2008 Beijing Olympics – News Stories About 2008 Beijing Olympics - Page 7

OLYMPICS

Aug 14, 2008 7:23 AM CDT

Chinese Dancer Paralyzed in Fall

Liu Yan was rehearsing for opening ceremonies; may never walk again

(Newser) - One of China’s top classical dancers may have been paralyzed for life during rehearsals for the Olympics' opening ceremonies, the New York Times reports. Liu Yan was to perform the show’s only solo number, until she missed a jump to a malfunctioning platform 12 days ago, falling 10...

Phelps' Winning Personality
Separates Him From Spitz

OLYMPICS

Aug 14, 2008 7:02 AM CDT

Phelps' Winning Personality Separates Him From Spitz

Golden-boy swimmers are only similar in the pool

(Newser) - Michael Phelps has passed Mark Spitz's record number of career gold medals, and is dead set on eclipsing the seven golds Spitz won in Munich in 1972. But apart from their metal preferences the two men are very different people, observes the New York Times. The detached Spitz matched his...

I'M IN UR LOLYMPICS,
BEIN UR PREZIDENT

Aug 13, 2008 2:06 PM CDT

I'M IN UR LOLYMPICS, BEIN UR PREZIDENT

British paper turns Bush into laughing-out-loud stock

(Newser) - By now you’ve probably encountered “LOLcats,” the photos of cats with superimposed text designed to make people “laugh out loud,” as the kids say. Now, the fine folks at the Guardian have turned some highlights from President Bush’s visit to Beijing into “LOLBushes”...

Gold-Mining Phelps Eats
12K Calories a Day

OLYMPICS

Aug 13, 2008 1:48 PM CDT

Gold-Mining Phelps Eats 12K Calories a Day

Olympic swimmer gorges on 4K calories at each meal

(Newser) - Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps gorges on 12,000 calories a day—pounds of pasta, trios of fried-egg sandwiches, and an entire pizza—to keep his body fueled for his gold medal performances, reports the New York Post. "Eat, sleep, and swim. That's all I can do," said Phelps,...

Beijing Struggles
to Fill Stadiums

OLYMPICS

Aug 13, 2008 11:18 AM CDT

Beijing Struggles to Fill Stadiums

Sold-out games are full of empty seats

(Newser) - Olympic organizers have a problem: No one’s going to their sold-out events. Foot traffic is sparse in Olympic Park, and empty seats have abounded at early events. The panicked Chinese have organized yellow-shirted, state-trained “cheer-squads” to fill the holes, but that hasn’t been enough for the IOC,...

The Greatest
Athlete of His
Generation?

OLYMPICS

Aug 13, 2008 9:29 AM CDT

The Greatest Athlete of His Generation?

Phelps' sport is underappreciated

(Newser) - With his 10th and 11th gold medals making him the most decorated Olympian in history, Michael Phelps is also arguably the greatest American athlete of his generation, writes Alan Abrahamson of NBC. And despite the Olympic hype, he’s underappreciated. That's because his sport is not, say, golf, but swimming,...

China Arrests Free Tibet Demonstrators

Aug 13, 2008 8:32 AM CDT

China Arrests Free Tibet Demonstrators

Authorities take away American protesters in Beijing park

(Newser) - Chinese police arrested five American protesters who blocked the entrance to a park in Beijing while shouting "Free Tibet!", Reuters reports. The demonstrators were associated with Students for a Free Tibet, who said there were eight in total. It remains unknown where the protesters have been taken.

China Gymnasts Golden
Amid Age Accusations

Olympics

Aug 13, 2008 7:46 AM CDT

China Gymnasts Golden Amid Age Accusations

Second-place US thinks Chinese girls too young

(Newser) - China’s women bested the defending champion US women to take their first gymnastics gold medal today, as the Americans stumbled and the younger, smaller Chinese gymasts won a comfortable lead. But the victory came amid continuing charges that the Chinese competitors—who average 4 foot 9 and 77 pounds—...

Phelps Makes History: 11 Golds

updated

Aug 12, 2008 9:23 PM CDT

Phelps Makes History: 11 Golds

(Newser) - Michael Phelps now has more gold medals than any athlete who's ever competed in the Olympics. The 23-year-old American swimmer won his fourth and fifth golds of the Beijing Games with world-record victories in the 200 butterfly and the 4x200 relay. He now has 11 gold medals in his career,...

Games Give Sap-O-Meter
a Workout

olympics

Aug 12, 2008 6:06 PM CDT

Games Give Sap-O-Meter a Workout

Viewers can track 'adversity,' 'miracles,' and NBC schmaltz

(Newser) - NBC is known for laying it on a little thick in the heart-tugging category of its Olympic coverage, so Slate thinks it's about time we quantified things. Its new Sap-O-Meter will keep track of sentimental buzzwords such as "adversity," journey," "sacrifice," and "miracle,"...

Phelps'
Victory Dance:
It's Evolutionary

OLYMPICS

Aug 12, 2008 10:36 AM CDT

Phelps' Victory Dance: It's Evolutionary

All primates share body language of pride, shame: researchers

(Newser) - The classic chest-out, arms-outstretched victory dance Olympic champ Michael Phelps performed after Sunday's 4-x-100 relay final is older than humanity, the LA Times reports. The same display of pride is instinctive to all primates, researchers say, and the body language of victory and defeat is rooted in the age-old need...

China's Anthem Star a Fake

Aug 12, 2008 8:02 AM CDT

China's Anthem Star a Fake

China replaces buck-toothed girl to craft 'perfect image'

(Newser) - Nine-year-old Lin Miaoke became a sensation after performing the Chinese anthem at the Olympics opening ceremony, and has been busily doing interviews and accepting praise ever since. There’s just one problem: The voice billions around the world actually heard was a 7-year-old with crooked teeth who was replaced after...

Are Swimmers or Technology Swamping Speed Records?

Aug 12, 2008 6:34 AM CDT

Are Swimmers or Technology Swamping Speed Records?

Cascade of new world records sparks debate

(Newser) - Swimming world records are going under so fast at this Olympics that some officials are questioning what's going on, the New York Times writes. Ten records have fallen in Beijing so far—four in the space of 80 minutes yesterday—causing controversy over concerns that advances in swimsuit and pool...

First Gold Medal Thrills India

OLYMPICS

Aug 12, 2008 5:35 AM CDT

First Gold Medal Thrills India

Olympic fever grips nation as local boy makes gold in marksmanship

(Newser) - A 25-year-old marksman became the first Indian ever to win a gold medal in an individual event yesterday, setting off an Olympic zeal rarely seen before in his country, the New York Times reports. By besting his Chinese and Finnish rivals in the nail-biting 10-meter air rifle finals, Abhinav Bindra...

Phelps Nails
3rd Gold,
New Record

OLYMPICS

Aug 12, 2008 2:58 AM CDT

Phelps Nails 3rd Gold, New Record

Swimmer smashes 200-meter freestyle record, matches Spitz in career medals

(Newser) - Michael Phelps racked a third gold medal today, this one in the 200-meter freestyle, and obliterated another world record in the process. His time of 1:42.96 seconds shaved nearly a full second off his previous best, reports the Baltimore Sun. The gold, his ninth overall, ties him with...

Phelps Seeks Redemption for '04 Athens Loss

OLYMPICS

Aug 11, 2008 4:59 PM CDT

Phelps Seeks Redemption for '04 Athens Loss

Olympian favored in 200-meter freestyle, on track for 8 medals

(Newser) - Michael Phelps is gunning for a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Games, but the one that would mean the most is in the 200-meter freestyle, his hometown Baltimore Sun reports. He insisted on competing in the event at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and it was the only individual...

Gourmet Writer a
Threat to Beijing?

Aug 11, 2008 3:31 PM CDT

Gourmet Writer a Threat to Beijing?

Baffled food journalist denied Olympic visa

(Newser) - She's not a Tibetan activist, a human-rights watchdog, or a political correspondent. So why couldn't Karen Coates, a food writer for Gourmet, get a visa to cover the Beijing Olympics? She recounts the mind-numbing bureaucratic hoops she jumped through to submit her application, which seems to have vanished into a...

US Volleyball Coach's Family Pulls Together After Stabbing

Aug 11, 2008 2:31 PM CDT

US Volleyball Coach's Family Pulls Together After Stabbing

McCutcheon 'not indulging in anger'

(Newser) - Though his heart is broken, Hugh McCutcheon won’t indulge in anger as he grieves for his father-in-law, Todd Bachman, brutally stabbed to death in Beijing on Saturday. "It hurts. I think it's something no one should have to go through,'' the US Olympic men’s volleyball coach...

New Media Thwart
Edwards, Olympics

ANALYSIS

Aug 11, 2008 10:50 AM CDT

New Media Thwart Edwards, Olympics

Masses now the arbiter of news

(Newser) - The mainstream media aren't the arbiter of news anymore—every man, woman, and child with a mouse is, according to David Carr of the New York Times. For proof, look no further than the Olympics opening ceremonies or the John Edwards scandal. No matter how hard it tried, NBC couldn’...

Beijing Pulled
Fireworks Fake Out

Aug 11, 2008 4:11 AM CDT

Beijing Pulled Fireworks Fake Out

Marching 'footprints' in the sky were computer effect

(Newser) - One of the most spectacular elements of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics was actually a special effect created for television viewers around the world. Giant marching aerial footprints outlined by fireworks were created by sophisticated computer graphics digitally inserted into the live coverage, reports the Daily Telegraph.