Changing China
Giant on the move
Day seven at the Games: Fabulous Phelps keeps focus on the pool
Michael Phelps made it six golds in six races to edge closer to the record of Mark Spitz, while the three fastest men in the world whetted the appetites of 90,000 fans at the Bird’s Nest as swimming and athletics vied for attention on Friday.
Phelps was untroubled in the men’s 200 metres individual medley, moving to within one win of Spitz’s record from the 1972 Games.
Can anything stop Phelps? Well, yes, it is possible. American team mate Ian Crocker holds the world record and is up against him in the 100m fly on Saturday morning.
Can anything stop Usain Bolt in the men’s 100m on the track? That looks more doubtful. Bolt appeared to have plenty in hand as he won his second heat in 9.92 seconds and it will be a major surprise if anyone can catch him on Saturday.
The two rounds of the 100m heats were arguably the highlight of the first day of action at the Bird’s Nest, where the first track gold went to Tirunesh Dibaba in the 10,000 following her terrific burst over the last 300 metres.
At the tennis, Roger Federer showed there is life in the old dog yet as he recovered from his defeat by James Blake in the singles to partner Stanislas Wawrinka to victory over the Bryan brothers in the doubles.
Of course, the gold medal everyone wants is in the singles and it looks increasingly likely to go to Rafa Nadal following his win over Novak Djokovic. Nadal will play Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez for the title after his win over Blake in a heated semi-final.
Day six at the Games: Roger Federer’s miserable year
Roger Federer came to Beijing hoping for a singles gold medal to ease the pain of losing the last two major finals and his number one ranking to Rafa Nadal.
Tennis at the Olympics may rank far below the Grand Slams but considering he has not won one of those this year a gold medal would still have served very nicely, thanks very much.
Sadly for the Swiss, he lost 6-4 7-6 to James Blake in the quarter-finals on Thursday, a miserable day all round given the rain that was falling.
The Williams sisters also went out, double Olympic champion Venus beaten 7-5 7-5 by China’s Li Na and Serena losing to Elena Dementieva.
Away from the tennis, Michael Phelps was for once not the story. Alain Bernard of France won the men’s 100m freestyle in the Water Cube, while there was a nasty incident when a Swedish wrestler tossed away his bronze medal in disgust at the refereeing that cost him a shot at gold.
Otherwise, it was a golden day for Asia, as Japanese swimmer Kosuke Kitajima completed a breaststroke double double and Chinese gymnast Yang Wei ended eight years of hurt in the men’s individual all-round event.
For story of the day and picture of the day, look a bit further down the page. Quote of the day? Nothing great, so I thought I’d give you a joke of the day instead. This was overheard in the Athletes Village:
1. What a pity we should have to read letters like Dan Scarlett’s !! Federer has been an AMAZING player for the last 5 years. Has been #1 for more than 230 weeks continuously. What if he loses #1 ?! What if he loses a few matches ?! No problem.
2. Federer’s fantastic game is best summed up by Nadal himself on various occasions.
3. Any real tennis player or fan/enthusiast who has some good grasp of the game will know the greatness of a player like Roger Federer. He has of course given a NEW DIMENSION to Tennis game and for another 25 years you will be hearing people talking about RF.
4. Nevertheless, we definitely need comments from Scarlett like people, in order to bring out the best in Ranga-like people who knows much more about the game, about Federer’s game, and his contribution to the Tennis world.
5. I have no doubt at all, there is still lot of tennis left in RF, and he will definitely win a few more grand slams.
6. Wait and see… RF-critics and RF-haters !!!
Basketball gold would cap Spain’s superb sporting year
Spanish sport is living a golden age, a magical year or a unique two months, depending on how long a view you’re taking. But will it continue on into Beijing?
Rafael Nadal’s victory over Nicolas Lapentti in Cincinnati means the 22-year-old is now certain to depose Roger Federer as world number one in tennis by August 18 at the latest.
Nadal’s twin victories in the French Open and at Wimbledon were just two of the highlights in a remarkable sporting summer for his country.
Carlos Sastre won the Tour de France last month, giving Spain their third victory in three years. Alberto Contador, last year’s winner, followed up his triumph with success in the Giro d’Italia.
The biggest success of all was Spain’s victory at Euro 2008, their first major tournament title in 44 years.
Now, there’s no way Spain are going to finish top of the medals table in Beijing. Sports minister Jaime Lissavetzky recently said the target was six golds at best.
Those medal hopes include Nadal, of course, as well as athletes like double champion Gervasio Deferr in gymnastics, synchronised swimmers Andrea Fuentes and Gemma Mengual and the walker Paquillo Fernandez.
I’m Spanish. Ricky Rubio es overrated
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYV5Lykiz 8I
