And team france - Yannick Agnel? Paul Biedermann for Germany? Oh yes I love watching the relays because there's just too much stars!! :)))

1. USA 7:06.75 
2. France 7:09.18
3. Germany 7:09.23
4. Australia 7:10.50
5. Great Britain 7:10.70
6. China 7:11.35
7. South Africa 7:11.51
8. Hungary 7:11.64
9. Japan 7:11.74
10. Russia 7:11.86
11. Italy 7:12.69
12. Belgium 7:14.44
13. Denmark 7:15.04
14. Canada 7:15.22
15. New Zealand 7:17.18
16. Austria 7:17.94

Men's 200m Breaststroke Heats


5 heats in total, I have no idea who will win this, really. Except for Kitajima and Rickard, the names are quite new to me. 

Semifinalists:
1. Tales Cerdeira (Bra)
2. Glenn Snyders (Nzl)
3. Clark Burkle (Usa)
4. Michael Jamieson (Gbr)
5. Ryo Tateshi (Jpn)
6. Giedrius Titenis (Ltu)
7. Laurent Carnol (Lux)
8. Christian Vom Lehn (Ger)

1. Scott Dickens (Can)
2. Viatcheslav Sinkevich (Rus)
3. Kosuke Kitajima (Jpn)
4. Daniel Gyurta (Hun)
5. Andrew Willis (Gbr)
6. Scott Weltz (Usa)
7. Marco Kock (Ger)
8. Brenton Rickard (Aus)

Women's 200m Butterfly Heats


4 heats in total. Jessicah Schipper is in heat 2; she won bronze in both the 100m and 200m Butterfly at the last games. 

Semifinals: 
1. Anja Klinar (Slo)
2. Hye Ra Choi (Kor)
3. Natsumi Hoshi (Jpn)
4. Liuyang Jiao (Chn)
5. Katinka Hosszu (Hun)
6. Cammile Adams (Usa)
7. Jessicah Schipper (Aus)
8. Otylia Jedrzejczak (Pol)

1. Martina Granstorm (Swe)
2. Mireia Belmonte Garcia (Esp)
3. Zsuzsanna Jakabos (Hun)
4. Kathleen Hersey (Usa)
5. Jemma Lowe (Gbr)
6. Judit Ignacio Sorribes (Esp)
7. Zige Liu (Chn)
8. Audrey Lacroix (Can)

Men's 100m Freestyle Heats


8 heats in total, most I've seen so far. Cesar Cielo, Sebastissn Verschuren, James Magnussen, Cullen Jones and Fabian Gillot and fresh gold medalist Yannick Agnel are all in this events. Cesar Ceilo got bronze in this events at the last games. Alot of names I have never seen before here, I'm guessing they are the young guns. 

Semifinals:

1. Fabien Gilot (Fra)
2. Cesar Ceilo (Bra)
3. Brett Fraser (Cay)
4. Gideon Louw (Rsa)
5. James Magnussen (Aus)
6. Nikita Lobintsev (Rus)
7. James Roberts (Aus)
8. Shaune Fraser (Cay)

1. Yannick Agnel (Fra)
2. Cullen Jones (Usa)
3. Brent Hayden (Can)
4. Nathan Adrian (Usa)
5. Sebastiaan Verschuren (Ned)
6. Pieter Timmers (Bel)
7. Konrad Czerniak (Pol)
8. Hnaser Garcia (Cub)