i am sure some of you are still reeling from the absence of olympics, in other words, post-olympics syndrome.

so let me rub your wounds with the best highlights & controversies of the historic event:

china have set a benchmark, very high indeed. this is more than just a sporting event for china, in fact, the main purpose is to show the world how much china has progressed and showcase their ambitions in becoming one of the 'superpowers' of the world.

highlights

*some opening ceremony photos excluding the closing ceremony

chinese gymnast li ning igniting the cauldron

fireworks at the bird nest stadium

the five olympic rings - passion, faith, victory, work ethic and sportsmanship

you knew i was going into this topic isn't it. there's no way to talk about beijing olympics 2008 without even mentioning him - officially the greatest olympian, overtaking mark spitz (7) with 8 medals by setting seven world records and 1 olympic record in a single olympic.

and this includes the miraculous 100m butterfly which he won by the narrowest margin possible — one one hundredth of a second.

from other sources : what made his seventh win even more jaw dropping, was the fact that at the turn he was seventh out of eight swimmers. He made up significant ground (or would it be water?) in the final seconds, but when frontrunner Milorad Cavic of Serbia reached for the wall while Phelps was in the midst of his final half stroke, it looked as though the University of Michigan student's dream of eight gold medals was done for. But this is Michael Phelps we're talking about. The phenom inexplicably managed to circle his beanstalk arms around and touch the wall just before Cavic could glide to victory.

frames to frames picture : 100m butterfly phelps (left) vs cavic

the olympics committee confirmed that both of them, cavic and phelps might have touched the electronic touchpad at the same time, but Phelps applied sufficient pressure than cavic who barely reached it, to win by 0.01 second.

here's another sensation who overtake phelps as best individual performance in beijing olympics by an american newspaper, denver post.

he's the fastest man on earth and his name is usain bolt.

some papers criticised him for being arrogant, winning the 100 metres relay without inputting the full effort (towards his last strides, he pumped his chest while looking at the audience to signal victory) but all of them can only admire in awe by such dominance.

jamaican sprint phenomenon usain bolt was picked by the newspaper for his three world record gold medal performances in the 100, 200 metres and 4x100-metre relay.

"With swimmers breaking 74 world records in 2008 – including 24 at these Olympics – we no longer are impressed with world swim records.

"But when Bolt breaks track's two sprint marks for the first sprint double in 24 years, then runs a leg on the sprint relay that breaks a third record, that grabs our attention," the Denver Post stated.

Bolt, 22, joined a short list of track and field greats who have successfully completed an Olympic double when he became the first man in Olympic history to set world records in both events at any Games.

nadal ended federer's 4 1/2 years reign of atp no. 1 spot after winning the olmypics singles gold medal

roger federer finally won his first olympic medal despite dominating the tennis court for years

singapore claim its first olympic medal after 48 years wait

Waseelah Saad competing as the first female sprinter from Yemen. She ran while wearing a hijab.

controversies/moments to forget

Liu Xiang, the defending Olympic champion and icon of Chinese sport, managed just three steps in his opening heat in the 110m hurdles before pulling up lame with a hamstring injury.

The Athens gold medalist was shown by television cameras crouching by an outside wall in bitter disbelief as officials, volunteers and the entire country watched on in horror.

china's favourite poster boy absence in the games, obviously had a huge impact as sponsors and advertisers suffered millions in losses.

the country's weight of expectation and extraordinary hype surrounding him was simply to much for him to cope in his home ground.

us men 4x100m relay team committed horrendous error by dropping the baton - disqualifying themselves in the process

a case of monkey-see-monkey-do? or you jump i jump?

The U.S. women didn't learn from the U.S. men's relay mistake earlier in the day, calling into question the program's leadership.

lin miaoke (above) appeared to be singing the anthem "hymn to the motherland" at the olympic opening ceremony on august 8, 2008.

but a chinese official admitted that lin miao ke was actually lip-synching because the singer of the performance - yang peiyi (below) was deemed not cute enough to appear for the ceremony.

The main consideration was the national interest. The child on the screen should be flawless in image, in her internal feelings, and in her expression. In the matter of her voice in the unanimous opinion of all the members of the team-Chen Qigang

a family forming the symbol of olympics

there's only one phrase for it - an inch to perfection. i doubt any olympics opening ceremony will come close to what we have witnessed on 8th August 2008 in years to come.

china has done asians proud. perhaps it is time for the westerns to stop stereotyping us as inferior race and remind them their colonizing days are over.

still having olympics syndrome? fret not, its only 4 years time!

Pelo lado dos organizadores, as Olimpíadas de Pequim e as transmissões online e offline foram um sucesso e tanto. O ganho de imagem da China foi extraordinário, inclusive em dinheiro. E do lado das empresas? Como sempre fazem, as grandes marcas esportivas elegem seus esportistas para vislumbrarem uma visibilidade maior para suas marcas e conseqüentemente suas vendas.

De acordo com um estudo global de conversas online conduzido por Zeta Interactive, os vencedores no buzz marketing foram aquelas companhias com precisão tática, ao contrário de campanhas massivas de publicidade.

A Nike apostou em Liu Xiang que caiu fora devido a uma lesão não gerando uma interessante continuação de patrocínio [Liu Xiang era uma das estrelas, uma das apostas da China para medalaha de ouro no atletismo e na hora da largada sentiu uma lesão deixando o estádio de Pequim com mais de 90.000 torcedores chineses calados]. Mais sorte obteve a Puma e seu buzz em torno do velocista Usain Bolt e suas sapatilhas douradas, mas muito aquém do que Bolt fez nas pistas e a tabela comparativa acima.

No final das contas a estratégia da Speedo com seu LZR Racer foram os grandes ganhadores da Olimpíadas do Buzz Markenting 2008. Independente do buzz gerado com sua roupa antes dos jogos e durante, a Speedo centrou seus investimentos em publicidade nos atletas e com isso obteve um ganho incomparável com outras corporações.

Leia também:

29.08.2008: Pequim valeu os bilhões? A NeuroFocus responde a perguntas importantes para os anunciantes das Olimpíadas

[via AdAge.com e PSFK]

Beijing's Opening Ceremonies kicked-off the 29th Olympiad with a cast of more than 15,000 people and a virtually unlimited budget. With fireworks and a sky-walking torchbearer, Beijing wowed us in every way they knew how. The party will be a tough one to top anytime soon.

The red National Stadium and the icy blue Water Cube are just a two of the gorgeous new venues the host city rolled out for the world’s best athletes. I rarely left the National Stadium before midnight but even then, the massive Olympic Park, glowing a cool blue on one side and burning red on the other, was always full of people taking pictures and soaking up the atmosphere.

Dominant is the simplest way to describe athletes like Michael Phelps (if there is another like him) in the month of August. The same could be said for Usain Bolt’s efforts on the track. His world-record sprints made him the carefree poster boy of a truly impressive Jamaican athletics team.

Of course, many more athletes deserve to have their achievements highlighted in that paragraph. They are larger than life in their home countries. Some of them, like shooter Abhinav Bindra of India, won their country’s first individual gold medal. Others like the American men’s volleyball team played through personal tragedy to win Olympic gold.

A countless number of athletes never came close to the yellow medal stand or heard their country’s national anthem, but they should be congratulated for the way they competed with such class. It was great to see high-fives and exhausted, congratulatory hugs when the women’s heptathlon finally finished after a half-dozen events over two days. I saw it again after both marathons and most races and it’s safe to say, it was the norm at venues all over Beijing.

China’s newly mortal Liu Xiang also served as a necessary wake-up call to remind us that even extra large figures can get an Achilles’ sprain. As Sports Illustrated’s S.L. Price wrote this month, this is what makes sports sports. Games and races can be unpredictable, heart-warming and heart breaking. Perhaps no other athlete will ever know the kind of pressure Liu Xiang felt to repeat his gold-medal run at home.

China delivered on more than 50 gold medals, but the one they missed out on brought grown men and women to tears as Liu tore his lane number of his hip and hobbled into the tunnel that afternoon. It was sad and as a sports fan (I’m from Chicago’s northside), I feel for China, but this is being human and this is why we watch.

Finally, I will also remember China’s Games as a clinically organized event. “Large and in charge,” could have been the motto for local organizers and volunteers. Hundreds of buses and trains ran like clockwork. Athletes certainly offered rave reviews. Whether it was luck, skill or calculated weather manipulation, both protests and air pollution were non-existent. But no matter where you stand on the issues surrounding these Games, I found Beijing's careful staging of the Olympics added as much as it took away.

A few things contribute to my feeling that these Games lacked the spunk and spontaneity of the last World Cup or the good ol’ fashion randomness you usually find at big events. At times, the security presence around the city was suffocating and occasionally almost infantile, like an overprotective 6th grade dance.

Also, in a city of more than 17 million where discounted tickets were offered to Chinese nationals, you wouldn’t expect to find an empty seat at any venue. But while the National Stadium always looked packed during competition, the stands at many more venues were bare because of flaws in ticket allocation. The first ten rows of my second-tier section during the Opening Ceremony were empty.

This general feeling also comes from the fact that sports is not as central to Chinese culture as it is to the cultures of recent hosts, like sports-mad Sydney or even Germany during the 2006 World Cup. At those events, people with painted faces were singing and dancing in the streets and on the trains.  I find the Chinese sports fan is much more modest and conservative.

Both Beijing and the world’s athletes must feel an incredible sense of accomplishment today, and so they should. After so many years of waiting, the host city and the world’s athletes represented their countries well.

As IOC President Jacques Rogge said during the Closing Ceremony, thanks to these Games, China is no longer the mystery it once was. We all picked up a few things along the way.

“The world learned more about China, and China learned more about the world,” Rogge said.

Without a doubt. In my experience, I've only scratched the surface.

*** Don't forget to take a look back at your six-word predictions

Dear Reader,
A special thanks to all who followed the Olympics on this page. I hope it was as interesting to read as it was to write. I had a lot of fun doing it and your support and comments are very much appreciated.

dklatt@wpxi.com

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Necesitamos héroes. Siempre los hemos necesitado, ahora quizás más que nunca. Héroes, símbolos, iconos, referentes. Necesitamos la grandeza y la gloria con que las gestas deportivas engrandecen las dimensiones del ser humano.

Beijing 2008, como cada 4 años sucede con los Juegos Olímpicos, nos ha proporcionado un festín de heroínas y héroes. Hemos contenido la respiración mientras Usain Bolt dinamitaba, con su vuelo rasante sobre el tartán, el récord mundial de los 200 metros lisos; hemos acompañado, con brazadas imaginarias, a Michael Phelps en sus 7 récords mundiales, en sus 8 medallas de oro; hemos volado con la pértiga de Yelena Isinbayeva por encima del listón situado a 5,05; hemos gritado “Vamos” con Rafa Nadal en su gold metal point. Seguramente hemos llorado con Liu Xiang, sintiendo también nosotros el dolor que impedía al icono chino revalidar su gesta atlética en Atenas 2004; hemos sentido la decepción de las jamaicanas en su estrepitoso relevo de los 4x100. Durante algo más de dos semanas, los Juegos Olímpicos han agigantado las grandezas y las flaquezas del ser humano. Deporte, esfuerzo, superación, sacrificio y gloria.

Ahora el corazón late de nuevo a su cadencia habitual, y los héroes y heroínas surgidos en los excepcionales escenarios de Pekín se preparan para alabar las virtudes de las Marcas con suficiente talonario para pagar a los mitos modernos.

Michael Johnson calzaba unas Nike doradas cuando estableció su record de 19,32 en los 200 metros en Atalanta’96, Usain Bolt rebajó el récord en 2 décimas en Beijing’08 con los pies envueltos en unas Puma. Mientras tanto, el héroe olímpico chino Li Ning ha vestido con su marca de ropa deportiva a un buen número de delegaciones, aupándose así en el ranking marquista de Occidente. Sin embargo, no son las Marcas deportivas las únicas que compiten en el patrocinio de los héroes. VISA, American Express, Lenovo, Coca Cola, Kodak, McDonalds, General Electric, China Mobile… la lista sería muy larga y variada, Beijing 2008 ha contado con casi 70 patrocinadores, sponsors y Marcas que han asociado su imagen y su logo al olimpismo de una u otra manera.

Y la pregunta es, ¿por qué ese interés gigantesco y esas astronómicas cantidades invertidas en patrocinar los eventos deportivos y a las estrellas del deporte? Puede haber tantas respuestas como Marcas, desde luego, pero, en esencia, el motivo es solamente uno: necesitamos héroes.

Atrás quedan las Olimpiadas de la Grecia Clásica con sus Dioses, Semidioses y Héroes. Lejos también el esplendor de la cultura Maya, donde los partidos de pelota eran enfrentamientos que sustituían a las guerras, a las disputas tribales y a los conflictos sociales. Lejos, muy lejos quedan los referentes culturales de los momentos históricos en que los héroes podían ser intelectuales, revolucionarios, dramaturgos, poetas, comediantes, trovadores, ideólogos, políticos, deportistas, guerreros, inventores, científicos o pensadores. Hoy sólo nos quedan el Deporte y los Negocios. Y como solamente nos queda eso, y el mundo de los Negocios cuenta con sus propios altares para alzar y defenestrar a sus divinidades, son los deportistas los que nos recuerdan que somos capaces de ir más allá de nuestras humanas limitaciones.

Esa es la esencia. Suena poético, lo sabemos, a lo mejor porque estamos aún poseídos por el hechizo de la antorcha de Beijing. Pero esa es la esencia. Lo demás está todo escrito en los manuales de patrocinio, en los tratados de branding, en los libros sobre la reputación corporativa, la imagen y los valores de Marca y Producto, y en miles de blogs, artículos y estudios. Tenemos también el pequeño detalle de que China representa un Mercado de 1.300 millones de almas a las que las Marcas desean seducir con su evangelio pagano. Al Olimpo de los tiempos Modernos se asciende por la escalera del Marketing.

One world. One dream.

Un mundo. Un sueño. Bonito slogan, más utopía que deseo, pero hermoso en cualquier caso. Decíamos que nos quedan para soñar el Deporte y los Negocios, y seguramente parece que nos olvidamos de la Política. No, ya la hemos mencionado, ya saben, “Negocios”. Como tampoco nos olvidamos de la Religión, también la hemos citado, efectivamente, “Negocios”. Deportes y Negocios, ni más ni menos.

Algo más de 6.000 millones de Dólares es lo que estima Zenith Optimedia (central de medios del Grupo Publicis) que han desembolsado las Marcas en patrocinios relacionados con Beijing 2008; el pedazo más grande de la tarta del sponsoring previsto para 2008 que, según GrupoM (que reúne a las centrales de Medios del conglomerado publicitario WPP), ascenderá a casi 44.000 millones de Dólares.

En segundo lugar se situaría la inversión “patrocinadora” en otro gran evento, la carrera electoral por la presidencia de los EE.UU., donde las “Marcas” invertirán alrededor de 2.000 millones de Dólares. Y la medalla de bronce del patrocinio de este año queda para la Eurocopa de Fútbol, donde los sponsors se dejaron unos 1.000 millones de Dólares.

Según los expertos, las inversiones en patrocinio y sponsoring, deportivo fundamentalmente, crecerán casi un 50% en los próximos 4 años, si eso es así en Londres 2012 rondaremos los 12.000 millones de Dólares. Lo que decíamos, Deporte y Negocios.

Necesitamos héroes. Se llamen Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Rafa Nadal, Pau Gasol o Barak Obama. Héroes que nos iluminen y nos muestren hasta donde somos capaces de llegar. Héroes, personajes, símbolos que recuerden a nuestra frágil y veleidosa memoria que todos llevamos algo heroico, noble y admirable en nuestro interior. Memoria frágil, sí, pero por suerte cada 4 años volvemos a tener una nueva cosecha de héroes olímpicos. Cada 4 años hay Eurocopa. Y cada 4 años, qué curioso, también hay elecciones y se renueva, o no, el imaginario político.

¿Devoramos héroes, líderes y estandartes cada 4 años? Posiblemente los devoramos antes. Los olvidamos con rapidez y los convertimos en algo cotidiano o bien, por circunstancias dramáticas, nos los arrebatan como símbolos y los resucitamos como mitos, como leyendas ya inmortales. El sponsoring de los héroes está en auge, el de las leyendas también. Son dos tipos de patrocinio diferentes, requieren distintas estrategias y están enfocados a distintos objetivos. No todas las Marcas son aptas para ambos tipos de patrocinio, la idoneidad depende de muchos factores, entre ellos influye si se tiene una visión cortoplacista o se es ya una Marca consolidada y se juzga más adecuado invertir a muy largo plazo. Pero, bueno, todo esto es otra historia y requiere ser contada en otra ocasión.

En fin, puede que Barak Obama se convierta en el primer presidente afroamericano de los Estados Unidos de América, un presidente negro y demócrata. Puede que sea John Sidney McCain III el próximo presidente, un presidente blanco y republicano. El primero encaja más y mejor en nuestro arquetipo del héroe, de la figura diferente, del símbolo del cambio y de la esperanza. El segundo es la opción más práctica, la apuesta más segura, el personaje exento de glamour, carisma y magnetismo. Necesitamos héroes, pero es probable que nos gusten más en lo alto de un podio que tras la mesa del Despacho Oval. Eso sí, la oportunidad se repite democráticamente cada 4 años.

Mientras tanto, gracias al esfuerzo sobrehumano de Phelps, Mengual, Isinbayeva, Bolt, Nadal y muchos otros, todos somos un poco héroes también.

- Michael Phelps roars in triumph and relief after American team mate Jason Lezak overtook France's Alain Bernard on the final leg of the 4x100 freestyle relay to keep alive Phelps's dream of beating Mark Spitz's record from 1972 of seven golds in a Games - a dream he was to realize.

London 2012 Olympics

27 July to 12 August 2012

Bolt already owned the record and in front of a packed Bird's Nest stadium he ran 9.69 seconds.

Michael Phelps roars in triumph and relief after American team mate Jason Lezak overtook France's Alain Bernard on the final leg of the 4x100 freestyle relay.

Liu Xiang dejectedly walks away from the track as he realises he has to withdraw from the defence of his 110 metres hurdles title because of a leg injury.

Liu was the most popular sportsman in China and his grimacing departure clouded the Games for millions of home fans.

Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva turns the Bird's Nest into her private theatre with a gold medal and world record-breaking pole vault performance that captivated the 91,000 crowd.

The Opening Ceremony. It emerged that some of the performance seen on television had been enhanced by computers, a child singer was replaced by a supposedly prettier face to mime to her voice and representatives of China's ethnic minorities were no such thing.

German weightlifter Matthias Steiner kisses a picture of his late wife Susann on the gold medal podium, choking back tears over the promise he made to her that he would keep their Olympic dream.

American Matt Emmons blows a 3.3-point lead on the very last shot of a 120-shot competition to throw away the gold medal in the "marathon" event of shooting.

Rohullah Nikpai wins Afghanistan's first Olympic medal with a bronze in the men's 58-kg taekwondo.

Estonian Gerd Kanter celebrates his discus gold medal by sprinting down the 100 metre track at the Bird's Nest and mimicking Bolt's marksman routine.

Source: Rediff

¿Espíritu olímpico? Y una mierda.

pd.:Mis condolencias a los familiares, amigos y allegados a las víctimas del accidente aéreo del avión de Spanair en la T4. Enhorabuena -una vez más- a la ciudad Madrid por su impecable y ejemplar capacidad de reacción.

Have been practicing a lot of chinese writing/reading recently, watching the olympics, waiting for working visa to get done with, this whole process has been tediously insane, but will be worth it in the long run. Speaking of running, I have also started jogging long distances on a regular basis which seems to have displaced any energy or desire to write.

My new hero in the Olympics, above and beyond Phelps, has definitely been Bolt from Jamaica and the Jamaicans in general. They are kicking the crap out of the competition in athletics to the point that the competition don't even matter. Bolt is cocky, but he wins when puts the effort in, and he is also a giant which made the 100 - 200 meter look like a freak show.

I do feel bad slightly that Chinese national hurdling hero, and only athletics prospect, Liu Xiang hurt his hamstring, and supposedly let China down. Apparently he made a huge apology to the Chinese public and they forgave him etc. It is funny that a national hero could hold such a public role. It is interesting that athletics is the main front that the Chinese team are failing in. The main answer, not racist, seems to be based on body type. Most of the people winning sprints and hurdling races are African/American, in fact I have yet to see a white person medal.

On another note, the Chinese are obviously far ahead of the rest with their olympic gold count of 45 at the moment, while the US have 26. The last time that any country had more gold than the US was around 1992, and before, when the Soviet Union was on top of the medal charts for a long stretch.

Personally, I am working on dealing with time management and concentration at the moment, along with preparing a work visa for starting work, and it seems to be becoming a harder and harder task. One thing that has frustrated me recently was that in getting a work visa, my contact with the company required that I present a diploma... I had previously spent several weeks proving that I would be getting a diploma later on in the year before and she finally claimed that my audit/ proof would be enough! So in this case she reverted to her original form of saying that I needed a diploma. Apparently this was because of some new government regulation, but it would have been nice if I knew this, because I would have been able to get the diploma much earlier if some one told me that it was necessary!

As soon as I got an email hearing that I needed the diploma in order to get a work visa, I called my school, and found out that I would be able to get a diploma by next week. This sets me back by a week, so it still may be possible to start working around mid september as planned. She responded to my email saying that it would take some time for me to get the diploma, by saying that "they were applying for a Global Relocation Service, and needed to know my city name to check for availability". This seems to be optimistic news, maybe meant to push me towards getting the diploma to them more quickly. It has been a true challenge dealing with this situation, but it looks like I will stick it through. Hopefully the result will be positive.

Finally, speaking of my main motivations for wanting a job like this. One of them is that it will allow me to move to a new place, because although I enjoy my present situation, and being with my family, I look forward to the opportunity to get out into the world, and to see what is out there. I think that the job will also offer opportunities for advancement, but most importantly, living at home "in limbo" waiting for the next thing to happen is so painfully boring. I hate reaching this state, and although it gives me the opportunity to run each day, it is also extremely slow and painful. At this point, I wish that I could make time simply fast forward to the point that I have my work visa, and that I have started working. Other wise, there is nothing to stimulate me.

From a reasonable perspective, I know that it is smartest for me to stay in mental, physical shape right now, and study chinese so that I am able to comprehend much more while I am there. My main problem at the moment is that I have a total lack of social connection without school, and having yet to start a job, which is leaving my mind understimulated. Luckily I can complain in this blog, which seems to clear out my head.

 Los más de 80 canales de televisión de este inmenso país repiten una y otra vez imágenes de su retiro de la pista del Estadio Nacional, los periódicos muestran fotos de su dolor físico y espiritual, las agencias de prensa reiteran reportes sobre el impacto del suceso.

Que Liu no tome parte en la carrera final es un desastre nacional, pero estas cosas pasan, manifestó Lamine Diack, el senegalés que dirige la poderosa Federación Internacional de Asociaciones de Atletismo.

La carrera final será este jueves 21 dos horas antes de la medianoche, y la nación de mil 300 millones de habitantes añorará la presencia del primero que dio un título olímpico a China en el atletismo, el primer asiático que dominó una modalidad tan dura como las vallas por encima de norteamericanos, cubanos y europeos.

Está elevado a categoría de ícono, no solo por sus éxitos deportivos, que son muchos, sino también por ser un símbolo de la nueva China, la que ha emergido con extraordinaria fuerza al siglo XXI.

Miembro del Comité Central del Partido Comunista Chino y también de otras instituciones políticas,embajador de Buena Voluntad ante misiones humanitarias, fue capaz de donar tres millones de yuanes para las víctimas del terrible terremoto que asoló la provincia de Sichuán en mayo.

Al convertir sus resultados deportivos y brillo personal en la imagen de una gran nación, el joven nacido en Shangai hace 25 años pasó a ser orgullo nacional.

Tenía 18 cuando se le concedió a Beijing la sede de los Juegos Olímpicos, desde entonces soñé con esta gran noche, mi ausencia jamás podré olvidarla, dijo en un mensaje televisivo desde el lugar donde descansa.

Liu se disculpó por su lesión y aseguró que regresaría, también les deseó suerte a los competidores, entre ellos el cubano Dayron Robles, con quien iba a escenificar el gran show atlético de esta cita.

Son pocos los que regresan con éxito de una lesión tan difícil, dicen los especialistas, habrá que ver si su heroísmo no fue sólo fue en las pistas en estos cuatro años donde lo conquistó todo en los eventos de la IAAF.

Mientras, inconsolables millones de chinos lloran. 

 Si el invulnerable  Aquiles cayó por un flechazo en su talón y el pueblo griego lo inmortalizó en el mito, centenares de siglos después un gladiador deportivo del pueblo que es la sexta parte del universo -frente a su propia nación- cae vencido por las dolencias físicas.

El deporte también genera leyendas, quizás dentro de nuevos tiempos en vez de ser el Tendón de Aquiles se hablará del Tendón de Xiang.

 César López Gil (enviado especial)

I think this is, in part at least, due to the fact that most of our politicians are on holiday rather than our TV screens. During the House of Commons recess the most bizarre political "news" story seems to have been some Tory think-tank's bizarre advice that people in Liverpool should "emigrate" to London because the North West economy is unsustainable. I mean, come on! They don't even speak the language. Think of the crime surge ;)

But largely my sense of pride is the result of the Olympics. Firstly, the excellent BBC coverage has meant that Bill Turnbull has been moved to some backwater on one of the Freeview channels, so that I have not had to endure him and his ginger banality first thing in the morning. Secondly, and most importantly, I have been hugely impressed with the performance of Team GB, currently lying in third in the overall medal table! They have done us proud and made us proud.

Most impressive has been the professionalism that the whole team has shown. The commitment. The drive. The desire to win! When I was watching the Olympics as a kid we were a team of well-meaning amateurs. Of course we had our heroes such as Coe, Ovett, Daley Thompson and the like, but athletics, and occasionally swimming aside, we were largely bit players in most sports. But look at us now. Heroes all.

John Major, be proud of your legacy! No not peace in Ireland or your extra-curriculas with Edwina Currie, but the National Lottery. The National Lottery funding for sport has turned us into a true sporting nation with the desire and ambition to win. We can feel pride in our nation again. And I do. While I am a little anxious about London's ability to put on a show to rival Beijing in 2012, I am, nonetheless, looking forward to it already.

Incidentally, I also think that the BBC coverage on TV, radio and the net has been great - with the exception of Nicky Campbell on Radio 5. A couple of mornings ago he was asking Chinese people on the street how they felt about the injury to the great Chinese medal hope, Liu Xiang, while being hooked up to Shelagh (pronounced Sheila) Fogarty back in the UK. Nicky could not resist a little schoolboy attempt at a racist joke by asking a Chinese lady with heavily accented English to say "I love you Sheila". She spoke it perfectly, no doubt much to Campbell's chagrin as he clearly had hoped to elicit a giggle, expecting her to say "I ruv u Sheera" instead. Shame on you Mr Campbell. 

But last night my British pride took a dent. I watched Channel 4's Secret Millionaire. The programme followed multi-millionaire, Nick Leslau, to the most deprived part of the most deprived city in the UK - Possil and Milton in Glasgow. Now Nick proved himself to be a caring, generous, thoughtful individual. You could tell that he was moved. You could tell that he was changed. Indeed the ladies who ran the disability forum and the riding school for the disabled are saintly. But, what struck me hardest was the abject poverty of the town itself. Nick himself described it as something out of East Germany, but, I suspect that that would be doing East Germany a disservice. How do people live in a place such as this? It made Wythenshawe and Walsall look almost desirable. And, I think that the link between the poverty of the area, the crime, the drugs, and the disabilities and poor health of the inhabitants was plain to see.

There is something very wrong in a country as great as ours, with an economy as strong as ours, that we "allow" our own citizens to "live" in a place such as this. So, while I do not begrudge the funding for sports, I would like to think that maybe our holidaying politicians, especially certain Scottish politicians, might also have seen the programme and shared my opinion. Perhaps, on his return (however brief it might be), Mr Gordon Brown might find a little more money to help people such as in Possil and not just suggest that they all move to London!

The aftershocks of the Olympic gold medallist's exit in the 110m hurdles have been somewhat muffled by the avalanche of gold medals brought in by his compatriots, but there are still millions (if not billions) who are/were shocked/baffled/angry at his exit. But can you imagine what it must have felt like being in his spiked sprinting shoes with the hopes of billions on your shoulders ?

The fact remains - he didn't finish the race. Sponsors, coaches, teammates, and fellow countrymen were let down. The hero became a zero.

Ultimately, it was his decision not to run, and he bravely called it. It was probably harder to walk away than to run the race.

All the media blitz and marketing deals that comes with being a track star can sometimes cloud your judgment. The pressure of performing can push one beyond the brink.

But in a show of support for Liu Xiang, one of his sponsors put up full-page ads of him with the text 'Love the glory. Love the pain. Love sport even when it breaks your heart.'

In the long run, Liu's decision to hobble away could well have allowed him to run another day. The man himself said that if he had finished the race, he would have risked severe damage to his tendon.

Yes, the Olympics is the pinnacle of sporting achievement, but Liu has nothing to prove after shocking the world with a gold in Athens, and his journey in sport should not end on this low. His life goes on, he has to pick himself up.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Liu didn't sound evasive, nor give any excuses for his no-show.

He also said that he would rise again.

""I know I have the ability, once my foot recovered (sic)," said Liu.

The world awaits.

Flat screen monitors are mounted along the train’s walls. Normally, commuters pay no attention to the screens.  They go about reading their morning papers and fiddling with PDA’s, giving only fleeting glances at the weather and travel status that streams across the screens.

Yesterday, however, was different.

Every set of eyes in the train was glued to the T.V. screens. People gladly forfeited their coveted seats to crowd around the monitors, staring at them in rapt attention.

The sets were tuned into Olympic sports action.  It was the prelims of the 100-meter hurdles and China’s Golden Boy, Liu Xiang, was slated to run in the final preliminary heat. 

Although some Chinese sports figures, like Yao Ming, are more widely known than Liu Xiang, none are more adorned at home. The Shanghai hurdler burst into superstardom by taking the 110-meter hurdles Gold medal at Athens and sweeping a host of world championships in the years to follow.

Here in China, Liu is a legend. He’s young, handsome and epitomizes China’s meteoric sporting rise.  In the past, when it came to international sporting competition, China was pegged a runt. The only competitions it could hold its weight in were in events considered “non-sports” by many Westerners. It was efficient in gymnastics, diving and ping-pong, but in big-ticket events like track and field, basketball and swimming, it was a nonfactor. 

All of that changed with Liu Xiang. His smooth, powerful stride buried American, British, and French competitors in its wake. Finally, China had a competitor who could hold his own with the heavyweights in one of the world’s most glamorous sports.

So, this summer, the pressure on Liu Xiang to retain his Olympic title was unbearable.

Through the first week of Olympic competition, the Chinese have responded to their gold medal rush in events like gymnastics and shooting with beaming pride and genuine enthusiasm. But, still, they pin their hopes on Liu. Over one billion people pray he’s able to show the world what China has become. He’ll race head-to-head with the world’s superpowers and soar to victory. 

But, leading up to the Olympics, there were hints of trouble.  Liu’s world record was shattered by a phenomenally fast Cuban named Dayron Robles. In the face of the stiff competition, Liu struggled with a nagging hamstring injury and seemed fatigued by the unflinching pressure. 

He was carrying the weight of 1.3 billion people on his shoulders, and yesterday, the pressure proved too much. 

The first sign of trouble was Dayron Roble’s easy victory in the early heats of the prelims.  He eased out of the blocks and scorched the competition, barely breaking a sweat. If Liu was going to overcome the powerful Cuban, he would need an earth-shattering performance. 

Then, with the collective eyes of the nation set squarely on his flashy yellow running spikes, Liu stepped up to the blocks. During warm-ups, the camera panned in on the Golden Boy. He looked sluggish and sore.  He stretched out his hamstrings, an intense streak of pain apparent on his face. I knew he was in trouble.  He was hobbling and grimacing. Nonetheless, the crowd watching him at the Bird’s Nest roared.  The audience in the subway was more skeptical.  The train was silent; the commuters held their breath as China’s hope crouched into the blocks and buckled down to run.  

And this was only the prelims. It should have been an easy race. Liu only needed to stride out a comfortable qualifying time, ease through the semifinal round, and save his gas for the finals.  But, it wouldn’t be easy. His injury had flared up.  His heat was filled with stiff competition. The blazing Cuban before him had set a stiff precedent.

The starter raised his gun, and the hurdlers thrust their hips in their air. Just before the starting shot rang out, one of the sprinters jumped out of his blocks, a false start. Liu, too, jumped out of his blocks. He burst from the starting line, and stopped abruptly, limping like a lame dog.  It was painful to watch.  The crowd in the subway let out exasperated gasps.  They watched as the superstar grunted and groaned. He was in excruciating pain. Everyone in the train knew he would have to drop out of the race. 

He wouldn’t make it to the finals. The dream was over.  He limped off the side of the track, into the tunnel leading to the locker room and collapsed into a heap of disappointment. In the train, a look of utter confusion reigned supreme on the commuters’ faces.  What had happened? The word “zao gao” (what a mess) poured from everyone’s lips. 

But, then, something amazing happened. 

After a brief second of bewilderment, commuters started clapping.  Their hero had faded, had reached his tragic end, but for them, for China, this was just the beginning. 

They applauded Liu’s effort, felt his pain. They understood that the stress was just too much.  No single man could bear it. They were disappointed, but far from devastated. There would be more medals, more world-beating performances.

Besides, as my Chinese friend told me later, it is good for Cuba that Liu didn’t make it to the finals. If Liu were there, he said, Robles wouldn’t stand a chance.

-- Nick

In a matter of minutes, Liu Xiang fell from his position as the golden boy of Chinese sports to be called a 'eunuch', a 'pig' and the 'greatest coward of the century' yesterday.

'He must know that his form is not good,' housewife Liu Chen, 36, said. 'Since he is not going to win the gold, it is better to withdraw than to lose. My feeling is that the injury is all a pack of lies.

'What a shame, what a shame to the Chinese people. Even if you die on track, you should give it a shot. Otherwise, don't even bother to enter the arena,' wrote one forum contributor.

Am i pissed? OF COURSE I AM. i am as pissed as a certain Mr Crowe when he threw a telephone at a hotel attendant a while back. raging emotions pissed. what's wrong with these people! has it never occurred to them that if one of their star athletes died on the track, there goes one less hope for the future? of course not. in their minds, winning is everything. everything else is unimportant. including the lives of their athletes. SHAME ON YOU. it seems to me that if you're so desperate for China to claim another gold, you would show more care and support for your athlete by trusting them and giving allowances for human errors. On he other hand, there are many people, chinese and foreign who defended him when he backed out. that's real support. that's the real spirit of the Olympics. in my opinion, the greatest cowards here are those who heap mounds of criticism on him, who waste their time fabricating stories as to what really happened, and those who place unreasonable amounts of pressure on him. all these stone throwing over a mere muscle injury. just a reminder, the reason he sustained those injuries was due to the pressure to practice and perfect his run. look who's the culprit now.

of course i'm biased towards Liu Xiang. but at least i am showing support and encouragement instead of throwing stones at a fallen hero.

An injured Liu Xiang stretching before 110 meter hurdles qualifying heats (AP photo)

He made a low-key entrance into the stadium clad in a red and gold tracksuit. Warming up, he started a quick pass through the hurdles before stopping to bend at the edge of the track. He bent over, kneeling and stretching, pain on his face. Then Liu limped back to the starting blocks.

A false start from another runner, and then it was over. Liu turned around, pulled his number from his leg and headed inside. The cameras followed him as he walked back in and sat against a wall, then cut back to the race about to resume outside.

That was it, no explanations, only the brief replays of Liu leaving the field after the false start. Everyone in China knows he’s been nursing an injured hamstring.

-------Any thoughts????

Courtesy Wall Street Journal

Anyway, this is my last post all the way till after prelims. Maybe, if I do actually think the exams aren't too bad, then I would post. If not, I'll probably be sitting in the corner sulking 24/7.

No pics this time. :C If you're looking for pics in this post, you'll be sorely disappointed.

Anyway with all these stuff about Olympics, I'm finding it a little hard to concentrate studying. But thankfully nost of my favourite sports sections are already over, so I can actually fully settle down to mug. And yes, sure sure, Singapore got Silver. Pretty good considering we bought over great players from China, which also means we wouldn't win the "lao jiangs" from China itself, right? Oh did I mention that I love Zhang Yining! She's one of my favourite sportswomen. Another one would be Shawn Johnson. Her personality seems awesome.

You know, I've always believed that a sports competitor is great if they do their best to clinch the medals back for their countries. But what's even more amazing is the sportsperson's ability to pull back when they know it's their limit, despite all the crazy amount of pressure put upon them by their country, their fans. and their rivals. It's not called giving up, it's called valuing well-being and Life. Case in point: Liu Xiang. I needn't say more, I think. I believe many already knew what happened during the Games recently. But do not take it to be disappointing - it is in fact quite remarkably courageous of him to admit what he can or cannot achieve at that point of time.

Okok, away from the Olympics, since I could go on for days about it. I'm now currently up to my neck in piles of homework and revision papers. I feel like life is getting more tiresome by the day. If I didn't always believe that there is more to life than this, I might have honestly given up. There's so much pressure, my mind is like on work almost every single minute that I'm in school. Thankfully at home I can relax a little.

What really worries me the most now is the upcoming prelims. I have never had much confidence in my studying abilities, and with good reason. But there's no excuse anymore. I doubt I can ever come up with a good excuse now to put away studying.

So as I listen to "Price of Freedom" and "Melody of Resolution" from the Crisis Core OST, I think to myself, never give up. Like Zack Fair, never give up.