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5th September 2007

US may base atheletes in South Korea for Olympics

Bloomber news was reporting the United States is considering basing its athletes in South Korea to avoid Beijing’s pollution problems and flying them in for their events.

“The economic costs of China’s pollution are escalating,” Jing Ulrich, chairman of China equities at JPMorgan Chase & Co., said in the Bloomberg report. “To effectively tackle these issues, China must change its macroeconomic structure. Instead of relying on heavy industry, the government should promote the service sector and private consumption.”

It would seem unlikely that the United States would go through with such a move. All of the events are taking place in China, so when it comes to the actual competition the pollution is going to be impossible to escape.

Source

Canada’s men gymnast team makes it through to the Olympics

The Canadian men’s gymnastics team has made it through to the Beijing Olympics. Needing to finish in the top 12, Canada finished in eleventh position.

“We’re in. We figured after the session we needed to be fifth and we’re standing fifth, so that’s good,” said Shewfelt, who was right there in the middle of the party. “Last year, we made team finals, so we were shooting for that. But really, it’s all about a top-12 finish and making it to the Olympics.”

Read more: Even without Shewfelt, Canadian gymnasts make it to Beijing Olympics

Horse virus in Australia disrupts equestrian qualifiers

The equine influenza crisis in Australia which has seen many horse racing events in Australia cancelled, could now effect Olympic qualifying events.

“We are having talks with the International Equestrian Federation to find an alternative date or, if necessary, totally new arrangements for Olympic dressage team qualification,” EFA chief executive Franz Venhaus said.

Read more: Equestrian Beijing Olympics qualifying events delayed

US clinch Olympic spot

The United States men’s gymnastics team clinched one of twelve spots to go through to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The team finished fourth behind China, Japan and Germany at the world championships in Stuttgart, Germany.

“It still eats at me,” said Jonathan Horton, whose falls off the parallel bars and high bar last year contributed heavily to the U.S. slide down the standings. “Because so many times over the past year, we’d have people come up to us and question the ability of the U.S. team. The comments we got from people about us being weak just fueled every movement that I do.”

Read more: U.S. men’s gymnasts rally, clinch Olympic berth

Who are the favorites for the men’s basketball?

“Obviously us,” U.S. forward Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets said. “I guess us right now.”

The Americans are confident of a gold at the Beijing Olympics, especially after not losing a game at the recent qualifier.

“We are starting to get guys, the top guys, to play again,” Kidd said. “When you got Kobe and LeBron and Carmelo, these guys are coming during the summer to participate and represent their country. You are getting the top guys. Maybe in the past, we just haven’t had the top guys.”

Basketball is an extremely popular sport in China and the supporters there are going to be expecting some heavy competition from their team led by NBA star Yao Ming.

4th September 2007

Korean handball officials upset with referring decisions

Korean officials believe that they received unfair treatment from Jordanian referees at the Korean-Kuwait men’s handball match in Japan as they lost 28-20.

Members of the Korea Handball Federation are planning to visit the Kuwait Embassy in Seoul, handing in a statment of protest of the referree’s decision making.

Korea will have to win all three of its remaining games against Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Japan to move forward to the Beijing Olympics.

“We witnessed an unacceptable situation,” said the vice president of the Japan Handball Federation in an interview with a Japanese newspaper. “Should this situation continue, none of the East Asian countries would be able to participate in Olympic games forever.”

Read more: Unfair Decisions Spoil Olympic Preliminary

Lenovo goes all out at the Olympics 1 reply

Lenovo is going all out to use the 2008 Beijing Olympics to promote its brand. Lenevo took over IBM’s personal computing division over two years ago.

Ever since the takeover of the IBM’s computer division, Lenovo has faced a difficult battle to rebrand their computers and laptops in the marketplace. The company has introduced an array of Olympics-inspired laptops. The Lenovo brand is well known in China, and has a third of the market share.

Outside of Asia Lenovo is well behind rival maker’s HP and Dell. “We are aiming to build Lenovo into a strong brand known for innovation, customer service and high quality,” said Deepak Advani, senior vice-president and chief marketing officer of Lenovo. It is not surprising that IT purchasing departments have been cautious in purchasing new IBM/Lenovo branded laptops. Until Lenovo can prove that it has the ability to build and support the latest technology, will companies decide to stick with or move to the Thinkpad brand.

IT systems are the backbone of any large event including the Olympic Games. The projected IT costs of the Beijing Olympics is set to be at around $400 million. Lenovo will be supplying laptop PCs, desktops, servers, printers and other IT equipment, with its contribution totaling around 20,000 pieces of equipment and around 400 computer techinicians.

Lenovo is oranizing and sponsoring the Olympic torch relay. Their Olympic torch design was selected from over 300 entrants and was inspired by the shape of a traditional Chinese scroll.

The sponsorship of an Olympic Games is somewhat risky for a IT provider. Any IT problems are going to be quickly blamed on the providers. A successful implementation at the games, without any major issues is going to be largely ignored by the mainstream press. Hopefully for Lenovo, IT managers and IT procurement departments across the world interested in the Olympics will be paying attention.

Starbucks has big plans for China

Even though Starbucks is not an official Olympic sponsor, they have big plans for China. The company currently has 540 stores across mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

Even though China is traditionally a tea drinking country, Starbucks has been successful at selling coffee and introducing some tea related products to their stores. Aditionally, Starbucks sees itself as offering its customers more than just cups of coffee.

Starbucks has a global appeal where people connect. It’s a place they enjoy by themselves or with friends. Starbucks offers a perfect, perfect platform.

Read more: Q&A Starbucks exec talks of high hopes for growth in Asia

Kenya finishes second overall in Osaka

Kenya performed well in the Osaka World Athletics Championships coming second overall finishing with 13 medals including 5 gold.

Here is a list of the final results:

Gold medals:

Brimin Kiprop Kipruto 3000 Metres Steeplechase M
Alfred Kirwa Yego 800 Metres M
Janeth Jepkosgei 800 Metres W
Luke Kibet Marathon M
Catherine Ndereba Marathon W

Silver medals:

Ezekiel Kemboi 3000 Metres Steeplechase M
Eliud Kipchoge 5000 Metres M
Vivian Cheruiyot 5000 Metres W

Bronze medals:

Martin Irungu Mathathi 10,000 Metres M
Shedrack Kibet Korir 1500 Metres M
Eunice Jepkorir 3000 Metres Steeplechase W
Richard Kipkemboi Mateelong 3000 Metres Steeplechase M
Priscah Jepleting Cherono 5000 Metres W

Kenya’s Catherine Ndereba wins women’s marathon

Catherine Ndereba from Kenya won the women’s marathon at the Osaka World Athletics Championships. She finished the race with a time of 2 hours, 30 minutes and 37 seconds. Chunxiu Zhou, finished second followed by the local star Reiko Tosa.

“I guess it was the toughest marathon of my career. It was so hot,” said the deeply religious Ndereba, who was running her first marathon of the year as she focused all her attention on preparing for Osaka.

“Some people said after I did not win in Athens or Helsinki that Catherine is finished. But I showed them that with the help of God that I can win again.”

Source


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