The Olympic Games 2008

[Farin]

have you already heard about the Cuban Taekwondoka today?

he was disqualified after the referee thought his injury treatment break took too long, but obviously the fighter wasn't happy with that decision

now he and his trainer are banned from the Olympics for life...

[Viaene]

So much for the 'Olympic thought'

(is the Olympic thought a correct English term? )

[edna]

I like it when my husband watches the Olympic Games (though he rarely does...) cause that way I can youtube on his computer...

But I don´t like those games... I feel like they are representative of Sparta, and I´m rather Athens...

[MarcM]

hERE IS AN INTERVIEW WITH USAIN BOLT ABOUT HIS CELEBRATION BEFORE THE RACE WAS OVER.

[Farin]

[Lucky]

So much for the 'Olympic thought'

(is the Olympic thought a correct English term? )

We would say Olympic Spirit, Viaene, but Olympic thought gives the right impression.

Congrats on the Belgian Gold. You're just slightly pleased, huh?

[Viaene]

ah Spirit, off course

Slightly pleased?

To quote Mr. John:

Potverdekke! It's great to be a Belgian,

I'm not English, I'm not French and I'm not Dutch,

(I'm not Spanish, Portuguese or German,)

I'm a Belgian so thank you very much!

Edited August 23, 2008 by Guest

[MarcM]

WATER BALLET IS ON

[MarcM]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4122944961711350389

[Uncle Joe]

Yes, but whereas our cheating athletes are stripped of their medals and shamed into obscurity, china gets a pass Actually, I think all drugs should be legal in sports... it could add a new novelty to synchronised swimming.

Of course that would only work if the viewers of the synchronized swimming were the ones taking the drugs.

[Ombre Vivante]

The judges for olympic boxing are on drugs.

[c_s_1987]

^Agreed. I saw a lot of unbelievable scoring errors in the boxing.

I was hoping to see a great English musician in the closing ceremony, but I never expected Jimmy Page!

[Viaene]

yeah, that was very unexpected, but great

I liked the rest of the closing ceremony too, until the Chinese pop bands started singing (lip-synching?)

And: Jackie Chan

Edited August 24, 2008 by Guest

[Farin]

and David Beckham is the most overrated sportsman I know

[Viaene]

yes, no cheers for him

[miamisammy29]

and David Beckham is the most overrated sportsman I know

Who?

[Farin]

good answer

[Farin]

many (MANY) amazing photos from the Olympics

(Note: in one or two some naked flesh can be seen, so if that offends you - don't click )

[Uncle Joe]

many (MANY) amazing photos from the Olympics

(Note: in one or two some naked flesh can be seen, so if that offends you - don't click )

Heh, heh. You really know how to compel us to look. Great pics!

BTW..did that Chinese Bikini Team take the gold?

And, that "woman" in the green skirt who had a tail...did anyone check "her" DNA?

I never knew that yachtwomen could be so cheeky.

And why don't we see more women's water polo on TV?

[Farin]

and here are some cool photos of the 2008 Paralympic Games

[Shawna]

Yun Blames Slip-Up for Age Discrepancy

By NANCY ARMOUR, AP

CHICAGO (Sept. 25) - One of the Chinese gymnasts whose age has been called into question is blaming the discrepancy on a slip of the tongue.

International gymnastics officials have expanded their investigation into the eligibility of the Chinese women's team at the Beijing Olympics to include members of the 2000 squad, the bronze medalists in Sydney.

One, Yang Yun, said in a June 2007 interview that aired on state broadcaster China Central Television that she was 14 at the Sydney Games. But Yang, who also won a bronze on uneven bars in Sydney, said Thursday that was a mistake.

Gymnasts must be 16 during the Olympic year to be eligible to compete.

"Everyone has misspoken before. On television shows, there are always slips of the tongue," Yang told the Associated Press, declining to comment further.

Another, Dong Fangxiao, did not deny that her blog says she was born in the Year of the Ox in the Chinese zodiac, which would be 1985. But Dong refused to answer any questions about her age, telling the AP, "I've left the gymnastics team."

"If the FIG wants to investigate this matter," she added, "I will provide every form of documentation."

Age falsification has been a problem in women's gymnastics since the 1980s, and questions were swirling long before the Beijing Games even began about the Chinese team that would win the gold medal. Media reports and online records suggested several gymnasts on the six-woman squad might be as young as 14.

Chinese officials insisted - repeatedly and heatedly - that all of the gymnasts were old enough, and that they had the documents to prove it. The International Gymnastics Federation and International Olympic Committee hoped the matter had been put to rest before the games, when the IOC said it had checked all of the girls' passports and found them to be valid.

The controversy never went away, and the FIG announced three days before the games ended that, at the behest of the IOC, it had asked China for documentation on the ages of He Kexin, Yang Yilin, Jiang Yuyuan, Deng Linlin and Li Shanshan. China quickly turned over birth certificates, passports, ID cards and family residence permits for all five athletes.

Because there were also suspicions about the ages of some members of the 2000 squad - Yang's interview has been widely reported - the FIG said it had no choice but to expand its investigation. No other Chinese teams are in question.

The entire investigation is ongoing, and there is still no timetable for when it might finish.

"If you're waiting for a declaration," FIG president Bruno Grandi said Thursday, "I can't give one."

If evidence of cheating is found, it could affect as many as four of the six medals the Chinese women won in Beijing. In addition to the team gold, He won gold on uneven bars and Yang got bronze medals on bars and in the all-around.

Associated Press writer Anita Chang in Beijing and AP Sports Writers Stephen Wilson in London and Andrew Dampf in Rome contributed to this report.

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when I was 14, I always misspoke about my age to make it appear I was younger than I looked.