alexda asked:


ple devastated by the earthquake in southwestern China on May 12 may be the first recipients of donations from athletes of the 2008 Olympic Games, Olympic champion Deng Yaping said on Tuesday.

It is a tradition that Olympic athletes from various countries donate their outfits, shoes or personal belongings to people in developing countries, with an aim of encouraging youngsters in overcoming hardships. The practice will continue at this year’s Olympic Games, Deng said at a media function in Beijing.

Donation boxes will be set up in the Beijing Olympic Village, and major beneficiaries may be those children who were hit by the 8-magnitude earthquake in China’s Sichuan Province, said Deng, who is deputy director of BOCOG’s Olympic Village Department. The donations will give them love, strength and courage, she added.

Deng and five other world champions from China joined a group of 14 psychologists in a visit to a tent school in Mianyang County recently. They told the students stories about how they’ve dealt with difficulties and setbacks in their sports lives and encouraged children to strive for new lives with confidence, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Young people devastated by the earthquake in southwestern China on May 12 may be the first recipients of donations from athletes of the 2008 Olympic Games, Olympic champion Deng Yaping said on Tuesday.

It is a tradition that Olympic athletes from various countries donate their outfits, shoes or personal belongings to people in developing countries, with an aim of encouraging youngsters in overcoming hardships. The practice will continue at this year’s Olympic Games, Deng said at a media function in Beijing.

David Horne asked:


Basketball at the 2008 Olympic Games will be held at Wukesong Indoor Stadium in Beijing from August 9-24, 2008.

Basketball is definitely a global sport that has shown continued growth over recent years. The USA with the NBA and its college basketball system undoubtedly has the toughest competitions in the world that attracts the world’s best players. However, the USA has not always dominated the Olympics and on several occasions they have been embarrassed by some unexpected defeats to lesser known teams.

The USA always enters the Olympics as favourites but their inability to gel and play as a team has brought about some bad losses. The question will be is will they have a team of players who play like individuals or will they put aside their egos and play as a team. If they play as a team then they should win the gold medal.

In 1972 the Soviet Union beat the USA to win the gold in a controversial game. After 1988 the Olympics opened the sport up for professional players to play which saw the greatest basketball team of all time to compete in 1992. The “Dream Team” lead by Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were just unbeatable and put on a show for all the world to see. Most of the players on the other teams were star struck by playing against these legends of the game.

In 1992 Michael Jordan was the team’s second highest scorer with 14.9 points per game and he had a tournament high 37 steals. The U.S. defeated Croatia 117-85 in the final and as a result Michael Jordan earned his second Olympic gold medal.

David Stern of the NBA has stated a number of times that they wish to expand and promote the game of basketball in China. As a result they have played and will continue to play more exhibition games in China. The presence of China’s greatest player, Yao Ming in the NBA has helped to increase the popularity of basketball in China.

The following teams have already qualified for the Beijing 2008 Olympics: Angola (African Champion), Argentina (Americas runner-up), Australia (Oceania Champion), China (host), Iran (Asian Champion), Lithuania (European Bronze medallist), Russia (European Champion), Spain (World Champion) and USA (Champion of the Americas).

The remaining three positions for the Beijing Olympics will be decided in the twelve team FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men that will take place in Athens, Greece on July 14th. The tournament will involve the following teams: Cameroon and Cape Verde (Africa), Brazil and Canada (Americas), Lebanon, Puerto Rico and the Republic of Korea (Asia), Greece, Germany, Croatia, and Slovenia (Europe) and New Zealand (Oceania). The draw for this tournament will be held on July 20, 2008 in Athens.

The semi finals are scheduled to be played on August 22nd and the finals two days later on August 24th. Although the Americans often underplay the importance of the Olympic Games it is guaranteed that this time they will want to restore their global dominance in basketball by coming out and performing at their best. Anything less than a gold medal will be taken as a failure by many players and supporters in the USA.

Ed Bagley asked:


Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Stories about teenage phenoms winning gold medals and setting world records at world-class swimming competitions are legion. The list is long and you can add Michael Phelps’ name to the list.

Phelps began swimming for the North Baltimore Aquatic Club at age 7. He was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and was encouraged to take up swimming to provide him with an outlet for his energy.

He attended the 1996 Olympic Trials as a 10 year old to watch his sister Whitney finish 6th in the 200-meter butterfly while trying to make the Olympic Team. He cried when she didn’t. His other sister, Hillary, would later swim for the University of Richmond.

A year later, when Michael was 11, he caught the eye of Bob Bowman, former swim coach for the University of Michigan. Bowman began coaching Michael at age 12 and outlined a program for his development. While competing at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, Phelps was nicknamed the “Baltimore Bullet”.

By age 15, Phelps made the United States team by finishing as runner-up in the 200-meter butterfly for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney (Australia). Despite his age and lack of international experience, he qualified for the finals in Sydney and finished 5th as the youngest member of the U. S. team.

Five months after his Olympic race in Sydney, Phelps became the sport’s youngest male world-record holder by winning the 200-meter butterfly at the 2001 World Championships in Japan. He was 15 years old, and he held a world record.

Before he arrived at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens (Greece), he would set 4 other world records in international competition. In Athens, Phelps would win 6 gold and 2 bronze medals while setting 1 world record, 3 Olympic records and 2 American records.

Before he arrived at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing (China), he would set another 8 world records in international competition. In Beijing, Phelps would win another 8 gold medals while setting 7 world records and 1 Olympic record.

So what does it take to perform like Michael Phelps? Start with very intense and very tough training under Bob Bowman’s watchful eye since age 12. In his peak training for the Beijing Olympics, Phelps was swimming 80,000 meters a week (49.7 miles). If he trained only 6 days a week, Phelps was swimming more than 8 miles every day he trained.

All of this training could make a guy hungry. Phelps reportedly eats up to 12,000 calories a day, about six times the intake of a normal adult male.

This endurance training is what helped Phelps win his 100 butterfly event at Beijing. He was in 7th place at the turn and somehow surged past 5 competitors to close the gap in the last 50 meters and took a half stroke at the wall to win by 1 one-hundredth of a second.

Phelps endurance training really paid off as he had to swim 17 times in 8 days to get through preliminary and semifinal heats to get to the finals of the 8 races where he won gold medals. Even though Phelps set 7 world records at Beijing, he does not have a sprinter’s speed and could be beat at shorter distances.

His endurance training would be what runners call base training, only it is likely that Phelps was much more intense in his effort than a runner would be, in part because it is easier to swim than to run. In swimming, you are buoyant on the water; in running, every stride you take on land you are lifting your body weight, which is why running is much tougher on your joints than swimming.

So how does he beat competitors who also intensely train for years? Phelps has a very unusual body that gives him a physical advantage in the water. He is 6-feet-4 and 195 pounds, but has a 6-foot-7 wingspan (arms stretched out) than is 3 inches longer than his height. His torso is also longer compared to his legs, allowing him to ride high on the water. He also has flexible ankles and size 14 feet, allowing him to use a powerful kick.

He uses his physique with an impeccable swimming form and efficiency to literally churn through the water faster than his fastest competitors.

After training at Michigan’s Club Wolverine with Bowman in Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan Wolverines, both Phelps and Bowman will return to the North Baltimore (MD) Aquatic Club, where Bowman will be the new chief executive officer. Bowman was coach of the University of Michigan men’s swim team. Phelps was a student at the school but did not compete for Michigan’s swim team because of his professional status.

Some people might think that Phelps’ accomplishments are too good to be true. In fact, they are true. Phelps was tested 9 times during the Beijing Olympics for performance enhancing drugs, and passed every test with flying colors.

Like the greatest athletes of all time, Phelps can be beaten and his records can be broken. Should you want to try, I suggest you start very early in life and work very hard. It also would help to have his physique, his inexhaustible work ethic, his ferocious competitive drive and a phenomenal coach.

Emeka Esogbue asked:


The 2008 Olympic Games have come and gone with Nigeria the largest Black nation and giant of Africa returning to Africa the place she rightly belongs with one silver and three bronze medals. Those who refused to blame the country hinge their argument on shabby preparations and arrangements made possible by the authorities responsible, the Federal Ministry of “Football”  

 

There are no doubts that majority of the Athletes in Beijing, China to represent the country where on-lookers who only were there to observe other prepared Athletes counterparts perform creditably well. Anyone who had followed up arrangements as put together by the Nigerian authorities will have definitely realized that the nation did very little but dabbled into almost all the games available in Beijing. This earned the country the name “Jack of trade, master of none.” For sure, we all counted more on men’s football event to the detriment of other games.

 

Thanks to Samson Siasia, the Chief Coach of the country’s Dream Team IV who for the second time has written the country’s name on the table of countries with silver medals in men’s football event of the games and thanks to the players too who determinedly performed well not minding the unfavorable environment in the country. After all, we are used to it. Only Nigerians understand themselves.

 

Someone who saw one of our Boxers thoroughly beaten by a particular Ghanaian Boxer remarked that we needed to face our Kerosene scarcity problem, which will put food on the table of our Boxers. Only a man or woman who does not understand the country’s man made problems living with us will heap blames on our sports men and women who represented us. This brings us to the question of whether there exist sports facilities on the country for Athletes for our sports men and women to train. Everything is simply wrong with our system including sports.

 

One thing the outside world does not know is that most our representatives financially funded their trainings in bids to represent their fatherland. A very good example is Chika Chukwumerije, who won bronze in Taekwendo, and even defeated the world champion during the event. He reportedly funded his trainings in Asia, Europe and other continents and spent over 25 million Naira. This paid off when he was eventually crowned with Bronze medal in the championship, a testimony that only those who have worked hard will reap the fruits of their labour. Preparations are therefore very vital to sustaining victories in sports and no one can rule out this. Governments must invest monies and other resources in other for interests to accrue to them bountifully.  

 

The country is notorious for abandoning even those who have won honor for her. Is it necessary to ask here what happened to Chioma Ajunwa, the first Lady to give the country her first individual gold medal ever? Where is Peter Konyegwechie, the silver medalist in Boxing? The general feelings among would-be representatives of the country are that they live but forgotten after glories. Little wonder, many of our Athletes continue to flee to acquire the citizenship of foreign countries to escape what befell those before them. After all, “When the toad in front falls into a pit others behind take caution”

 

You need not be told again that most of the coaches appointed to take care of the Athletes by the country’s authorities did not have many opportunities to do so as their coaching durations are usually too short. We expect the worse to happen which of –course is “sack.” The axe will dangle again on their heads. Expect it soon. With the human and material resources available to Nigeria in abundance, anyone will have expected our representatives to come home with more medals than what we have now because Nigerians are highly talented.

 

The country’s Football Authority showed inability to secure the release of Taye Taiwo, Ike Uche and Vincent Enyeama by their respective clubs, a situation that clearly indicates that the Nigerian Football Federation needs to extend its influence beyond the enclave of the Nigerian society. Though the men have performed well to the admiration of all, we still need to do much to make more improvements and not any less.

 

In one of my visitations to a training ground in Festac, I had observed an Athlete do her personal training, with her legs often stretched by some sports loving people. Upon inquiry from me, I was told that she was one of our Olympic representatives, upon further inquiries on when she was not at the country’s stadium; I was further told that the stadium in Lagos was in neglect. A much-neglected stadium would have been better than FHA playground in Festac town but she just knew better than I did or so I assumed. She too must have been neglected. Training in that local playground and hoping to compete with American, British, Chinese and Russian Athletes must be ineptly.

 

Asking our authorities questions on why the once National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos has been in neglect will amount to a waste of time as the nation’s media have widely condemned this with little or effort made by the government to make restorations. It is on record that the super Eagles of Nigeria maintained a long stretch record of not having lost in that stadium in much of their numerous matches played in the main bowl of this stadium. Our authorities would prefer playing and doing badly in an obviously less standard Kano stadium, were the Super Eagles performed poorly and ended up losing a ticket to the 2006 world cup Angola. Quota system was it.

 

The 2008 Olympic Games have come and gone but we must do more on our part to take care of our prized representatives who bring pride and honor to our dear nation. We need to identify the areas we are good like other countries do and concentrate on them rather than delve into every event and come back home with nothing. This will be a useful tip to us particularly if our purse cannot take care of us all even though we tend to ask why this is so with all the high sound of amount of money we hear in this country. Many African countries that returned with gold are not superior to Nigeria neither do they have better talented sportsmen and women than us.

 

Everyone cries or berates the Nigeria national female team for inability to journey beyond first round each time we face bigger teams from Europe and America but no one remembers that they are hardly made to engage these super countries in friendly matches as preparations to major events.

 

Nigeria places too much attention on football to the detriment of other sports; no wonder the Minister for Sports in Nigeria is nothing more than a Minister for “Football.” This development is very disturbing to the growth of other sports in the country. Boxing, for instance, which used to be the pride of the nation, is now in utmost neglect and on the verge of extinction. Other kinds of sports are affected too and this situation if not quickly arrested will lead to the “death” of athletics in the country. If you were surprised like me, then you would probably have expressed this when we realized that a Nigerian could favorably compete and return home with medal in the Taekwando event even though the nation’s representative determinedly did so after personal funding and practices. The result of unnecessary emphasis placed on football to the detriment of other sports was the fruit the nation reaped in Beijing, China. Every kind of sports is necessary for each of them will reward a nation with medals.

 

We need to stand up if we must improve.