Scandal, disaster and tragedy mark the mega event

Planning and staging an Olympics has never been an easy task and the chances are that Beijing 2008 will have its share of problems before it all ends for another four years. However it will have to go some way to surpass several previous Olympics.
From the humiliating spectacle of Canadian Ben Johnson being stripped of his 100m gold medal in the 1988 Games in Seoul after testing positive for anabolic steroids to the tragedy that engulfed the 1972 Games in Munich when 18 people were killed following a Palestinian terrorist attack on the Israeli team, the Olympic movement has had to rebuild the image of the Games.
On a purely sporting front, the Johnson scandal was the biggest public relations disaster - regardless of the fact that the IOC could protest that at least drug cheats couldn't get away with it - as the winner of the 'Blue Riband' event of any Games was packed off back home. The IOC's protestations that they were fighting hard against drugs was not helped when the then head of athletics was captured on camera asking IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch if there was any way Johnson could be spared — not for the sake of the athlete but for the sport. The answer was a firm no.
It's image took a further battering later when several scientists came forward and revealed that the 1984 Games — the first that saw Samaranch take charge and the birth of the commercial Olympics - in Los Angeles had been littered with positive dope tests, but that the samples had mysteriously disappeared.
However, if Samaranch thought he had it bad he should have consulted his two predecessors American Avery Brundage — a former Olympian himself — and Ireland's Lord Killanin.
Munich was Brundage's last Games but if he wanted to go out on a high note he was to be sorely disappointed as the Palestinian terror group Black September broke into the Olympic village killing two Israeli athletes and taking nine hostage.
Brundage, whose approach to the situation contrasted sharply with that of then German Interior Minister Hans Dietrich Genscher who offered to swap places with the hostages, issued a typical patrician statement the next morning as 2000 German police officers surrounded the village aiming to make up for the appalling lapse in security that had allowed the outrage to happen in the first place. "The status quo of the Games has been interrupted by an assassination committed by terrorist criminals," his statement read and the Games were subsequently cancelled for the day for the first time in their history.
However, it was to get worse as, allowed to fly to Munich airport, the police became triggerhappy and in the resulting shootout five terrorists were killed, as well as one policeman, one of the helicopter pilots and eight more athletes.
Although Brundage declared the next day that 'the Games must go on' few had the stomach for the fight. Canadian star high jumper Debbie Brill couldn't believe Brundage's cold statement that it was what the dead athletes would have wanted and said to a fellow athlete 'God we're talking about people who were killed. Don't let them down? They're dead!'.
The very future of the Olympics was called into question.
Killanin managed to keep it going but with an African boycott at Montreal in 1976 over a New Zealand rugby tour of South Africa and the United States boycotting Moscow in 1980 over the Russian invasion of Afghanistan they rapidly started to lose their main function of being a sporting occasion and instead became a political football.
That's not to say that other host cities could smile contentedly at the misadventures that befell Munich, Montreal and Moscow as they too fell prey to the Olympic disaster syndrome — none more so than Paris in 1900.
Just four years after the Olympics had been reborn in Athens, Paris almost killed them off with a disastrous hosting. The swimmers had to compete in the Seine and doing backstroke was probably the most risky as the swimmers had to contend with swimming under or around the boats in the river as their owners stubbornly refused to hold up their trade while the Games were going on. Furthermore, several athletes got stuck in the mud while others saw their discus and hammers disappear into the trees, leading to total confusion. The Paris organisers showed they had learnt little when 24 years. Aside from the knee high thistles and weeds pricking the athletes physique as well as conscience they had to cope with poisonous fumes belching from a local energy plant which left several athletes running the opposite direction and others lying writhing in agony barely able to breathe.
As for the athletes, who flirted with triumph and disaster two stand out among a plethora of candidates.
Athens in 2004 saw the intensely proud Greek nation anticipating glory in the most high profile of sports the athletics through Katerina Thanou and Costas Kenteris in the women's 100m and men's 200m respectively. However, in the space of one manic eve of Games day those hopes were destroyed as the duo were found to have failed to undergo a dope test, one of several they had apparently missed, and were in danger of being thrown out of the Games.
In what must be one of the more bizarre episodes in the colourful history of the Games it was then revealed that on the way to the test at the Olympic Village they had had a motorbike crash. In a country more used to the Greek tragedy it became more of a British farce as they were hospitalised, though, the nature of their injuries was never really revealed and in fact were at one point photographed lying in their hospital beds but with their training shoes on!
Needless to say it was a public relations disaster for the host country and one that the Chinese — whose athletes have a suspect reputation when it comes to dope testing — will sincerely wish is not visited upon them.
However, with the Olympics one just never knows what is around the corner.

Phelps passes Mark Spitz with golden eight

What Michael Phelps accomplished tonight has never been done before. In one set of Olympic games he has become the most decorated Olympian as well as pulling in a record breaking 8 Gold medals surpassing Mark Spitz and 16 total medals.Mark Spitz won 11 Olympic medals over two Olympic Games but always will be best remembered for his remarkable seven gold medals at the 1972 Games. That summer in Munich, Spitz set four individual World records: 100-Meter (51.22), 200-Meter Freestyle (1:52.78), 100-Meter (54.27), and 200-Meter Butterfly (2:00.70). He also participated in three relay event World records: 4 x 100 Freestyle (3:26.42), 4 x 200 Freestyle (7:35.78), and 4 x 100 Medley (3:48.16). He swam the third leg of the 200 Freestyle and 100 Medley, and the last leg of the 100 Freestyle.
The Chinese consider the number 8 to be lucky. Well, I'm betting it must be one of Michael Phelps' favorite numbers, as well, as he just won his 8th gold. Wow, it was a really great race, too! Close enough to be exciting, but not so close that it was uncomfortable.
I honestly don't know how his mother manages to sit in the stands and watch without getting sick, especially through races like last night when he won the 7th medal by .01 seconds. I assume you all saw when she put up two fingers after the end, assuming he had finished second, only to sink down in shock after seeing the places go up on the board with Phelps in first. She's probably so glad it's over!
It's really an honor to even get to see this piece of sports history. I keep thinking it will never be broken, but I'm sure people thought that about Mark Spitz when he set the original record. It's just hard to imagine that someone could ever win NINE gold medals

Fastes Man On Planet Earth

It was incidental that Bolt had clipped .03 seconds off his world record. He had slowed down in the last 15 metres, revelling in his own superhuman speed. It was arrogant. It was awesome. Such effortless win has not been seen in the 'super dash' since Ben Johnson, muscles bulging, eyes yellow with steroids, barged past the field and raised that naughty finger to silence the world in 1988. But that was an aberration. A blot. This was Bolt. 'Lightning Bolt'.He raised both is arms and ran from the finishing, gliding like a kite, not bothering to look behind. He stopped when he saw that Jamaican flag in the stands and stood like a champion, legs wide spread, soaking in the adulation.In the victory run, he stopped towards at the world record board, and kneeled in satisfaction. The flash of the cameras bounced off him. He was not tired, just delirious. So was everybody as the soulful beat of Reggae filled the stadium. It was party time at the Nest.But where were the others? The gladiators? Well, Bolt was the last off the blocks but once he surged ahead, the others just melted in the cauldron. Richard Thomson of Trinidad and Tobago took the silver in 9.89 seconds, 0.2 seconds off the superman while USA's Walter Dix, dreadlocks flying, came in third at 9.91 secs.Asafa Powell, Bolt's teammate whose record Bolt broke in New York on May 31 this year, was third fastest off the blocks. He trooped in fifth at 9.95 secs. And Tyson Gay? He became a footnote on the night that mattered most. He failed to qualify for the final.

Olympic ticket black market thriving despite 'crackdown'

A thriving black market in tickets was operating on Saturday outside the main Olympic venues with money openly changing hands despite China's claim of a crackdown on scalpers.Dozens of Chinese ticket touts were working the crowds and attracting brisk business under the noses of police officers, some even holding banners advertising the tickets they had for sale."Uniformed and plainclothes police are hanging around to keep public order mainly, but they are also watching us," said Zhou Haixin, a clothing salesman from Shandong province in northern China."I'm here making a bit of money on the side," he said as he offered tickets for athletics finals for later on Saturday at more than 10 times their face value.Chinese and foreigners from around the world were among the buyers, with many punters searching in vain to gain entry to the "Water Cube" to see US swimmer Michael Phelps' shot at a record-equalling seventh gold medal.Tickets for Saturday's diving semi-finals with China's golden diva Guo Jingjing were selling for 4,000 yuan (580 dollars), up from the original price of 150 yuan.However entrance to the "Bird's Nest" Olympic stadium to see Chinese track icon Liu Xiang defend his title in the 110m hurdles on Thursday would cost upwards of 5,000 yuan.Olympic organisers have said that every ticket for the events in Beijing was sold out in advance, but many visitors have complained that venues are half empty during competition.Scalping Olympic tickets is illegal in China. On Friday, Beijing police detained 110 people, including at least one foreign national, for touting Olympic tickets near Games venues, official Xinhua news agency reported.

India in olympics

India first participated in Olympics in 1900 in Paris. The country was represented by Norman Pritchard, an Anglo Indian who was holidaying in Paris during that time. He bagged two silver medals in 200m. dash and 200m hurdles. Then after a gap of 20 years India again participated with two athletes in 1920 Antwerp Olympics and with eight members in 1924 Paris Olympics.
But the more organised, official representation by India, was made in 1928 Amsterdam, with the formation of Indian Olympic Association in 1927. Dorabji Tata was the first president and Dr A C Northern of Young Men's Christian Association, Madras was the secretary. That year, Indian Hockey team participated in their first Olympic hockey event and won the gold medal under the captaincy of Jaipal Singh. For the next 6 successive Olympics spanning 28 years from 1928-1956, Indians retained their gold medal for the hockey event. Hockey wizard Dhyan Chand played a major role in Indian victory in the first three successive wins. It was definitely the golden era of Indian Hockey in Olympics, during which India played 24 matches and won all 24, scored 178 goals (at an average of 7.43 goals per match) and conceded only 7 goals. India again won two more gold medals in Olympic hockey in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
In athletics, six Indians and the 4x400 women's relay team have reached the finals of their events in Olympics. They are Norman Pritchard in 1900 (two silvers in sprint and hurdles), Henry Rebello in 1948 London (Triple Jump), Milkha Singh 1960 Rome ( fourth place in 400 metres), Gurbachan Singh Randhawa 1964 Tokyo (fifth place in 100 m hurdles), Sriram singh 1976 Montreal ( seventh in 800m), P.T Usha in 1984 Los Angeles ( fourth in 400m hurdles) who unfortunately lost her bronze by 1/100th of a second and the 4 member squad of the 400m. women's relay P.T.Usha, M.D.Valsamma, Vandana Rao, Shiny Abraham reached seventh place, the same year.
Apart from Hockey and a few fine performances in athletics, India's record in the Olympics paints a dismal picture, for a country having a population of over a billion people. Apart from the 8 gold medals, one silver medal and two bronzes in Hockey, two silver medals in athletics, India has won bronzes for wrestling ( Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav 1952 Helsinki), shooting ( Dr Karni Singh 1964 Tokyo), tennis ( Leander Paes 1996 Atlanta) and weightlifting ( Karnam Malleswari 2000 Sydney),silver medal in the double trap shooting event ( Rajyavardhan Rathore 2004 Athens),and finally gold medal in shooting (Abhinav Binda 2008 Beijing)