Showing posts with label Olympics 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Olympics 2008. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

USA records best Olympic gymnastics finish since 1984 with 10 medals

BEIJING, CHINA (August 27, 2008) At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the United States amassed with its greatest medal haul since the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The medal tally of 10 – two gold, six silver and two bronze – is the most earned by the USA in gymnastics in a non-boycotted Olympic Games.

“We are very proud of our gymnasts’ accomplishments,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “Our athletes were outstanding, not only on the field of play but also in how they represented both our sport and our country. The combination of team and individual medals is an indication of USA Gymnastics' commitment to remaining among the best gymnastics countries in the world.”

Here’s the medal breakdown by discipline and event.
Men Team – bronze medal
Horizontal bar – Jonathan Horton, silver medal
Women Team – silver medal
All-around – Nastia Liukin, gold medal; Shawn Johnson, silver medal
Uneven bars – Nastia Liukin, silver medal
Balance beam – Shawn Johnson, gold medal; Nastia Liukin, silver medal
Floor exercise – Shawn Johnson, silver medal; Nastia Liukin, bronze medal

In addition to the overall medal count, the U.S. gymnasts also established some noteworthy milestones.
 It is the first time the United States has won team medals at consecutive Olympic Games for both men and women. The women earned their second straight silver medal, and the men also were repeat medalists, this time taking home the bronze.
 The U.S. women won eight total medals (two gold, five silver and one bronze), topping China’s six (two gold and four bronze). Romania was third with two (one gold and one bronze).
 The women’s all-around set two USA firsts: Nastia Liukin of Parker, Texas, and Shawn Johnson of West Des Moines, Iowa, became the first U.S. women to go one-two in the all-around; and the first time the USA has won the all-around title for two consecutive Games.
 Liukin joins Mary Lou Retton (1984) and Carly Patterson (2004) as the only U.S. women to win an Olympic all-around title.
 Liukin tied the U.S. gymnastics record of five Olympic medals at one Olympics set by Mary Lou Retton, who earned one gold, two silver and two bronze, at the 1984 Olympic Games, and matched by Shannon Miller, who claimed two silver and three bronze at the 1992 Olympic Games. Liukin’s Olympic medal haul includes one gold (all-around); three silver (team, balance beam and uneven bars); and one bronze (floor exercise). Liukin also surpassed the four medals won by her father, Valeri, at the 1988 Olympic Games (two gold and two silver).
 Johnson is only the second U.S. gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal on the balance beam (Miller, 1996). Liukin finished second, making this the first time the USA has won two medals in this event at the same Games.
 Johnson earned four medals at the 2008 Olympic Games: gold on the balance beam, and silver in the team competition, all-around and floor exercise.
 Liukin garnered the most medals of any female gymnast at the 2008 Olympics with five. Johnson was second with four medals, followed by China’s Cheng Fei and Yang Yilin at three (one gold, two bronze).
 Jonathan Horton of Houston captured the silver medal on the horizontal bar.

“I am tied with her (Shannon) for world medals too,” said Liukin, who owns nine world medals. “I guess it is meant to be that we are tied. I think I won the most medals of any woman (in gymnastics in Beijing). That is something neat. I will remember this time for rest of life. I am glad I got to do it with my dad. The Olympics has been harder but better than any Worlds. Nine Olympic medals in our family is not too bad.”

Along with Johnson and Liukin, the members of the U.S. Olympic Team for women’s gymnastics are: Chellsie Memmel of West Allis, Wis./M&M Gymnastics; Samantha Peszek of Indianapolis, Ind./DeVeau’s; Alicia Sacramone of Winchester, Mass./Brestyan’s; and Bridget Sloan of Pittsboro, Ind./Sharp’s. Johnson trains at Chow’s Gymnastics, and Liukin’s gym is WOGA. The three replacement athletes are: Jana Bieger of Coconut Creek, Fla./Bieger International Gymnastics; Ivana Hong of Blue Springs, Mo./GAGE; and Corrie Lothrop of Gaithersburg, Md./Hill’s. Liang Qiao of Chow’s gymnastics was head coach, with Valeri Liukin of WOGA serving as assistant coach.

The members of the bronze-medal team are: Alexander Artemev of Highlands Ranch, Colo.; Raj Bhavsar of Houston; Joseph Hagerty of Rio Rancho, N.M.; Horton; Justin Spring of Burke, Va.; and Kevin Tan of Fremont, Calif. David Durante of Garwood, N.J., was the replacement athlete, and Paul and Morgan Hamm of Waukesha, Wis., withdrew from the team due to injuries. All nine men are members of Team Chevron. Kevin Mazeika of Houston Gymnastics Academy was the head coach, and Miles Avery of Ohio State University was the assistant coach.

Erin Blanchard of Lafayette, La., and Chris Estrada of Colorado Springs, Colo., were members of the U.S. Olympic Team for trampoline. Both train at the U.S. Olympic Training Center with Dmitri Poliaroush, who was the Olympic coach.

Women’s gymnastics
Team
The U.S. women went head-to-head with China in the team competition in one of the most dramatic and exciting team finals in history. When the chalk dust had settled, the USA earned its second consecutive Olympic team silver medal with 186.525 points. China won the gold medal with 188.900 points, and Romania claimed the bronze medal with 181.525 points.

“The fight was extremely close,” said Martha Karolyi, women’s national team coordinator. “We fought equal to equal. We were two very strong teams.”

“I feel proud of the USA and our team,” Johnson said. “We are proud of each other no matter what. I think that we represented USA very well.”

“My goal was to come out and know that at the end of the competition, I’d have no regrets,” Liukin said. “I definitely have no regrets. I’m happy with how everything went and to say that you have an Olympic medal is just amazing.”

The USA was paired with China in the same rotation and opened the team finals on vault. Johnson earned a 16.000 for her Yurchenko 2.5 vault, and Sacramone scored a 15.675 for her Rudi vault. Sloan performed a Yurchenko double and posted a 15.200. Russia, who began the competition on uneven bars, led the competition after one rotation with 46.950 points, followed closely by the USA in second with 46.875 points. China was third at 46.350.

Memmel, who only competed on one event in the team finals, was the first U.S. woman up on uneven bars and scored a 15.725 for her routine that included a jam to invert to a double front dismount. Johnson kept the momentum going with a 15.350. Liukin’s pirouette work in her difficult routine with a 7.7 start value earned a 16.900, the highest score of the day on any event. The USA’s aggregate bars score 47.975. China moved into the lead after posting a 49.625 on the uneven bars for a two-rotation score of 95.975. The USA was second at 94.850 and Russia dropped to third with a 91.850.

The USA posted a score of 47.250 on balance beam. Johnson posted a 16.175 for her routine that included a full-in dismount. Liukin earned a 15.975 and Sacramone scored a 15.100.

Heading into the final rotation, China led the USA, 143.100 to 142.100. Romania was third with 136.250 points.

Liukin led the USA on floor exercise with a 15.200, with Johnson scoring a 15.100 and Sacramone earning a 14.125 for a total of 44.425. China sealed its victory with a 45.800 on floor exercise to win its first-ever women’s Olympic team gold medal.

“I’m definitely happy with silver,” said Memmel, who injured her ankle during training before the qualification round. “It’s the Olympic Games and we have a silver medal. The Chinese were the better team today. We had a few mistakes. The only disappointment for me was that I couldn’t contribute more to the team.”

“Leaving Beijing with a silver medal is such an honor,” said Peszek. “To have a medal hanging around my neck from the Olympics is remarkable. We’re all so proud of everyone.”

“You have good days and bad days, and I just wish that today was a good day for me,” Sacramone said. “My teammates were amazing today, but I just wish that my performance was a little better.”

“It’s amazing and having any medal is remarkable,” Sloan said. “We gave it our hearts, but China was just having a really good day today.”

All-around
Liukin joins Retton (1984) and Carly Patterson (2004) as the only U.S. women’s gymnasts to win an Olympic all-around title. Johnson’s second place finish also gave the USA another first – finishing one-two in the all-around. Liukin finished with a score of 63.325, followed by Johnson with a 62.725 and China’s Yang Yilin, who earned the bronze with a 62.650.

“Just to be here at the Olympic Games is amazing,” Liukin said. “To stand on the podium and hear ‘Olympic champion’ next to my name was a dream come true. I knew it was a close fight and I knew I’d done all I could do.”

“It’s been a really long road and I’m just so proud to be here,” Johnson said. “I’m honored to be representing the USA. I had a great meet today and finishing on floor was probably my favorite moment because I knew I’d given it my all.”

Liukin is coached by her father, Valeri, who won four medals, including two gold, at the 1988 Olympic Games. Liukin trains at WOGA in Plano, Texas, where Patterson trained until winning her Olympic all-around title in 2004.

Because they finished 1-2 in the qualification round, Johnson and Liukin competed in the Olympic order (vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise) in the finals. Johnson scored a 15.875 for her Yurchenko 2.5 vault, and Liukin earned a 15.025 for her Yurchenko 1.5. After one rotation, Romania’s Steliana Nistor was first with a 15.975, followed by Johnson in second and Italy’s Vanessa Ferrari in third with a 15.600. Liukin was 10th.

Moving to the uneven bars where she has a 7.7 start value, Liukin posted a 16.650 for her routine that includes intricate pirouette work. Johnson stuck her layout double double dismount for a score of 15.275. Yang moved into first place after the second rotation with a score of 31.900 with Liukin in second with a 31.675 and Nistor in third with a 31.525. Johnson dropped to fifth with a 31.150.

Liukin opened her beam routine with a front aerial to flip flop layout and posted a 16.125 to take the lead with a score of 47.800 heading into the fourth and final rotation. With a score of 16.050 for her balance beam routine that includes full in dismount, Johnson moved into third place with a 47.200. Yang dropped to second with a 47.650.

Johnson and Liukin scored identical 15.525s on floor exercise in the final rotation to secure gold and silver. Yang, who scored a 15.000 on floor, fell one spot to third place.

Individual events
The U.S. women won five medals in three individual event finals. Liukin captured three medals, silver in the uneven bars and balance beam and a bronze in the floor exercise; and Johnson won the gold medal in the balance beam, as well as a silver medal in the floor exercise.

Vault. Sacramone scored a 15.750 on her first vault, a Rudi, and followed with a 15.325 for her Yurchenko double, averaging a score of 15.537. Korea’s Hong Un Jong won the gold medal with a 15.650. Germany’s Oksana Chusovitina won the silver medal with a 15.575 and China’s Cheng Fei claimed the bronze medal with a 15.562. Sacramone finished fourth.

“I’m disappointed that I didn’t at least place, but all the girls had higher start values that I did,” Sacramone said. “I went out there and finished my Olympic Games, and I did the best I could.”

Uneven bars. Liukin and China’s He Kexin both posted scores of 16.725, but He was awarded the gold medal over Liukin due to a tiebreaker based on deductions. Both women performed difficult routines, He’s punctuated with her intricate handwork and Liukin’s featuring her trademark pirouettes. China’s Yang earned the bronze medal with a score of 16.650.

“I don’t have any regrets in my training plan or in the routine that I performed today,” Liukin said. “Missing out on the gold medal today is a little hard to take, but when I look back at this week, I couldn’t be more proud of my accomplishments.”

Balance beam. Johnson and Liukin won the gold and silver medals, respectively, on the balance beam. Johnson ended her balance beam routine with a full-in dismount and scored a 16.225. Liukin was second at 16.025. China’s Cheng, the first competitor on balance beam, scored a 15.950, which held up for the bronze medal.

“It’s the Olympics and I just wanted to finish it off the best that I could,” Johnson said. “Beam is my favorite event and I’ve been working so hard on it at home. I just put everything toward the beam. To finally get the gold for my beam coach (Liwen Zhuang) and for me on my very last routine, it meant the world.”

Floor exercise. Johnson was the first to take the floor and scored a 15.500 for her routine that includes a tuck double double on her first pass. Liukin scored a 15.425 after ending her routine with a two-and-a-half twisting back. Romania’s Sandra Izbasa won the gold medal with a score of 15.650.

“I wasn’t sure how things were going to hold up today, but I didn’t really care about scores,” said Johnson. “I didn’t care about placements. I just wanted to go out and have a good time. Sitting there and watching seven other girls compete was the most nerve-wracking experience.”

“I felt so calm, and I had to get that adrenaline going,” Liukin said. “I think just because I know floor isn’t my best event, I wasn’t as nervous. I just felt that whatever happens, I’m just going to try my best.”

Men’s competition
Team
Despite last minute team changes, the U.S. Olympic Team for men’s gymnastics went out and showed their stuff, winning the team bronze medal with a total score of 275.850. China won the gold medal with 286.125 points with Japan taking second at 278.875 points.

“The whole way through, we focused on one event at a time, one routine at a time,” said Kevin Mazeika, head coach of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team for men’s gymnastics. “It’s just unbelievable considering everything we’ve been through. It’s been a roller coaster ride. I couldn’t be prouder of these guys, of all the coaches and this whole collective, collaborative effort.”

“I think the most important thing for us was to be on that podium, which we knew that we could do,” said Horton. “Bronze, silver, gold, it doesn’t matter. We’re excited because nobody thought we’d be close.”

The USA began the competition on still rings, posting a score of 46.375. Horton earned the team’s highest score with a 15.625, followed by Tan and Bhavsar with a 15.425 and a 15.325, respectively.

Horton again led the USA with a 16.200 on his stuck handspring double front vault. Bhavsar posted a 16.125 on his handspring double full vault with Spring earning a 15.900 on his Kasamatsu one-and-a-half for a total team score of 48.225.

On parallel bars, the USA earned a total of 47.050. Spring posted a 15.850 to top the USA’s scores, followed by Horton with a 15.625 and Bhavsar with a 15.575. The USA was in first place halfway through the competition with 141.650. China was second at 140.825 and France was third with 140.025 points.

With high-flying release moves and chants of “USA” from the crowd, the U.S. men posted a score of 46.925 on horizontal bar. Horton and Spring earned a 15.700 and a 15.675, respectively, with each sticking his dismount, a laid-out triple double for Horton and a triple back for Spring. Hagerty earned a 15.550.

With a score of 49.325 on vault, China moved into the lead after the fourth rotation with a four-event score of 190.150. The USA dropped to second with 188.575 points and Japan was third with a 185.200.

Horton led the USA on floor exercise with a score of 15.575 after nailing all of his tumbling passes, including his tucked full in dismount. Spring posted a 15.200 for his routine that included a triple full dismount. Hagerty rounded out the USA’s scoring with a 14.625. The team earned a total of 45.400 on floor exercise.

Heading into the sixth and final rotation, China was in the lead with 239.175 points, followed by the USA with a 233.975 and Japan with a 232.275. Artemev’s full Kehr into his flare sequence on the pommel horse had the crowd cheering, and he earned the USA’s highest score on that event with a 15.350. Bhavsar posted a 13.750 and Tan earned a 12.775. The USA’s total pommel horse score was 41.875.

“It’s been an up-and-down roller coaster,” Artemev said. “For me personally, I usually get excited about things too quickly and then if I have a let down, I get pretty angry about it. So I taught myself not to handle situations like that, to take it a little bit more professionally. I learned that from Dave with the way he handled things (being an alternate). This is a nine-man team. Paul, Morgan and Dave, this is for them, too.”

“It’s a dream come true, and dreams can come true,” said Bhavsar. “I’m a firm believer that in life, when you have nothing left to give, you have to dig down deep and find it within you to keep going. I hope that my message carries into the spirit of other people that if I can do it, so can you.”

“I’d characterize this medal as a nine-man team,” said Hagerty. “This was for our country. This was for Dave, Paul and Morgan. This is for everybody, our friends and family.”

“I think the medal was somewhat unexpected, but we knew that we had this potential,” said Spring. “I know a lot of people doubted that we would make the second day (team finals), but this team never doubted ourselves. We had two last-minute replacements and anything you threw at this team, we rolled with it with smiles on our faces.”

“We pulled together,” said Tan. “We had that support from everyone. We went out there and showed what we could do today. My day didn’t go as well as I’d hoped, but I was focused, I stayed on and I fought as hard as I could. I believe I left it all out there, heart and soul.”

All-around
Horton and Artemev finished ninth and 12th, respectively, in the men’s all-around at the 2008 Olympic Games. China’s Yang Wei won the all-around title with a score of 94.575. Japan’s Kohei Uchimura earned the silver medal with a 91.975 and France’s Benoit Caranobe claimed the bronze medal with a 91.925. Horton’s score of 91.575 was just four-tenths of a point shy from the silver-medal-winning score. Artemev posted a 90.675.

“There were a lot of incredible competitors out there who had a great meet,” Horton said. “Hopefully with some more time and experience in this sport, I’ll learn how to put together two incredible meets instead of just one (men’s team final). Today I was really calm and just stayed relaxed in my gymnastics. I definitely didn’t have that fired-up feeling that I had with the team, but I’m really happy with how I did. I don’t have any regrets with my competition today.”

“I had a bobble on floor that lowered my B score (execution score), but other than that, it was pretty good,” Artemev said about his performance. “I didn’t really hold back on anything. (Pommel) horse is getting better every day, so hopefully in finals, it’s even better.”

Artemev and Horton opened the competition on still rings and pommel horse, respectively, and posted scores of 14.275 and 13.675.

In the second rotation, Artemev jumped to 12th after scoring a 15.975 on his Yurchenko 2.5 vault. On still rings, Horton posted a 15.575 for his routine that included a full twisting, double layout dismount and moved into 19th place.

Artemev scored a 15.200 on parallel bars and remained in 12th place with 45.450 points. Horton jumped five spots to 14th with 45.350 points after earning a 16.100 on his handspring double front vault.

Korea’s Yang Tae Young led the field halfway through the competition with 47.325 points, followed by Yang in second and Caranobe in third with a 47.150 and a 46.650, respectively.

After four rotations, Horton was 12th with a 60.625 after scoring a 15.275 on parallel bars. Artemev stuck his stretched double double dismount on horizontal bar and scored a 15.075 to move into 14th place at 60.525.

In the fifth rotation, Horton earned a 15.350 on horizontal bar for a score of 75.975, and Artemev posted a 14.625 on floor exercise for a score of 75.150. Horton ended the competition on floor exercise, scoring a 15.600. Artemev’s crowd-pleasing pommel horse routine that includes a full Kehr to flair sequence earned a 15.525.

Individual events
Horton won the silver medal on the horizontal bar. Artemev competed in the pommel horse finals, and Tan was the first reserve athlete for the still rings finals, with Hagerty the third reserve gymnast for high bar.

In the horizontal bar finals, Horton took a chance and performed a new, more difficult routine that he had never completed, even in practice. His routine had a 6.9 start value, up five-tenths of a point from his routine in the team finals. He earned a score of 16.175, just 0.025 points behind the 16.200 of gold-medal-winner Zou Kai of China. Germany’s Fabian Hambuechen, the 2007 horizontal bar world champion, finished third with a score of 15.875.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever done that routine,” said Horton. “I’m not going to sit here and say it’s luck because I’ve done every one of those skills millions of times. But it was maybe a little bit of luck to put it together in the same routine at once and do it as well as I did. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, right? I hit the floor and looked at Mark (Williams) and said, ‘Can you believe that just happened?’ Instantly, I knew I was going to medal with that routine. I kind of wish I had stuck my landing because I’d be gold.”

On pommel horse, Artemev scored a 14.975 after falling toward the end of his routine. China’s Xiao Qin won the gold medal with a 15.875. Croatia’s Filip Ude and Great Britain’s Louis Smith both posted scores of 15.725, but Ude claimed the silver medal through a tiebreaker, giving Smith the bronze.

“I wish I walked away with a medal (on pommel horse), but I’m happy that the team got a medal and that’s the most important thing to me,” said Artemev. “With my set, I laid out a hard routine and I wasn’t ready.”

The other individual event gold medalists were: China’s Li Xiaopeng , parallel bars; China’s Chen Yibing, still rings; Poland’s Leszek Blanik, vault; and China’s Zou Kai, floor exercise.

Trampoline

Blanchard finished 13th for the women and Chris Estrada placed 15th for the men in the trampoline at the 2008 Olympic Games, also held at the National Indoor Stadium. In men’s trampoline, China’s Lu Chunlong won the gold medal with a score of 41.00. Canada’s Jason Burnett earned the silver medal with a 40.70, and China’s Dong Dong claimed the bronze medal with a 40.60. For the women, China’s He Wenna won the gold medal with a score of 37.80, followed by Canada’s Karen Cockburn in second with a 37.00 and Uzbekistan’s Ekaterina Khilko in third with a 36.90.

Blanchard earned a total score of 60.90 after posting a 27.10 for her compulsory routine and a 33.80 for her optional routine.

“I was happy that I made it and that I did both of my routines,” Blanchard said. “It wasn’t good, but I did it and stayed on my feet. I did all ten skills and did the best I could. I was really, really nervous because I wasn’t expecting the stands to be filled like this. It was a lot crazier than I thought it would be.”

Estrada’s 28.50 for his compulsory routine and his 37.40 for his optional routine earned a total of 65.90.

“I did okay, but I could have done better,” Estrada said. “I did the best I could today, so I’m happy with that. Being in front of the crowd was amazing because it was a new experience for me (to jump in front of a large audience). I want to thank my coaches for getting me this far.”

This was the first Olympic Games for both Blanchard and Estrada. The USA competed in the Olympic Games in women’s trampoline for the third straight Olympiad and in men’s trampoline for the first time.

Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Its mission is to encourage participation and the pursuit of excellence in the sport. Its disciplines include men's and women's artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, and acrobatic gymnastics. For more information, log on to www.usa-gymnastics.org.

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2008 Olympic Games
National Indoor Stadium
Beijing, China
Aug. 9-19, 2008

Women’s gymnastics
Team
1. China, 188.900
2. USA, 186.525
3. Romania, 181.525
4. Russia, 180.625
5. Japan, 176.700
6. Australia, 176.525
7. France, 175.275
8. Brazil, 174.875

All-around
1. Nastia Liukin, USA, 63.325
2. Shawn Johnson, USA, 62.725
3. Yang Yilin, China, 62.650
4. Ksenia Semenova, Russia, 61.925
5. Steliana Nistor, Romania, 61.050
6. Jiang Yuyuan, China, 60.900
7. Anna Pavlova, Russia, 60.825
8. Sandra Izbasa, Romania, 60.750
9. Oksana Chusovitina, Germany, 60.125
10. Jade Barbosa, Brazil, 59.550
11. Vanessa Ferrari, Italy, 59.450
12. Becky Downie, Great Britain, 59.450
13. Georgia Bonora, Australia, 58.950
14. Lia Parolari, Italy, 58.925
15. Shona Morgan, Australia, 58.800
16. Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, Canada, 58.375
17. Koko Tsurumi, Japan, 58.100
18. Ariella Kaslin, Switzerland, 58.000
19. Marine Petit, France, 57.975
20. Kyoko Oshima, Japan, 57.625
21. Kristyna Palesova, Czech Republic, 56.975
22. Ana Silva, Brazil, 56.875
23. Laetitia Dugain, France, 56.775
24. Gaelle Mys, Belgium, 53.950

Vault
1. Hong Un Jong, North Korea, 15.650
2. Oksana Chusovitina, Germany, 15.575
3. Cheng Fei, China, 15.562
4. Alicia Sacramone, USA, 15.537
5. Ariella Kaslin, Switzerland, 15.050
6. Carlotta Giovannini, Italy, 14.550
7. Jade Barbosa, Brazil, 14.487
8. Anna Pavlova, Russia, 7.812

Uneven bars
1. He Kexin, China, 16.725
2. Nastia Liukin, USA, 16.725
3. Yang Yilin, China, 16.650
4. Beth Tweddle, Great Britain, 16.625
5. Anastasiia Koval, Ukraine, 16.375
6. Ksenia Semenova, Russia, 16.325
7. Steliana Nistor, Romania, 15.575
8. Dariya Zgoba, Ukraine, 14.875

Balance beam
1. Shawn Johnson, USA, 16.225
2. Nastia Liukin, USA, 16.025
3. Cheng Fei, China, 15.950
4. Anna Pavlova, Russia, 15.900
5. Gabriela Dragoi, Romania, 15.625
6. Li Shanshan, China, 15.300
7. Ksenia Afanasyeva, Russia, 14.825
8. Koko Tsurumi, Japan, 14.450

Floor exercise
1. Sandra Izbasa, Romania, 15.650
2. Shawn Johnson, USA, 15.500
3. Nastia Liukin, USA, 15.425
4. Jiang Yuyuan, China, 15.350
5. Ekaterina Kramarenko, Russia, 15.025
6. Daiane Santos, Brazil, 14.975
7. Cheng Fei, China, 14.550
8. Anna Pavlova, Russia, 14.125

Men’s gymnastics
Team
1. China, 286.125
2. Japan, 278.875
3. USA, 275.800
4. Germany, 274.600
5. South Korea, 274.375
6. Russia, 274.300
7. Romania, 274.175
8. France, 272.875

All-around
1. Yang Wei, China, 94.575
2. Kohei Uchimura, Japan, 91.975
3. Benoit Caranobe, France, 91.925
4. Hiroyuki Tomita, Japan, 91.750
5. Sergey Khorokhordin, Russia, 91.700
6. Maxim Devyatovskiy, Russia, 91.700
7. Fabian Hambuechen, Germany, 91.675
8. Yang Taeyoung, Korea, 91.600
9. Jonathan Horton, USA, 91.575
10. Rafael Martinez, Spain, 91.500
11. Kim Daeeun, Korea, 90.775
12. Alexander Artemev, USA, 90.675
13. Philipp Boy, Germany, 90.675
14. Luis Rivera, Puerto Rico, 90.175
15. Adam Wong, Canada, 89.800
16. Anton Fokin, Uzbekistan, 89.750
17. Nathan Gafuik, Canada, 89.625
18. Flavius Koczi, Romania, 89.575
19. Enrico Pozzo, Italy, 89.375
20. Daniel Keatings, Great Britain, 89.000
21. Thomas Bouhail, France, 87.000
22. Luis Fuentes Bustamante, Venezuela, 86.300
23. Dmitry Savitski, Belarus, 82.175
24. Chen Yibing, China, 74.225

Floor exercise
1. Zou Kai, China, 16.050
2. Gervasio Deferr, Spain, 15.775
3. Anton Golotsutskov, Russia, 15.725
4. Fabian Hambuechen, Germany, 15.650
5. Kohei Uchimura, Japan, 15.575
6. Diego Hypolito, Brazil, 15.200
7. Marian Dragulescu, Romania, 14.850
8. Alexandr Shatilov, Israel, 14.125

Pommel horse
1. Xiao Qin, China, 15.875
2. Filip Ude, Croatia, 15.725
3. Louis Smith, Great Britain, 15.725
4. Yang Wei, China, 15.450
5. Hiroyuki Tomita, Japan, 15.375
6. Kim Jihoon, Korea, 15.175
7. Alexander Artemev, USA, 14.975
8. Fuentes Bustamonte Luis, Venezuela, 14.650

Still rings
1. Chen Yibing, China, 16.600
2. Yang Wei, China, 16.425
3. Oleksandr Vorobiov, Ukraine, 16.325
4. Andrea Coppolino, Italy, 16.225
5. Danny Pinheiro Rodrigues, France, 16.225
6. Matteo Morandi, Italy, 16.200
7. Robert Stanescu, Romania, 15.825
8. Jordan Jovtchev, Bulgaria, 15.525

Vault
1. Leszek Blanik, Poland, 16.537
2. Thomas Bouhail, France, 16.537
3. Anton Golotsutskov, Russia, 16.475
4. Marian Dragulescu, Romania, 16.225
5. Benoit Caranobe, France, 16.062
6. Dmitry Kasperovich, Belarus, 16.050
7. Flavius Koczi, Romania, 15.925
8. Isaac Botella, Spain, 15.737

Parallel bars
1. Li Xiaopeng, China, 16.450
2. Yoo Wonchul, Korea, 16.250
3. Anton Fokin, Uzbekistan, 16.200
4. Fabian Hambuechen, Germany, 15.975
5. Mitja Petkovsek, Slovenia, 15.725
6. Huang Xu, China, 15.700
7. Yang Taeyoung, Korea, 15.650
8. Nikolay Kryukov, Russia, 15.150

Horizontal bar
1. Zou Kai, China, 16.200
2. Jonathan Horton, USA, 16.175
3. Fabian Hambuechen, Germany, 15.875
4. Igor Cassina, Italy, 15.675
5. Takuya Nakase, Japan, 15.450
6. Hiroyuki Tomita, Japan, 15.225
7. Epke Zonderland, Netherlands, 15.000
8. Yann Cucherat, France, 14.825


Trampoline
Men
1. Lu Chunlong, China, 41.00
2. Jason Burnett, Canada, 40.70
3. Dong Dong, China, 40.60
4. Yuriy Nikitin, Ukraine, 39.80
4. Tetsuya Sotomura, Japan, 39.80
6. Dmitry Ushakov, Russia, 38.80
7. Alexander Rusakov, Russia, 38.50
8. Mikalai Kazak, Belarus, 38.10
From preliminary round
15. Chris Estrada , USA, 65.90

Women
1. He Wenna, China, 37.80
2. Karen Cockburn, Canada, 370
3. Ekaterina Khilko, Uzbekistan, 36.90
4. Olena Movchan, Ukraine, 36.60
5. Irina Karavaeva, Russia, 36.20
6. Luba Golovina, Georgia, 36.10
7. Rosannagh Maclennan, Canada, 35.50
8. Anna Dogonadze, Germany, 18.90
From preliminary round
13. Erin Blanchard, USA, 60.90

Saturday, August 23, 2008

U.S. Olympic Baseball Team Captures Bronze Medal With 8-4 Win Over Japan

BEIJING, CHINA (August 23, 2008) A four-run fifth inning highlighted by Taylor Teagarden’s (Dallas, Texas) two-run double and a two-run homer from Jason Donald (Fresno, Calif.) helped lift the U.S. Olympic Baseball Team to an 8-4 win over Japan clinching the bronze medal for Team USA. Matt LaPorta (Port Charlotte, Fla.) and Matt Brown (Bellevue, Wash.) added home runs as well as the U.S. rallied from an early three-run deficit to earn the victory. Team USA finishes Olympic competition with a 6-3 record.

Down 4-1 entering the bottom of the third inning, the U.S. mounted its rally on the back of a three-run homer by Brown. Brian Barden (Templeton, Calif.) would reach base to lead off the inning on a dropped fly by left fielder Takahiko Sato. After a walk to Jayson Nix (Dallas, Texas), Team USA tied the game as Brown launched a homer to left center. After fouling off several full count pitches from Japan starter Tsuyoshi Wada, Brown delivered with a blast to even the game at four apiece.

With the score tied 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth, the U.S. went ahead by four runs on the back of two key two-out RBI hits from Teagarden and Donald. With runners on the corners, Teagarden laced a double off the wall in right center scoring Brown and Nate Schierholtz (Danville, Calif.) giving the U.S. a two-run cushion. That lead would then extend to 8-4 as Donald ripped a two-run homer off the left field foul pole.

Starting pitcher Brett Anderson (Midland, Texas) settled in after giving up two early home runs and picked up the victory for Team USA after seven innings of work. Anderson allowed four runs on four hits with six strikeouts and three walks. Japan reliever Kenshin Kawakami suffered the loss after 2.1 innings of work, in which he allowed four runs on four hits.

“It was a great game,” said manager Davey Johnson. “Our bats woke up and Brett really pitched a great ball game. He had a little trouble in the second and third inning; I guess his rhythm was a little off. He wasn’t locating pitches like he would like to. He gave up a couple of home runs but then he settled down and really won the game for us. He was very dominant after the home run by (Japan’s) right fielder. Our big bat, Matt Brown did a heck of a job and Jason Donald has played great the whole time. He hit a two-run shot that really put the game out of reach.”

The U.S. finished with a 9-6 advantage in hits including two hits apiece from Brown, LaPorta and Donald. Brown, Teagarden and Donald drove in seven of the nine runs for the U.S. Donald finished the Olympics leading the U.S. in hitting with a .381 average (8-for-21). Brown was the team’s leading run producer with 10 RBI as well as a pair of homers. LaPorta also had two homers for the competition.

“I thought we did a great job today,” said Jason Donald. “After last night and coming into today, we could have folded really easily, especially when they got up 4-1. I think we just kept fighting and kept having great at-bats knowing that we had a good amount of time in the ball game. It was a great win. We would have liked to have won a gold (medal) but we won today and getting out of here with a medal, that is huge.”

Both teams used home runs in the early innings to get on the scoreboard. Japan’s Masahiro Araki knocked a one-out solo shot to left field in the top of the first with LaPorta answering for the U.S. with a solo homer of his own in the bottom of the second.

The home run continued to be the story of the game as Japan went ahead 4-1 on Norichika Aoki’s three-run homer in the top of the third inning. Walks issued to both Shuichi Murata and Tsuyoshi Nishioka set the stage for Aoki, who turned on a 2-0 pitch from Anderson for the second homer of the game for Japan.

That would be it for Japan though as Anderson and reliever Kevin Jepsen (Anaheim, Calif.) shut down the Japanese the rest of the way through.

The bronze medal is the second won by the United States in Olympic baseball competition. The first came at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Team USA won the gold medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

Friday, August 08, 2008

CharlieInBeijing: August 8, 2008

BEIJING, CHINA (August 8, 2008) Today CharlieInBeijing is at Chaoyang Park near the beach volleyball venue and the Adidas building. He will be heading over the Tiananmen Square prior to the Opening Ceremonies.

Thursday, August 07, 2008

CharlieInBeijing: August 7, 2008

BEIJING, CHINA (August 7, 2008) CharlieInBejing gives another report on the happenings from the Games of the 29th Olympiad.

This video was taken the day before the Olympic opening ceremonies, and takes you behind the wall, into another way of life here in downtown Beijing in the Chaoyang district.



Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Around the Rings: Dress Rehearsal for Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony

BEIJING, CHINA (August 5, 2008) Below is a clip from CCTV about the dress rehersal for the Opening Ceremonies of the Games of the 29th Olympiad in Bejing.



CharlieInBeijing: August 5, 2008

BEIJING, CHINA (August 5, 2008) Below is a video clip from CharlieInBeijing. He is posting video from Beijing and showing the happenings at the Games of the 29th Olympiad.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

UPDATE: Video of Olympic Opening Ceremonies Leaked

By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2008 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (July 31, 2008) The video clip that was released, then removed for numerous online sources has reappeared.

As of 6:42 PM CDT, the clip had reappeared on YouTube. I have embedded it below. It may not be up for long, so view it quickly.



Video of Olympic Opening Ceremonies Leaked

By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2008 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (July 31, 2008) In a major security breach, a Korean journalist gained entry into the Olympic Stadium in Beijing and videotaped a dress rehearsal for the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

A Korean television journalist visiting the "Bird's Nest" Olympic Stadium secretly filmed a rehearsal of the opening ceremony.

The video was banned on most sites based in China The video appeared on YouTube late Wednesday evening but was pulled early Thursday.

There were no surprises from the footage shot in the darkened stadium, however it give a glimpse of the lavishness of the 3 1/2-hour opening ceremony with an expected cast of 10,000.

A copy of the video was also posted at LiveLeak.com, however that copy was also removed.

The video clip can be see at Newsradio 1290 WJNO. The video was active as of 5:10 PM CDT today.

The clip may be viewed by clicking
here.




Wednesday, July 30, 2008

U.S. MEN'S OLYMPIC SOCCER TEAM TIES IVORY COAST

HONG KONG, CHINA (July 30, 2008) – The U.S. Men’s Olympic Team earned a scoreless draw with Ivory Coast in the opening match of the ING Cup in Hong Kong on Wednesday. The United States will face Cameroon in their second match of the tournament and their final Olympic tune-up on Aug. 2 at 5 p.m. local / 5 a.m. ET at Hong Kong Stadium. Fans can follow the action against Cameroon live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.

Head coach Peter Nowak used all 16 field players during the game, including a complete switch of his midfielders and forwards at halftime, getting a good look at nearly his entire Olympic roster. The two groups of attackers each created dangerous chances throughout the game, despite getting only one shot on goal.

“These matches are tune-ups for the Olympics so we want to make sure the stuff we've been working on will translate into the games,” Nowak said. “We wanted to give time to the whole group to make sure that they're ready for the game on Saturday, and more importantly learn from today's mistakes before our game against Japan. Our preparations, mentally and physically, will show through these two games both offensively and defensively. We want to make sure to get the full package together by next week.”

Ivory Coast used their speed and athleticism to create counterattack opportunities throughout the game, but the U.S. defense was up to the task. Brad Guzan, who earned Man of the Match honors, made four saves throughout the night, including a kick save from point-blank range late in the second half.

Mamadou Bagayoko took the game’s first shot in just the second minute, pouncing on an errant pass and moving upfield before quickly taking a shot that went wide of Guzan’s goal. The Americans, defending in numbers when necessary, escaped two corner kicks in the first seven minutes before settling into their game.

In the 10th minute, midfielder Michael Bradley took the first shot of the game for the U.S. after an impressive buildup out of the back. Sacha Kljestan and Freddy Adu combined in the midfield to get the ball out wide to Jozy Altidore, who knocked it over to Bradley. His one-time shot with the outside of his right foot went wide.

Adu looked to have gotten in behind the Ivory Coast defense in the 29th minute, running onto an Altidore pass in the box. He was taken down, but the referee let play continue. Minutes later, defender Marvell Wynne won a tackle and played the ball forward quickly for Altidore. He and striking partner Brian McBride combined at the top of the box, and McBride touched it ahead for a streaking Kljestan. He took a touch into the box, but defender Ousmane Viera Diarrassouba did well to recover and was able to cleanly tackle the ball away from Kljestan.

The final two chances of the first half belonged to the U.S. as the ball got out wide to midfielder Stuart Holden, who made a cheeky move around his defender and whipped a ball into the box looking for a pair of targets in McBride and Altidore, but neither could get to it. Seconds later, after Adu took a hard foul, Holden chipped in the ensuing free kick, again looking for his strikers at the far post. Altidore got tangled up with his defender, and got his head to it, but only enough to make the ball bounce up and into the hands of Ivory Coast ‘keeper Vincent de Paul Angban.

With Nowak changing his entire attack with five halftime substitutions, the U.S. moved into a 4-5-1 with Charlie Davies as the lone striker. But it was Ivory Coast who came out firing, earning the first truly dangerous chance of the game for either side in the 52nd minute. Kouamatien Kone flew down his right wing and got by defender Michael Orozco before sending a cross to the far post. Teammate Sekou Cisse was at the far post, and snapped his header down and on frame, but Guzan was there to make the diving save.

Guzan’s best save of the night came in the 71st minute, after a quick counter attack from the Ivory Coast. Serge Pascal Wawa, who was one of the best players for the Ivory Coast on the night, broke up a U.S. attack and got the ball forward with speed. Cisse received the ball and powered through Maurice Edu to get into the box alone and hit a low shot to the near post. Guzan was up to the task though, making a kick save to keep the game scoreless.

The U.S. heads into the 2008 Olympic Games having been drawn into a difficult Group B and will open against Japan on August 7 before facing the Netherlands on August 10, with both games taking place at the Olympic Sports Center Stadium in Tianjin. The team will then travel to Workers’ Stadium in Beijing to conclude group play against 1996 gold medalist and 2005 Under-20 World Cup champion Nigeria on August 13.