Olympics 2008

Laker · #1 08-08-2008, 09:41 AM

I'm quite looking forward to this, I have bets all over the place for it.

Anyone else waiting for it?

Discuss.

Endivisual · #2 08-09-2008, 12:24 AM

omggg i watched the vs. korea soccer game today ofcourse cuz im korean lol

can't believe they were tied up

last olympics we were 2nd and germany won 1st -.-

Laker · #3 08-09-2008, 05:45 AM

What was the score in that match?

Laker · #4 08-09-2008, 11:57 AM

YouTube - Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony Fireworks !

Laker · #5 08-09-2008, 12:21 PM

Michael Phelps's bid to make Olympic history got off to the perfect start as he set a new Games record in winning his heat in the 400m individual medley.

The 23-year-old American is aiming to win eight gold medals in Beijing and beat Mark Spitz's record of seven golds set in 1972.

He cruised into Sunday's final with a time of four minutes 7.82 seconds.

In the women's event Britain's Hannah Miley finished second in her heat to qualify for Sunday's final.

Miley, who celebrated her 19th birthday on Friday, was the eighth fastest from the heats after finishing behind American world record holder Katie Hoff, but team-mate Keri-Anne Payne misses out after finishing fifth in her heat and 15th overall in a high-quality field.

In a blistering men's 100m breaststroke, Norwegian Alexander Dale Oen set a new Olympic record in the seventh heat to qualify fastest.

Britain's Christopher Cook made it through to the semi-finals as five swimmers ducked under the minute mark in the heats.

Despite only qualifying as fourth fastest in the men's 400m individual medley event, fellow American Ryan Lochte remains one of Phelps's biggest threats.

Second fastest after the heats was Hungarian Laszlo Cseh, with Italian Luca Marin third fastest.

Phelps, who won six golds in Athens four years ago, was keen to lay down a marker and was inside his own world-record pace after the initial breaststroke leg and extended the gap to half a second at halfway.

He eased off in the latter stages but still finished over two seconds ahead of his nearest rival.

"I saw the first few heats go out, and I kind of wanted to be the top seed for tomorrow, that is all I went out to do," Phelps said. "It's going to be a tough race between three or four of us."

Britain's Thomas Haffield, fourth fastest in the world this year, could only finish a disappointing seventh in his heat and missed out on a final place.

"I will have to go back and talk to my coach and go back to the drawing board," said the 20-year-old.

"I think it was just one of those days. Everything was going great up until I got in. I got in the water and nothing happened. I did the first two strokes and it didn't feel right."

Fellow Brit Euan Dale also missed out after finishing sixth in his heat.

There was slightly better news for Britain in the women's 100m butterfly as Jemma Lowe made it into Sunday's semi-final.

Lowe was the slowest of the 16 qualifiers after finishing fourth in her heat in a time of a time of 58.49 secs, but Francesca Halsall missed out after finishing fifth in the same heat.

"It was the hardest race I have ever done, everyone was so close," said the the 18-year-old Lowe.

"I was trying to focus on myself and make it to the semis and I did it. I hope I can go quicker tomorrow."

Britain's 4x100m freestyle relay women's team of Julia Beckett, Halsall, Caitlin McClathchey and Jessica Sylvester were 1.4 seconds inside the national record, but only scraped through to the final as they finished fourth in their heat to qualify as the eighth-fastest team.

McClathchey said: "That was a great British record. We all swam well, felt good and as a team did very well to make the final."

Australian Grant Hackett, aiming for a third straight Olympic 1,500m freestyle title, qualified fifth fastest for the final of the men's 400m freestyle.

Hackett won his heat, which also featured Britain's David Carry who, despite setting a new British record, failed to make Sunday's final after finishing fifth.

David Milwain also failed to progress after finishing seventh in his heat and 21st overall.

Laker · #6 08-09-2008, 12:36 PM

Cycling (1)

Men's road race final:

Gold Samuel Sanchez (Spa)

Silver David Rebellin (Fra)

Bronze Fabian Cancellara (Swi)

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Fencing (1)

Women's final:

Mariel Zagunis (US) Gold

Sada Jacobson (US) Silver

Becca Ward (US) Bronze

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Judo (2)

Men's 60kg final:

Choi Min-ho (Kor) Gold

Ludwig Paischer (Aut) Silver

Ruben Houkes (Ned) Bronze

Rishod Sobirov (Uzb) Bronze

Women's 48kg final:

Alina Alexandra (Rom) Gold

Yanet Bermoy (Cub) Silver

Paula Belen Pareto (Arg) Bronze

Ryoko Tani (Jpn) Bronze

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Shooting (2)

Women's 10m air rifle 3 positions final:

Gold Katerina Emmons (Cze)

Silver Lioubov Galkina (Rus)

Bronze Snjezana Pejcic (Cro)

Men's 10m air pistol final:

Gold Pang Wei (Chn)

Silver Jin Jong Oh (Kor)

Bronze Kim Jong Su (Kor)

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Weightlifting (1)

Women's 48kg group A final:

Gold Chen Xiexia (Chn)

Silver Sibel Ozkan (Tur)

Bronze Chen Wei-Ling (Tpe)

Endivisual · #7 08-09-2008, 11:46 PM

they were tied 1-1

Laker · #8 08-10-2008, 06:06 AM

Oh ok, thanks.

Laker · #9 08-10-2008, 09:02 AM

Nicole Cooke claimed Britain's first gold medal of the Beijing Olympics by winning a thrilling women's road race.

The Welsh rider timed her finish to perfection, powering off the front and away from Emma Johansson and Tatiana Guderzo in the sprint to the line.

Cooke, 25, was in a group of five that pulled away from the peloton in the final stretch to the finish.

She clocked a time of three hours, 32 minutes and 24 seconds and is Britain's first Olympic medallist in this event.

"We did it, it was perfect. It's a dream come true," said Cooke, who came fifth at the Athens Olympics in 2004.

"I came over the line and there was so much - I was just so happy and there were so many emotions that were coming out all at once. I made so much noise because I guess that's just the person I am.

"I want to thank all the people who have been there from the start. I have worked so hard, I am so happy.

"I don't think it has sunk in yet. I still feel like the normal Nicole from before the race. But it's just so exciting.

Emma Pooley, who played a crucial pacemaking role in Cooke's gold-medal bid, came 23rd while the third member of the British team Sharon Laws finished in 35th.

"We all knew that we were good riders, but the best chance that we had was to ride as a team," added Cooke, the 2002 Commonwealth Games road race champion and two-time winner of the World Cup series.

"Emma was going for her own bid for glory, but it meant that I could ride defensively and also save myself. I think it put the other teams on the back foot."

Simon Clegg, Team GB's chef de mission, added: "Nicole has just secured Team GB's first medal - and what a medal. It's not only gold but it's Britain's 200th gold medal from the modern Olympic Games.

"Emma and Sharon did an awesome job in supporting Nicole in her race for gold."

The 126km race was run in appalling conditions, with heavy rain making the road treacherous in places.

On the final, 9km climb on the second of two laps of the gruelling 23.8km Badaling loop, a number of attacks came but Guderzo was the first to hold off the peloton.

However a quartet containing Cooke, Johansson of Sweden, Christiane Soeder of Austria and and Denmark's Linda Melanie Villumsen Serup caught her up going into the final 10km.

At the bottom of the final climb, Cooke seemed to drop away from the other four riders as they turned the wet and slippy corner.

But she put on the gas during the lung-bursting slope to the finish and had enough in the tank to cross the line first.

"All congratulations to Nicole for a fantastic victory," said Olympics minister Tessa Jowell.
"What you can't perhaps quite sense at home is just the torrential rain that was falling on Beijing - and despite those incredibly tough weather conditions, she won. So it's a wonderful victory and a huge lift for Team GB."

Pre-race favourites Marianne Vos of the Netherlands, a former world road race champion, and Athens silver medallist Judith Arndt of Germany finished in a group of riders 21 seconds behind.

"Normally I'm good in the rain, but the problem was that it was really cold," said Vos. "We expected warm weather."

French great Jeannie Longo, 49, competing in her seventh Olympics, finished 33 seconds behind the winner in 24th.

Laker · #10 08-10-2008, 12:48 PM

Archery (1)

Women's team final

South Korea Gold

China Silver

France Bronze

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Cycling (1)

1. Nicole Cooke (GB) 3:32.24 Gold

2. Emma Johansson (Swe) Silver

3. Tatiana Guerzo (Ita) Bronze

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Diving (1)

Women's 3m synchro final

Jingjing Guo / Minxia Wu (Chn) 343.50 pts Gold

Julia Pakhalina / Anastasia Pozdnyakova (Rus) 323.61 Silver

Ditte Kotzian / Heiki Fischer (Ger) 318.90 Bronze

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Fencing (1)

Men's epee final:

Matteo Tagliariol (Ita) Gold

Fabrice Jeannet (Fra) Silver

Jose Luis Abajo (Spa) Bronze

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Judo (2)

Men's final:

Masato Uchishiba (Jpn) Gold

Benjamin Darbelet (Fra) Silver

Yordanis Arencibia (Cub) Bronze

Women's final:

Xian Dongmei (Chn) Gold

Kum Ae An (Prk) Silver

Misato Nakamura (Jpn) Bronze

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Shooting (2)

Women's 10m air pistol final

1. Wenjun Guo (Chn) 492.3 pts Gold

2. Natalia Paderina (Rus) 489.1 Silver

3. Nino Salukvadze (Geo) 487.4 Bronze

Men's trap final

1. David Kostelecky (Cze) 146 pts Gold

2. Giovanni Pellielo (Ita) 143 Silver

3. Alexey Alipov (Rus) 142 Bronze

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Swimming (4)

Men's 400m IM

1. Michael Phelps (US) 4:03.84 Gold

2. Laszlo Cseh (Hun) 4:06.16 Silver

3. Ryan Lochte (US) 4:08.09 Bronze

Men's 400m free

1. Taehwan Park (Kor) 3.41.86 Gold

2. Li Zhang (Chn) 3:42.44 Silver

3. Larsen Jensen (US) 3:42.78 Bronze

Women's 400m IM

1. Stephanie Rice (Aus) 4:29.45 Gold

2. Kirsty Coventry (Zim) 4:29.89 Silver

3. Katie Hoff (US) 4:31.71 Bronze

Women's 4 x 100m free relay

1. Netherlands 3:33.76 Gold

2. United States 3:34.33 Silver

3. Australia 3:35.05 Bronze

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Weightlifting (2)

Women's 53kg

1. Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon (Tha) - 221kg Gold

2. Yun Jin-hee (Prk) - 213kg Silver

3. Anastassia Novikava (Blr) - 213kg Bronze

Men's 56kg

1. Qingquan Long (Chn) - 292kg Gold

2. Hoang Anh Tuan (Vie) - 290kg Silver

3. Eko Yuli Irawan (Idn) - 288kg Bronze