Changing China

Those moving medal moments…

Remember the Black Power salutes from the podium in Mexico 1968?

The 2008 Beijing Olympics medal ceremonies might not produce anything to match that, but there has been no shortage of drama so far.

In the full emotional spectrum, we have had:

Anger – Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian stormed off the podium to dump his bronze on the mat in a protest against referees.

Tragedy – German weightlifter Matthias Steiner promised his dying wife he would honour her in Beijing, and clutched his gold next to a photo of her.

Confusion – Gymnastics fans still had their calculators out to decipher how American Nastia Liukin came second to China’s He Kexin after their identical score of 16.725 was decided by a convoluted tiebreak system.

Joy – Russia’s flamboyant pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva was bouncing up-and-down almost as much as she did for her world-record jump when she took her gold prize.

Do athletes gain or lose from stripping off for the cameras?

More and more athletes are baring all for the cameras, something which can help give them more marketing clout in a competitive marketplace and perhaps help fund their careers while they are on the field, in the pool, and afterwards.

With the Olympics underway U.S. swimmer Amanda Beard, high jumper Amy Acuff and figure skater Katarina Witt are all appearing in a special Olympic spread in the August edition of Playboy. American swimmer Dara Torres is featured in men’s mag Maxim and Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice in FHM.

Sports fans hardly bat an eyelid now at seeing athletes who are in peak physical condition stripping off for the cameras — but does this enhance or negatively impact on their image?

PHOTO: Swimmer Amanda Beard of the U.S. holds an anti-fur poster in which she appears nude on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) outside the Beijing 2008 Olympic National Aquatics Center August 6, 2008. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

Jamaicans show how to relax ahead of the Games

My colleague Balazs Koranyi blogged yesterday about how hard it is for athletes in the build-up to the Games, when their preparations are pretty much complete and there’s too much sit and think.

Well, maybe not every athlete. The Jamaican track and field team had no qualms about letting their hair down and showing off their considerable assets at a pre-Games party this week.

The coaches, physios and psychologists were forgotten for a while as most of the squad were squeezed into a Beijing Jazz club on the eve of Jamaican Independence Day. And if anyone doubted that muscles could be sexy, they should have been there.

A group of local women set the scene when they whipped off their traditional masks and long silk gowns to deliver a raunchy display that left the movie Dirty Dancing resembling a church picnic. Not to be outdone, hurdler Shevon Stoddart and long jumper Chelsea Hammond joined them while modelling their new track outfits.

Decathlete Maurice Smith then went through his “Mr Universe” poses, a skin-tight suit amplifying his formidable physique, while 100 metres world record holder Usain Bolt finished things off by joining the band for an impromptu reggae jamming session.

The whole thing was performed to a background of delirious young girl fans, a mass of media cameras, and two security men whose dour glares never faltered, even when the whooping was taking place inches from their faces.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding chipped in with a good luck message by video link and the group went off into the night all smiles and excitement ahead of what, for most of them, will be the biggest adventure of their lives.