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31st March 2008

Olympic ticket outrage in Britain 1 reply

Britain is enjoying its recent success at the World Track Championships in Manchester, where they won nine gold and two silver medals. They are now looking to continue their success at the Beijing Olympics. For cycling fans, the news is not so good - no British fans have been allocated tickets at the Beijing Olympics.

Diving sensation, Tom Daley’s mother is also worried about getting tickets for her family.

“We wanted 12 tickets for each of the events that Tom is competing in. It’s worrying, definitely. Obviously, if we go to Beijing we want to be able to watch him. We don’t want to travel there and have to stand outside waiting to hear the results.

“If we don’t get tickets, I don’t think I could explain how it will feel, to be honest. It would be completely devastating.

”Especially given his age, he wants to be able to see a family face in the audience.”

Read more: Beijing Olympics 2008 deprives gold medal cyclists of family tickets

Australian swimmer charged with assault

Australian Olympic swimming hopeful Nick D’Arcy has been charged with assault and grevious bodily harm. D’Arcy got in a fight in a bar with swimmer Simon Cowley who was left with a broken nose and jaw.

D’Arcy turned himself into police. He was released on bail and is likely to be expelled from the Australian Olympic swimming team.

Read more: Swimmer charged

Beijing torch relighting ceremony - not for the public 1 reply

I woke up early and biked it down to Tiananmen Square. I had it in my mind that I would just park my bike somewhere and wander over to Tiananmen Square to watch the ceremony. There was no chance of this happening, unless I was willing to get arrested. The security within 200 meters of Tiananmen Square was tighter than Chairman Mao’s puffy cheeks.

I could ride my bike though up and down Chan’an Dajie which runs between the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. So I did that about 10 times, before the police blocked the road completely. I wasn’t getting any friendly looks by the police. Huge groups of Chinese gathered to the south of Tiananmen Square but they wouldn’t have been able to see anything except for perhaps some balloons going up.

A foreign photo journalist hoping to get a photo of a sniper on top of the Great Hall, said he hadn’t seen security as tight since the funeral of Deng Xiaoping in 1997.

I finally gave up trying to find a vantage point and watched a bit of the ceremony on a television in a small shop, not far from the Forbidden City.

I can’t help feeling that the are Olympics are going to be one big staged event, with little chance for the general public to have any contact with the games other than watching them on television.

Torch Relay Beijing

There were a couple of other foreigners riding their bikes around trying to get a view of Tiananmen Square, but I think I was the only one trying to video.

Beijing closes brothels - sex workers leave the capital

Just as Vancouver battles over a decision to allow brothels at the Olympics, Beijing is closing them down, in a massive clean up of the city.

Prostitution is illegal in China, but “massage” and barber shops that offer more than a hair cut, can be found throughout the city. Many of the sex workers come from the poor, rural areas of China and send the money they make back home to their families.

“I’m worried I won’t be able to find a job that pays well. My family rely on me as I am the only one to support them. I still want to go to Beijing because now that I’m out of a job my children, my daughter aren’t able to survive,” a sex worker told a Reuters reporter.

Beijing Massage

30th March 2008

Australian Olympic swimmer in a bar fight 1 reply

Australian swimmer Nick D’Arcy has allegedly been involved in a bar fight with former swimming champion Simon Cowley. The incident took place at a bar in Sydney’s King Street wharf area.

“We can confirm the Rocks (police) are investigating a serious assault at a bar in the Kings Street Wharf area this morning about 2.30,” a police media spokesperson said.

“Police have been told that an argument has broken about between a number of people at the bar.

The incident will take some of the shine off of Australia’s recent spectacular performances in the pool at the Australian qualifiers.

Source

Britain’s medal favorite: Rebecca Romero

Rebecca Romero has a remarkable story and has proved herself as a true athlete. For 10 years she was a rower, winning a silver at the Olympics and gold at the world championships. Even though she was sure to win a medal at the Beijing Olympics, her heart wasn’t in the sport.

“Even if I had been guaranteed a gold medal in rowing at the Beijing Olympics, I was getting out. It was a waste of life. If you can’t do something in a whole-hearted and completely committed way, I would rather not bother,” she said. “I would rather do something to the best of my ability in obscurity. I’m a perfectionist.”

She said she didn’t like the regimentation of rowing training. She looked for a new sport and found track cycling. She adapted quickly to the sport and in a short time become world champion of the sport and favorite to win gold at the Beijing Olympics.

Read more: Drive and power help Rebecca Romero conquer the velodrome

131 days to go - Tiananmen Square

It was a nicer day in Beijing today after a few days of gray skies and some rain. I went to Tiananmen Square in the afternoon to see the preparations for tomorrow’s torch welcome ceremony. There haven’t been many details published on the official website about the ceremony. The chairs were all laid out and security was very tight. The whole area was totally blocked off.

I believe the ceremony kicks off at around 10:00 - 10:30 a.m. I hoping to make it, but I wonder how close I will actually be able get to the action. I think they forgot my name on the guest list.

Tiananmen Square Beijing Olympics

Tiananmen Square Beijing Olympics

Tiananmen Square Beijing Olympics

Tiananmen Square Beijing Olympics

Tiananmen Square Beijing Olympics

Tiananmen Square Beijing Olympics

Tiananmen Square Beijing Olympics

Tiananmen Square Beijing Olympics

Tiananmen Square Beijing Olympics

Green Olympics exhibition

I went to the “Green Olympics — From Concepts to Action” Photo Exhibition held at the Beijing Lufthansa Center today. In China’s bid for the Olympics they pledged that the Olympics Games would be environmentally friendly.

In the building of the new venues they implemented a number of energy saving measures, including using solar panels and recycling water.

Hopefully the Beijing Olympics will have a positive influence on China to clean up its environment.

Beijing Olympics environment

Beijing Olympics environment

Beijing Olympics environment

Beijing Olympics environment

Beijing’s air pollution

The magazine ‘that’s Beijing’ interviewed Dr. Will Chickering from the Beijing United Family Hospital on Beijing’s air pollution.

Reports had suggested that living in Beijing was the equivalent of smoking a packet of cigarettes everyday. Dr Chickering in the interview said that it is not that bad. “It’s more like living with someone who smokes a pack a day”.

What a relief.

Are the new swimsuits helping too much?

With eight new world records set in eight days at the Australian swimming trials, critics are asking whether the new Speedo LRZ swimsuits are the main reason as to why so many world records are being broken.

Swimming’s governing body FINA is set to rule on whether the swimsuits provide too much buoyancy and could be made illegal.

Libby Trickett set world records in the 50 and 100 meter freestyle.

“I never really thought I could go this quick before,” said Trickett. “I have not been able to put together a good 50 meters before. But after the 100 I was just so excited for this race.”

Long distance specialist Grant Hackett, will captain the Australian swim team of 20 men and 22 women.

Read more: Swimmers or the suits? Australia impresses in Olympic trials


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