Tibet, China conflicts draws world's attention as Olympics near

Since earning the bid to host the 2008 games, China has had to over come the many nay-sayers who argued that China was exactly the opposite of what the Olympic games stood for. The world's view on China is that of a nation with oppressed people and a government with no regard for their citizens personal freedoms. China has worked hard to try to help their image including lifting some restrictions on the foreign press as to say that they have nothing to hide from the world. The unrest in Tibet the last few weeks has caught the attention of many nations around the world and the image that China has been working to build has suddenly come crashing down. China used deadly force to break up protests in Tibet that were held to protest against China's presence in the country.

Protest have been going on through out the world in a response to China's forceful intervention in Tibet. From the United States to Greece, people have made it clear that they strongly disagree with what China is doing in Tibet. Many people have called for a boycott of the Games and the symbolic Olympic torch relay around the globe has already run into protesters.

Women's 60 meter hurdle final at Worlds

The following is a video of the women's 60 meter hurldes in which America went 1-2 with LoLo Jones capturing the gold and Candice Davis taking the silver.

World indoor championships offer preview of summer games

The World Indoor Track Championships were held a few weeks ago in Valencia, Spain. This was one of the last opportunities to see all the the world's elite athletes on the same stage until they meet again this summer in Beijing. 

There were many notable performances, including a WR in the woman's 1500 with two Russian women taking the top two spots in the final.Yelena Soboleva ran a world record time of 3:57.71 to take home a total of $90,000 ($40,000 for first place and $50,000 for establishing the world record at the event) for running just under 4:00. That's about $6,000 an hour. Not bad for running track.

On the American side, the dominance that was seen at the 2007 outdoor championships in Osaka, Japan, wasn't on display in Valencia. As I've mentioned before, being an Olympic year, many of the top athletes are starting their seasons later in hope to hit the peak of their seasons at the Games this summer. 

Full Results:   http://www.iaaf.org/wic08/results/eventCode=3656/racedate=03-09-2008/bydate.html

Beijing Olympics: More at Stake than Gold Medals - Summary

  In “Beijing Olympics: More at Stake than Gold Medals,” published in the China Business Review, Drew Thompson addresses the issues that the country of China,  corporate sponsors of the Games and companies operating in China face in the wake of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad this summer. Thompson dissects the issues that these groups face and also discusses possible solutions for these problems.

     First, Thompson explains the challenges and risks that China as a country faces. These include such things as the country’s press freedoms, international pressure, and it’s infrastructure and pollution. China has been known to offer limited freedoms to foreign press. A recent Foreign Correspondents Club of China survey cited at least 38 incidents of detainment since 2004. He refers to international pressure in the sense that China will be closely scrutinized by how it, “manages foreign and domestic non-governmental organizations or protesters during the Olympics” (120).  The quality of air and traffic issues headline Beijing’s problems from a infrastructure point of view, Thompson observed. He continues by saying that such efforts as relocating polluting factories and a massive tree planting scheme have helped the situations somewhat.

     Second, Thompson discusses challenges for foreign companies during the Games. He uses many big name companies as examples of corporations that have come under heat for sponsoring the Olympics in China. The Coca-Cola Co., and McDonald’s Corp. are two examples of such corporations, while General Motors Corp. has decided to not sponsor the Olympics to avoid any controversy. McDonalds’s Corp. also faces issues within China over working conditions and wages.

     Thompson concludes by offering companies advice to prepare for and prevent negative publicity during the Olympics. He suggests three steps: Perform a risk assessment, develop crisis plans, and corporate social responsibility. After this advice, Thompson discusses uncertainties about the games. He writes, “The PRC leadership has defined the 2008 Beijing Olympics as the ultimate manifestation of China’s emergence as a normal member of the international community.”  He continues by saying that China must be careful to, “avoid becoming victims of their own success” (44). Too little national pride and the public view will be that China hasn’t progressed as a country in uniting it’s people;  Too much,  and they will, “add another dimension to the ‘so called China threat’” (44).

 

 

Thompson, Drew. “Beijing Olympics: More at Stake than Gold Medals.” China Business

           

Review Feb. 2008: 40-44.

Olympic games terror plot thwarted; terrorist killed

The Chinese government is reporting that it has broken up the plans of a small terrorist group in Beijing which involved some type of attack to be carried out during the Olympic Games in August.

The following is a link to ESPN.com where there is an Associated Press story regarding these chilling new details: 

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=3284537

Police confiscated numerous guns and homemade bombs during a raid in the Chinese city of Urumqi. The raid resulted in the arrest of fifteen and the death of two people.

Hayward Field

My previous post mentioned that the U.S. Olympic track and field trials were going to be held in Eugene, Oregon at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field. 

Now most sports in American have a venue that is synonymous with that particular sport. Baseball has Fenway. Football has the "Frozen Tundra" of Lambeau Field. Basketball has Madison Square Garden. Track has Hayward Field.

Hayward field is all that is track in America. Which is why it was a more than appropriate choice to host the 2008 trials. From the facility itself, to the fans, to the history that the sacred ground has witnessed over the years, Hayward Field is not only the best place to watch a track and field meet in the country, it is also one of the best places to witness a track meet in the entire world.

Built in 1912 as the U of O's football stadium, Hayward Field was named after long time U of O track and field coach Bill Hayward. The facility was home to both the university's football team and track team until a new football stadium was constructed in 1967. Since then, Hayward field has been solely used to hold some of the best track and field competitions the world has even seen. It will host the U.S. Olympic trials for the fourth time in June.

 

Young stars ready to shine (again)

I apologize for the lack of posts this weekend. I was participating in the Big 10 Indoor Track and Field Championships at the University of Wisconsin. I'd never been to Madison before but it lived up to it's billing. It is an awesome college town with little restaraunts and shops lining the downtown streets. I don't know if I got to see all that Madison has to offer due to the two and a half feet of snow that, suprisingly, was everywhere except the sidewalks and roads but I digress...

The University of Wisconsin, which won it's record 8th straight Big 10 Indoor title over the weekend, has an obvious tradition of excellence. Many UW alumni returned to watch the meet and among them I recognized olympic hopefuls Chris Solinsky and Matt Tegenkamp. Both distance runners now run for Nike and have aspirations of making the olympic team this coming summer. The trials will be held in Eugene, Oregon at the University of Oregon's famed Hayward Field.

Solinsky, a 5-time national champion while running for the University of Wisconsin, had an outstanding track season last summer in what was his first track season as a professional. During his debut summer campaign, Solinsky ran personal best times in the 1500 (3:37.27), the 3000 (7:36.90), and the 5000 (13:12.24). He will more than likely vie for a spot on the U.S. team competing in the 5000 meters.

Tegenkamp, the American record holder in the two-mile run (8:07.07), was a mere four one-hundreths of a second away from becoming the first American to medal in any event over 1500 meters in decades, placing 4th in the 5000 meter run at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan last summer. He is probably American's best chance for a medal in the 5000 meters.

These two former Badgers are just a few of the many young American distance runner's that are raising a bar that has been low for so long. 

Team USA

Turning our attention back to the United States, many of the country's athletes have been preparing for months to make the Olympic team and many of the sports seasons are in full swing right now. One such sport that athletes are vying for spots in is track and field. The indoor track and field season has been underway for some time now, culminating this weekend with the United States of America Track and Field (USATF) Indoor Championships this weekend in Boston. The top two finishers in each event will then proceed onto the World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain next weekend.

Many of the United State's top athletes were missing from the USATF Championships. This is mainly due to the fact that this is an Olympic year. Many of the athletes are either getting a later start on the season in hopes of peaking in the summer, or participating against tougher competition around the world to prepare for the summer Games. One such example is middle distance runner and American record holder in the mile, Alan Webb. Webb has been taking time off following a sub-par performance at the World Outdoor Championships in Osaka and will make his 2008 debut at the US 8k Championships in March. Another runner absent from the USATF Indoor Championships was defending Olympic gold medalist, Jeremy Wariner, who has raced in a few races over seas but seems to be taking it slow knowing that he has a long season ahead of him.

Another runner absent from the USATF Indoor Championship was Dathan Ritzenhein. Ritzenhein, known to the running world as merely 'Ritz', is preparing to represent the United States this coming weekend at the World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland. Being a long distance runner, indoor track doesn't really play to Ritz's strengths so it wasn't that shocking that he wasn't participating. In fact, Ritzenhein has already earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team by placing second at the U.S. Marathon Trials last November in New York City.

There are so many races and so many things going on right now, not just in track and field, but also in the other olympic sports. I'll hopefully keep this blog multi-dimensional but again, forgive me for my bias towards track and field.

This video offers an excellent view of what is going on in Beijing and also portrays what the Games mean for China.

Beijing: An Overview

Moscow. July, 2001. That's where and when we'll begin. Moscow was the site that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) chose to hold their quadrennial elections to vote on the list of cities that entered a bid to host the next summer games. Overwhelmingly, the committee selected the bustling capitol of China, Beijing. 

There were mixed feelings about the committee's selection. Many questioned the committee's decision on grounds of political tensions, environmental issues, and even human rights. Other's argued that in rewarding Beijing with the 2008 bid, it would in many ways help the country. Whether it would be to help clean up the environment, or even create new jobs, this is without a doubt a huge opportunity for China to shine with all the eyes of the world upon it.

China has been constructing some revolutionary, state-of-the-art facilities for this summer's Games. 

This stunning aquatic facility, known as "The Cube". It will hold all swimming and diving events during the Games.    

This peculiar looking building will be the Olympic Stadium, which will hold opening and closing ceremonies as well as all track and field events. The stadium is known as, "The Nest"

And the journey begins..

Actually, the journey began quite a while ago, but I'll get you caught up on what you've missed. For now, here's a quick rundown on what this blog is all about:

This blog will follow mainly the United States and it's athletes, more than likely track and field athletes, as they prepare for this summer's games. The blog will not be limited to track and field nor the United States. Any significant news regarding the olympic games will be discussed. However, there will primairly be track and field related posts pertaining to the athletes who have already earned a spot on the U.S. team or who are still striving to attain one of the coveted spots on the U.S. Olympic team. This blog will also provide news on the preparations China is making in hosting the XXIX Olympiad.