Beijing Olympic Games

Updated: 2008-06-27

(BEIJING, June 27) — Jemma Simpson of Britain finished the 800m with a time of 2:00.37 at the Ciudad de Jerez athletics meeting in Spain this week. While her time would not qualify her for the 2008 Beijing Olympic, she ran her best time ever.

Simpson, the reigning UK champion in the Women’s 800m, has won a place on the British squad for the prestigious 2007 Athletics World Championships in Japan. She has full confidence in running the 800m in under two minutes, which is necessary if she wants to qualify for the Olympics.

She is only second to the 2004 Olympic silver medalist, Hasna Banhassi, who ran a time of 1:59.29. “Race by race, I’m edging towards the Olympic qualification time,” she said.

Simpson will take part in another athletics meet in either Milan or Madrid to build her way up to the GB Olympic trials in Birmingham from July 12 to 13, where she will go all out to try to secure a ticket for Beijing.

“My coach and I are confident that I can do it. I’m less than half a second away from my Olympic dream, and as the days go by I’m more and more confident that I’m going to live that dream,” Simpson said.

Updated: 2008-06-27 From: Xinhuanet

NEW DELHI, June 27 (Xinhua) — Indian women’s 4×400m relay team qualified for the Beijing Olympic Games, the Hindustan Times reported Friday.

They clocked 3:28.29s in the second meet of Asian Grand Prix at Korat, Thailand on Thursday.

The team ensured that it was among the world’s top 16 teams that will run in Beijing this August.

India had finished seventh in Athens Olympics in 2004 and since then, the team won the titles at the Asian Games 2006, Asian Championships 2007 and grabbed a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games, 2006.

Slowdown in 2007 raised doubt over team’s performance but it was largely due to transition of runners from junior to senior level, the report said.

Updated: 2008-06-26

(BEIJING, June 26) — Athletics trials for the US Olympic team are scheduled for June 27 to July 6 in Eugene, Oregon. As USA Women’s Track and Field coach Jeanette Bolden predicted, the American team to be sent to Beijing this year will be remarkable.

Allyson Felix (Photo by: Harry How/Getty Images)

Allyson Felix definitely tops the preliminary list of women competitors in the 100m and 200m. Now 22, Felix was the runner-up in the Women’s 200m at the Athens Olympic Games when she was only 18 years old. She has been on the rise since then, capturing one medal each at both Helsinki and Osaka World Championships in 2005 and 2007, respectively. After Osaka, Felix remarked that her “next goal is not the world record, but a gold in Beijing. I want to take it step by step. I might consider to do both – the 200 and the 400 meters – there.”

Although Felix is best in the 200m dash, she also excels in the 100m. Felix and her compatriots Muna Lee and Marshevet Hooker have all run times within 11 seconds this year. “I like the 100m but it didn’t quite come together this year. I haven’t reached my potential because I have problems with my start. But I haven’t given up on it, I’m still excited to work on it,” she said.

Lauryn Williams (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Even with her short legs and unorthodox technique, Lauryn Williams has won many titles in the Women’s 100m and 200m. She is one of the fastest women in the world. Williams won the gold medal in the 2005 World Championships and the silver in the 2007 World Championships for the 100m. Although she missed the golden mark in Athens, Williams hopes that Beijing is where her dream comes true.

However, not all good athletes will be able to attend the 2008 Games. “The US has 12 good sprinters and only three slots,” said Williams. Her main rivals are Torri Edwards, Allyson Felix, Marshevet Hooker, Carmelita Jeter and Muna Lee.

Michelle Perry (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

In the Women’s 100m Hurdles, Michelle Perry is a huge favorite. She owns both the 2005 and 2006 World Championship titles in the event. The versatile Perry made her Olympic debut for USA Track and Field in Athens, where she competed in the Heptathlon. However, as the 100m Hurdles is her strongest discipline, she changed her focus, concentrating on this event since 2004. Perry has plenty of reasons to come to Beijing. She trained with her teammate Joanna Hayes – another world class runner — under the instruction of coach Bob Kersee. “We’ve made it work,” Perry said. “Working out with elite athletes, it’s hard on your body and almost like being in a track meet in practice every day.”

Lolo Jones (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Shaking off a disappointing finish in the 2004 Olympic trials, Lolo Jones has run impressively this year. In Karlsruhe, Jones ran a personal best time of 7.77 seconds in the Women’s 60m Hurdles. This is just behind the time run by Susanna Kallur, who broke the world record with a time of 7.68 seconds. Moreover, Jones won the title in the 60m Hurdles at the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships. If she qualifies this time around, Beijing will be her first Olympic appearance.

The Women’s 100m Final will start at 5:48 p.m. on June 28; the Women’s 200m Final and 100m Hurdles will be held at 4:40 p.m. and 5:40 p.m., respectively, on July 6, 2008.

Updated: 2008-06-26

(BEIJING, June 26) — Recently, Australia announced that an athletics team consisting of 41 representatives will be sent to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

The 41-strong squad for this summer’s Olympics is Australia’s smallest in 16 years; 3 athletes less than the 2004 Games in Athens.

The Australian athletics team is led by reigning world champions Jana Rawlinson and Nathan Deakes; they both have great possibilities of winning gold medals in Beijing.

Rawlinson earned her first world championship title for the Women’s 400m Hurdles at the 2003 World Athletics Championships. Four years later, she clinched another Women’s 400m Hurdles title in Osaka.

Deakes won the 50km race walk title with a time of 3:43:53 at the World Championships in Osaka last year, setting his season record.

Updated: 2008-06-26

Ladji Doucouré (Photo by Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images)

(BEIJING, June 26) — French hurdler Ladji Doucouré will not attend a meeting in the north of France on June 27. This is his second time to drop out of competition since reappearing June 15. Doucouré experienced a pain in his left knee during hurdles training and decided to avoid aggravating a previous injury by forgoing competition.

Doucouré has been plagued by injuries since overcoming Liu Xiang and Allen Johnson in the 2005 Golden League meeting where he took the world championship. After suffering another injury at an invitational this January, he missed the opportunity to attend the World Indoor Championships.

After several months of recovery training, Doucouré’s leg had healed enough to return to competition. On June 15 he reappeared at a meeting in France, competing against opponents such as Dayron Robles of Cuba who had just broke the world record for the 110m hurdles. Robles took the championship with Doucouré coming in fourth place. Doucouré’s time of 13.64 seconds was his personal lowest since 2003.

Doucouré is currently preparing for the Summer Olympics in Beijing. His injury is a significant setback to the French national team.

Updated: 2008-06-25

2007 Shanghai Golden Grand Prix men’s 200m (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)

(BEIJING, June 25)– Ticket sales for the 2008 Shanghai Golden Grand Prix kicked off on June 24 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Shanghai.

Last year’s Grand Prix saw impressive shows from Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell in the Men’s 100m. Organizers promise to invite more big names to this year’s Grand Prix, which is scheduled for September 20 at Shanghai Stadium.

Fans can purchase tickets through the official website of the 2008 Shanghai Golden Grand Prix or the ticketing hotline. There are six categories of tickets and tickets are priced from 60 yuan to 1,380 yuan. About 90 percent of the tickets are priced below 200 yuan.

The first 500 people to buy tickets will have a chance to take a group photo with Olympic champions.

Updated: 2008-06-25 From: Xinhuanet

WASHINGTON, June 24 (Xinhua) — Banned Olympic 100m champion Justin Gatlin was blocked by a U.S. federal judge on Tuesday to compete in this week’s U.S. beijing2008.cn/cptvenues/sports/athletics/index.shtml’ target=_blank>athletics trials for the Beijing Olympic Games.

Judge Lacey Collier dissolved a 10-day restraining order that would have allowed the 26-year-old to take part in the trials in Eugene, Oregon, starting on Friday.

He also denied Gatlin’s request for a preliminary injunction in the case.

“As courts have indeed held, issues regarding whether an athlete is eligible to participate in the Olympic Games or any of its qualifying events are reserved solely for the USOC (United States Olympic Committee), and the courts have no jurisdiction to entertain a private right of action that might impinge upon an eligibility determination,” Collier wrote in his ruling.

Gatlin was suspended for four years after a 2006 positive test for the male sex hormone testosterone. The sprinter also tested positive in 2001 for amphetamines.