2008 Beijing Olympics

Stories 241 - 260 | << Prev   Next >>

Busy Beard Narrows Focus to Beijing

Three-time Olympian puts endorsements aside to shoot for fourth Games

(Newser) - Three-time Olympian Amanda Beard has endorsements and extracurriculars to worry about, but only one thing really matters right now: this week's Olympic swimming trials. The red-carpet fixture and onetime Playboy cover model is all business as she dives into the pool of hopefuls competing to represent the US in breaststroke...

As US Track Trials Begin, Field Is Wide Open

Few household names are present for Oregon trials

(Newser) - Before US track and field athletes can book their tickets to Beijing, they must prove themselves at the Olympic Trials in Oregon, which get under way today. With the field this year largely devoid of big names and the sport still shrouded in shame over doping scandals, the New York ...

Suit Circus Threatens to Drown Trials
 Suit Circus Threatens 
 to Drown Trials 
OPINION
Jun 26, 2008 4:05 PM CDT

Suit Circus Threatens to Drown Trials

Would-be Olympians' heads spin as tech sparks arms race in swimming pool

(Newser) - “The last honest Olympic sport” is about to kick the can, Scott Ostler writes in the San Francisco Chronicle, and the culprit is a familiar one: technology. The sport is swimming, and Olympic trials (beginning Sunday) coincide with a brutal competition among swimsuit makers for athletes’ affection. "Swimmers...

Solo Saga Quieted, Women's Soccer Eyes Beijing

After US goalie's outburst, team rethinks the need for unity

(Newser) - Hope Solo's infamous criticism of her coach got her booted from practice and competition at the end of last year's World Cup, and depression almost kept the 26-year-old from returning to soccer at all. But now the US team has a new coach, a rejuvenated Solo, and a fresh plan...

Russia Denies Sharapova Bid to Carry Flag at Olympics

Coach concerned with tiring opening ceremony

(Newser) - Russian officials have denied Maria Sharapova’s request to carry her country’s flag at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, Reuters reports. “I advised against” Sharpova’s wish to be a flag-bearer, the Russian tennis chief said. “We want her to be fresh, not tired, during...

China Reopens Tibetan Tourism
 China Reopens Tibetan Tourism 
Jun 25, 2008 12:13 PM CDT

China Reopens Tibetan Tourism

Torch relay demonstrated stability, state media says

(Newser) - China is allowing foreign tourists to enter Tibet for the first time since March protests, sources tell the BBC. The Olympic torch’s smooth reception in Lhasa over the weekend means "Tibet is safe,” a Tibetan tourism director tells state media. "We welcome the domestic and foreign...

Chinese Menus Retranslated for Olympics

Government mandates names as squeamish tourists descend

(Newser) - The Chinese government is issuing a list of revised names for some of the country's more obliquely translated dishes in preparation for the wave of tourists the Beijing Olympics will draw this August, the New York Times reports.
  • A disconcerting plate of “husband-and-wife lung slices” will be rechristened as
...

Tough Visa Rules Threaten to Slash Olympic Tourism

Visitors vanish as China boosts security

(Newser) - Heightened visa restrictions in China have shrunk tourism ahead of the Beijing Olympics, the New York Times reports. Numbers of foreign visitors to Beijing fell 14% last month when government officials tightened the rules to bolster security.

World's Best Athlete? Never Heard of Her

Move over, Bo Jackson: Sheila Taormina has conquered 3 sports

(Newser) - The greatest athlete in the world today is 5'3'', 115 pounds, and named Sheila Taormina. You've probably never heard of her, but you should give this "force of nature" your attention now, writes ESPN the Magazine. Poised to become the first woman ever to compete at the Olympics in...

Olympic Omens Worry Superstitious Chinese

An unfortunate 2008 has some talking of a 'curse of the Olympic mascots'

(Newser) - Superstitious beliefs the Communists once tried to stamp out have been making a comeback in China, the Christian Science Monitor reports, especially in this troubled Olympic year. The Games are set to begin on August 8, as 8 sounds like fortune in Mandarin, making 8/8/8 an especially lucky date, but...

Olympic Torch Arrives in Tibet
 Olympic Torch Arrives in Tibet 
Jun 21, 2008 6:17 AM CDT

Olympic Torch Arrives in Tibet

Amid heavy security, China slams Dalai Lama

(Newser) - Under tight security, the Olympic torch made its way through Tibet’s capital in the most controversial leg of its worldwide journey—a jaunt that ended with Chinese criticism of the Dalai Lama, Reuters reports. “We will be able to totally smash the splittist schemes of the Dalai Lama...

China's Quest for Glory Pushing Athletes Past Limits

Injured athletes pressured to keep training

(Newser) - China is going all-out in a sometimes destructive push to top the medal table at the Beijing Olympics, the New York Times reports. Athletes are risking their health by training while injured, and potential medal-winners are being pressed out of retirement. Olympic hopefuls are well aware that victory will bring...

City Rebuilds Flooded Gym for Gymnast
City Rebuilds Flooded Gym
for Gymnast
Jun 19, 2008 11:31 AM CDT

City Rebuilds Flooded Gym for Gymnast

US champion can't let anything distract her in Olympic trials

(Newser) - When storms inundated Shawn Johnson's hometown of West Des Moines, they also left a foot of water in her gym. But the 16-year-old couldn't use that as an excuse to take a break from workouts: The reigning world champion gymnast was preparing for this week’s Olympic trials, the Houston ...

China Orders Muslims to Stay Home for Torch Relay

Beijing blames community for independence attacks

(Newser) - Chinese officials have told China's Muslim Uighur to stay in their homes and watch the Olympic torch on TV when it winds its way through the troubled western region of Xinjiang, Reuters reports. Beijing blames the Uighur for a series of attacks that are part of a push for an...

Ping-Pong Got Ball Rolling to Beijing Games

Two players braved Sino-US frost with landmark '71 visit

(Newser) - It wasn't statesmen who broke China's 22 years of isolation from the West in 1971, but rather, Sports Illustrated notes, grown men with paddles. When Glenn Cowan accidentally jumped on the Chinese team bus during world table-tennis championships in Japan, star Zhuang Zedong brushed aside Mao's anti-capitalist harangues to greet...

NBC's Olympic Ad Sales Lag
 NBC's Olympic Ad Sales Lag   
Jun 4, 2008 2:19 PM CDT

NBC's Olympic Ad Sales Lag

Network up to $300M behind targets as protest fears, economy slow demand

(Newser) - With the Beijing Games just more than two months away, NBC is still well short of Olympics advertising sales goals, the New York Post reports. Though the network says sales are strong, sources say it's between $150 million and $300 million off, with pro-Tibet protests and the slow economy keeping...

In China, All That Matters Is Gold
In China, All That Matters Is Gold
Jun 1, 2008 12:34 PM CDT

In China, All That Matters Is Gold

Beijing recruits foreign coaches, targets medal-rich sports in quest to win, win, win

(Newser) - China wants to impress the world during this summer's Olympics, and not just by hosting a seamless Games. Determined to finish with more gold medals than any other nation, the country is bringing in foreign coaches like Igor Grinko, reports the New York Times. “Silver? It means nothing here;...

Chinese Hurdler Liu Xiang Will Carry Hopes of 1.3B

24-year-old hurdler holds nation's hope at Beijing Games

(Newser) - Whether he likes it or not, Liu Xiang—China's biggest sports star—will be carrying the hopes of the world's most populous nation as he defends his title in the 110-meter hurdles at the Beijing Olympics. A recent race at the new Bird's Nest Stadium demonstrated the frenzy he inspires:...

Amnesty Again Demands Gitmo Closure

'World leaders are in a state of denial' on human-rights abuses, group charges

(Newser) - The US has “distinguished itself in recent years through defiance of international law,”  says human-rights advocate Amnesty International in its annual reports, released today. The group called for the closure of Guantanamo Bay and other secret detention centers , the New York Times reports, and the prosecution of...

China's Olympic Wonders Dazzle&mdash;at First
 China's Olympic Wonders Dazzle—at First
OPINION
May 26, 2008 5:27 PM CDT

China's Olympic Wonders Dazzle—at First

Beijing tried to impress, not deal with deeper issues

(Newser) - Beijing's new Olympic buildings will impress the world at first glance, Paul Goldberger writes in the New Yorker. The National Stadium boasts a lattice of crisscrossing beams, and the blue-gray Aquatic Center seems underwater with its translucent plastic pillows. But peel back the paint, and see evidence of what enrages...

Stories 241 - 260 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser