Tag: live from beijing
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SKATING: Lots of ice left to conquer
Ryan Bradley traveled throughout Germany, trying to focus on his figure skating tour as he contemplated his 15-year career. “Have I accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish?” Bradley said he asked himself a few months ago. He thought about his 14 first-place finishes, including five in international competition. His silver medal at the 2007 U.S. Championships and…
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JUDO & WRESTLING: Bronze medalist Miranda loses Beijing berth
LAS VEGAS – Patricia Miranda dropped to her knees in the corner of the tunnel, rested her head against the cement wall and cried her eyes out. Her bid to wrestle again in the Olympics had ended in tears. The Olympic Training Center resident was stunned Friday by a familiar opponent, Clarissa Chun, in the…
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WOMEN’S HOCKEY: U.S. tired of looking up at Canada
Two months had passed. Natalie Darwitz recently sat inside the lobby of a Colorado Springs hotel, wearing a wide smile and recalling how the U.S. women’s ice hockey team beat Canada twice to win the world championship. “Did that really happen?” she asked. It did happen. And it sets the stage for a rematch between the world’s top…
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OLYMPIC POLITICS: Whether or not to protest
Do you make a political statement by expressing your opinion on the world’s biggest stage? Or do you remain quiet by treating the Olympics as a sporting event? Those questions await an estimated 600 U.S. athletes next month at the Beijing Games, where demonstrations could bring China’s human rights record under further scrutiny and embarrass the…
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POLLUTION: Athletes look for ways to avoid direct exposure to air
Cars will come off the roads. Factories will close. Construction will stop. And persistent pollution might still hang over Beijing, enough to sour the Summer Olympics that begin next month. Less than 40 days until the Opening Ceremony, an estimated 600 U.S. Olympians are devising plans to combat pollution as Beijing officials scramble to turn gray…
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IOC president no longer fears international boycott of Games
Two months before the sporting world turns its attention toward Beijing, the “crisis” that threatened the Summer Games is over, the International Olympic Committee president said Friday. “We are in a totally different situation,” Jacques Rogge said in closing three days of IOC executive board meetings in Athens, Greece. “I am very, very optimistic in the…
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BEACH VOLLEYBALL: Olympians make contest tough
BOULDER – Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh stood on what’s normally the 30-yard line of Folsom Field, signing volleyballs, visors and pictures for a pack of giggly, wide-eyed girls. Two women sheepishly approached them, hoping for a photo with the world’s best beach volleyball team. No problem. They had just dominated Kristen Batt and Megan Wallin, so…
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Olympic Notes: Fans can watch the women face powerhouse Brazil in volleyball
Here comes the measuring stick for the U.S. women’s indoor volleyball national team. Ranked No. 4 in the world, the U.S. will face top-ranked Brazil in a three-game exhibition series this week in Colorado Springs, a tune-up for the World Grand Prix and a possible preview of the Beijing Games in August. Matches are scheduled for Wednesday…
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DIVING: Dumais a natural leader
One of the nation’s more accomplished divers, Troy Dumais doesn’t try to be a role model. He tries to be himself. The two-time Olympian unknowingly has inspired many national team members, the same guys he will compete against at the U.S. Olympic trials that begin Wednesday in Indianapolis. It’s easy to draw motivation from Dumais, a seven-time…
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SWIMMING: A watershed opportunity
Justin Day stepped on the starting blocks of the Air Force Academy pool, let his arms dangle and took a deep breath as he gazed into the dark blue in front of him. “Take your mark!” someone shouted. Day bent his knees, poised and ready, like a tiger waiting to pounce on his prey. “Go!” the man exclaimed. Within…